Equity-minded educators recognize the importance of families’ home languages in raising bilingual children and maintaining their home language. They emphasize the value of raising a bilingual child and the importance of maintaining the home language. Research shows that a strong first language can help ease a child’s English acquisition. To support families’ use of their home language, educators should reflect on how they feel when using their native versus any second or non-native language.
To honor the diverse languages children speak in settings where English is the shared language, educators should engage with families and provide resources to help their child maintain their native language while learning a new one. This can be done through activities such as playing, reading, telling stories, doing daily errands, and talking to them in your native language in the household.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, families whose children attend dual language programs should stay in contact with English learners and their families. Educators and administrators can connect with families of English language learners by reading at home, having conversations or journaling about your day, or working on teacher-provided vocabulary lists.
Providing resources and getting to know families’ languages, cultures, and interests can help build trust, strengthen school-family partnerships, and allow educators to make important connections as part of the learning process. There are eight things you can do every day to help your child learn your family’s language and become successful in school: use your native language at home, tell stories and sing songs, share books together, check out materials in your language from the library, and talk about your traditions and culture.
To support families who speak a language other than English, teachers can hire early learning specialists who speak the same language as the families and find materials. Participating in cultural events and creating a supportive network can also help develop home language with children.
| Article | Description | Site |
|---|---|---|
| 3 Simple Tips for Families to Support Children’s Language … | 3 Simple Tips for Families to Support Children’s Language and Literacy Development at Home · 1. Read with your children. · 2. Listen to your children’s stories. | marylandfamiliesengage.org |
| A Guide to Supporting Language Learning at Home | Integrate your language and traditions into your child’s educational environment. Share family stories, songs, and games with teachers and peers … | tessais.org |
| Supporting Families’ Home Language Practices | In this article, I offer strategies teachers can use to create learning communities that welcome and support families‘ home languages. | naeyc.org |
📹 Language Strategies – Best Methods for Your Multilingual Family
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What Strategies Would You Use To Support The Student'S Home Language?
Leverage students' home languages by removing barriers in everyday tasks and fostering content discussions in their native languages. Research-based strategies include using bilingual glossaries, providing background information in home languages, and facilitating peer collaboration in these languages. Closed captioning can enhance video comprehension for all students. Encourage English Language Learners (ELLs) to connect their languages for better understanding of language structures.
Building a welcoming learning community is essential, as is involving students in shaping that community. Embracing multilingualism enriches classroom experiences. Students can utilize translanguaging—using their home language alongside new languages in writing and speaking. Support for home languages helps cultivate teacher-student and peer relationships. Teachers should establish clear language use policies and integrate language skills across curricula.
Effective strategies include focusing on academic language, linking to students' cultural backgrounds, and intentional grouping for language use. By designing activities that intertwine language and content, educators can better support and differentiate learning for ELLs, celebrating their linguistic expertise as valuable assets.
How Can Parents Support Language Learning At Home?
To enhance your child's language-learning journey, engage them with stories, rhymes, and songs from your own childhood. Daily reading, irrespective of the language, boosts imagination and language skills. Teachers can foster inclusive learning environments that value home languages, aiding children in developing English proficiency. Here are strategies to support language classes and at-home learning: Encourage consistent practice, akin to learning an instrument.
Assist home visitors working with dual language learners (DLLs) and explore the Big Five strategies to bolster their learning. Parents can keep their children engaged in language learning by creating literacy-rich experiences at home and considering their child's perspective during conversations. For families of children in dual language programs, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, engagement is key. Tips for supporting ESL include utilizing native language and fostering a positive learning environment.
It's vital to celebrate your child's efforts, making them feel confident and motivated. Establish a language-rich home and wisely use technology. Participate in local English events and reinforce that language learning is a gradual process, emphasizing practice and repetition for effective mastery. Ultimately, dedicate time to share activities like reading, music, and themed nights to create a supportive language-learning atmosphere.
How Can Families Help Children Learn Their Home Language?
As children connect letters, sounds, and words, families can enhance their early literacy skills in their home language, aiding comprehension of the alphabet and sound meanings. Suggested strategies include using the family's language at home, storytelling, singing, sharing books, and engaging with local library resources in their language. Discussing traditions and cultural activities enriches this experience. Research indicates that a strong first language supports English learning, emphasizing the importance of bilingualism and maintaining home languages.
