When Multilingual Learners Refuse to Speak Their Home Language
By Judie Haynes
Haynes begins her TESOL blog post with the story of a Japanese boy who spoke only English and refused to speak his parent’s native language by age nine. He could not converse with his grandparents when they visited, and when his family returned to Japan, he struggled in school. This language loss often occurs gradually.
To mitigate the problem, the author recommends that schools, “…make an effort to celebrate bilingualism and promote the benefits of bilingualism.”
She lists strategies that teachers can share with parents about how to maintain the home/heritage language.
- Stress the importance and advantages of being bilingual.
- Play music, and watch television and movies in the parents’ language.
- Speak the language at specific times in the evening.
- Socialize with others in the community who speak the language.
- Celebrate holidays from the home country, and Facetime with family who live overseas.
- Watch sportscasts from the parents’ home country.
Haynes closes by stating that “As an educator, you can help your families to support their children in retaining their heritage language. Encourage the activities in the preceding list and take many opportunities to celebrate multilingualism!”
Judie Haynes was president of NJTESOL/NJBE 2010-2012. She taught elementary ESL for 28 years and is the author and coauthor of eight books for teachers of MLs. She writes monthly blogs for the TESOL International Association.