Motivating children to speak a home language
In September 2016 the LATL-lab held a workshop at the University of Canterbury for parents and carers on Motivating reluctant children to speak a home language. This was the second workshop for parents and carers.
The participants were invited to share their ideas for increasing the input children get in the minority language, and increasing the children’s need to use the language.
This is a short made-for-the-web version of the presentation given that evening.
Participant suggestions
The five slides below are a selection of the suggestions shared by participants about how to create opportunities for children to have more language input and interaction.
(Use the arrow keys to move between slides)
At home
Notice the varying levels of ambition here, and that some families have more than one parent or carer who speaks the minority language, while others may be alone in their language with a partner who doesn’t speak their language
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Only speak native language at home. Strict rule!
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Always speak minority language to anyone who speaks it, even outside home. Don’t worry about the English!
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Let children hear the language all the time. Children automatically learn and understand the language spoken to them
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Dinner time table talk in Maori/ Samoan only learn new phrases for this time Bath time/ Bed time
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Getting majority language speaking parent to participate in minority language learning Making it a game!
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A day of the week or time of the day when only minority language spoken
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Create environment for the language: Make a language island and speak the language at home
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Encourage children to chat at home in first language and find friends to interact with who also have the first language
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Have a party with minority language theme
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Getting mum + dad to speak Samoan to the kids
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We as parents speaking our languages to children
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Asking grandparents to speak only their language when we are around them
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Ask other members of the family to encourage the child to speak mother language
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Set aside a special time for an activity in L2 each day (something fun, eg making craft, story time/ singing nursery rhymes) keeps it current and fun for kids
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Children have to speak minority language when they ask for buy things they want
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Have a language day at home where you only speak one language eg during dinner or games
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Strategies: In early childhood, have puppets to role play
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Enrol them in a sports club that speaks minority language and buy them video games of minority languages
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Labels around the house to help children learn words
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Karakia (prayers) written and at the dinner table
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Celebrating special events for them
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Participating minority language culture/game
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Join cultural club in minority language Learn poems, songs, and rhymes
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Use the minority language: Greetings, Music, Dancing, Food, Dressing up
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Make a time for the language hour at home (Every Sunday morning or so)
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Board games with language, can have other language speakers and they explain with certain idioms
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Word games (I Spy, charades etc) with prizes Cultural classics and amazing moments in history, as told in target language
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Creative play – using words