Best Practices for Supporting Child's Minority Language Development in a Multilingual Family

“Руль”(Rul’) is the first word my son said almost 7 years ago. It means a steering wheel in Russian. Back then I had lots of doubts whether or not I would succeed in passing on my heritage language and raising a trilingual child. I had exactly same worries you have right now. Would my son prefer speaking the father’s and the country’s language - Italian? Would he be able to speak with his Russian grandparents? Would he be able to speak a third language that I and my husband communicate in with each other - English? Would speaking multiple languages cause a speech delay? Would he mix the languages?

Two years into our family's trilingual journey my worries have doubled with a birth of our little girl. How to share my time between the two kids? How to support their language development, if they have such different needs? One does not speak yet at all, another is already experimenting with making phrases. And another worry, when the first words finally came from my little girl's mouth: What language would my children speak to each other? Would they choose to speak the minority language, Russian, or would they prefer the country language, Italian?

Now the time came when I am stressed more about my daytime job than about my kids’ language development. They reached the very ambitious goal that I set for them and myself. They are fluent in two languages and understand and speak some of the third one. They are 5 and 7 year-old, and have plenty of time to work more on their minority languages. I gave them the tools to continue doing it on their own. So they both read Russian books, play (btw, they love building lego houses for their toy animals) and speak almost exclusively Russian to each other, and sing in all three languages.

Definitely being motivated helped me a lot on this journey, but I would not go this far without my husband’s support and without the following best practises of supporting minority language development:

1. Changing the family language strategy as you go.

It is ok to change your multilingual family language strategy at any time and adjust it to your child’s language learning needs and to your family dynamics.

Before the child is born we all have a perfect plan in mind how to proceed with raising a bilingual or multilingual child. What language to speak and when. But once we have a little one in the arms, things change. We learn about our own and our child’s abilities with every step of the journey. Do not hesitate to adjust your plan. No need to be stressed about raising a polyglot, it is much more important to have a happy child and family after all.

Also different languages need to have a reinforcement at different age. Sometimes what worked in the beginning of the journey does not always work when child gets older.

2. Talking to your child & asking questions.

No matter how old your child is, even a newborn, talk to him.

If your child does not talk back yet, just describe what you do and see. He is listening and learning. I could see great results from my describing-everything-I-see practices, my kids Russian vocabulary is very well developed.

If your child already speaks, ask questions. What? Who? Why?...
I often do it after school or after reading a book or watching a cartoon. Kids are eager to talk when they are excited.

3. Reading books.

In my opinion reading is what develops child’s vocabulary best, because you can read books describing different life situations and covering variety of topics that a child won’t always encounter in everyday life.

My kids loved reading a book about a poney club and learning specific terminology in relation to horses. If not for this book, they would not have known all those words as they do not have an opportunity to attend a poney club.

I would advice to start building a home library with minority language books from the moment your child is born. Just to give you an idea how big your home library can be, about a year ago I decided to count how many Russian books we have at home. We had more than 350 books! And I read almost all of them with kids!

4. Living your cell phone aside.

Wherever you are home or outside - keep your cell phone away. Especially during the first years, you need to dedicate your time and attention to your child. It is difficult to talk to your child if you have a phone in hands. Isn't it?

Make an extra effort to talk to your child at playgrounds, don’t just seat with a smart phone in hands. Describe what your child is doing there (here we are going back to the point #2) How fast he is going down the slide, talk about his feelings. You can play an imaginary game there too. Slides are often becoming my kids boats / cars they going on them somewhere, see things. I take part in it to be able to enrich their vocabulary and it is so much fun!

5. Following your child’s interests.

Children are not very different from adults. If someone is talking about something we are not interested in, we will not pay much attention to it.
If you’d like to maximize your child’s language learning, be aware what he learns best when he is interested in the subject.

6. Watching TV in minority languages and if it’s not possible, just turn it off

I find it a good practice for both kids and parents. Children always listen and very attentive to whatever they hear around them. Even when they play in another room, their ears are like little sponges that soak whatever they hear, even sounds coming from TV in another room.

