3 Tips for Monolingual Parents Raising Bilingual Children

In my goal to seek informative posts for PAASSC parents I am often frustrated. Most sites that encourage parents to raise bilingual children is built on the foundation that one or both parents are bilingual. Gallup suggests that only one in five Americans are bilingual. Further research doesn’t even attempt to identify the number of bilingual African American families.

My children are being raised bilingual and while I studied French in high school and my husband is mildly conversant in Spanish neither of these language skills are available to help our children excel in their second language. So how do we as monolingual parents support our children in learning Chinese.

These are the best tips that I have identified.

Dive In:

Find the best way to immerse your child in the language. Some sites may encourage you to splash around and get your toes wet while acclimating yourself and your child to the language. As monolingual parents this is a very difficult jump. I don’t encourage taking your time to explore whether or not this would be a good idea. I encourage you to jump in as deep as possible. Depending on where you live and what you have access to in your community to that may be as significant as an Immersion school, a Saturday class, a tutor, learning on line or exploring various apps. Your child will learn the mos the earlier they start and with the most exposure that you can provide. Jump in – blind if you need to. That is the best way to learn. That is the best way to expose your child to increase the chance that they will learn.

Make Friends:

Prior to pursuing Chinese as a second language for my children I felt that I had a very diverse group of friends – which I do. But I also realized that none of my good friends were Asian and no one that I was in regular contact with spoke Mandarin. In our journey I have established great relationships with parents that are fluent in Mandarin. My children have enjoyed play dates with families in households where Mandarin is the primary language spoken. This has been such a great experience for my children. Whereas they do not speak in Mandarin with me they love the opportunity to engage with their friends parents and converse with them in Chinese. Developing friendships with bilingual parents is a win win.

Speak Mandarin at Home:

I have made several failed attempts to learn Mandarin. But I can say “dui” (yes) and “bu shu” (no) to my children. They laugh as bu shu is often not the right version of no but they enjoy correcting me and they love that we are speaking Chinese. I also have purchased a variety of videos that the girls watch in Chinese. Visit your local Chinatown and buy an assortment of videos. They will not all be the right fit for your child but over time you will have a wide assortment of Chinese language videos in your home. Hire a babysitter that speaks Chinese. Allow them to take your child to the local Farmer’s Market or for a walk in the neighborhood pointing out colors and counting rocks. These are all great and fun ways to bring your child’s second language into your home.

12 Common Myths and Misconceptions about Bilingual Children

The information for this infographic comes from Barbara Zurer Pearson’s book Raising a Bilingual Child.

12 Myth Misconceptions by theberkeleymom

5 Reasons to Hire a Chinese Tutor… Now!!!

Is it necessary to hire a tutor if your child is enrolled in a Chinese Immersion program. The short answer to that question is “no” the best answer to that question is “YES!!! YES!!! YES!!!”

As monolingual parents of bilingual children it is unlikely that our children are exposed to Chinese in the home. It is not required to hire a tutor but supplementing your child’s education increases the chances that your child will be confident in speaking their non-native language, receive individualized support, and address any learning needs right away.

I am concerned that families that do not supplement Chinese at home and/or outside of the classroom are less likely to notice delays in their child’s ability to learn and/or retain the non-native language right away, have difficulty providing their children with simple tools and techniques to keep their children interested in learning and on par with their peers, as well as, the added benefit of connecting with a Chinese tutor that will help to explain certain cultural aspects of the Chinese language.

1. Your Child’s Academic Success also Depends on their Chinese

Once a child begins to show some delays in their ability to recognize/write characters or maintain a conversational fluency comparable to their peers it may be too late to seek help. I don’t want to sound like a pessimist but there are a number of reasons why waiting until your child is struggling may be too late. First, while there are numerous resources out there to help you find a Chinese speaking tutor there is no guarantee that the week or month that your child needs support that your schedule or your finances will match the availability of the tutors that you find. Second, when the teacher or your child makes it clear to you that they NEED a tutor how do you really know when your child began struggling and whether or not their confidence and desire to learn Chinese has been impacted by these struggles.

I believe that it’s better to start early. Try out a few different tutors. There are a number of affordable options. 1) While your child is young develop a relationship with a pre-teen that is willing to read story books and sing songs with your child while you are home. As the pre-teen ages they will still allow you a discounted rate and their own maturity level and skill set will increase in the meantime. 2) Utilize a virtual assistant through services like elance.com. You can hire a virtual tutor that will skype with your child two to three times a week for less than $10/hour.

Build the relationship early to find a tutor that is right for your child so that you aren’t forced to scramble at the last minute if your child is experiencing some difficulties. Additionally, it’s an added perk to support your child with extra opportunities for reading, writing and speaking Chinese outside of the classroom. They can only benefit from the experience.

