Should immigrant parents teach their children their native language?

Question

Should immigrant parents teach their children their native language?

Answer 1

I think that is very important. It keeps their heritage alive and it is also an advantage to be bilingual.

Answer 2

Yes. For two reasons: 1) bilingualism is very good for a child and is easy for them to do; 2) if the immigrant's English isn't very good, THAT is what they will be teaching their child.

If you are talking in terms of homeschooling, I still say yes. They would just need to make sure their children have regular English contact, listen to English stories on tape, participate in lessons, activities, etc. They would probably have to make sure of this more than the average homeschooling parent.

Those who are saying that the primary language to be stressed should be English are off-base and are too stuck in the melting pot ideology. Here in Canada, we are multicultural and encourage multiculturalism. As a former teacher, I saw kids all the time who had different home languages than they did in school. The kids were just fine. They have no problem with bilingualism.

Answer 3

I think it's a mark of good education to speak two or more languages so definitely. I think it's sad that my husband's Spanish family did not teach their children to speak Spanish, esp. since we live in an area where many speak the language. It would have been an asset with jobs and communication wise. My husband thinks they tried to really embrace America, the language and all about America as immigrants from Spain as they were very proud of coming to America, but I think it is sad that they didn't also teach their children Spanish as well (embracing the Spanish heritage as well).

Answer 4

Their is nothing wrong with learning more than one language as long as the primary language which is stressed to the children is the native language of the country they live in. In the United States, that language is English. All of our laws are written in English. Any child who is not well versed in the English Language is being done a disservice by their guardians.

Answer 5

Well, they could talk in the foreign language, but if they are going to be living in a different country, I would recommend at least teaching their kids the language of that land.

Answer 6

Of course. Being able to communicate w/ their children using their own native language is what keeps the language and their culture alive.

Answer 7

Heck yea!... why would they NOT want to teach them? so their kids become like the other kids that can only speak one language and can't even spell that one properly?
My kids (ages 2,4 and 6) all speak english as their primary language and our native language (which is romanian). I'm lucky to have my mother in law who lives with us and helps a lot with teaching them romanian.
It is proven that being forced to learn more than one language at an early age helps kids excel in language arts. I was always at the top of my class in all my language classes (Romanian, French, German, English) Italian and Spanish came easy after those first 4.
I was speaking to an ESL teacher recently and was telling her that it has been a while since I took ESL (English as a second language) She looked at me and said "you mean since you taught ESL?"... she couldn't tell I wasn't raised and educated in the US. All my friends that only spoke one language before learning English, have a very noticeable accent.
There's value in learning more than one language early on.

Answer 8

Yes! As usually immigrant parents are the most fluent in their language, it is recommended that they speak to their child in their mother tongue. The child will learn fluency, expressive speech, etc. It is a good idea though to give them some exposure to the other language [i.e. books, shows, etc].However, it is advised to integrate them into an environment where the other language is spoken by the age of two.

Answer 9

Yup. But English should take first priority, for practical purposes.

Well my grandparents didn't teach my parents our native language (though my parents picked it up naturally, on their own, by listening to my granparents' conversations). My parents didn't teach me my native language and I didn't pick it up coz they don't really speak it that often.
English works fine for me but I do hope to learn my native language someday- just to feel connected to my culture and hopefully understand myself and my family better.

Answer 10

definitly i've always wished that i could speak a second language so if you can teach a kid that easily the best time to learn a language is when ur young

Answer 11

Yes, it would be nice to know the native language, but first and foremost, they need to be taught the language of the land they have chosen to live in.