Many migrant parents are not sure whether they will best serve their children’s interest by speaking just English at home.They are often being advised that it may speed integration as the more of this language the children hear at home the sooner they will become fluent and able to overcome the language barrier. The assumption is that speaking Polish at home may hinder acquisition of English. How little trust we place in the linguistic abilities of our children! How little knowledge we have about beauty and benefits of bilingualism.
We need to make sure that while working very hard towards removing one language barrier we do not create a new one, depriving our children of access to their roots, their culture, their Polish extended family back home and – quite possible – to future career prospect available for people who speak two or more languages. Our mother tongue, our native language is like a priceless diamond, a great gift for our children. Lets treasure it. Don’t let them lose it.
In S.O.S. we work very hard encouraging our Polish compatriots to learn English as soon as possible, but at the same time we are the greatest enthusiasts for raising the children bilingually.
If you would like to talk about it and share your experiences re: raising bilingual children please feel free to join us at the S.O.S. BILINGUAL FAMILY CLUB.