2. Time Flies When you are Learning Chinese

Many parents begin their children in Immersion programs and they know that their child needs support learning Chinese. If at any point a parent sees their child struggling I know that the decision is often made fairly quickly to look for a tutor or additional supplements to support your child. But then time passes quickly – 1 week (waiting on return phone calls), 2 weeks (busy at work), 3 weeks (the teacher hasn’t mentioned anything else), 4 weeks (your child says they don’t like school anymore), 5 weeks (sticker shock), 6 weeks (family members start promoting their school where they promise your child will excel), and the ball keeps rolling.

3. You are a Busy Parent

Supplementing your child’s Chinese by yourself is an incredible opportunity but one that may overwhelm most parents. As a busy parent the best way to supplement your child’s Chinese is to play Chinese CDs in the car. You can get CDs from the school, local library and/or from your local Chinatown retailers. While many parents are opposed to television there are an array of Chinese DVDs that range from popular Chinese children’s songs, Chinese dubbed American movies, etc. Be sure to begin collecting DVDs early and establish a relationship with a retailer. Some of the movies may have poor production quality or might not appeal to your child. Keep trying and find a style that is right for your child.

While many of us will find creative ways to supplement our child’s learning that doesn’t mean that we will ever be able to help them with their Chinese homework. While it is not necessary and most schools but supports in place for monolingual families I strongly recommend hiring a tutor. Educating your child is a one-time opportunity so no regrets.

4. You Can Move Beyond your Own Cultural Group

I don’t know about you but I have always considered myself to have an extremely diverse group of friends. It’s actually something that many people compliment me on. That’s why I was surprised when I realized not one of my friend’s are Chinese. In fact my friends are not quite as diverse as I thought. Very few of my friends are bilingual and even less were born outside of the United States. For families like my own I see the investment in a tutor as an opportunity to begin connecting with a cultural group that I clearly have unwittingly alienated myself from. I anticipate it will be difficult to explain to my child why I am promoting that she learn a set of cultural norms that I am clearly disconnected from. Identifying a tutor early on in this journey helps us as parents to establish relationships beyond our own cultural group.

Outside of developing a relationship with a tutor families can incorporate celebrations of Chinese holidays at home, cooking Chinese foods and visiting Chinese businesses.

5. Staying at the Top of the Curve

While this may not be politically correct I think it’s necessary to add. It’s time for us as African American mothers to embrace the “Lion Mom” inside of us (tigers don’t live in Africa). We didn’t step out and encourage our children to try something new so that they would be “okay” at it. We are pursuing a Chinese Immersion education in an effort that it will provide our children with a stimulating academic environment so that they will reach their full potential.

Staying at the top of the curve sometimes requires a little nudge. Often we don’t have to nudge our children if we start early enough. We really need to nudge ourselves. Nudge ourselves to raise our expectations. Give Kumon a try. During Spring Break consider a science camp. Join a museum and take your child regularly. And don’t forget to read your child a book every night. Start habits for yourself that will ensure you are giving your child the best gifts for their future.

Where do most Black Students learn Chinese?

Medgar Evers College Preparatory School is a public school in central Brooklyn, New York. Most of its students come from low-income families: about 90% are eligible for free or reduced lunches. The student population is mostly African American and Afro-Caribbean. And here’s one other thing to know about Medgar Evers. It runs one of the largest Chinese language programs for students not from a Chinese background in the United States. About 400 pupils take Chinese, from grade 6 through to 11.

To say the students are motivated is an understatement. “From the sixth grade, I always said I wanted to be a neurosurgeon,” said senior Sadiki Wiltshire, the principal’s son. “As the years progressed, I still wanted to, but I realized it would be better if I extended my network to not just America but all over the world.

“Because of my love for Chinese, I realized that I love languages, period. When I go to college I want to study Russian, Korean and Japanese. When you break the language barrier, there’s nothing you can’t do,” he said. “You can do anything.”

Young Wiltshire, now an AP scholar with distinction, was one of the first Medgar Evers students required to take Chinese in the sixth grade. Six years later, he already has college credits and is looking at attending Ivy League universities such as Harvard, Penn, Yale and Princeton.

Spanish and French are the other options once the students reach the ninth grade, but students can continue with Chinese if they wish.

More than language

Medgar Evers is one of 100 schools nationally that the Asia Society supports with its Confucius Classroom program. “We look at programs which are focusing on a much larger agenda and are using language instruction as a lever to be globally competent,” said Chris Livaccari, the society’s director of education and Chinese language initiatives.

In seventh and eighth grade, the curriculum is more project-based on subjects such as the weather and what kinds of clothes should be worn on different days. There is also an art class once a week in seventh grade.

Role-playing and technology are incorporated into the smaller ninth- and 10th-grade Advanced Placement classes. “We want to teach them five skills – reading, writing, speaking, listening and typing,” said Yuhang Michael Jiang, who formerly worked at IBM. Jiang also began a Chinese chess club, which Sadiki Wiltshire described as “very, very interesting” and “much more warlike” than American chess.

