October is here which means it is time to focus on celebrating bilingual children!
Although we know that childhood bilingualism is fabulous and fantastic, it feels as if many in this country haven’t yet come to realize this (let alone celebrate it).
When it comes to bilingual children, words such as worry and concern are often used: “We are concerned that the bilingual children in this country won’t learn English, especially if their parents speak to them in their heritage languages at home.” We hear the word funding all the time: “The funding for our dual language learning program is being cut – yet again!” And, of course, the words motivate, encourage and inspire are key when it comes to bilingual children: “What can I do to motivate bilingual families to keep using their language(s) at home?”
But what about the word celebrate? When was the last time we called out: “Let’s celebrate bilingualism!”
Luckily for us, we have an excellent excuse to do some serious celebrating this month since October is Celebrate The Bilingual Child Month! Having a month set aside each year to celebrate the glories and joys of something as fantastic as childhood bilingualism is a wonderful way to instill pride in bilingual children and involve bilingual families in classroom activities.
Not sure how to go about celebrating bilingual children in your classroom?
Here are 10 ideas to get your creative juices going:
- Bilingual children in class: If you have bilingual children in class, ask them to share a bit about their languages and cultures. Don’t embarrass them if they are shy. Instead, help them to feel excited and proud of their linguistic and cultural mixtures.
- Invite parents to read bilingual books out loud: Ask the parents of your students if they would be willing to come to class at a set time to help read a bilingual book out loud to the students. The parent can read one sentence or page in his or her language and you can read the same sentence or page in English. There are so many ways you can make this interactive and fun for both the parents and the students.
- Highlight children in other countries: Find some well-made videos of children doing everyday tasks in their home countries. For example, children going to school, helping around the house, going shopping with family and playing games can be especially insightful for students in your class. You can find a number of these on Youtube or ask other teachers what they would recommend.
- Show different alphabets: Many students have no idea that some languages are written with different letters, written scripts and characters. Try to learn how to pronounce a few words in different alphabets and scripts so that you can share them with your students. Discuss the similarities and differences. Even better: help children write a few Chinese characters or Arabic words! You can spend many days focused on how to write letters and words in different alphabets, and you can even invite a bilingual parent to help out. (Language diversity is a focus of many of the multicultural lesson plans available on the Language Lizard website. One lesson includes an activity on children creating their own language using symbols. Click Here to download these plans for free.)
- How it feels to not understand: Invite a parent or someone from the community to talk with your students about what it feels like to not be able to understand what others are saying. Have this person then speak to your students in his or her language. Have him or her ask your students direct questions in the language, using a lot of expression and a variety of voice levels. Have this go on long enough so that your students get a real sense of what it feels like to not understand what someone is saying. Afterward, talk with your students about how they felt and write down these feelings on the board. You can use this list all month in a variety of subjects and activities.
- Have parents bring in traditional foods: There is nothing more fun than trying foods from different countries. Ask parents if they can bring some of their traditional foods and have a potluck! Ask the parents to briefly introduce each of their foods at the potluck so that the others can learn something about each dish. Make sure to have fun with this event: children should be allowed to say what they really think of each food in a respectful way.
- Send home information: Create single pages that discuss the benefits of bilingualism and send one of these pages home each week with your children. The information might be links to articles online or a synopsis of research about bilingualism. Parents are delighted to be informed about things like this. Just make sure not to overwhelm them with too much information. (Feel free to share articles from our blog on this topic. For example, why starting early is best, why even small amounts of language is good, how to use bilingual books with children, and how dual language books help children. )
- Traditional clothing and items: Ask the bilingual children in your class to bring in some traditional items from home which they can share with the other students. Explain to students what ‘traditional’ means and then ask the rest of the students tell about items that they have at home which are traditional to their family and culture.
- Bring bilingual books home: Each week talk about a different language in class and then give your students a bilingual book with this language to take home to share with family. Students feel empowered by their knowledge and cultural awareness when they can share it with others, especially family. Parents can read the English portions of the book and talk with their children about which words in the other language are similar and different.
- Throw a party: Children remember things that involve planning, fun and celebration. What better way to enjoy Celebrate The Bilingual Child Month than with a real, live party. Have balloons, music from different cultures in different languages, and games. There is no need to make everything specifically about languages and cultures. Just have fun! But make sure children know that the reason for the party is to celebrate the wonders and joys of bilingualism.
The best part about childhood bilingualism is that if we start learning languages at a young age, we will have a whole lifetime to experience and perfect them. Languages learned in childhood become part of who we are rather than external things that may always feel a little unfamiliar. Growing up bilingual gives a child the chance to be part of a global experience even before he or she comes to realize that the world is as big and expansive as it really is.
Teachers and families should be encouraged to expose children and students to languages as often as possible, even without a set plan and curriculum. Learning a few words in another language, seeing another written script in a bilingual book, and hearing another language spoken for a few minutes can open up a child’s world in ways that we can not even begin to measure. While these are important activities for the entire year, this month provides a special opportunity to highlight the wonderful aspects of bilingualism and multiculturalism.
Don’t hold yourself back! Make October a special month for each bilingual child in your midst.
Photo credit: Evil Erin
Are you engaging in special activities for Celebrate The Bilingual Child Month in your home or classroom? What do you do to celebrate? What ways do you celebrate bilingualism and bilingual children all year long?