Parents can assist language development by engaging in conversations, learning new words, and discussing their children's educational experiences. This collaboration fosters a supportive environment for English language learners (ELLs) by discussing their home languages, insights on code-switching, and family language strategies. Teachers are encouraged to offer activities that link home language development with the curriculum while welcoming family contributions regarding their children's interests.
The COVID-19 pandemic presents unique challenges; families can continue to interact in their home language and leverage community resources, such as cultural festivals. Effective communication, reading picture books, and encouraging children to share their heritage are vital. Teachers should connect with families to emphasize the value of bilingualism and encourage daily language use, ultimately creating a nurturing educational atmosphere that supports both home and acquired languages.
How Can Families Support Oral Language Development At Home?
Encouraging oral language at home can be effectively achieved through various strategies. Engage your child in conversation by asking questions that require more than a simple 'yes' or 'no' response, prompting them to share their thoughts and opinions, which encourages the use of longer and more complex sentences. It’s beneficial for families to create an environment that supports oral language development by offering diverse opportunities for listening and speaking.
Activities such as reading aloud, sharing stories, and playing audiobooks can significantly enhance the language exposure for children. Importantly, incorporating movement, such as talking while walking, and interactive play, like singing and acting out scenarios, fosters language skills. Utilizing gestures and visual aids can also aid in communication. Families should label objects around the house and engage in everyday conversations to build vocabulary.
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association provides age-appropriate resources to assist parents. By participating in these activities, families contribute significantly to their child's literacy and language development, thus complementing therapy efforts with speech pathologists and enabling dual language learners to thrive in their communication skills.
How Can Families Promote English And Home Languages?
Families and educators must collaborate to support both English and home languages. Engaging families in the curriculum, such as discussing themes like birds at home in their native languages, enhances learning. This article presents strategies for teachers to establish inclusive learning communities that honor families’ home languages while assisting children in developing English skills. Research confirms the significance of maintaining home languages alongside English acquisition.
Home visitors can effectively facilitate this process, allowing parents with limited English proficiency to actively contribute to their child’s education. Children proficient in their first language tend to transition more easily into English. Multilingual families can foster language and literacy development by continuing to use their home language, promoting bilingual skills. Building strong partnerships with families enriches the school community and acknowledges the cultural and linguistic diversity they offer.
Teachers are encouraged to share information in multiple languages, recognize the importance of bilingualism, and create reciprocal engagement with families. Understanding families' languages and cultures fosters trust and strengthens school-family partnerships. Such collaboration ultimately benefits students, families, and educators.
How Can I Help ELLs At Home?
Encouraging families of English Language Learners (ELLs) to utilize their native language at home is vital for fostering their children's development. Parents can engage with their children through reading stories, singing songs, cooking together, telling stories, and having conversations about their school day and the wider world. This practice not only strengthens family bonds but also enhances understanding in both their native and English languages. Educators can prompt families to challenge their children to watch English television with closed captions, promoting language acquisition in a fun way.
In light of challenges stemming from remote learning and varying levels of accessibility, it's crucial to build on families' cultures and strengths. Informative websites and teacher-created videos can boost content accessibility for ELLs, whether in-person or online. Supporting ELLs effectively involves using evidence-based strategies rather than reinventing the wheel.
Given that over 4. 8 million students in the U. S. are ELLs, educators must become compassionate allies in their learning journeys. This can involve simple methods like acknowledging efforts and recognizing progress to cultivate a comfortable learning environment. If parents struggle to assist with homework, they should be encouraged to seek tutors for additional support.
Ultimately, it is essential to remind parents to use opportunities that enhance learning in the home language, while also integrating English learning practices. By combining native language use and targeted English practices, families can create a rich, supportive atmosphere conducive to language development and overall academic success for ELLs.
How Can Parents Support ELL Students At Home?
Encouraging families of English Language Learners (ELLs) to engage in their native language can significantly enhance their child's learning experience. By reading stories, singing songs, cooking, and sharing conversations in their home language, parents contribute meaningfully to their child’s development. It’s crucial to recognize the challenges ELL parents face, such as feeling intimidated by homework help due to limited English proficiency. Teachers can empower these parents by fostering a collaborative approach to learning.
Simple strategies include establishing connections early, sharing bilingual resources, and providing activities that encourage interaction, like English BINGO cards that allow children to teach their parents. Schools can enhance engagement by holding monthly meetings, initiating home visits, and creating welcoming environments through bilingual signage and cultural displays. Additionally, practical tips for parents include encouraging reading, maintaining a study routine, and engaging in valuable conversations about daily life. These collaborative efforts, combined with school support, create a nurturing environment that helps ELL students thrive both academically and socially.
