A Latina language expert discusses the reasons why immigrant parents don’t teach their children Spanish, highlighting that one of the reasons is simply not enough time, energy, or resources. Teaching a language is not an easy task, and studies show that mother tongues are often lost after the third generation of immigration, forcing children of immigrants to learn their heritage languages on their own.
One common barrier that prevents parents from teaching their kids Spanish is not being a native speaker. A Pew Research Center study found that nearly 70 of second-generation Latinos in the U.S. are not native speakers. A growing group of young Latinos are using TikTok and social media to push back on not speaking perfect Spanish, an attempt to define their identity and heritage.
Families should not feel the need to forego teaching their children their home languages. Educators can enact equitable practices by leveraging the Loud and Clear report, which states that too many children are taught in a language they don’t understand. This is one of the most important reasons why many parents want their kids to integrate well into dominant society.
Bilingualism has not shown itself to be more taxing than focusing on a single language, and denying exposure to the native language can set back children’s language development for over a decade. Speaking to children in their native language confuses them and slows them down in learning dominant public languages like English.
Some reasons for a child lacking confidence or refusing to speak the parents’ language are related to poor language skills. Well-meaning parents may be too eager to show off their child’s proficiency in their home languages, dispelling the myth that parents “teach” their children to talk.
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How to deal with non-understanding parents?
Rashawnda James, a 13-year-old girl, discovered her toxic relationship with her mother when she was 13. She noticed that her parents were often talking as though they were around a lot, but her mother had an addiction to crack cocaine. James felt responsible for her mother and realized the unhealthy connection.
Toxic parents are self-centered, emotional loose cannons, overreacting, creating drama, oversharing, seeking control, harshly criticizing, and lacking boundaries. They may use guilt and money to get you to do what they want, use guilt and money to get you to do what they want, and harshly criticize you. They may also show up unasked at home or attack your life choices. To deal with toxic parents, it is essential to get rid of guilt, practice self-care, set up a support system, and change your story.
What happens if a baby is never taught a language?
The critical period in language development is a crucial period where learning is still possible even after the critical period. This period has several sensitive periods, which can affect language development including morphology, phonology, and syntax. However, as long as the language is learned at an earlier age, language acquisition will not be affected.
Language deprivation experiments have shown that language deprivation can impair sign language development in deaf children. Early sign language exposure and cochlear implantation benefits have been found to be beneficial for deaf children. Studies have also shown that the age of first-language acquisition effects on second-language learning.
In conclusion, the critical period in language development is a critical period where learning is still possible even after the critical period. It has several sensitive periods, and evidence has demonstrated that it can affect language development, including morphology, phonology, and syntax. However, as long as the language is learned at an earlier age, language acquisition will not be affected.
In summary, the critical period in language development is a critical period where learning is still possible even after the critical period. Early sign language exposure and cochlear implantation benefits have been shown to be beneficial for deaf children, but it is essential to consider the age of first-language acquisition when considering outcome success.
Should you teach your child your native language?
The extant research indicates that bilingual babies exhibit superior self-control, which is a crucial indicator of future academic success. The ability of dual language learners to succeed in school is directly correlated with their mastery of their native language. This suggests that daily use of the native language is essential for school readiness and success.
Why don’t some parents understand their child?
Parents frequently encounter difficulties in comprehending their children’s distinctive personalities, necessities, and perspectives due to their preconceived notions or expectations. This can impede their capacity to fully grasp their child’s perspective and understanding.
What is the language deprivation syndrome?
Language deprivation is a chronic lack of access to a natural language during the critical period of language acquisition, typically the first five years of a child’s life. This can lead to psychiatric symptoms and a possible mental health syndrome in deaf patients. Understanding the epidemiological relationship between language development and psychiatric symptomatology is crucial, as social factors can significantly impact language development, as seen in the developmental choices made for deaf children.
Do bilingual children who speak native language at home have higher intelligence?
A study by the University of Reading found that children who spoke one language at school but practiced their native tongue at home with their families scored better in intelligence tests than those who spoke only their non-native language. The study involved 100 Turkish children aged 7-11 in the UK, who were compared to those who spoke English at school and Turkish at home. Dr. Michael Daller, Associate Professor of English Language and Applied Linguistics at the University of Reading, explained that children who had to learn concepts for the first time in a less familiar language scored lower on the IQ test.