7. Using variety of language learning resources.

Small children have a short attention span, so it is good to use different games, activities and language input options throughout the day. Here are some of the ideas:

- music CDs

When kids play they can listen to the music.

- kids radio stations

My kids love listening to a Russian kids radio station where other kids call in and chat with DJs

- audio books

You can find the same books you have at home and let your child listen to them read by a different person.

- board games

check, if you can add more rules to work more on their vocabulary or ask your child to vocalize the actions.

- picture lotto games

You can buy one or make it yourself.

- activity books

 

- drawing and talking

This is perhaps my favorite activity for all age groups. Great for working on letter sounds and writing.

Mixing art, material objects and imagination -
a recipe for language development

8. Keeping a book always close to you, so you can read to your child aloud anywhere you go!

I always kept a book in my purse and still do. We read at a doctor's office while waiting for an appointment; in a park, when kids get tired running around and whenever I have a chance! You never know when the time is right ;)

9. Connecting with other language speakers.

I am pretty much the only Russian language input for my children, but it is obviously not enough. Children need to hear other people speaking the languages they learn. There are several ways to achieve it:

- Talking to relatives using video call programs such as Skype, Whatsapp, FB messenger etc, there is a huge choice now.

- Connecting with the local community. You can ask your country embassy for information.

- Weekend language schools are available in some big cities. Kids often not only learn the target language there, but also get extra instructions in school subjects.

10. Singing and telling bedtime stories.

Until recently my kids had a very long going to bed ritual. First I read a book, then we were singing songs, and followed by a story. Can’t say it was easy for me - it was rather tiring! But it is a truly wonderful way to connect with kids.

11. Making your child's language development as a priority number ONE.

Make minority language development as you goal for the first 5 years of your child’s life and you will have less to worry about later. If children know enough words and have no difficulty expressing themselves in different situations, they will use the language with you. Besides you won't need to be stressed about creating a NEED to speak the language. You speaking the language to your child will be enough reason for him to use it and speak it back to you. The only worry that will remain is to continue support the language development as your child grows. Unfortunately kids slowly detach from us making this task somewhat difficult.

You can find more about setting priorities reading my article: http://www.trilingualchildren.com/2015/05/how-to-raise-bilingual-child-parents-setting-priorities.html


I hope my tips on raising a bilingual/ multilingual child will help you!

Good luck !

S is for Supporting heritage language development at home. It is the topic I decided to cover for A to Z of Raising Multilingual Children. Go to The Piri-Piri lexicon website to read other great tips from bloggers from around the world.

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What language should I speak to my child in public? - Multilingual parent dilemma.

Long time before my first child spoke his first word, I asked myself: What language should I speak to him in public, when I am surrounded by other people who do not speak my language? Should I switch the languages and speak to my child the community language so everyone understands? There should not be any harm if I do it (right?), since I am bringing up my child trilingual anyway.

However, after giving this matter a thought, I decided to always speak the minority language to my child and this is why:

Bilingualism and speech delay. How can you help?

Are bilinguals or multilinguals any different from monolinguals when it comes to speaking? Well, yes and no. Bilinguals might start speaking somewhat later; however, the latest research totally rejects a clinical language delays in bilingual or multilingual children as a result of exposure to two or more languages simultaneously.

In "Language development in bilingual babies: no delays, just a few adjustments" François Rochon talks about research of Professor Christopher Fennell of the University of Ottawa's School of Psychology:

Research has shown [...], that monolingual toddlers learn to distinguish similar-sounding words at around 17 months old. Professor Fennell has found that bilingual infants start to do this at 20 months. 

Prof. Fennell doesn't at all believe the "delay" in sound distinction is a hindrance. Bilingual babies are simply learning an adaptive strategy because they're facing a more challenging language environment. That strategy sees them unconsciously ignore some of the sound cues they receive so that they can concentrate on matching the word with the object it represents.

