While there would be an infinite number of ways to raise bilingual children, the two that stand out to me are One Parent One Language and Minority Language at Home. The one covered here will be Minority Language at Home.
The minority language is the language that is not spoken in the community. For example, if a family lives in the United States and one of them is from Mexico, the minority language would be Spanish because English is spoken in the community. Therefore, one of the parenting techniques for bilingual children is to only speak the minority language in the house. This leaves plenty of time outside of the house for the children to be exposed to the majority language.
Is this the best strategy to use?
The best strategy to use depends …show more content…
If there are three languages involved it is pretty difficult to do it. Theoretically one could divide up time between the two non-majority languages and speak those only at home, however from what I have studied on that those obligations seem to be fairly difficult to keep.
The fourth point, and one to think about, is in regards to the majority language. English is a fairly dominated language in the world and that seeps into raising bilingual children. A minority language of English is easier to maintain than that of basically any other language. Essentially two reasons exist for this:
English is a very important language in the world. If English is the minority language, that by default implies that a person isn't living in an English speaking country. Non-English speaking countries, or the vast majority, have English language at a younger age than our foreign languages in the United States.
The language of Hollywood, music, business, and trade is English. It's everywhere. Kids in other countries learn English just by watching movies that are subtitled in their language. It's easy to find materials, it's perceived as important for the children, and it's used as a sort of a status symbol in some other
The minority language is the language that is not spoken in the community. For example, if a family lives in the United States and one of them is from Mexico, the minority language would be Spanish because English is spoken in the community. Therefore, one of the parenting techniques for bilingual children is to only speak the minority language in the house. This leaves plenty of time outside of the house for the children to be exposed to the majority language.
Is this the best strategy to use?
The best strategy to use depends …show more content…
If there are three languages involved it is pretty difficult to do it. Theoretically one could divide up time between the two non-majority languages and speak those only at home, however from what I have studied on that those obligations seem to be fairly difficult to keep.
The fourth point, and one to think about, is in regards to the majority language. English is a fairly dominated language in the world and that seeps into raising bilingual children. A minority language of English is easier to maintain than that of basically any other language. Essentially two reasons exist for this:
English is a very important language in the world. If English is the minority language, that by default implies that a person isn't living in an English speaking country. Non-English speaking countries, or the vast majority, have English language at a younger age than our foreign languages in the United States.
The language of Hollywood, music, business, and trade is English. It's everywhere. Kids in other countries learn English just by watching movies that are subtitled in their language. It's easy to find materials, it's perceived as important for the children, and it's used as a sort of a status symbol in some other