Raising a bilingual family

When planing to raise your children bilingual remember, every family is different. There is no solution that will suit everyone. Every rule can be broken. Think about what you are comfortable with and how your family works. What opportunities you have and how you can work around those you don't have.

What is Bilingualism:

Bilingualism is a deceptively simple term which means many things to many people. There are many different definitions of bilingualism and much debate over what degree of proficiency and/or fluency in two languages a person requires in order to be considered bilingual. However, for our purposes, we would define bilingualism simply as using two languages on a regular basis. There are many advantages in becoming bilingual. They can be summarised as follows:

Cognitive advantages:

In tests that measure creative thinking or divergent thinking (e.g. imagine you have a brick/tin can/cardboard box – how many ways could you use it?) bilinguals score higher i.e. they think of more uses than monolinguals. (Most tests do not measure this i.e. IQ measures convergent thinking when there is only one right answer). Bilinguals seem to think more freely, more elaborately and more creatively.

[Multilingual children are proven to have superior reading and writing skills in both languages, as well as better analytical, social, and academic skills.]

Communication advantages:

Wider communication –international links. Bilinguals may also be bridge builders between different language communities.
Biliteracy gives knowledge of different world views and values communication within the family may be improved. Being able to communicate with each parent in the parent’s preferred language may contribute to making the parent-child relationship closer and enables parents to pass on part of their own heritage to their child.

Bilingualism is also valuable in enabling children to communicate with extended family.

Cultural advantages:

Bilinguals have the opportunity to experience two cultures, complete with behaviour systems, traditions, stories, greetings….In short, they have two windows on the world.

Greater tolerance. It seems likely that bilinguals would be more tolerant of difference and diversity and less likely to be racist.

This article has kindly been provided by Waltham Forest Bilingual Group - a voluntary group estabilished in 2003 by families keen to promote the benefits of raising a bilingual family. For more information visit http://wfbilingual.org.uk/