May 25, 2020

You Can Do It!- Motivation For Bilingual Parenting

Welcome back to my four part series, “How To Teach Your Child A Second Language: A Quick Start Guide”!

Bilingual parenting isn’t always easy. As a non-native speaker of Spanish, it can be tiring to always be the main source of Spanish for my daughter!

After a long day at work it can be hard to switch myself into Spanish mode and try to communicate in a language that I’m not as good at.

Staying motivated is one of the most important factors for your success! I stay motivated by making language learning fun and engaging.

I also look to support groups online and other bloggers to help me get ideas and inspiration.

This is the final part in my series,so thank you for reading through with me! If you didn’t get a chance to read the first parts, check them out here:

Part 1: What Is The Best Age To Teach Your Child A Second Language?

Part 2: How To Create A Language Learning Schedule

Part 3: How To Find Resources That Maximize Your Language Learning Time

Part 4: You Can Do It! – Motivation For Bilingual Parenting

Stay Motivated

Learning a new language can be a little frustrating after first starting because it can take a while before you start to see the results that you want to see. Know now that it is going to take time.

Your child is going to take a while to internalize and process a second language and may take a long time to start producing it naturally. It will take your brain even longer to process the new words and it will take many repetitions before it becomes part of your long term memory.

Since it may take a while for you to see results, it’s important to stay motivated and consistent.

Practicing in fun ways

Practicing in fun and engaging ways is a great way to stay motivated – that way it doesn’t feel like work. Singing songs, playing games and reading books in the target language are a great way to make language learning fun.

When you and your child are actively using the language in a fun way, you’re more likely to stay motivated for learning.

Singing Songs

Find songs that are familiar or interesting to your child. Is there a show your child likes? Find the translated version of the theme song and learn to sing it together. Do they have a favorite nursery rhyme – find the translation! Look for songs that use hand or body movements and dance along with them. The more your child is happily engaged, the easier it will be to stay motivated.

Play Games

Do you like board games? Try and read the directions in your target language and refer to the pieces in the other language. Play “I Spy” games around the house or when you go for a walk and practice using vocabulary from the target language. Making language learning into a game is a great way to sneak more practice into the day and to stay motivated.

Reading Books

Listening to books in the target language builds so many skills. Read or listen to books on tape in the target language. Look closely at the pictures and point out different parts of the picture in the target language. Spending quality time with your child looking at books in the target language can be a huge motivational boost for both of you!

Find Support

It can be hard to be the only source of the target language for your child. Looking for support groups, pen pals or connections to the community can be ways to keep up your learning.

There could be a foreign language story time at the library, or a playgroup in town that meets for bilingual parents.

There could be a person in your community that speaks the target language that you practice saying hello to and different phrases that you’re learning.

You could find a pen pal who speaks the target language and write letters or send video messages to them, practicing the target language.

All of these supports will help you create more of a connection with the language and provide motivation for continued practice.

As a parent raising a child to be bilingual or multilingual, there are many support groups online you can access as well. Reading forums, asking questions and engaging with other parents who are also trying to teach their child a second language can be a source of comfort and information for you and help to provide motivation for you when you need it.

Rewarding yourself!

Setting up rewards can be a great motivator for you and your child and it can help you stay on track! Here are some simple ways that you can create rewards for you and your child:

1. Create a sticker chart and add a sticker for each day that you practice the target language at home. Can you get a 10 day streak? Reward yourselves for practicing for an entire week straight!

2. You can calculate how many minutes you practice the target language each day and add them up. When you hit 1000 minutes – have a party!

3. Set a monthly goal for reading books in the target language. Can you read one book each day? When you get to the end of the month, you can select a new book in the target language to buy!

Family rewards can be strong motivators for kids, and can add a huge level of engagement to the language learning.

There are so many ways to stay motivated! Keep going and working on your target language with your kiddo! Always remember that you are giving them the gift of a second language and that the benefits of bilingualism are innumerable.

If you need motivation or support on your journey, drop me a comment or send me a message and I’d love to talk!

Happy Learning!

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