Dubai: Latest studies have proven several benefits of bilingualism; such as improved executive functions in everyday life, facilitated basic skills for interpersonal understanding and social communication, increased cultural awareness and work opportunities, in addition to long term health benefits including faster stroke recovery and delayed onset of dementia.
Is your child lucky to be a bilingual?
Here are some ideas on how to make the best out of the holidays:
If your child uses English most of the time during school days, vacation is the best time for him/her to practice your home language.
Whether you’re enjoying some activities or driving from a place to another, communicate in the language you aim to consolidate.
Tip 1: even if your child responds in English, keep using your language, that will improve his receptive skills and will encourage him to try using the language more often.
Tip 2: don’t over correct your child, you can reformulate what he said in an indirect way. Pointing on his syntax or grammar mistakes might discourage him/her.
Invite your child to pick some books for a daily reading time.
Plan a trip to your home country so your child can get exposed to your mother language especially when playing with his grandparents or monolingual cousins.
To consolidate English language skills, summer camps are a great opportunity for your child.
Are you and your child monolingual? Don’t miss the chance! Living in the UAE, a great multicultural country, gives you multiple opportunities to learn new languages, especially the spoken and written Arabic; you can start greeting people with al salamu alaikum.
It’s also the perfect season to plan a trip to a new country and learn a new language while dancing the dabke (traditional dance) in Lebanon, enjoying a gelato (ice cream) in Italy, greeting people with a ni hao (hello) in China, impressing your new Spanish friends with a mucho gusto (nice to meet you), or leaving the hotel with an au revoir (goodbye) in Paris.
The writer is a speech & language pathologist at Autism Rocks
