In a land like Singapore that is a melting pot of cultures, holding on to your motherland can be challenging. With families, cultures and traditions far from you, the only thing that keeps you connected to your roots is your mother tongue.
That’s why it’s considered sacred by many and something you want your next generation to learn as well. However, a melting pot of cultures would also mean that kids prefer speaking in a language that’s more engaging with peers or pop culture rather than your mother tongue. This is why parents have such a hard time getting kids to speak their native language.
But instead of giving up and letting your mother tongue fade away in the house, you need to work towards keeping it alive. This is not just for its cultural significance but because bringing up a bilingual child aids in their holistic growth.
As it turns out, learning the mother tongue in Singapore has become a part of classrooms and associated with academic success. So children don’t need to feel disconnected from it. Instead, it’s now a part of their learning process with homework, exams and memorisation.
Bringing Up A Bilingual Child Is Tough
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Children avoiding the mother tongue isn’t specific to Singapore alone. Globally, children choose to shun their mother tongue and gravitate towards a more popular language as they grow older.
In many parts of the world including Singapore, this may be English.
It helps them conform easily to the social norms, while also keeping up with everything that’s popular. In contrast, your mother tongue isn’t as “cool” as one would want it to be, especially with peers. So, getting children to actively learn the mother tongue can be difficult.
Building A Positive Attitude Towards The Mother Tongue
To raise a bilingual child, parents need to understand the psyche of the little one and then build on the idea of learning the mother tongue.
- Instead of counting the benefits of being bilingual that would help them as adults, talk to them about the benefits they get today.
- Once your child realises how learning the native tongue will help them do better academically, they will be more inclined towards actively participating in the learning process.
- Once it becomes a part of their personal goals, kids are self-motivated to learn the language even if its use will be limited for now.
A Special Connection With Your Mother Tongue Teacher
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Kids who’ve opted for learning their mother tongue are bound to build a special connection with their teacher. Speaking in a different language, learning the culture, songs and games help create a special bond.
Moreover, children also build a special connection with their grandparents who would probably be their sole connection to the heritage language outside of the classroom.
Every child has a different connection with their mother tongue. Parents will need to watch out for distinctive points that their child relates with when it comes to building that connection with the language.
It can actually build an emotional bond within the family and offer the right motivation to your child to pursue learning the mother tongue more actively.
You also need to make it a point to speak the mother tongue than just learning it in school. And that effort needs to come from parents even if the child insists on speaking in English at home. Children who speak the mother tongue fare better with bilingualism. Parents too need to understand this is a long and gradual process, so patience is key.
Bringing Up A Bilingual Child: Set Goals
Before you enrol your child to learn their mother tongue, ask yourself why you want them to do it.
- Do you want to achieve a high PSLE score?
- Do you want your child to move back to your country?
- Is it because you want your child to keep in contact with the extended family?
- Or because you want to keep the culture alive?
Understanding and acknowledging your goals will help you as a family to direct efforts and resources towards bringing up a bilingual child.
Read: No Need For Perfect Scores: It Is The Promise Of PSLE 2021
Raising A Bilingual Child: Be Prepared For Resistance
Children may learn the mother tongue at the parents’ behest but could drop it at the first given opportunity. This is particularly true in case of academic stress or if the child is inclined towards learning another language altogether.
In families too, this may the reason for friction and can create a tense situation. But the amazing part is the fact that our brain does not really forget a language.
For kids who’ve learnt it at a young age, it’ll be easy to pick it back up as adults even when they do not have practice or any memory of it.
5 Tips For Bringing Up A Bilingual Child
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Raising bilingual or multilingual children is by no means an easy feat and it’s more to do with resistance from children than learning itself. However, it’s a slow-burning process and the rewards do show up later in life.
Here’s how you can do it too.
- Play games and read stories in your mother tongue
- Sing songs, dance and play music in your language
- Try different word game apps that offer the option of your mother tongue
- Watch movies and shows in your mother tongue
- Let your child speak to grandparents or extended family living overseas in your native language
Your kids will thank you for your persistent nature and will bring a sense of fulfilment bringing your immediate and extended family, culture and traditions closer than ever.
ALSO READ:
How Growing Up In A Bilingual Home Can Benefit Your Child’s Cognitive Skills
Bilingualism and the Brain: How Learning A New Language Affects Your Child