What Are Three Strategies That Can Be Used To Support Dual Language Learners?
To support dual language learners (DLLs), educators should create environments that expose children to various languages through songs, poems, and thematic units. Introducing vocabulary from students' home languages can enhance their connections to cultural narratives while fostering language development. Strategies include engaging in sustained conversations (pláticas) that celebrate children's strengths and interests linked to their linguistic backgrounds.
Teachers can utilize bilingual books, plan verbal strategies, and encourage families for comprehensive support. Establishing a welcoming community and involving students in classroom rule-making promotes cooperation. Implementing small group work allows DLLs to practice their home language and develop English skills through peer interactions. Additionally, using visual aids, gestures, and repetitive modeling supports vocabulary acquisition. Recognizing cognates can facilitate connections between English and home languages.
Best practices involve aligning language objectives with content, celebrating multilingualism, and framing diversity as an asset. Resources and articles are available to guide educators in effectively aiding DLLs in diverse settings, ensuring a collaborative and inclusive learning experience. Finally, training home visitors to support families of DLL children enriches the overall educational ecosystem. By strategically nurturing multilingual abilities, educators can help children fully utilize their bilingual advantages.
How Can Parents Support Home Language Development?
To support children's language development at home, parents should engage in learning activities that connect with the curriculum and enhance home language use. Collaborating with families to identify topics of interest can enrich curriculum planning. Tools like Speech and Language Handouts can guide conversations, encouraging caregivers to describe items and focus on communication during play. Supporting dual language learners (DLLs) is crucial; providing strategies for them entails empowering parents to maintain their home languages confidently.
Activities such as storytelling, singing, and reading together foster language skills and literacy foundations. Listening walks can enhance auditory skills and encourage outdoor exploration. Providing a language-rich environment with printed materials labeled around the home also supports language acquisition. Celebrating bilingualism and educating families about its benefits are key. By implementing these strategies, including praising children's efforts and creating opportunities for practice, caregivers can effectively support their children's speech and language development while valuing cultural heritage and instilling pride in their home language.
📹 Family Language Strategies in Multilingual Families
… four most known Family Language Strategies: – OPOL (One Person One Language), – mL@H (minority Language @ Home), …
Hi Andrea. Your articles are very helpful so far :). I am due in a month, and I want to make sure I have the best strategy in place for my baby girl. My partner is Portuguese, I am French, and we live in Ireland. We usually speak in English together as we are not fully fluent in each other’s languages. Would you have some tips for me?
Thanks for these helpful articles! My husband and I are expecting our first child and are wondering what strategy would be best for us as a family. His mother tongue is Arabic and mine is German but we both communicate in English with each other. We’d like our child to learn both, Arabic and German, so we’d like to use the Opol method but wondering if that will work when we’re having discussions as a family all together or whether we can then also introduce English. Additionally, we live in Luxembourg where the daycare is in French. I’m worried that our child will be confused with an all-day exposure to a language that is not spoken at home, from 9 months old already, and whether she’ll be able to pick up our languages properly.
Hi Andrea, I am so happy to find your website. I hope you will guide me in my journey of raising a multilingual baby. My son is 1 year and 9 months. We live in Uzbekistan. The majority or surrounding language here is Uzbek. However, my mother tongue is Russian. And we live with my parents. I would say our family’s strongest language is Russian, as all of us studied in Russian-speaking schools, kindergartens and so on. And Russian is the second language of Uzbekistan. All my closest friends speak Russian. My husband is Turkish. But he lives and works in Turkey now. And I speak English with my husband. Moreover, I am an English-Russian interpreter working for the UK, dealing with the UK’s native English speakers. So, what would be your plan for us? As for now, I speak English to my son. His dad and his family speak Turkish when they visit us. And during their visits I often switch to Turkish too in speaking to my son. My son’s got 2 nannies. One of them speaks Russian, the other one – Uzbek. My parents speak both languages – Russian and Uzbek (as our family is originally bilingual, and I have been raised as a bilingual child, Russian-Uzbek speaking child). I know you always advise to speak their strongest language to their child, which is Russian in my case. But I am afraid, in that case my son would not have enough exposure to English as we basically do not have native English speakers in our town. No English speaking nurseries or schools. There are international schools and universitites in the capital whose communication language is English.
