SUGGESTIONS:

1. Make a Plan.

The “golden rule” is to do what comes naturally to your family. But, it doesn’t hurt to discuss who will use what language and where, with your spouse, your child’s grandparents, his/her nanny, teachers etc.

2. Consider Exposure and Need.

Provide systematic exposure to both languages keeping in mind the terms, “exposure” and “need.” Children require exposure to a language, but also require a need to use that language to interact and communicate with others. If they have no need to use a language then they will most likely never become proficient in it.

3. Be a Good Language Model.

Be sure to model accurate and appropriate language skills to your child. In many families, a parent may use language of his or her spouse (e.g., Japanese) with the child, believing that s/he is providing a “consistent” language in the home. However, if that parent is only just learning Japanese, s/he may be modeling inappropriate sentence structure, vocabulary, and language use. The recommendation is that this parent NOT stop using Japanese in the home, but that s/he remembers to also provide regular, rich, and varied language experiences in her/his own mother tongue.

4. Variety is the Key.

In general, expose your child to both languages in a variety of ways. Do the things that you typically do as a parent to promote your child’s language development - just do them in both languages. For example, read books, play games, listen to music, watch videos, talk about their day, etc.

5. Don’t Stop!

Don’t abruptly stop the use of one language in favour of another (e.g., the language used in the community). Children require continued exposure to the language(s) in which they grow up in order to promote their overall language and cognitive development.

6. Let Others Know Mixing is Okay.

Let others know that if your child mixes his or her languages, it is a normal part of bilingual development.

7. Have Fun!

Remember that kids learn more when they are motivated, feel successful, and are having fun.