Involving mom and dad

“My parents are very happy I’m learning Chinese,” said Angelique Torres, 11, who also is conversant in Spanish. “The hardest things in Chinese are the tones and characters and the pronunciation of the characters.”

“They are bowled over with the Chinese, just blown away,” said Adilifu, the assistant principal, who has been at the school for eight years. “The parents support us 100 percent on back-to-school night and we have an ‘Attend School With Your Child’ day.”

Wu, the sixth grade Chinese teacher, said the students “read to the parents even if they don’t understand, so they involve the parents and extend the learning when they’re home. A lot of them want to go to China to study.”

Baozhong Ye’s students use 200 to 250 characters in each of their projects, and Yuhang Michael Jiang makes technology part of his classes.

How program works

The Confucius Classroom program, which is almost 2 years old, reaches nearly 25,000 students in 27 states and the District of Columbia. It is only in schools that already have Asian language studies.

Resources such as DVDs, professional development, free interaction, a newsletter with 7,000 subscribers, and a National Chinese Language Conference provide growth opportunities, according to Livaccari, the Asia Society’s education director.

Programs are flourishing in such unlikely places as Oklahoma and Utah, Iowa and New Hampshire, West Virginia and Texas. “That’s the great sea change,” Livaccari said. “It’s become incredibly diverse, available to all students across the board. There are great opportunities and challenges to a wider audience in the last five to six years.”

Each of the Confucius Classroom programs also works with a sister school in China on various projects. The Medgar Evers counterpart is in Jinhua in East China’s Zhejiang province.

What makes Medgar Evers a perfect environment is its unique approach. “We don’t follow the traditional middle school model,” Adilifu said. “We focus on an accelerated high school prep-early college program where students can take six to 15 credits at (neighboring) Medgar Evers College. We have our kids prepared to take the high school Regents (exam) in the eighth grade, which is not common in the city.”

Nor is such performance common in a school, like Medgar Evers, where 80 percent of the students qualify for a free or reduced-price school lunch. These children do not come from privileged backgrounds.

Why Bilinguals Are Smarter…

SPEAKING two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world. But in recent years, scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism are even more fundamental than being able to converse with a wider range of people. Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter. It can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive skills not related to language and even shielding against dementia in old age.

This view of bilingualism is remarkably different from the understanding of bilingualism through much of the 20th century. Researchers, educators and policy makers long considered a second language to be an interference, cognitively speaking, that hindered a child’s academic and intellectual development.

They were not wrong about the interference: there is ample evidence that in a bilingual’s brain both language systems are active even when he is using only one language, thus creating situations in which one system obstructs the other. But this interference, researchers are finding out, isn’t so much a handicap as a blessing in disguise. It forces the brain to resolve internal conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its cognitive muscles.

Bilinguals, for instance, seem to be more adept than monolinguals at solving certain kinds of mental puzzles. In a 2004 study by the psychologists Ellen Bialystok and Michelle Martin-Rhee, bilingual and monolingual preschoolers were asked to sort blue circles and red squares presented on a computer screen into two digital bins — one marked with a blue square and the other marked with a red circle.

4 Indicators for Globally Competent Children

What Is Global Competence?

In a recently published book, Educating for Global Competence: Preparing Our Youth to Engage the World, (CCSSO/Asia Society, 2011) authors Veronica Boix-Mansilla and Anthony Jackson state it this way:

Globally competent individuals are aware, curious, and interested in learning about the world and how it works. They can use the big ideas, tools, methods, and languages that are central to any discipline (mathematics, literature, history, science, and the arts) to engage the pressing issues of our time.

Monolinugal parents that enroll their child into a language immersion program want to raise globally competent children. Here are four important skills your child should have in moving toward this goal.

Opportunities to Investigate the world: Students are given the opportunity to design and research topics that impact our world and connect to one or more of the areas of the content for which they have responsibility. Whenever possible, students are given a choice of topics so their engagement becomes authentic and their interests are piqued.
Ability to understand and weigh multiple perspectives: Students will buy from the world and sell to the world as they become adults. They will work with a more diverse population than we ever envisioned. Their own school experience connects them with students from different ethnic and socioeconomic groups. It is important that they understand that others may come from a different worldview than they do and that seeing the world from multiple lenses may actually enrich their view of the world.
Communicate ideas: Making our thinking or ideas visible requires us to communicate effectively. Collaborating with others also requires an ability to communicate. Traditional literacies such as reading, writing, speaking, and listening continue to take center stage. We can’t neglect, however, the new literacies such as viewing, reading, and evaluating web content; and creating blogs, videos, and web pages since these are becoming core skills for the global world. In addition to incorporating strategies for students to utilize math and arts as a part of their universal language, as well as, adding a foreign language to their curriculum.
Take action: The fourth pillar engages students in authentic opportunities to make the world a better place. High-powered service learning grows out of classroom learning and allows students to feel empowered to take action.

Bilingualism