What does it mean for you as a parent?

It means that you should not worry that two or more languages are too much for a child, and that you should focus on how to help your child and ease that task of connecting words with objects. Do not think about it as something not natural and extra work for you. Look at this the same way you look at helping your child keep his balance while he is making his first steps. Come down to your child's level of understanding when you read or talk to him; proving extra explanations. According to the researchers, a 4 month old baby is already learning to connect words with objects. So start early!

Point on the objects while talking about them, and do the same on the pictures in the books, following a story as you read it to your child. You need to catch new words and follow on them explaining their meanings. I often use Google to find pictures of words  that are not pictured in books we read, or when I'd like to provide some extra explanation and show something in details. Pointing is a powerful tool for creating word-object connection. So make a point to point :)  Read also  How to read to a baby?
 
Researchers also found that children have difficulties to distinguish one languages from another, if the languages you expose your child to belong to the same rhythm category  (such as English and German (stress-timed), French and Spanish (syllable timed), Japanese and Tamil (mora-timed)) . Deborah D.K. Ruuskanen, Professor of English Linguistics at the University of Vaasa, Finland, and mother of three bilingual children says:

if there is more than one language in the baby's home environment, then the baby will be learning first to process and separate the different languages, before talking begins.  

As you probably already experienced yourself, there are natural obstacles in the language learning process. So be ready to face this challenge and simplify the language learning task for your child by being consistent. Speak only the language you choose to speak with your child.

If you decided to speak only one language to your child - then do it all the time, without mixing with other languages in direct interactions.

If you, as one person, decided to speak to your child two or more languages, think of the best strategy to separate the languages one from another. You could alternate days or even weeks when languages are spoken to your child, for instance, one day / week Italian only and another day / week -  Hungarian. You could also assign a language to a certain activity: bathing, family meals, playgroups ...  Think of some possible, appropriate to the child's age sign that you can give to your baby, to help him to understand what languages you speak and when. It could be a different color bow in your hair,  a scarf, different picture on the wall. Just use your imagination!

You also need to be consistent with the language you speak to others at front of your child. If you decided to speak to your spouse other language then to your child, please make an effort and speak only that language. This brings structure to the language recognition and, hopefully, helps the child to sort out the languages fast.

Nothing dramatic will happen if you mix the languages. There is a number of parents that does it and they have a bilingual or multilingual child afterwards. However, my position on it: if you dedicate your time to your child, why not just take care of the language consistency part as well to speed up and simplify language learning. I found that naming the languages with their proper name helps in the language separation process.

As you see, there are many variables that can affect when your child starts speaking. My children started speaking within the same time frame as monolinguals do. Since my concentration was on speaking Russian language, their first words and sentences were mostly in Russian.  Interestingly, both children started speaking full sentences in Italian without usual long practice of words. They simply transferred the knowledge about building the sentences from one language into another by modeling the Italian speakers.

If you are pregnant, you might like to know that it is also beneficial to speak the languages you are going to use with your child during the last trimester. Research shows that infants are able to show preferences to and thus, recognition of the languages they were spoken to during the pregnancy after they were born.

When did your bilingual, trilingual or multilingual child start speaking? What do you think helped or delayed the child's speaking in your particular case? Share your thoughts to help other parents who read this page.

Useful Resources:
Language development milestones by ASHA - American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

BE AWARE! Your child can have fluid in the middle ear (otitis media) without you noticing it!  
As it can cause absolutely NO PAIN and your child will not complain. 
READ MORE HERE:  Speech delay due to fluid collection in the middle ear. 

Books about helping children to talk:

Time to Talk: What You Need to Know About Your Child's Speech and Language Development

My Toddler Talks: Strategies and Activities to Promote Your Child's Language Development  by Kimberly Scanlon

The Cow Says Moo: Ten Tips to Teach Toddlers to Talk: An Early Intervention Guide  by Vicky McErlean

Talking with Your Toddler: 75 Fun Activities and Interactive Games that Teach Your Child to Talk   by Teresa Laikko M.S. CCC-SLP and Laura Laikko M.S. CF-SLP

Late-Talking Children: A Symptom or a Stage?  by Stephen M. Camarata 

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7 principles to keep in mind while teaching your child to read.

