Bilingual For Fun™ » Bilingualism

Bilingual children in non bilingual families

Bilingual For Fun — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 07:00:16 +0000

Since I started talking about bilingual children in non bilingual families, mostly on my italian blog Bilingue per Gioco, I have been flooded with testimonials from non native speaker parents who are going through this experience. It was really a great surprise, this is a form of bilingualism nobody talks about, there’s absolutely no research done on this and the same people involved are normally not very vocal about it, not until now at least.

I think it would be interesting to share some observations and ideas.

What does it mean to raise bilingual children in non bilingual families?

Basically what happens is that parents, or other relatives, who don’t define themselves as bilingual because they were raised monolingual, but who now speak a second or more languages, teach these language(s) to their children starting in early infancy. The parents’ proficiency in the second language can vary, so do the methods they use to teach their children the second language. Some parents go as far as speaking only the second language to their children (that’s my case), others make this language parts of their lives through songs, books, games or similar, with varying degrees of systematic approach.

Is this bilingualism?

Well, experts seem to think so. Any frequent early exposure to a second language is bilingualism, even half an hour of daily playing or reading in the second language. The question is whether this will lead to a balanced bilingualism, but as you all know, as parents of bilingual children, balanced bilingualism is more a dream than a fact, and anyway passive bilingualism is very important too and can lead to active bilingualism when the conditions arise (say a trip abroad).

Is it dangerous for the child to be deprived of the parent’s mothertoungue?

That’s more than fair a question. The answer is not known at the moment, because as I said no research has been done on this specific form of bilingualism, hence we can only be guided from common sense and opinions can vary. I have also asked two experts on bilingualism to give their view and they are both supportive, they are Sabine Pirchio from University la Sapienza, Rome, and Antonella Sorace from University of Edimburgh.

I think we should consider two dimensions in which this could potentially affect the child negatively: 1) if s/he doesn’t learn properly the language that should be his mothertongue, 2) if the parent-child relationship is disturbed by the fact that the parent is not comfortable with the language s/he using.

The former risk in most cases doesn’t exist, these children live in their parents’ home country and are surrounded by the native language in many ways, plus normally only one of the parents uses the second language and only in some cases s/he uses always the second language. So for all these children their mothertongue seems to develop normally, from what most parents say (again this is not the result of a research but a consideration).

The second risk, the parent-child relationship being affected, exists in principle if the parent uses only the second language, but we can’t say whether it is a real concern. This would be really an interesting topic for research! What I personally believe, and recommend, is that parents don’t take drastic decisions unless they feel 100% right for them and they feel totally comfortable, and also that they dedicate lot’s of attention to all channels of communication with their children, eye and body language included. In fact on my italian blog we talk a lot about how to communicate with children and self-motivate them, a quest for bilingualism often becomes a journey into a deeper understanding of the child and of parent-child dynamics. I think that parents who are so concerned and sensitive, as well as willing to question and understand everything they do, face a very low risk of anything going wrong.

In any case, the guiding principle should be to do only what feels right, for most families that means finding a regular but confined place in their lives for the second language, with this approach things can’t go wrong, particularly if parents are creative in the tools they use to propose the language and make it fun and enjoyable.

What about accent?

Yes, what about it? I think that the relevance of accent in language learning has been highly overestimated. Don’t get me wrong, if these children had a chance to learn the language from native speakers parents would be crazy to forgo that opportunity, the reality though is that this is seldom a chance. Even when a native speaker teacher can be fund, s/he normally can do one hour a week at most, way too little for children to learn the language, they need exposure, exposure, exposure. On the other side, if they have an understanding of the language from early on, later they’ll be less likely to say no to things like movies in original language (in Italy movies are normally dubbed), summer camps abroad, theater in the second language, holidays, anything is fact that can give them a chance to interact with native speakers and improve their accents. Language competencies are not static, they develop, so these children stand a very good chance to become really fluent in the second language just because they started early on.

The topic is a really interesting a large one, so it is impossible to cover all the aspects now, but I would like to know what the international community thinks about this, and I’ll be happy to come back on this.

