Being or Becoming Bilingual:
Practical Tips for Getting Started and Staying Motivated

By Geraldine Mac Donald-Moran

Introducing yourself or your children to another language may seem like an enormous challenge that you’re not sure will be worthwhile to attempt. Education about the benefits of bilingualism can help remove the veil of mystery that surrounds language development and learning and can help you to make better, more informed choices.

Some families are bicultural and bilingual in make-up, while others make the choice to learn another language and to offer their children the opportunity of doing so as well. In either situation, there are obstacles to overcome; but there are also mutual, shared interests for those who wish to learn, understand and develop more than one language in their intimate environments or greater social spheres.

Specific problems, depending on your starting point, might include: hesitancy to speak or employ the other language (yourself or your children), passive language use, language confusion, resistance to the language of minor communication in or by society, and refusal to share the other language with a parent or partner who has already been associated with one primary language. Some theorists have also hinted that delayed speech and further language development setbacks can occur when children are simultaneously exposed to two or more languages in their early ages and stages.

Many such problems can be overcome with time, with patience and constructive encouragement along the way; but particular problems can be resolved by courage, perseverance, and by consulting with local foreign language experts, teachers and community resource leaders.

If you are a monolingual adult or a parent who wishes to learn another language, the feat may seem demanding, but it’s never too late to set an example and to learn or study alongside your children.
The following tips on getting started and staying motivated may apply to your particular situation and be useful to grant yourself the chance to learn another language, regardless of your age, mother tongue, cultural background or place of residence.

Getting started- selection criteria

Selecting another language based on real, valid criteria may help you achieve greater success at learning and give you a deeper purpose. Why do you want to learn this language? Is it necessary for work, school or travel purposes? Is it a matter of personal interest? Have you recently discovered that your great-grandparents were Italian, French or German, and you wish to identify with family ancestry? Do you have specific social needs on which to base your decision to learn (i.e. you’re moving to a country where your native language is not widely spoken; you’re in a relationship with someone who speaks a different language, or you wish for yourself -or your children- to take advantage of other languages at schools and in society).

If you have the opportunity to choose a foreign language, to learn or teach your children today, pick one that is relevant to your needs and interests but that will allow you to reach your goals at the same time.
Once you’ve judiciously selected a language, immerse yourself in that other language and use your skills as they progress from zero to fluency. Forget shyness: practice does make perfect!

Conscious adults can force themselves to use new language skills, but it’s never recommendable to oblige a child in the home (apart from academic requirements, of course). Positive reinforcement is a great way to motivate children to use their blossoming communication skills: make learning fun with games and interactive tools; praise improvement while always allowing them to progress at their own rates; encourage rather than reprimand.

Would classes in conversation help you or your children learn? Do you have time constraints and need to learn quickly due to work or a personal move? Here are some more tips on getting your kids, or yourself, started:

• As soon as you achieve a basic level of comprehension in a new language, expand to multiple forms of exposure and stimulation: listen to music, watch television or movies (dubbed), read lots of books, newspapers and magazines, attend theatrical performances or community programs and events in the other language; broaden friendship circles, and participate in local clubs or groups that embrace the use of your new language and can help you cultivate and practice skills.

• Observe and listen to others who use your other language at all times and whenever possible; participate in conversations without fear.

• Ask for help through corrections or feedback at the moment when your errors occur, whether spoken or written.

• Exercise your growing language skills regularly, not just at class time or on the days you attend group meetings. Soon you’ll even begin to dream in the other language. Learning a new language is similar to learning to play a musical instrument. How can you expect to advance if you only play the piano (guitar, clarinet or tuba) on the days when you see your teacher or have class time? Exercising your skills is the key to progress.

• Share learning with a friend who identifies with the special challenges involved.

• If you are living in a new country or are surrounded by the culture that speaks your other language as that of major communication, never isolate yourself by interacting solely with compatriots who speak your native tongue: this will limit your progress. The necessity to learn does have its advantages.

• Learn via the culture for more insight into the people and surrounding society: this will enhance your progress.

• Study the language’s grammar, punctuation and syntax.