Parents these days face many difficult decisions, no matter if their kids speak one language, two languages or three languages. One of them is whether or not teach children to read in an early childhood, before the school's formal education starts. Some parents decide to wait,  thinking that kids will otherwise get bored at school, some step in and provide the reading instructions before elementary school  thinking that being "prepared" will help children along the way.

I can understand both parents' positions; nevertheless, experts on this topic see a great benefit in engaging children in pre-reading activities early in life and at preschool. Doing some rhythm and phonic related activities that help children slowly establish letters-sounds connection and  prepare them for more formal instructions.

7 facts that can determine the language spoken between multilingual siblings.

The moment  you think  you figured  it all out and  your multilingual family found the right balance between the languages for your one and only child, you realize the baby #2 is on the way. And everything you planned so perfectly may go the way you were not expecting! Every parent with 2+ kids would tell you that dealing with two kids is much more complex, it's not really 1+1... So, the main question you never really thought of before: What language would the siblings speak to each other?

Planting a language tree. Does passive language learning work?

Our family, like many other multilingual families, follows a language strategy in which parents speak to each other in a language different from the one they speak to their children. My husband and I communicate with each other in English, I speak Russian to our children, and my husband speaks Italian to them.

In our multilingual family set up children are exposed to English language mostly passively with very little active interaction. I always believed in the power of passive language learning; however, I was still wondering if it can bring any good results. My children are now 4,5 and 2,5 years old, and everyday I see more and more

Mixing art, material objects and imagination - a recipe for language development

I  was working on the computer when my daughter came with her wood animals in hands and sat on my laps.
We started playing with her toys saying what they are doing and where they are going to, and suddenly I picked a piece of paper and a marker that my son left before and started drawing with my daughter.

I made a blue river with green fields for her cow, a barn for her pink pig, dirt for them to have a bath. We went wild! I was drawing and we were making up the stories about what her toys do and where they are going.

Just by chance I discover a simple game that is so beneficial to the language development. You mix material objects (the toys), art and your imagination! This makes the game so special and fun.

I will do it again for sure!


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Walking with your bilingual baby and showing him the world
"No English!" Motivation is the key.  
How much time do we have to influence a child's minority language development? 
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What language should I speak to my child in public? - Multilingual parent dilemma.

How to prepare yourself to be a speaking model for your child.

You are abroad and talking to your friends in your mother tongue. The first thing you realize is that the way you just constructed the sentence can not possibly fit the word you just intended to use in your language. Ideally you should rephrase everything again, but you just replace the mother tongue word with the English one or another one from some other language that you both know. Everyone understands, no sweat.

This situation and code switching in general cause no problem until you need to either work using your mother tongue, or  teach your child to speak your language and that language is a minority one.

Should I correct my child speaking?

When my son started saying his first words, I remember I asked myself: Should I correct my child speaking? It is probably a typical question of all the parents who either they raise a monolingual, bilingual or multilingual child.

My answer now is Yes! Definitely and especially if you are the ONLY language model for your child. If you correct your child speaking from the time he pronounces his first words he will accept it as a norm. If you wait too long and start correcting him too late, the child might feel self - conscious about talking.

When my son started speaking I was repeating the first the words after him, articulating the way they should be pronounced. Later I was modeling the correct sentences.

Most of the time I just use the correct words in my question or in reply by saying "Oh! it is true. ... " , using the correct sentence instead of dots. When no hidden ways of corrections are possible -- however, it is important to correct -- I just say "You should say: ....".  I use the direct correction sparely and prefer to use the indirect ways instead.

When I feel my children are receptive, I ask them to look at my mouth to see the tongue positioning when I pronounce sounds and words. The kids like to repeat after me. I do not insist though.

