Motivation, resources, and opportunities! The key ingredients for effective intervention with non-native speakers.

In this post, I address possible interventions that teachers, educators, or special education teachers can implement with bilingual, bicultural, or allophone children. I am referring to children who typically develop in relation to their language, but who are often at risk of over-identifying with a language disorder in school age, and under-identifying with a language disorder in preschool age.

What is overidentification?

This occurs when non-native French-speaking children are referred too often for suspected language difficulties, but in reality, they are still acquiring the second language.

In older children acquiring a second language, adults tend to point out academic difficulties and refer them immediately to a speech-language pathologist. Indeed, academic difficulties may arise because some language skills take many years to develop to the required academic level. This means that a child still developing their second language, or lacking exposure to it, might appear to have difficulties in this area. However, in many cases, they simply haven't yet reached the same level of cognitive and academic language proficiency as their peers who have had more extensive exposure to the language. You can consult the post I wrote about the definitions and distinction between socio-pragmatic language and cognitive-academic language.

It is therefore very important to consider not only academic performance, but also functional skills in several varied contexts in the child before making assumptions about the possibility of pathological language difficulties (developmental language disorder).

For example:

• How does the child understand and/or communicate with their family (parents, siblings)?
• How does the child understand and/or communicate with other people of the same culture/origin (family, friends, doctor, etc.)?
• How does the child understand and/or communicate with their peers?
• Take into account the parents' feelings in their native language.
• Better understanding of strengths and/or challenges at home, in extracurricular activities, at school other than academic performance, and during family outings,
• And much more.

Conversely, very young children are at risk of under-identifying language difficulties by educators, doctors, and even parents because many myths persist. One such persistent myth is that a child exposed to more than one language speaks later, or that one should wait until a child is three years old before seeking help, or that a child should be mixed-language due to the languages ​​to which they are exposed. You can also check out my post on the myths and realities of the bilingual child.

In short, we know that for these children, there are so many factors to consider to fully understand the diversity found in second language acquisition; I've also discussed this at length in previous posts. But what do we do with this information? Once we have an idea of ​​the influence of these various factors, we can implement several strategies to support children who speak a language other than French. And I'm still talking about children who are developing typically in terms of language.

Generally speaking, we need the ingredients for a winning recipe:

MOTIVATION, RESOURCES, and OPPORTUNITIES!

Motivation : In some cases, a child or family may experience what is called linguistic insecurity if, for example, the language spoken at home is a minority language and they have little or no command of the community language. Linguistic insecurity arises especially when proficiency in the language in question is insufficient or if there is a feeling of uncertainty regarding its use. This can discourage the child and family from using the majority language, French in our case, or the minority language if it is not accepted in the community. If the child feels insecure, invalidated, or is ridiculed for errors in their use of French, their motivation will naturally wane. Conversely, they will tend to use the language in which they are comfortable. Motivation is just as important for maintaining the home language as it is for using the second language.

We must therefore strive to value all languages. We can value all languages ​​within the classroom, at school, and in daycare. This involves integrating linguistic diversity into certain routines or activities (greeting in all languages, asking each child how to say X in their language).

Means : A system is also essential, and it must all be enjoyable! Regardless of the language being learned, we need a plan—something systematic and well-established that provides ample, high-quality opportunities to practice the language in question. This system must include: WHO speaks which language to the child and WHEN each language is used. This can be discussed with the parent to ensure that measures are in place to maintain the home language while also fostering the development of the majority language.

For teachers and educators, there are also support methods that can be put in place when the child is in the early stages of second language acquisition, such as the use of visual aids or gestures, the simplification of vocabulary (for example, providing a synonym), the reformulation of a sentence or instruction to be shorter and simpler), and repetition, among several others.

Occasions Once adults, both parents and teachers, demonstrate a positive attitude towards languages, and the necessary resources are in place, opportunities will naturally follow. These opportunities must be consistent and systematic. For example, one could choose to include the language of instruction outside of school to increase a child's motivation to use their new language in a different context, such as by enrolling them in a sports activity.

We cannot control what a child does, the language they prefer, the language they choose to play or interact with their peers in, but if we avoid devaluing the use of their home language and instead adopt an open approach to linguistic and cultural diversity, the child will feel heard, accepted, and valued.

All of this requires close collaboration and teamwork between you and the parents. Furthermore, building trust between the adult and the child stems from this inclusivity and openness.

If you are an educator or teacher, GET INFORMATION from the families. Take the time to learn more about their family background, the language spoken at home and to the child. Finally, remember that you must maintain a positive attitude towards each language. If it becomes a chore, the child will lose the desire to learn.