Strategies for sustainable bilingualism and what to avoid

In a previous post , I shared with you the key ingredients for successful intervention with bilingual children. Now, I want to distinguish between strategies to encourage, strategies to avoid, and recommendations that can be given to families when developing a plan with them for sustainable bilingualism.

In speech-language therapy interventions for bilingual or allophone children with language difficulties, I consistently advocate for maintaining the mother tongue for all its benefits. Furthermore, speaking the mother tongue is often a necessity, not a choice For example, when the parents themselves only speak their native language and are still learning the language of their host country. This use of the mother tongue is a necessity for survival, for maintaining communication with their child, and not a choice! For these families, there is no choice or strategy; each parent speaks their native language.

Let's now consider a family from Haiti, where French and Creole are spoken fluently. In this example, the parents primarily speak Creole at home, with a few words of French here and there. Imagine that the child in this family is referred for a speech-language pathology assessment because there are concerns about their French language skills. What often happens in these cases, regardless of whether the child actually has a language disorder or not, is that those around the child—the teacher, educator, doctor, sometimes even speech-language pathologists (yes, really!)—will recommend focusing on the language of instruction. This misguided but persistent recommendation reflects the idea that using ONE language is the one to adopt, but is often misinterpreted in the context. In my experience, those wanting to help the family often provide recommendations that are not supported by evidence. (You can go read about the many myths and realities about bilingualism here).

Another example of advice to avoid that resembles the “one parent, one language” strategy is when those around the child recommend that parents who, like the one in this example, are bilingual, stick to ONE LANGUAGE so as not to confuse the child. This would be yet another instance where the “one parent, one language” strategy is proposed, but it doesn't hold up. In fact, we know that children often use code-switching (using both languages ​​in the same sentence or from one sentence to the next) because they imitate the patterns around them. Thus, parents who are themselves bilingual will also use code-switching. When these families are asked to stick to only one language, for the wrong reasons, this can be difficult and limiting for them. They often want to follow the advice to help their child, but it doesn't come naturally to them, and this recommendation isn't truly intended to help the child.
Now, let's return to the strategies that will promote the development of the second language, but also the maintenance of the mother tongue, and these are: resources, motivation, and opportunities.

When we talk about motivation, it means that we must strive to value all languages. We can value all languages ​​within the classroom at school and in daycare, by integrating linguistic diversity into certain routines or activities, and by always recommending that families maintain the mother tongue.

Next, when we talk about resources, it means having a system in place, and everything must be enjoyable! Regardless of the learning objective, we need a plan, something systematic and well-established that provides ample and 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 the resources are in place to maintain the child's mother tongue while also fostering the development of the majority language.

Ultimately, we want to ensure there are sufficient, consistent, and systematic opportunities for both the mother tongue and the school language. This is where the "one parent, one language" strategy could be beneficial.

Let's take another example: a family that arrived from Mexico and speaks Spanish at home, as well as French. The child attended a French-language daycare and was then enrolled in French-language school. The family consulted a professional to find out why their child doesn't speak Spanish, and their desire is to pass on their language and culture. During discussions with them, it became clear that the time dedicated to Spanish was still limited, given that they also speak French at home. A plan was then developed with the parent whereby the mother chose to speak only Spanish, and the father would speak both Spanish and French. The mother thus chose to adopt the "one parent, one language" strategy because she spends more time with her child, handling the school runs, bedtime reading, and daily routines. In this example, the chosen strategy proved successful in achieving the family's language goals and is in no way related to a language disorder. This strategy is often adopted by multilingual families who want to pass on a minority language to their child. We must remember that a minority language is often poorly understood or not at all accessible in the community, and therefore, opportunities to hear and use that language will be limited.

Finally, I would like to reiterate that for most bilingual parents, limiting themselves to speaking only one language is unrealistic. However, if the strategy is too "improvised," it becomes more difficult for them to stick to it and for the child to truly have the means, opportunities, and motivation to speak the language. The strategy for the minority language must be clearly defined. If the minority language strategy is not defined, it can leave too much room for the majority language.