My husband often says, we may have made a lot of mistakes parenting, but the one thing we did right was teaching our kids a second language. It’s no secret that knowing a second language is beneficial to the child, and so easy for them to pick up when they’re young. But our first language is English and neither of us are fluent at a second language. Yet we’re raising bilingual children, and sometimes they even teach us new words. Here’s what we’ve learned about how to raise bilingual children, as non-native speakers.
Lets start by saying, it’s not easy! And it’s an ongoing process. (Hubby and I are both the children of Korean immigrants, so I’ll be referring to Korean as the second language in this post, but the methods we used are applicable to any second language.) We have a basic knowledge and understanding of the language which definitely helps, but we are by no means fluent ourselves. In fact, hubby and I both probably speak Korean at about a 3-year-old level. (Yes, seriously.) But we have a major advantage by living in a metropolitan area with a large immigrant population. Keep reading to find out why…
Here’s how to raise bilingual children – all the things we did, and are still doing, to make this magic happen.
1. Speak the language at home, to the best of your ability.
This was weird for us, and probably the hardest thing to implement. We always speak to each other in English, always have (and still often do, because again, we speak Korean at a 3-year-old level.) But when our oldest child was starting to talk, we realized it was something we had to do, and it was a non-negotiable if we were serious about teaching her the language. Which leads us to…
2. Start while your babies are still babies.
Start while your babies are still babies. And if they’re not babies anymore? Start now, start today. The younger they are, the easier it is for them to learn, and it also normalizes speaking the second language. It may be strange, uncomfortable even, to make the switch. But set it as a new house rule and stick to it, because you will need to reinforce this rule often.
3. Read books in the second language, even if you have to translate them yourself.
Baby books are awesome for this, because they’re simple, clear and easy to translate on the fly. We know most (not all!) of the words in First 100 Words for in Korean, so that’s how we “read” it. Elephant and Piggy books by Mo Willems are also great because of the short sentences structure and repetition. Also, they’re just entertaining. Check your public library as they might have childrens books in foreign languages available to borrow.
4. Spend time with the grandparents (or other native speakers.)
I know this isn’t an option for everyone, but in our case, the grandparents are local, and Korean is their first language. We see a lot of them (a lot) and one of the benefits is that the kids are exposed to people who actually are fluent in the language. As far as they know, Grandma and Grandpa only speak Korean.
5. Enroll your child in a weekend language school.
We’re fortunate enough to live in a diverse area with lots of weekend language schools. Our daughter’s Korean school is one of many, and takes up 3 hours every Saturday morning. This is prime time for other activities and sports, but we think the trade off is worth it (so far!)
6. Ask others to help.
Our daughter’s piano teacher is Korean, and we’ve asked her to teach lessons in the language. The local grocery store has a Korean cashier – I try to check out in her lane so the kids can greet her and talk in Korean. If you have a nanny, caretaker, teacher, etc. who is a native speaker, ask them to talk to your child in that language.
7. Make any media they consume in the second language.
When our oldest was a toddler, we spent a small fortune purchasing Disney movies on DVD from Korea, and having them shipped to our house. No need anymore. Now, if the kids are watching Netflix, we change the language to Korean, no matter the show. There are also many language specific websites available that will help reinforce the language they are hearing at home. Take advantage of this available technology.
8. Travel to a country that speaks the language.
Language immersion not only has the benefit of teaching the language, but also the culture as well. We haven’t taken our kids to Korea yet (it’s on the list) but I know from personal experience that it will be life-changing. I hope it will make them proud that they are able to communicate with others while there, and that it will encourage them to continue speaking and learning the language at home.
I hope at least some of these strategies on how to raise bilingual children will be applicable to your family, and I welcome new suggestions as well! The kids will thank us someday for all our efforts… (right?)
Top photo credit – by Shitota Yuri
