MAKING THE BEST LANGUAGE CHOICE FOR YOUR FAMILY

It is vital to weigh personal, local, and global factors when deciding which language to teach your children (not necessarily giving equal weight to each). At least for English-speaking parents in the United States, Spanish is the top choice. There are millions of Spanish speakers in all parts of the country, making Spanish the unofficial second language of the United States. Think about how often you have to press "one for English, two for Spanish" on automated telephone systems! As a result, there are many opportunities to form bilingual parent and child playgroups, to organize language-focused babysitting clubs, or attend cultural events in Spanish. Furthermore, most bilingual education programs in U.S. cities are Spanish-based (i.e., Spanish-English bilingual education). Likewise, bilingual high school students have an edge when searching for a summer job because there is a great demand for Spanish-English bilinguals.

Some parents find another language better suited to their needs. The question for you is, "Is there a language I would like to learn with my child?" It would be a good idea to start here. You might want to try Chinese, French, Portuguese, etc.

-In order to start with this challenge, should you invest in a bilingual daycare or a nanny? We will discuss why a nanny with special training is a good fit for a family who is looking for raising a bilingual kid.

Let's take a look at some Chinese choices for parents:

There are some parents who choose to hire a nanny who speaks the language. In the case of a nanny who is trained in teaching or has a passion for teaching, she could provide valuable input. The additional expense would be worth it. In order to hire a Chinese (or any other language)-speaking nanny, you may have to make financial sacrifices. Parents who believe Chinese will be the next hot language will pay a premium for a nanny who speaks Chinese.

Another reason this family chose Chinese was because the city where they live has a lot of Chinese speakers, so they could easily find a nanny and a replacement nanny, as well as schools and cultural activities to supplement their efforts as the child gets older. Other people may choose Italian because they live in a neighborhood where Italians live. etc. To keep going bilingual, there should be something that connects with you.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution for every family and situation. Parents who are undecided, however, have good news as well. Children can gain a bilingual advantage from any two languages than one. There is no difference between Spanish-English, Croatian-Taiwanese, Arabic-French, or Portuguese-Japanese language pairings. The cognitive benefits of bilingualism accrue to children who reach high proficiency levels in two languages. In spite of this, there is some evidence that the more different the languages, the greater the advantages. Learning Russian, Mandarin, or Greek in conjunction with English might provide additional benefits, since these languages use entirely different scripts or writing systems, than English.

Summary of Mamaestra

It is a personal and intimate decision about which language is best for your child. It's also very important. It is important to consider all of the available resources of your home, neighborhood, and community carefully before you invest time, energy, and effort into language learning. Every family and every decision is unique, of course. In order to make the best language learning decisions, we must carefully weigh the personal (how do we feel about using this language? ), the local (what opportunities are available?), and the global (what incentives are available? ). Despite the fact that there is no one-size-fits-all answer out there for all families, there is the best answer for yours.

POINTS TO REMEMBER:

Choosing a language depends partly on the family (what language skills do the parents have and how do they feel about it?) and partly on the broader community (which languages offer opportunities and incentives?).
There are many baby signs programs that focus on sign vocabulary but do not include sign grammar. The learning of baby signs is different from learning a second language unless your child has been exposed to a natural sign language like ASL.
It is a deeply personal decision to choose a language.
It is important for parents to consider their own feelings carefully and speak honestly about these issues with everyone involved in their child's care.
Choosing a language is not as important as sticking with it, as knowing a few words of a language has very few benefits.

Mamaestra MUSIC