Aussie Plus!

‘Down Under’ with more than one language

By Irma Lachmund

Bilingual Families Perth is a not-for-profit parent network in the Western Australian capital Perth. The network brings together around 300 parents from 40 language backgrounds whose aim is to maintain the family language at home. Irma Lachmund, the founder and chairperson, writes about her experiences in the network as well as what it is like being the mother of two bilingual children aged 8 and 9.

Australia is, after Israel, the most diverse country in the world. 16% of the population or 2.8 million people speak another language than English at home with more than 200 different languages spoken. Most Australians live in cities around the fringes of the continent and the reality in many suburbs is more like one in three or one in four people speak another language than English at home.
I never thought I would live in a country outside Europe, but it was love that brought me to Australia in 1995 and my life changed from a professional to becoming a mother. I did not know all these English words you use for baby clothes such as “skivy” and had never changed a nappy in my life. I always spoke German to my little girl, Theresa, because I had these words close to my heart and could not find corresponding feelings in my English vocabulary and body language.
My partner Pete did neither understand nor speak German at the time. But he was very supportive of our daughter becoming bilingual and he was also keen in learning German himself. Her vocabulary grew fast and his stopped around the time she began to talk, he can still say “Hund” (dog) and “Kuh” (cow), but never really made an independent sentence. Nevertheless he remained keen on German being part of our daily family life. His German language knowledge grew strongly over the years and it allows him to understand most of our usual conversation in German.

I speak German to my children all the time. I always have continued speaking German with my children but during the years I was a bit slack at times and was not always modelling German well. I mixed my languages and then was very surprised that the children did the same. My mother only speaks German but started learning English at evening school when I met Pete. She visited us when my son Miles started talking. He was around 18 months old and his first words were in German, beautifully spoken without any accent. His vocabulary grew rapidly and the children spoke German with each other.

This changed quickly when Theresa entered kindergarten and Miles went to childcare. English took over more and within a few months the children were only speaking English, with each other and with me. I also noticed that all my bilingual friends, especially the families where one partner was monolingual, were in the same situation. Unable to find the support I hoped for from traditional service providers, I founded Bilingual Families Perth with the mission to assist families with the maintenance of the family language and to promote bilingualism as an asset.
The organisation is getting stronger and stronger. It started with a handful of parents, speaking German, French and Croatian. Now it connects people who are speaking around 40 languages. All services are delivered through volunteers. Bilingual Families Perth has volunteer language coordinators for around 20 languages, all who are parents with small children, which means they can assist with a parent to parent perspective. Other services include workshops and monthly social events where people come together to learn and have fun. The children see and hear other children speaking more than one language. Parents connect across languages and the result is a vibrant community of multilingual people – Aussie Plus living ‘down under’.

My children now speak German with me and although their German skills are not at the same level with children in Germany, I am happy with the result. This has given them a good start for improving their German and they can speak freely with our extended family who still reside in Germany. Both children read German quite well and their writing is getting better every day. We know that we are on the right track and teaming up with other parents has made it a lot easier for all of us.
The most important is to make it fun for the children and to realise it is a long process that needs commitment, perseverance and persistence. You always need to look at what you can do instead of what you can’t. Celebrate along the way and enjoy the learning journey.

If you are interested in the BFP brochures “Language Choice for New Parents” and “How to Start a Kids Language Club” or if you are interested in forming a similar network in your area, log on to the Bilingual Families Perth website at: www.geocities.com/bilingualfamilies and feel free to contact Ima directly at bfp@webace.com.au.

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