Picture by A Journey Round my Skull

Research says children learn languages in the womb, and cry accordingly…

Bilingual For Fun — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 10:32:51 +0000

This is a very interesting article, it shows that as they are born children already “speak” their mothertongue, i.e. the way they cry depends on the language they have been exposed to in the womb: The crying song.

Now this is very interesting for me… I’ve been living in London and speaking practically only English throughout my pregnancy, so really English is my son’s mothertongue… Or was he born bilingual? hmmmm…

I’ve seen the article mentioned on Blogging On Bilingualism, so let me give them credit for finfing it out.

Image from A Journey Round My Skull

The Advantages of Bilingualism and of Raising Children Bilingual

L. — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 08:21:50 +0000

Growing up bilingual has many advantages from different points of view, analytic skills development, personal satisfaction and identity just to name a few. Here is some food for thought for all parents debating whether to raise their child bilingual, an overview of the major pro of bilingualism:

It’s the easiest way to learn a second language. No lessons, no grammar books, DVDs or other boring stuff. Children learn living, playing, eating…
It’s cheap. Much cheaper than any language class. It costs practically nothing, or may be just the the price of a couple of books or some music
It gives the child an opportunity to stay in touch with his/her roots and extended family. The child won’t feel left out when s/he will be with grandparents, uncles, aunties, cousins and relatives in general
It’s natural. It’s easier and more natural to learn a language from birth than at any time later in life, hence it’s best to start early.
It allows to reach native like mastering of the language, i.e. to speak it without accent, or close to
Later in life it will be easier to learn a third or more languages, because of the acquired ability to recognize different sounds, intonations, rithms, grammatical structures
It stimulates intelligence. Bilingualisms requires an extra efforts and flexibility and stimulates the brain, as a consequence bilingual children are faster in learning to read and write and have more developed analytical skills
A bilingual child is more aware of different cultures and environments and is open and curious towards cultural differences. In a constantly shrinking world s/he is better prepared to become a true citizen of the world
In the future being bilingual could improve his/her career and open new opportunities, more and more mastering of multiple languages is critical for professional success

What are the cons of Bilingualism?

L. — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 14:20:50 +0000

The debate about the pro and cons of Bilingualism is often an ill informed one. It is quite common to think that Bilingualism can cause problems to children, but these are just prejudices. Let’s look at some of the most common myths about Bilingualism.

To be bilingual one should master both languages as a native speaker. There isn’t an official definition of bilingualism, but there is overall agreement that the above is not a good definition, as it is too restrictive and quite unrealistic. Even people who have been raised in two languages and are native speakers on both, normally master a detailed vocabulary for specific areas in either one of the languages, for instance words pertaining to things like DIY, or medicine, or cooking… Could one say that a person is not bilingual because s/he can’t translate rivet or jugular? In any case these debates are better left to the experts, let’s be content with saying that is bilingual who speaks more than one language or even who speaks only one but understands well another (which is called passive bilingualism, quite common among bilingual children)
Bilingual children are late talkers. This has not been proved by research, which instead seems to point otherwise, however it is true that some families did report a delay. Reality is that each child starts to talk, crawl, walk, etc whenever s/he is ready to do so and is easy to blame a natural delay on bilingualism. In any case a bilingual child will catch up easily and will be able to express himself clearly in both languages.
Bilingual children mix the two languages. This is a normal and temporary phase of the learning cycle. Once the child learns more words and acquires confidence s/he will be able to speak each language properly
Bilingual children are exposed to each language less than monolingual children. This could be true but has no impact whatsoever. Bilingual children will eventually master each language like their monolingual peers.
It is difficult and it requires a lot of effort. It can’t be denied that raising a child bilingual requires lot’s of dedication, patience and persistence in implementing the chosen methodology. However the upsides are well worth the effort!
One can raise a child bilingual only in his/her native tongue. That’s not true! Sure native speaker parents are in an ideal situation, but it is perfectly possible to raise a child bilingual also in one’s second language or even in a language one masters just a bit. The trick is to find the right method for one’s family.
Children can learn a second language watching TV or DVD. That’s not really true. Young children learn to talk by interacting with other people, TV and similar tools have little or no impact. Older children, say at school age, can have fun and learn also with TV and DVD, however they should always be used as support tools only, children of all ages learn primarily through interaction with people.
One can’t teach a child more than two languages. There is no proof that this is true, while many children who grew up speaking more than two languages seem to hint otherwise. It really all depends on the effort and dedication a family is willing to and can put into it.
It’s too late for my child. It’s never too late! It is certainly true that the earlier the better and ideally one would want to start as a baby is born. However reality is that one can start at any time and help a child becoming bilingual, it just takes motivation and persistence as well as some consistency in the approach adopted. Children’s learning pace is just amazing.