It is clear that children can not pronounce all the words and build the sentences correctly right away. It is important to remember not to over correct them. By the age of 5, independently on the language they speak, the pronunciation should in most cases be fully established. I still have one year ahead of me to help my child to master his.

There are two very important rules when you correct somebody (a baby or an adult):

whatever you do, never repeat the incorrect word, phrase or sentence. Just say the correct way right away.  Modeling the correct sentences works best.

And do not interrupt a speaking person in the middle of the sentence. The interruption can have adverse affect on child's talking. It is important to maintain his words flow.



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Ha ha ha or correcting your child's pronunciation problem.


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Bilingualism and speech delay. How can you help?


What language should I speak to my child in public? - Multilingual parent dilemma.


7 principles to keep in mind while teaching your child to read.

Being proactive in exposing your bilingual child to the new vocabulary

I find it good to be proactive in introducing vocabulary to my already bilingual children.

If you see your child is playing, let's say, with boats, try to provide the needed vocabulary in the language you are exposing your child to. Play, talk, read books about boats, show cartoons and documentaries on the topic. He will absorb the words faster as he uses them in his games over and over again.

It is always better that your child learns new words in the minority language before they will be introduced in the country language. Thus, your child will use them at the back of his mind even when he is immersed in the majority language environment (kindergarten).

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How to read to a baby?
 
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The Best Way to Start Building Your Bilingual Child's Vocabulary Is by Taking Your Baby On a Stroll.

You are new to the country, and do not have friends yet. You have your little baby, whom you decided to raise bilingual, and nobody else to share your thoughts with. Do not be sad, surely you will find new friends soon....But right now you can spend more time developing your child memory, attention and vocabulary by talking with him while you take walks...you have all the time in the world.

Even if he is still a six month old baby, you can start showing him the wonders of this world. Try to look at the things around you as if you have never seen them. That is exactly how he looks at everything. All is new to your child and you should name what he sees.

Look together at the different shapes and colors around you. The beautiful cuts of the  leaves of the trees, flowers, insects running on the ground. And even if you live in a city and you are surrounded by buildings don't be discouraged: find interesting objects around you. A city surely provides with great "study material" as well. There are different brands of cars, shops with all sort of geometrical figures, buildings, so on and so forth. Name them all for your child.

Always remember not to judge what you see. A pipe sticking out from the ground could be an interesting object for a kid, as well as a car falling apart or a tree without leaves. These images are certainly ugly to you, but will be undoubtedly interesting to your child.

Do not rush, stop to show and talk about every little thing you pass by. Remember you are also teaching your child new words in your language (the minority language)!


You might also like reading:

How to prepare yourself to be a speaking model for your child.

How much time do we have to influence a child's minority language development? 

Planting a language tree. Does passive language learning work?  

Virtual babysitters or Preserving grandchild - grandparent bond and keeping up the minority language with video calling

I love modern technology!
One mouse click and your loved ones are in the living room with you.
The distance between people shortens in a second making the grandchild-grandparents relationship possible to develop even when they are far away from home.

The grandparent-grandchild bond is very important especially for a child's minority language development. The grandparents can help you in your task of multilingual education. Grandchildren can see and talk to the grandparents, share their special moments (for example, Birthdays, New Years, you name it!). Grandparents can always be  near your the child from the infancy to the adulthood.

Since the children were born, my video calling usage increased dramatically.  My parents help me a lot via Skype. They keep the kids happy and occupied with activities when I am busy preparing a meal or stepping out to get a mail. Both of my kids liked to be soothed to sleep by the grandma while sitting in the swing, it was giving something special to both of them and for me - some free time to do the house errands.

I lost count of how many evenings the grandparents were watching after and reading a bed story to the older kid, while I was feeding and putting to sleep the little one. 

My parents talk, read, sing, play musical instruments via Skype.

Do not underestimate what your parents or relatives can do for you from far away. Try to connect with them more often using video calling.


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