Growing Up with Languages: Reflections on Multilingual Childhoods (Parents' and Teachers' Guides, 15, Band 15) - Softcover

Thomas, Claire

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1847697143 ISBN 13: 9781847697141

Verlag: Multilingual Matters, 2012

Inhaltsangabe

A unique new insight into multilingual families, this book views multilingual childhoods from the point of the child and is based on over 50 interviews with adults who grew up in multilingual settings. The book charts their recollections of their childhoods and includes many different types of families, discusses many of the common issues that arise in multilingual families, and draws examples from all over the world. The book fills a significant gap in the literature and resources available to multilingual parents. It was researched and written by a self-help group of multilingual parents and thus the book remains very practical and gives clear and realistic advice to multilingual parents facing choices or dilemmas. However, because of its unique viewpoint, this book also includes much new material that will be of interest to researchers and students of bilingualism.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Claire Thomas is herself the mother of two children who are being raised bilingually. She was a founding member of Waltham Forest Bilingual Group and has been Secretary of the group for 8 years. She has helped design and run several different forms of workshops for parents and has discussed bilingual family decisions and dilemmas with literally hundreds of parents. Waltham Forest Bilingual Group is a small, entirely voluntary, group of parents in multilingual families. It provides support to parents in such families in North East London via a regular monthly drop in event, quarterly workshops and speaker events. For more information or to get in touch, please visit www.wfbilingual.org.uk.

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Growing Up with Languages

Reflections on Multilingual Childhoods

By Claire Thomas

Multilingual Matters

Copyright © 2012 Claire Thomas
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-84769-714-1

Contents

Acknowledgements, 
Introduction, 
Part 1: Different Types of Family and Issues that Only Affect Some Kinds of Family, 
1 Issues for Families Speaking More than One Language at Home, 
2 Issues for Families Using One Language at Home, Another in the Community and at School, 
3 Interviewees who are Bilingual Solely through Attending School in Another Language, 
4 Interviewees who Learnt Languages Solely from the Community, 
5 Changes as a Result of Divorce or Separation, 
6 Changes as a Result of the Death of One Parent, 
7 Changes as a Result of Advice Given to Parents, 
8 Changes as a Result of Interviewees' Choices or Decisions, 
Part 2: Issues at Home that will Affect Most, if Not All, Families at Some Time, 
9 Consistency Versus Flexibility in Languages Used at Home, 
10 Rewards, Encouragement, Sanctions and Disapproval Linked to Language Use, 
11 Resistance – Children Who Prefer Not to Speak a Language, 
12 Fitting In/Standing Out, 
13 Input from Others, Resources and Holidays, 
Part 3: Education, 
14 Starting School and Changing Schools, 
15 Home Language Support/Teaching in Mainstream Schools, 
16 Additional Support Outside (or as an alternative to) Mainstream Schools, 
17 Help with Homework, 
Part 4: Language Policies and Politics, 
18 Language Status, Links to Politics and Racism, 
Part 5: Interviewees as Adults, 
19 Advantages and Disadvantages of Having Been Raised Bilingually, 
20 One Thing You Would Change about Your Bilingual Childhood and Advice to a Family Just Starting Out, 
21 Low Input and Language Loss and Retention, 
22 Identities, 
23 Studying and Working Abroad as Young Adults, Choosing Where to Live More Permanently and Using Bilingualism at Work, 
24 Relationships, 
25 Raising Children Monolingually or Bilingually and the Reasons Given, 
26 Access to Culture as Adults, 
27 Accents, 
28 Learning Additional Languages, 
Part 6: Overall Analysis and Recommendations, 
29 Factors Linked to Success or Failure, 
30 Recommendations to Parents Raising Multilingual Children, 
31 Suggested Reading, 
About Waltham Forest Bilingual Group and How This Project Got Started, 
Annex 1 – Questionnaire, 
Annex 2 – Language Self Assessment, 
Annex 3, 
Glossary, 
Index, 

CHAPTER 1

Issues for Families Speaking More than One Language at Home

Some issues are particularly relevant in mixed-language relationships, where the mother and father have different mother tongues. This may mean that at the outset of the relationship, or when children are born, parents have some choices to make about which language to speak between themselves and to the child(ren). This is even more the case if one or both parents are bilingual. So this chapter is for those who want to know more about how families have made these choices, how children remember them or what they were told about them and their impact as the children grew up. Interviewees discussed choices about what languages parents used to speak to the children, including where parents who were themselves bilingual made choices, where parents decided to speak a language other than a mother tongue to the children and what languages parents spoke between themselves. We also cover some examples where grandparents and other relatives were important in bringing another language to children.

Mixed Language Relationships – Languages Parents Used to Speak to the Children

It might seem automatic for those in a mixed-language relationship for each parent to speak their own first language to the children, and in most interviewees' families this was the case to the extent that it was almost taken for granted, and so many interviewees did not comment on this or raise it as an issue. Some families remember making decisions, or there was some doubt or discussion on this point. Where one or other parent decided not to speak their first, most fluent, or strongest language to the children, there was more awareness and usually some justification for the decision that was shared with the children later.

Armelle was the child of a Spanish-speaking mother from Argentina and a French father. Her mother who was then living in France sought advice about what language she should speak to her children: 'My mother told me that she went to a paediatrician [in France in the 1970s] when we were very young and she asked whether she could still speak Spanish to her children. He told her that she should speak Spanish to her children because she would be able to communicate her feelings better in her own language'. Armelle's mother followed this advice (very consistently despite the fact that her children did not always reply to her in Spanish, and despite some adverse comments from other family members – see p. 99). (Please note that not all doctors are as well informed about bilingualism as this one was. In fact, medical training does not cover this subject so if you want advice seek out a specialist in bilingualism.)

Helen was the child of an English father and a Dutch mother who had met and were living in Holland. When Helen was born, her father wanted her mother to speak English to her instead of Dutch. Dutch was Helen's mother's first language and she was not very fluent in English. Helen's mother found speaking English very difficult, and felt that it was artificial and preferred to speak in Dutch to her children. 'My father did feel a bit let down about this as though she didn't try hard enough, but she didn't feel natural'. This seems to have been an unsuccessful attempt to achieve a more equal balance of English and Dutch within this family living in Holland. Although some individuals seem to have succeeded in speaking a language that was not their first language to their children (see Claudia, p. 22), others find this very difficult (see also Sylvia, p. 188).

Is a Mother's Influence Greater Than a Father's?

In our group, parents quite often wonder if it makes a difference whether a language is spoken to the children by a father or a mother – this concern often arises where fathers will be spending less time with young children. In our sample, this did not seem to be a significant factor. Where families did use a 'one person, one language' system, interviewees had as children learnt languages primarily from both mothers and fathers. This was the case even where schooling and the community were both in the mother's language and thus, together with the fact that the mother was spending more time with the children, this meant that quite a high proportion of a young child's input was in one language. So Helen's only input in English was from her father and from holidays in the UK – her mother spoke Dutch and the language used in the school and community was also Dutch. However, Helen speaks fluent English. Parvati's mother spoke a mixture of Hindi and English to her. Her father spoke only English to his children. Parvati's schooling was in English and she was raised in the UK, with occasional holidays in India. Nevertheless, she speaks fluent Hindi. Those interviewees who resisted speaking a parent's preferred language did so whether this was their mother's language (e.g. Ingrid, raised by an...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Multilingual Matters
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2012
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1847697143
• ISBN 13: 9781847697141
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 262
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: preigu GmbH & Co. KG; mail@preigu.de; ; Lengericher Landstr. 19; Osnabrück; Niedersachsen; 49078; Deutschland