Bilingual Child
A bilingual child is one who has the competence to understand two languages and has the proficiency to use it in different contexts.
Importance of Bilingualism
Researches have shown that bilingual children have increased mental flexibility and cognitive development. If your child is bilingual, then be happy!! Bilingualism helps children enhance their intelligence understand things around them more effectively and mature quickly when compared with monolingual children.
A bilingual child is one who has the competence to understand two languages and has the proficiency to use it in different contexts.
Importance of Bilingualism
Researches have shown that bilingual children have increased mental flexibility and cognitive development. If your child is bilingual, then be happy!! Bilingualism helps children enhance their intelligence understand things around them more effectively and mature quickly when compared with monolingual children.
![Picture](/uploads/7/8/4/9/78496242/3839068.jpg?289)
Benefits of Bilingualism
Have you ever thought about the benefits of bilingualism or the benefits of raising your child as a bilingual?? Its enormous…First of all, it helps to retain your native language and hearing your child speaking in your mother tongue is always something that you enjoy and be proud of especially when you are raising your child in an immigrant country away from your families and relatives. It enables communication with extended family members. When children spend time communicating with their grandparents or extended relatives who just speak the native language, they are not only developing a connection with the older generation but also getting an understanding about their cultural heritage and cultural norms. They will no more feel ashamed of their parent’s culture and will pass it on to next generation as well with a sense of belonging and cultural identity.
Secondly, a bilingual child with greater mental flexibility will be more friendly and will be open to accept other cultures or will get along with other children from different backgrounds. They can consider things from different points of view and with this mental flexibility and mature mind, they will be able to achieve better academic results. Parents do want their children to have a good career and being bilingual your child has greater career prospects having access to diverse job opportunities in life.
Have you ever thought about the benefits of bilingualism or the benefits of raising your child as a bilingual?? Its enormous…First of all, it helps to retain your native language and hearing your child speaking in your mother tongue is always something that you enjoy and be proud of especially when you are raising your child in an immigrant country away from your families and relatives. It enables communication with extended family members. When children spend time communicating with their grandparents or extended relatives who just speak the native language, they are not only developing a connection with the older generation but also getting an understanding about their cultural heritage and cultural norms. They will no more feel ashamed of their parent’s culture and will pass it on to next generation as well with a sense of belonging and cultural identity.
Secondly, a bilingual child with greater mental flexibility will be more friendly and will be open to accept other cultures or will get along with other children from different backgrounds. They can consider things from different points of view and with this mental flexibility and mature mind, they will be able to achieve better academic results. Parents do want their children to have a good career and being bilingual your child has greater career prospects having access to diverse job opportunities in life.
![Picture](/uploads/7/8/4/9/78496242/3719636.jpg?1461374822)
Strategies for families and educators
Bilingualism at home
Family is the major player in developing bilingualism in children because children look upto and learn from parents at the very first instance. So if you want to make sure that your child gets a hold of your native language, then speak to them continuously in your home language. Also, if required you can try a one parent one language approach where you can speak to the child in home language and your partner can speak to the child in the dominant language used in the society. Otherwise a minority language approach can be followed where both the parents use home language to speak with children and allowing children to learn the dominant language from the society. You can conduct activities like reading books, stories, riddles and games in native language which children might find interesting and enjoyable. If you feel that you are not able to spend enough time with your children because of your job requirements, you can even try taking videos of yourselves talking, singing and telling stories in home language and ask your partner to show it your children. Reading aloud anything like stories atleast for 15 minutes in home language can create a great impact on children and this will make them interested in home language. You can also gift them something related to your home language’s art, culture, music, dance or simple bilingual picture books or story books for their achievements and on special occasions. Taking children to the nearest local libraries is another option as these libraries provide bilingual playgroups which would help children get along with other children of the same language background and share their knowledge. Taking children to your community’s clubs or social activity groups will serve the same purpose as it will enable children to engage in activities with other children and adults from the same community in their home language. Is your child a fan of colours…then you can go for subscribing colourful, kids friendly magazines in home language and make sure that they enjoy reading it.
How about making your home environment a bit colourful and lively to increase your child’s bilingual abilities?? Hang posters on walls of your child’s room with different pictures and with words below the pictures that describes it in your home language. It can be pictures of anything like birds, animals, fruits, vegetables, alphabets or counting numbers and ensure that your child learns a minimum of one word a week from the poster in the beginning depending on your child’s learning capability. You can gradually increase the number of words per week including more pictures and difficult words in the posters once they become fluent or get along with the flow. Make your home atmosphere lively by playing music and songs in your home language in the background even if children are engaged in other activities, they will end up singing the songs and learn it themselves. Make your children visit their grandparents weekly and allow them to spend some good time with them. If they are staying in another country, make them speak online every week or even even encourage to write a letter to them or any distant relative in the home country.