This article helped me understand all the different techniques. Thank you so much! I grew up in Turkey speaking turkish, but went to a german school at the age of 12 where everything was taught in german and learned German there. (I learned English later on ) I am currently living the US and my wife speaks English only and over the years, English has become my ‘strongest’ language also. My German is still pretty good but not native level. Is there a way my child can speak turkish and german? I am assuming he will pick up English at daycare/school etc. Thank you very much again!
Your article was so helpful. I would like some advice, my husband is Russian, I was born in the US but was raised with spanish but I live in an English speaking country and I been studying Russian for a very long time, I am not fluent however I am pretty advance at a B1 but my son just turned 4 Russian is is primarily language however when I go visit my family, I switch to spanish, I am homeschooling and in homeschooling I am introducing him to english and he understands English pretty well. But from both English and Spanish, he is pretty shy in trying to speek them at times with people looking at him but if we do some English lessons or Spanish lessons he is fine, I usually have to tell him what to say and he repeats for Spanish and English. At home I speak only Russian with my kids,( I have another son who is 1) and with my husband I speak English, and Spanish with my family, on the phone, in person, my sisters kids speak Spanish so my son knows when we go with them I will speak Spanish and to him as well. What method do you think would be the best for me and my family? And if you have any suggestions or advice I am all ears, thank you!!
Hi. I just found your website and I love it. I am pregnant with my first baby. Therefore, I am looking for strategies and methods to raise my baby multilingual since my husband also I speak several languages. Let me explain the situation. I am from Hungary. However, I speak German, English, and Portuguese (I learnt those languages later in my life). My Husband is Brazilian. However, he was raised in Mandarin and Portuguese. Besides that, he speaks English, Spanish and a little bit of German. We are living in Brazil but we speak English to each other. Our goal is that our children learn Hungarian since my parents and many family members only speak Hungarian so it is important for my family. And, we would like to teach them Mandarin. I am familiar with the OPOL method So, I thought I would speak Hungarian to the child, my husband Mandarin, and the child would learn Portuguese in daycare, creche, and then in kindergarten. I do not worry about Portuguese. My worries are more about the family language since my husband and I speak English and we both speak it really well, I think that will be naturally our family language later on. However, I am still not sure what is the best method to implement that. Do you think it is a good idea to use the OPOL method and at the same time when we are all together we speak English so it would be the OSOL but as soon we are alone with the child we switch back to the OPOL method? Besides us speaking the languages. My parents and my family would be the major source for Hungarian.
Thank you so much for your clear and informative articles. I wonder if you have any advice for our situation: My partner and I live in Israel – where the majority language is Hebrew. Secondary languages are English and Arabic. I am English, from the UK. I speak English as a mother tongue, and Hebrew as a second language. My partner is from the Masalit tribe in Sudan. He speaks Masalit as his true mother tongue, Arabic with fluency and English and Hebrew as secondary languages. We speak English together. Hebrew, English and Arabic have different alphabets. Masalit exists predominantly as a spoken language. I’m worried that our children won’t learn any language well. Do you have any tips for us outside of what you’ve already raised in your articles?
Hi Andre, nice to know you and your website. I have been research around 3 weeks about how to raise multilingual children. I found your website and it’s little bit brighten my mind. I wanna ask you about my case and i like to see your advice. My case I am indonesian (speak indonesia language and english, married turkish who brought up in netherlands since he was born (he speak dutch as his strongest language, and his english is better than his turkish, little bit arabic that he is learning now). we have 5 month old baby now and what we have to do ? 1. which language or which method we have to use if we want teach our child indonesia language, english, turkish and arabic (dutch language our child will get from school) ? 2. Is it really important to speak our mother language or the strongest language to our children instead of english (because we are wondering that since I and my husband speak english at home, so we think english is more important than our own language. and we both dont really like our own language for any reason) ? thanks in advance Andrea 🙂
Hi Andrea, my husband and I are really enjoying your articles and language strategie. They are very helpful and we are so greatful with all contents that you share with all of us. I would like to share with you our situation seaking for guidance 🙏🏻🙏🏻 I, myself was raised in a bilingual family (my father is Jordanian and Mother Spanish: my parents used the OPOL method) speaking arabic and spanish. Also with fluent English, and basic French. Currently I Live in Madrid Spain, and I’m married to an Italian. The relation language with my husband is Spanish. And Community language is Spanish as well. I’m pregnant now, due to delivery and we were perusal your articles with a lot of interest. I would like that our Child can be trilingual and Learn Arabic Italian and Spanish at once at home. I thought about the OPOL for Arabic and Italian at home, and Spanish will be passivley transmitted as it is our relation language, and also the community. Is this correct, or should we use any other methodology? Thanks a million in advance. Sara and Alessandro 🥰😚
Hi Andrea, thank you so much for your articles. They are really helpful. I have a question. My partner and I are both Dutch, we speak English very well and are currently doing an intensive course Italian as we are moving to Italy soon. We do not have a child yet. When we live in Italy, we would like to raise our child multilingual: Dutch, English and Italian. Italian will be the community language. Would you advise us to use a combination of the OPOL and MLAH? Where for instance the child speaks Dutch with my partner, English with me and we all speak Italian outside of the house (of course the child will also go to Italian daycare)? I look forward to your view on this!