• Consider helping others learn your native language. Teaching a language to others may improve your own learning strategies.

For families who are not already bilingual in make-up...

Aside from the above points, what else might you need for you or your children to become bilingual?

• Interest, initiative, willingness to actively participate, and the desire to learn are good starting points for you, and/or your children, to become bilingual.

• Secondarily, you’ll need to research your language options, access and gather resource materials (these don’t need to be expensive or fancy), involve your partner/children in the process, maintain consistency, set goals for yourselves and continue practicing until you reach those goals, and remember to allow for progress at individual speeds and capabilities.

• Use computers and the Internet as powerful tools that can be harnessed to suit your needs and learning styles. Public libraries, where available, can also be immensely helpful places.

• Enlist the help of friends, neighbors, teachers, and associations that represent or use your other language. If they know the language, they might be willing to help you in some way.

• Investigate further about human resources that are available in your community (groups, clubs, networks, activities) and attend as many functions as possible, at least until you achieve your expectations - which can be set as small as conjugating a verb into all its proper tenses and using that verb correctly, or as large as reading and comprehending your, or your child’s, first novel-length book (or children’s picture book) in the other language.

For families who are bilingual in make-up and wish to stay motivated...

It may seem natural or downright easy at times, but there can be moments when using more than one language at home is tricky. Speaking one language with your life partner, a second language with your children, and perhaps a third with company or the larger society (or extended family members) can get you tongue-tied, or at least tired! How do you tackle that occasional fatigue and keep a positive attitude about the gift of bilingualism?
Silence can be wonderful, so when you need to break from the constant mental buzz involved in multiple language use, carry out silent or purely physical activities and catch your breath. Then…

• Use your languages lavishly- as the gift that keeps on giving to your children.

• Involve extended family members to participate in events and outings with you: writing e-mails or letters (if long distance), playing and reading at story time, or retelling tales of folklore are great ways for grandparents to stay actively involved while using their native languages with grandkids. Relate to each other through continuous communication and forge stronger family ties too!

• Consider bilingual education (or immersion) for your children. Check what’s available.

• Expose your children to multiple learning situations by accessing and utilizing all available community resources.

• Participate with your children at events and activities that involve your native and/or other language use (volunteer to read stories to the class, help out in the library or in class, have planned play dates that encourage communication between your kids and their guests).

• Limit television, videogames and solitary computer-game use: spend free time in a variety of ways that exclude passive TV use and include communication or actively relating to others.

• Make agreements with your partner and children about language use at home (i.e. at home you might speak your native language, or the language of minor social communication; yet, when guests are present in your home you will speak their language, which would be the language of major social communication). Also, each parent may wish to speak his or her native language with the children at all times; which can help children identify language use with each parent.

• Use your language(s) in all the many different forms of expression: verbal, written, theatrical, song and music, literature and the many different genres, play and conversation. Celebrate your languages!

• Use and practice your language(s) in a multiplicity of settings and situations: play, work, home, public, with friends, in games and recreational activities, with company and extended family members.

• Amplify and broaden friendships or social circles to include other people who use your native, second or other languages. Don’t be timid!

• Be an example for your children; admit and correct your errors when they occur as a positive learning experience for all.

• When your children surpass you in their second or other language, and they probably will at some point, continue to learn with them and from them.

• Read aloud with, or to, your children in any of your language(s) frequently!

• Surround the whole family with reading materials in all of the languages that are used in your home.

• Enlist the help of friends, neighbors, teachers, and associations that represent or use your other language for continual exposure and opportunity to participate in ongoing activities around your community.

Being or becoming bilingual is within your reach, and staying motivated is possible when you experience the advantages working in your life and in the lives of your children.

You don’t need a bicultural home environment to recognize the rewards of bilingualism in your lives, so why not start today!

The members of the Mac Donald-Moran family use two languages regularly at home- English with mom and Spanish with dad. The four kids (and mom too) have engaged in French as a third language; through academic immersion, core French and personal tutorials. Working towards becoming trilingual is a goal that we can work on as individuals and as a collective group. Send comments to Gerry: gerry@canadianculture.com. www.canadianculture.com/canadianabroad/

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