Editorial
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Teaching Multilingual Children
Sharon de Hinojosa, Korea
Sharon de Hinojosa holds a BA in Liberal Arts from the USA and an MA in TEFL from Spain. She started teaching while in university and since then she has taught in Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Sharon is currently an assistant professor at Sungkyunkwan University in Suwon. E-mail: sharondehinojosa@gmail.com
Menu
Introduction
Five situations
Conclusion
Just look at Cleopatra who is credited with knowing between 6 and 9 languages. And that's without modern language teaching methods. If you want your child to grow up bilingually you have to work at it whole heartedly. And it will work. You might try reading the book, Growing Up with Two Languages by Una Cunninghan-Andersson, which shows that children can learn more than one language at a time.
By learning more than one language, which serves a couple purposes. Academically, these people will have an advantages since they understand how more than one language works. Career-wise, there will be more options available for them to work both in their country and abroad. Humanistically speaking, they will have the chance to communicate with many people around the world.
I've worked with children who are fluent in 3 or 4 languages by the time they're 6 years old. Multilingualism is common is Europe where countries are smaller and therefore people need to learn more than one language. The first step is ignoring all the ‘naysayers’ and providing your child with the chance to be bilingual or multilingual. The second is starting young. A 6 month old can understand words. While some people think that that is too young, ideally your child should start around age 1 or 2. Teaching at this age usually involves playing and reading rather than grammar exercises. But look at you, that's how you learnt your native language, so it can be done. The third is sticking with it. You can't just have your child learn another language for two years and quit. The child will forget. They need constant exposure to the language to make sure they don't lose it. The fourth is making sure the child actively uses the language. How many times have you heard people say, "I can understand X, but I can't speak it"? Don't let this happen to your child.
If your child is already exposed to two or more languages and you want them to learn another, follow the suggestions in Situation 1. If your child is only exposed to one language, you still need to follow the suggestions in Situation 1, but do it for each language. For example, if you want your child to learn French and German, you will probably have to get a French and German tutor for your child.
Below you will find five common situations that are found when parents want to teach their children another language. In all five situations, it is assumed that both parents live together with the child. If that's not your case, simply refer to the situation that is closest to your living arrangement. There are variations to the situation. For example if a parent speaks English and Spanish, but lives in the US, they may choose to speak Spanish to their child. Although it is not their native language, this situation would most closely resemble Situation 2.
Situation 1: Both parents speak the same language and live in a country where that language is spoken
If both parents speak the same language that is spoken where they live, it can be more difficult for your child to learn a second language. For young children, it's best to start off young. Although it may seem expensive, the best way for your child to learn another language is through immersion. There are a couple of ways to do this.
First is through school. Larger cities often have primary and secondary schools where children are immersed in another language. Children are often required to start at the very beginning, kindergarten or first grade, so be sure to enroll your child then. Your child will feel frustrated and overwhelmed at the beginning. After all, they were brought up with only one language for the first five years of their lives. But after a few months children can usually understand what's being said. And at the end of the school year your child will have no problem carrying on a conversation.
A second option would be a private tutor. If you live in an area where there are lots of immigrants or there is a sector of town where another language is spoken, you should have no trouble finding a tutor. Ideally the tutor should come to your house at least three times a week. With very young children, a class time of 30 minutes is usually good. The time can be increased to 45 minutes when the child is 5 or 6, and then go up to an hour. If you're starting out late, when your child is 5 or 6, you might want to start the lesson at 30 minutes, so the child doesn't tune out. There are ways to make private tutoring affordable. You might try swapping tutoring. For example, you could teach the teacher's child while the teacher teaches yours. If the teacher's English isn't that good, you could teach the teacher as well. If you go the private tutor route, you will have to keep it up for a number of years. Or, once the child becomes fluent make sure they have constant exposure to the language. If they don't use the language, they will lose it.
Situation 2: Both parents speak the same language and live in a country where a different language is spoken
This is perhaps easier than the first situation. In the case where a different language is spoken outside of the home, children usually pick up a second language at school. If school is not an option, making friends with the neighbours, going to church, or joining a social club will help your child learn another language. Just remember to expose your child to the second language. Don't keep them in a bubble. Make sure they make friends with local children.
Situation 3: One parent speaks the language of the country and the other speaks another language
This can be a little difficult. Especially if the parents communicate using the country's language. The parent who speaks another language might feel like he's calling attention to himself when he speaks another language. Or it might feel strange to speak his native language to his child since he uses a different language to speak to his spouse.
The thing to keep in mind is to get over this fear/embarrassment and speak your native language. In this situation one parent uses one language with the child and the other parent uses another language. The child learns to associate one parent with one language. When the parents speak together, they can use the language they normally do.
Or, an alternative would be that the parents use their language when they are at home with the child, but use the country's language when they are outside the home.
Situation 4: Parents speak different languages, live in a country where a different language is spoken, and use one of the three languages to communicate
Similar to the above situation, the parents speak different languages. However, they also live in a country where a third language is spoken. To communicate the parents may use one of their languages or the country's language. Just like in the above situation, each parent should speak their native language to the child.
If the parents use the country's language to communicate, then they could do one of three things. One: Speak the country's language to their child when all of them are together. two: only use their native language when they are with the child. Three: do a combination. Speak their language while at home with the child, but the country's language when they are outside of the home.
If the child goes to school where the country's language is spoken, he will pick up a third language. If he doesn't, then you will have to follow the suggestions for Situation 1 if you want your child to learn a third language.
Situation 5: Parents speak different languages, use a third language to communicate, and live in a country where a fourth language is spoken
While this might take a little juggling to do, it can be done. Since this situation is similar to Situation 4, the same advice holds true. Each parent should speak their own language to the child. When all three of them are together, they should speak the third language. If the parents speak the country's language, they can use that language when outside the house, or continue to use either their native language if they are alone with the child, or the third language if all three of them are together.
If the parents don't speak the country's language, but want their child to learn, the child will have to be exposed to it. If the child goes to school, he will pick it up there. If not, then the suggestions in Situation 1 should be followed.
These are just a few suggestions on how you can help your child learn another language. There are probably plenty of other ways as well. However, one thing that can be learnt from this is that child can easily learn another language, so don't take that opportunity away from your child.
Please check the Methodology and Language for Primary Teachers course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Methodology and Language for Kindergarten Teachers course at Pilgrims website.
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