Language

Teaching your child languages other than English

• If you and your partner speak one or more languages other than English, you have a great asset to pass on to your child. Speaking another language will contribute to laying the foundations of self-esteem towards opening your child’s horizons and maturity in later years, and may be an important factor in finding employment opportunities later on in life.¹

• Having a language other than English can also help them learn other languages. Start talking to them in another language early on.

• Knowing how to pass on a language other than English may be tricky at times.

• It helps to have a plan and be consistent about who speaks what language and in what context. Reading is key to language development, so try to make time to read to your baby, even before they are born.

• It is important that parents or grandparents, aunties and uncles and even siblings work out who will talk to the child in what language. For example, one parent could always speak in English to the child, while the other parent speaks another language to the child.

• It might be difficult to maintain a commitment to speaking to your child in a language other than English at first. Often children will go through a phase when they do not want to speak in a language other than the English they hear people outside of the home speaking, but it can get easier over time. Keep talking to them in your language and make them feel good about their bilingualism.