When to start with Bilingualism

L. — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 14:16:29 +0000

In short it’s never too early to start introducing a second language to a child, and it’s never too late to start… on this point there is unanimity among experts. That means that if you have a baby, or you are about to have one, the best thing to do would be to start straight away. The younger a child is the easier it is for him/her to learn another language, it’s all very natural and spontaneous. In fact young children don’t learn a language, they acquire it, as they also acquire the ability to walk, eat on their own, get dressed and draw. Young children don’t go to classes, they do things just for the pleasure of a reward, whether the reward is getting what they want, receiving approval or just the fun of doing things independently. Also starting early has many advantages: it makes it possible to learn the second language accent free, like a native speaker, and it makes it much easier to learn further languages later in life.

However that is not to say that one must start on say one or forget about it, by no means! Any moment is a good moment to start, and there might be many reasons for starting later, may be the family moved somewhere, new people become part of the family circle, or may it’s just that the parents decided that way, as easy as that. In any case one can add a second, or a third, language to a child’s life at any time, only the later it is the more dedication it will require.

It might also be interesting to note that, contrary to common belief, adults learn languages faster than children, because they have more developed analytical skills and memory. However most people have experienced at least once in their life the frustration of learning a new language (anybody who ever struggled with german will know what I am talking about…) In fact adults can learn faster, but need a lot of motivation and are easily frustrated if they don’t proceed as fast as they’d like to. Children instead don’t even know what frustration or mistakes are, they make mistakes and learn the whole time, trying again and again until they achieve what they wanted to do and then set themselves a new goal. This is no small difference!

Anyway raising a bilingual child requires a lot of effort, dedication and perseverance, but the outcome is well worth it…

A small tip, if you decide bilingualism is right for your family, before you jump into it spend some time to think about which methodology would be best for you. There is a method for every family, but no method can suit every family. Here you can find some ideas on how to get started.

Playgroups help bilingual children speak English, or French, or German…

L. — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 14:12:11 +0000

Parents who want their children to learn a language early on normally speak the language with them, but often realise that the child doesn’t want to speak the language. In fact hearing a language only from one or two persons is not enough, babies are thus missing the opportunity to interact with more people in that language, which would allow them to acquire a better command of the language, as well as help them perceive the need to use the language actively in certain contexts.

Playgroups are effective in this sense as they complement the efforts of the family. A playgroup is not a language class, it’s an opportunity to speak and hear a language in a context other than home, it’s fun as it is a chance for kids and babies to play and it’s very effective because it requires interactions with multiple people and children. In any case, it is essential for parents, or other people very close to the child, to attend, both because these are the people that primarily transmit the use of the language, and because young or very young children would feel much more comfortable and safe. Parents’ presence is important also to provide consistency. Ideally some of the activities we do at the playgroup could and should be carried on at home, for instance reading the same stories or singing the same songs or just by returning on the themes and words we used at the playgroup. By hearing sounds, words and phrases repetitively it will be easier for children to recognise them and learn to use them.

Playgroups are particularly important for very young children, and this is an aspect easily underestimated. The first years, and the first year specifically, is when babies are most receptive to languages, so it is essential to create ample opportunities for hearing and using the language early on.

Finally, let’s not underestimate that playgroups are important also for the parents themselves. Playgroups help parents to stay motivated and to be consistent, offer opportunities to compare and review their methodology and also to see the results of their efforts, some children who refuse to speak English at home happen to speak it without even noticing while they are playing.

At the end of the day the secret to raise bilingual children is motivation (which by the way is a key ingredient of success in most circumstances). Parents need motivation to stick to a methodology and be consistent. Children need motivation to speak the language. One of the main objectives of the playgroups is precisely this, keeping parents and children motivated.

See here for more info on the Playgroups that Bilingual For Fun organizes in Italy.