Raising Your Kids Bilingual?

by Shuchi Mehta

In this article, I refer to the language that you are teaching the child as both the target language (TL) and the minority language. The language being spoken in the broader community is referred to as the majority language or the community language.

In our increasingly global society, giving your child the gift of bi/multilingualism is not only pragmatic, it is also a gift of connection to a heritage, a culture, a whole new world of experiences.

Additionally, research shows bilingual brains have huge cognitive advantages including (but not limited to): increased focus on relevant information, better ability to switch between tasks, improved memory & visual-spatial skills, and heightened creative thinking.

It is, however, natural for parents to have concerns when more than one language is in the mix.

Will I confuse my child? Will my child mix the languages? What if we, the parents, are not proficient in the target language (TL)? How do I encourage my child to use the TL when it’s not what she “needs” in school? And a question I get frequently — will bilingualism delay my child’s speech and language?

Keep reading for some quick answers to these questions and other points to consider if you’re a parent on the journey of raising a bi/multilingual child.

Will I confuse my baby if she’s exposed to more than one language?

No. As early as infancy, children detect subtle differences in the way we speak. They pick up on pitch changes, inflection of voice, tonalities, the various stylistics of each

Tips from a Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist

person’s speech. So differentiating and gleaning meaning from multiple languages are abilities that a child demonstrates as soon as they are exposed (in fact, this process can begin in the womb!).

Will my child mix the languages?

Yes, especially early on, as they are learning language, a phenomenon called code mixing (or code switching) may occur and is an expected and natural part of the bilingual journey. This is not a sign of confusion. In fact, many times, it is a sign of proficiency or competence in both/all of the child’s languages.

My husband and I speak to each other in English and with our daughters in Gujarati. When my daughter was 2.5 years old, she saw a picture of a rabbit flying a kite and said “saslu patang ne pull-ey chhe!”

Basically, she used the English verb “pull” and added a Gujarati conjugation of the Gujarati word for pull “khech” which she couldn’t think of at the time. That’s a lot of metalinguistic processing, but often happens quickly and naturally in the bilingual brain.

What if we, the parents, are not proficient in the target language (TL), is it possible to raise the child bilingually?

Yes, absolutely. It requires hard work and your commitment, but it’s absolutely possible and the benefits, as we know, are lifelong.

Use all the resources: grandparents, family friends who speak the language, participate in cultural/ spiritual/ language activities offered in the TL, sing songs in the TL, read bilingual books and watch short videos in the TL with your child, and if possible, travel to a country where the TL is in the majority. As a parent, show interest in learning the language with your child and don’t forget the culture that goes with it.

Bilingual Children continued on page 86