Hi Andrea, we live in an English speaking country. My 2 primary languages are french and creole and my husband’s are Norwegian and spanish. We (husband and i) speak english to each other. The kids speak french to me from birth (they are fluent). Now im homeschooling them in English. Dad wants to speak Norwegian to them, that is his mother tongue. We are not sure what method to use for dad.
Hi, I do not have children but was raised speaking some German at home. I’d like to do the same with my kids some day. I’m curious- if I speak German and my partner does not understand it, would the “accessory” option would best? I worry that if we tried one person one language, my partner would not understand what I was saying to the child and this could be problematic?
Hi Andrea, I would like your advice on our family language strategy. We live in Hungary, I speak one week Russian and one week English to my child. My husband speaks Hungarian. My husband and I communicate in English. I would like to introduce Ukrainian as well. Do you think the accessory method would work in this case? And should I start now (she is 2,5) or wait until the other languages develop a bit more?
Hi Andrea, I really like your website. It’s extremely helpful to understand the different options I have in raising my child multilingually. Still I have a question I am not sure about yet. My family situation is as followed: my partner and I live in Austria, the community language is German. I am Austrian and my partner is from Ecuador. We speak together in English(both c1-c2 level), which is the second language for both of us. I speak Spanish fairly well (b2-c1) and my partner speaks German well as well. As German is the majority language I am more concerned about Spanish and English. I would like to keep on speaking English with my partner(as this is our relationship language) and would like the children to learn it passively(furthermore the likelihood of the children learning English is very high due to exposure in school and relatives (grandparents and aunts/uncles live in the us). But with spanish I am undecided. Should I speak to the Baby in Spanish even though my Spanish is not perfect and with a clear accent? I am worried that my children wont pick up spanish solely by the dad speaking to them(as I am most of the time at home). But because my Spanish is not perfect and with an accent I am worried that this might harm the speech development of the children as well. What do you and the community think? Which method would you recommend in our communication? Thanks a lot!
Hi Andrea. We really need your help! My husband and I want to raise our daughter bilingual. We both have spanish as mother tongue and it is the mayority language too but we have always spoken in english between us. We both feel confident with english, but I prefer spanish to build a relationship with my daughter, so OPOL is not an option. Does the last method work well with babies? Can they actually tell I`m putting something on? Would it work to have the night time routine in english for example? Thanks in advance!
We are expecting a baby with my fiance and we do not know what strategy to choose. I am Polish, he is Spanish. We live in Poland. I absolutely would like my child to know two languages. Please help! There are so many methods and pieced of advice that you can go crazy! 🙂 * my spanish fiance doesn’t speak polish at all. I speak spanish fluently. Not perfectly like native, I would say c1. We speak with my fiance spanish. Eliza
Hello Andrea. Your website is so amazing and I learn a lot from your article. I have a question about mLaH strategies, I think it is a very useful way for monolingual family lives in other countries,, but it seems that this strategy could only raise children bilingual(minority language at home and majority outside), how can this case of family raise children trilingual?
hello and thank you soo much for your amazingly helpfull articles.. here goes our situation.. baby maya: hope to have her in 5 months… 🙂 me (husband): native turkish + C2 english my wife : native ukrainian + B2 turkish + B1 english realtionship language: turkish community language: migrating to usa very soon our goal for maya: english + ukrainian + turkish my strategy (which i summed up from your articles) for the first year of baby’s life is : – OPOL for 4-6 years.. – First 6 months: expose baby to english with some songs and youtube kid articles.. (5-15 min. everyday) – Second 6 months: send baby to 3 hours american daycare to expose her to english directly.. do you think thats a good plan ? thank you in advance.. have a nice day. ps: you should immediately add super like or smthg like that to your website.. 😉