Promoting the minority language during the holidays

December 17, 2025

Many of you have asked me questions about the best way to stimulate minority language use during the summer.

Join a group of mothers who speak the original language: several groups exist on Facebook for mothers who want to go out and socialize;
Travel to your country of origin: there's nothing better to immerse your child in your culture and mother tongue than visiting your country of origin if possible;
Organizes outings to the beach with friends or family members who only speak the target language;
Visit your library and ask if they have books in your language. You can also get ebooks in your native language;
Cook your traditional meals with your child: there is nothing better for forming a cultural identity than cooking together, talking about food, creating a positive association with the smells and tastes of your country of origin.
SPEAK, SPEAK, SPEAK! The most important elements in the literature for acquiring or maintaining a language are the QUANTITY and QUALITY of exposure. So, keep talking to your child in your dominant language.
Listen to/play music in the language in question. It is also possible to teach your child songs or nursery rhymes in the language spoken at home.
And finally, HAVE FUN! The most important thing is to create a positive atmosphere around language learning and to find ways to create positive experiences. If your child sees the importance of speaking the language, they will want to learn it too!

Story Weaver is a free online resource for reading to or with your child at various levels: https://storyweaver.org.in
Kid Crea Story is a paid resource, with an inexpensive monthly subscription, that allows you to create your own stories with your child in French, English, Spanish, Mandarin, or Indonesian: https://kidcreastory.com
The ELODIL multilingual albums are 11 children's books published and translated into several languages by La courte échelle: https://www.elodil.umontreal.ca/livres/