Bilingualism at home
Family is the major player in developing bilingualism in children because children look upto and learn from parents at the very first instance. So if you want to make sure that your child gets a hold of your native language, then speak to them continuously in your home language. Also, if required you can try a one parent one language approach where you can speak to the child in home language and your partner can speak to the child in the dominant language used in the society. Otherwise a minority language approach can be followed where both the parents use home language to speak with children and allowing children to learn the dominant language from the society. You can conduct activities like reading books, stories, riddles and games in native language which children might find interesting and enjoyable. If you feel that you are not able to spend enough time with your children because of your job requirements, you can even try taking videos of yourselves talking, singing and telling stories in home language and ask your partner to show it your children. Reading aloud anything like stories atleast for 15 minutes in home language can create a great impact on children and this will make them interested in home language. You can also gift them something related to your home language’s art, culture, music, dance or simple bilingual picture books or story books for their achievements and on special occasions. Taking children to the nearest local libraries is another option as these libraries provide bilingual playgroups which would help children get along with other children of the same language background and share their knowledge. Taking children to your community’s clubs or social activity groups will serve the same purpose as it will enable children to engage in activities with other children and adults from the same community in their home language. Is your child a fan of colours…then you can go for subscribing colourful, kids friendly magazines in home language and make sure that they enjoy reading it.
How about making your home environment a bit colourful and lively to increase your child’s bilingual abilities?? Hang posters on walls of your child’s room with different pictures and with words below the pictures that describes it in your home language. It can be pictures of anything like birds, animals, fruits, vegetables, alphabets or counting numbers and ensure that your child learns a minimum of one word a week from the poster in the beginning depending on your child’s learning capability. You can gradually increase the number of words per week including more pictures and difficult words in the posters once they become fluent or get along with the flow. Make your home atmosphere lively by playing music and songs in your home language in the background even if children are engaged in other activities, they will end up singing the songs and learn it themselves. Make your children visit their grandparents weekly and allow them to spend some good time with them. If they are staying in another country, make them speak online every week or even even encourage to write a letter to them or any distant relative in the home country.
![Picture](/uploads/7/8/4/9/78496242/9256883.jpg?309)
Bilingualism at school
For young children, childcare centres and schools are like their second home where they spend majority of their time especially if both the parents are working. Educators therefore play a vital role in enhancing children’s bilingualism. Here are some tips which educators can follow… Allocate each week for each language depending upon the diversity in the classroom and try teaching and communicating with children concentrating in that particular language for the allocated week. Read stories aloud in their home languages if any teacher in the centre or school is fluent in the particular language or can seek help from parents to conduct a story time at school. Also ask parents to contribute some resources either print or digital in their home language which children enjoy using at home so that it can be used at school as well. Such collaborative efforts between families and educators are very useful. Put up posters showing alphabets, counting numbers or greetings like “Good Morning” or “Merry Christmas” in home language. Hanging pictures and images of flowers, animals and birds with their names in both English and their respective home language will also help. Displaying or reading prayers in children’s home language is another means by which educators can support bilingualism. Conduct music and dance, plays, children’s dramas in home languages. Including children’s popular culture characters in their pretend play and study activities like Peppa Pig saying “Hello” in Spanish as “Hola” and so on will all help develop the bilingual ability of the children. Educators can encourage conversation of children among one another in their native language.
For young children, childcare centres and schools are like their second home where they spend majority of their time especially if both the parents are working. Educators therefore play a vital role in enhancing children’s bilingualism. Here are some tips which educators can follow… Allocate each week for each language depending upon the diversity in the classroom and try teaching and communicating with children concentrating in that particular language for the allocated week. Read stories aloud in their home languages if any teacher in the centre or school is fluent in the particular language or can seek help from parents to conduct a story time at school. Also ask parents to contribute some resources either print or digital in their home language which children enjoy using at home so that it can be used at school as well. Such collaborative efforts between families and educators are very useful. Put up posters showing alphabets, counting numbers or greetings like “Good Morning” or “Merry Christmas” in home language. Hanging pictures and images of flowers, animals and birds with their names in both English and their respective home language will also help. Displaying or reading prayers in children’s home language is another means by which educators can support bilingualism. Conduct music and dance, plays, children’s dramas in home languages. Including children’s popular culture characters in their pretend play and study activities like Peppa Pig saying “Hello” in Spanish as “Hola” and so on will all help develop the bilingual ability of the children. Educators can encourage conversation of children among one another in their native language.