Four Tips for Integrating Language into Your Child's Life

Is that a pedantic post title, or what?  As usual, it has been a while -- nearly a month -- since I last posted.  I have to admit that with the tail end of my pregnancy here (only seven weeks left to go, and one or two fewer with any luck) blogging has not been at the forefront of my brain.  However, here I am, back again, and I'd like to share some things I've learned about raising a bilingual child in a more-or-less monolingual province.

Multiple-language learning is priceless, and is worth the struggle it sometimes presents.  The Man doesn't speak any French, and at first I was worried that he would feel left out or ignored if the boys and I spoke French with him around, but especially lately, he has been encouraging me more and more to speak French with the boys regardless of who is there.  As a result, I've become more comfortable using my French, and the boys have become more used to hearing it.  Monster, who is 3 1/2, has even begun to respond (in English) to some of the things that I say.

With all that in mind, here is what I've learned about raising small children to speak more than one language.

1. Embrace your language.  The first step to raising a child who embraces your language is to embrace it yourself.  Monkey see, monkey do, right?  When a child sees and hears his parents embracing their language and culture, he will naturally -- at least for a while -- want to embrace it himself.  Sure, outside influences will come and may lessen that desire for a time, but the important thing is that that child has had a good beginning in more than one language.

2. Integrate language into the day-to-day.  Going to, say, a French playschool, like we do, is great, but exposing a child to another language in an outside environment for a few hours a day one or two days a week isn't enough.  It's important to use your language at home on a daily basis, even if it's just a few words here and there.  For some, this may mean repeating something in both languages ("C'est le temps pour le lunch maintenant.  It's lunchtime now.").  Really, it's what works for you.

3. Make time.  One friend of mine set aside specific times during the day where she and her daughters only spoke French.  Because her husband only speaks English, she made sure this was a time when he wasn't home to feel left out of the conversations; but, the girls still had time to use their French.

4. Find friends.  Let's face it, anything is hard when you feel like you're on your own.  To add to this, a child is less likely to embrace a language if he feels left out and 'weird' because of it.  By finding friends who share the same language or culture as you, both you and your child are more likely to continue with it.  Many communities or regions have playgroups offered in different languages, although you may have to travel for it; you can check out your local (or not-local) library to see if there is a story time in your language; being French-Canadian, we're fortunate enough to have regional Francophone schools that offer a myriad of resources.  And, of course, there's the good old internet.  This may be the best way to find resources in your region.

If you're raising a child to speak more than one language, don't give up!  There are more people than you might think who are in the same boat.  Source things out in your community.  Start up your own playgroup with other parents who are committed to exposing their child to another language.  Create times in your day to really focus on language, and above all, learn to love it yourself.  Experiencing language doesn't have to be a chore.