Developing minority languages at home: an evidence-based study with reception children in Spain

José Luis Estrada-Chichón

doi:10.26512/les.v21i2.28144

Abstract

This work examines the current situation of monolingual and bi-/multilingual families on how they help their children, Reception students (4-5 years old) at a British school in Madrid, Spain, to acquire, preserve and strengthen minority languages at home. The results show contrasts between monolingual and bi-/multilingual families, although most of them systematically apply 'natural' resources (One Language-One Person, for example) or tools (reading or watching TV, for example). Among the final recommendations, a closer collaboration between schools and parents is advised to assist more effectively in the (multi-)language development of the children.

Highlights

Traveling, studying abroad or emigrating are all paramount facts in current society
The results reveal that mostly all families encourage minority language development at home, even though they fear that language mixing disrupts language acquisition
Only 40% mentioned the application of alternative approaches: The Russian family claimed to use “repetition and persistence” (Russian family, personal communication, June 20, 2018), while the French mother referred to an offline correction (PAWLAK, 2014) if she understands that her children do not know one specific word in French (French mother, personal communication, June 20, 2018)

Summary

Introduction

Traveling, studying abroad or emigrating are all paramount facts in current society. According to The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) expectations (2011), there is an increasing number of international families in which “intercultural personhood” (KIM, 2008) has given birth to multilingual families. Cadernos de Linguagem e Sociedade, 21(2), 2020 These families are becoming aware of this changing context, which is encouraging the need to learn “powerful languages” (LAPONCE, 2014). It can be observed in schools or even homes of families that are trying to help their children acquire languages. Some families moved to another country, so their children are exposed to new languages. This will make the families turn into multilingual households. This context is beneficial for the children in terms of language acquisition, parents are concerned that they will stop using their L1 at a certain stage.

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion