In today’s globalized world, more and more Chinese families live in English-speaking countries. They hope that their children can not only become fluent in English but also retain Chinese as their mother tongue, or even learn other languages. This article shares real-life cases from Chinese immigrant families in Canada (these are real case studies tracked and researched by the author of this article, making them highly valuable for reference) to explore how children develop bilingual and trilingual skills in a home environment. These stories show how parents help their children master multiple languages through daily practices, while also revealing the challenges and opportunities of growing up in a multilingual environment. Many aspects are worth learning from, and thus, this blog is written for the readers of Readtopia.
Case 1: Parental Involvement in Promoting Bilingual Development
In this Chinese immigrant family in Canada, parents actively participate in their child’s bilingual learning, helping the child master both Chinese and English simultaneously. The parents place great importance on speaking Chinese at home and incorporate reading Chinese books as part of their daily routine, such as reading Chinese picture books or newspapers with their child. At the same time, they encourage the child to read English books to balance the learning needs of both languages. In this environment, the child can flexibly switch between Chinese and English depending on the situation. The language environments at home and school help the child develop the ability to transition smoothly between the two languages.
This example tells us that parental involvement is crucial in a child’s bilingual learning. By creating a rich Chinese language environment at home, the child not only masters their mother tongue but also easily adapts to learning English at school.
Case 2: Using Media to Maintain the Mother Tongue
Another child learns Chinese through various media, including watching Chinese TV programs and listening to Chinese music. At school, English is the dominant language, but through exposure to Chinese entertainment media, the child maintains a close connection with the Chinese language. Media not only provides language input but also allows the child to experience the presence and charm of their mother tongue culture.
This case reminds us that in a multilingual environment, families can help their children continuously engage with and learn Chinese through entertainment, such as TV shows, music, and movies. This is an easy and natural method, especially effective for children who may not enjoy traditional classroom learning (this is increasingly applicable to more children. Rigid learning methods can easily cause children to lose interest. Readtopia focuses on cultivating interest, allowing children to learn language while fostering their curiosity. This approach enables faster and higher-quality language learning compared to rigid classroom methods).
Case 3: The Challenges of Trilingual Learning
Some families not only want their children to master Chinese and English but also expect them to learn a third language, such as Cantonese or another dialect. In one case, a child faces the challenge of learning three languages simultaneously. The parents’ expectation is for the child to be fluent in both Chinese and English, but when interacting with their grandparents, dialects become an important part of family communication. In this situation, the child inevitably feels burdened by the learning load and may sometimes prioritize mastering one or two of the languages while neglecting the third.
Trilingual learning, while highly beneficial, also presents difficulties. Parents need to reasonably plan their child’s language learning schedule and not overly pursue the number of languages at the expense of language learning quality (I believe the main reason for this is the lack of exposure to the third language, which slows the child’s learning progress).
Case 4: Cultural Identity and Language Use
In another family, the child gradually leans toward using English, especially in school and social interactions where English becomes the dominant language. Meanwhile, Chinese is increasingly seen by the child as the language used in family activities. Nevertheless, during traditional festivals like Chinese New Year or family gatherings, the child rediscovers the importance of Chinese as a part of cultural identity. Through these cultural activities, the child realizes that maintaining Chinese is not just about language ability but also about connecting with grandparents and their cultural background (culture is the backdrop to language; the more one understands culture, the stronger their grasp of the language and the more interest it sparks in learning. Readtopia organically integrates culture into language learning, allowing children to learn in a comfortable and interesting cultural context).
This story reveals that language is not only a tool for communication but also an important part of cultural identity. Families living abroad can help their children rebuild a sense of identification with their mother tongue through cultural activities.
Through these real family stories, we can see that in a multilingual environment, parental support and participation play an indispensable role in a child’s bilingual or trilingual development. By creating a rich language environment at home, using media resources, planning language learning progress reasonably, and enhancing language identity through cultural activities, children can flexibly master a second or even third language while maintaining their mother tongue.
As Chinese parents, we need to recognize that each family has its unique language learning path. Only by understanding the needs of our children and creating a positive learning atmosphere can we help them thrive in a globalized world. This way, our children can maintain their connection with their ethnicity and, as adults, have more opportunities for growth between the East and the West, or more specifically, between China and foreign countries—achieving a result where 1+1 > 2.
Main Reference:
Guofang Li, Biliteracy and trilingual practices in the home context: Case studies of Chinese–Canadian children. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy
Relevant Reference:
Hollebeke, Ily, Esli Struys, and Orhan Agirdag. "Can family language policy predict linguistic, socio-emotional and cognitive child and family outcomes? A systematic review." Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 44.10 (2023)
Song, Kwangok. "“Okay, I will say in Korean and then in American”: Translanguaging practices in bilingual homes." Journal of Early Childhood Literacy 16.1 (2016)
Mu, Guanglun Michael, and Karen Dooley. "Coming into an inheritance: Family support and Chinese heritage language learning." International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 18.4 (2015)
Picture credit goes to https://www.pexels.com.