The Benefits of Raising Your Child Bilingual
This March, my partner and I had a baby. There are so many things to consider when having a child, one of which is what language or languages should the child learn. As I am a native English speaker and he is a native Spanish speaker, we thought it would be best to teach our daughter languages using the One Person One Language (OPOL) technique. Studies by Annick De Houwer who investigated more than 2000 families, concluded that 75% of the children brought up with the OPOL approach became bilingual depending on how strictly it was followed. There are so many ways to teach your child language but what are the benefits?
The benefits of being a bilingual child include:
So what are some reasons for not teaching your child multiple languages? There are many myths associated with bilingual children. Some people think using more than one language to communicate will confuse the child, delay their speech development, or they will mix the two languages. All of this are simply not true. Others think it is too late to teach your child more than one language. Again, this is a myth.
So if you are going to teach your child more than one language, here are a few pointers:
Set realistic goals
Be consistent
Correct them
Read to then every day
Travel
Remember, language learning opens up so many opportunities for your child. It’s worth the investment!