What can I do at home to help my child become bilingual? What if I only speak one language? Here I will address strategies and methods to foster bilingualism in the home that can be used by both families who speak one language and bilingual families.
The key for monolingual parents hoping to raise their child as bilingual is to find opportunities for exposure to the target language. Methods for monolingual homes can also be employed in bilingual households for increased language acquisition opportunities. If your family speaks more than one language, please also check out my post, “Methods for Bilingual Parents to Encourage Bilingualism in the Home.”
1) Start early!
Building the foundation for bilingualism begins long before a baby says their first word. Introducing a second language can even start before the baby is born! Research has shown that babies demonstrate prenatal language learning. While still in the womb, babies listen to the particular speech sounds of a mother’s language. Newborn infants seem to perceive speech sounds that belong to the mother’s native language, and foreign speech sounds differently. Not only do newborns demonstrate a preference for their mother’s native language, but they also can replicate the prosodic aspects of their native language in their cry. Babies are born with the ability to discriminate between the sounds of the world’s languages; however, this repertoire is pruned to focus on the sounds of the languages the baby is exposed to. If possible, parents should take advantage of the baby’s innate language-learning abilities and their high degree of neuroplasticity (the forming and reforming of neural pathways) to begin bilingual exposure early.
2) Hire a bilingual babysitter or host an Au Pair
A babysitter who natively speaks the target language is a great way to expose your child to the target language. The child will learn the language in a natural environment through general interaction, daily living routines, and play. This option is perfect for families who already want scheduled weekly child care. Another way to bring the target language into the home environment is to host an Au Pair. An Aupair is someone from abroad who comes to your home country to experience a new country and live as part of the host family to help with childcare and household tasks in exchange for room and board and monetary compensation. An Aupair gives you the opportunity to have someone living in your home that can communicate daily with your child in the target language.
3) A bilingual daycare program or preschool program
A daycare or preschool program gives daily language learning opportunities outside of the home but still in a natural environment. A child will play, learn, and interact with staff and peers in the target language in these programs.
4) Language lessons
Language lessons can be both structured and as unstructured as needed to accommodate the child’s age and level of attention. For example, younger children would benefit from a more play-based method. These lessons would ideally occur at least twice a week to maximize the amount of social language exposure and could be in-person or online. A great, cost-effective online platform is Italki. A parent can choose a native speaker from over 100 countries and also select a tutor that specializes in teaching children. Depending on the tutor, trial lessons start at $1, and regular lessons can be found for as low as $5. Check out my referral link here, where you can get $10 to get started: https://www.italki.com/i/ref/FdHecF?hl=en. Language lessons can also be helpful for parents looking to learn a second language!
The following passive methods come with limitations. Passive techniques should only be used supplementally to active strategies! They can be helpful to increase exposure to the target language, but must be combined with a more “active” approach that is face-to-face and engaging with social interaction.
1) TV, music, and interactive books in the target language
Educational children’s TV shows, music, and interactive books in the target language give the child opportunities to be exposed to the language receptively. Media can give the child access to new vocabulary and exposure to speech sounds in the target language.
2) Toys in the target language
Like the strategy of employing TV and music in the target language, bilingual toys give the same receptive language exposure, with the added benefit of interaction. This interaction is beneficial but still limited compared to a child’s social interaction when communicating with a real person.
3) Labeling items in the home
This method is limited to a child who can read and understand the speech sounds/pronunciation of the target language. Place a label in the target language on everyday household items (e.g., door, chair). This approach is an easy way to incorporate learning new, functional vocabulary in the target language.
I hope you find these methods helpful for your family! Remember, you can raise a bilingual child even if you only speak one language. The key is to provide as many rich, natural language opportunities as possible.
References:
Huotilainen, Minna. “A New Dimension on Foetal Language Learning.” Acta Paediatrica, vol. 102, no. 2, 2013, pp. 102–103., https://doi.org/10.1111/apa.12122.
