”The truly critical factor is rich, dynamic, and meaningful interaction with speakers of those languages (and this can come in many different forms).
Dr. Kendall King and Dr. Alison MackeyThe Bilingual Edge: Why, When and How to Teach Your Child a Second Language
#1 Only take part in what looks interesting and doable and leave everything else behind. – This is also my advice for all those parenting and self-help books out there as well. Take the parts that make sense, adapt the parts that don’t quite fit and leave behind the stuff that is not appealing. This is going to be especially true for followers who are native speakers or who love the formal Arabic language rules. I do realize my vocabulary and accent are non-native and heavily Levantine. For you, I suggest using the songs, books and activities as guides and as a springboard for new ideas – obviously feel free to change the words to fit your dialect. And contact me if there are tweaks I can make that would make it more useful/helpful to you.
#2 Please take chances! – You do not need to say everything or even anything perfectly. If they are around other speakers they will recognize your mistakes (and if they are not, then nobody will be the wiser). As long as you are having fun with your child, it’s a win. Show your child it’s fun to try to make new sounds and enjoy making mistakes.
#3 Trust Yourself and Have Fun! – In the book, “the Bilingual Edge: Why, When and How to Teach Your Child a Second Language” the authors, Dr. King and Dr. Mackey, break down myths about language learning . Myth # 3 is that “Only native speakers and teachers can teach children second languages.” They say this is false because we rarely speak perfectly in our native language anyway. So “[e]ven parents with limited second language proficiency can interact with their child in the second language, providing important language input. It’s all about the engagement” and having fun!
Thanks! Enjoy! And let me hear your thoughts!
