One of the biggest challenges parents of bilingual children encounter is finding ways to motivate their children to speak the family’s minority language. Children are pragmatic, so they use the language they feel most comfortable with. When they realize that they can choose their language and still be understood, they often pick their strongest language if they know that the other person understands it. This is when parents should find ways to motivate children to use the family language, to make sure that the child maintains and develops his or her multilingual skills. For a child to choose to speak a language, the child must WANT and NEED to use it. The motivators differ depending on the age, personality, and fluency of the child. These motivators can and do occur naturally, but parents have the possibility to create or enhance these motivators for their children to encourage them to speak a family language
Every single child is lovable and should be loved, just for existing in this world. Today, my list is about the specific lovability factor of bilingual children, as they are my favourite topic: Create and maintain relationships The more languages bilingual...
Children learn language best through interaction and dialogue, and singing is a great way of engaging with children long before they can speak. All babies love the voice of their mothers and fathers, so the “I can’t sing!” excuse does not fly. “If you can walk you can...
Learn one new word a day in different situations with your child! You can incorporate learning new words and phrases into your everyday life without the need for any preparation or special equipment. To reinforce the learning, try to repeat the previous days’ words by...
"Practical ideas on what to do" is the request I often get when I ask my readers what I should write about in my blog - so here are 21 of them to cover the different stages! Before your baby is born 1. Get used to speaking your language with your child as early as...
Revisiting one of my favourite topics – love for books, and why reading is so beneficial to a child’s language (and general) development! 1 – Reading time is bonding time Sitting down to read to your son or daughter gives you the opportunity to bond with them in a...
Today, having helped my younger daughter pack for her trip to the other side of the world, I was again reminded of how travelling has been important, in so many ways, for her and her sister. Apart from the obvious of visiting new and revisiting familiar places,...
Since you clicked on the link, I presume you are looking for ways to motivate (your) kids to learn new words in your own or another language. You are in for a treat! Whether you are a parent, grandparent, homeschooler, childminder or teacher – read on and you...
Summer holidays = time to relax and spend quality time with your family, but not “only” that – they are an excellent opportunity to give your bilingual children’s language skills a significant boost. Having discussed holidays with other multilingual families, one...
Every child is good at something and as parents we love seeing our children do well. Bilingual children have an added advantage in different situations in their lives – and they often get really good, and – depending on their personality – sometimes cheeky with their...
Question My toddler answers me in the “wrong” language, what to do? Answer First of all, don’t panic – this is something that happens to more or less every parent bringing up a bilingual child, especially if you are the one passing on a minority language. At the stage...