Why are some parents not understanding?
Parents often struggle to understand their children due to the various aspects of their lives that they may not fully comprehend. Children have their own ideas, thoughts, personalities, and interests, and they are constantly growing and changing. To help them understand, it is important to keep communication open and let them know they can talk about anything. Sharing stories about oneself as a child can help them get to know you better and be more open to talking about themselves.
Parents may think they understand their kids because they were kids once, but teens often find themselves in between. They may feel like they are too young to think about certain things and should stay out of certain situations, while also expecting them to be mature and responsible. This can lead to confusion and frustration, as teens may not want to engage in adult conversations or engage in activities that may be too boring for them.
Teens are misunderstood due to the wide range of expectations from parents and other adults, which can make it difficult for them to fully comprehend their lives. It is essential for parents to stay updated on child development and be willing to compromise their expectations to better understand their children’s unique experiences and perspectives.
What is language deprivation syndrome?
Language deprivation is the absence of developmentally-appropriate proficiency in any natural language, which can range from mild to extreme. The consequences of language deprivation include delays in cognitive development, social-emotional development, and school readiness in young children between birth and five years of age. In school-age children, weak first-language skills compromise literacy and numeracy, limiting educational achievement. This delay can hinder the formation of strong relationships with family members and peers, and self-identity and self-esteem.
The Erikson model of development suggests that the development of relationships during early years shapes identity and social-emotional regulation. The inhibition to fully develop language at earlier stages of life hinders the domain-general learning trajectory. In adulthood, the cumulative impact contributes to disparities in physical and mental health outcomes and quality of life.
The proximal cause of language deprivation is the lack of accessible linguistic input in the child’s environment during early childhood. Deaf children may struggle in an auditory-only environment, while deaf children whose environment contains little to no visual input are likely to experience language deprivation. The impact can range from mild to extreme, with more serious cases meeting emerging diagnostic criteria for Language Deprivation Syndrome.
What percent of parents learn ASL?
A significant issue affecting the future of both the individual and the community is the failure of nearly 70% of hearing parents to teach sign language to their deaf children.
Why do some parents choose not to learn ASL and others do?
The hearing community often views ASL as a practice that hinders the growth and integration of deaf children into society, resulting in a stigma against it. Professionals argue that learning signs will slow down their development of spoken language, leading some parents to teach their deaf children spoken English without using ASL. However, evidence shows that manual language is inherent and cognitively beneficial.
Full and continual exposure to sign language allows for the same pattern of language development in deaf children as exposure to spoken language does in hearing children. Conversely, lack of exposure may contribute to some deaf children’s inability to fully develop language skills. Deaf children raised orally must go through specialized programs, such as lip reading and speech therapy, which may not be sufficient for them to acquire spoken language. Even with cochlear implants, speech fluency is not guaranteed, and implant surgery typically occurs at 12 months of age.
Individualized oppression also perpetuates the issue of linguistic neglect, as resources and energy are allocated to “curing” deafness rather than providing adequate language input. Child Welfare Services and medical establishments are the main groups at the root of this issue, as they often focus on “curing” deafness rather than providing adequate language input.
What is the hardest language for a child to learn?
The three most challenging languages to learn are Mandarin, Arabic, and Russian. Nevertheless, with the appropriate strategies in place, it is possible to overcome these challenges and succeed in international markets. The Yahoo website, which forms part of the wider Yahoo group of companies, employs the use of cookies in order to provide its users with a range of services, to authenticate their identity, to implement security measures, to prevent the sending of unsolicited emails and to monitor the usage patterns of its users.
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Hi All, thank you for your wonderful comments, likes and sharing of my articles including this one. This was a discussion and would LOVE to hear more of your own experiences and feelings about this. I will do a Q&A on Sunday to discuss this matter. Here is the link of Kitt speaking Xhosa. facebook.com/123MamaDee/videos/vb.380780688952540/632816960451946
Hello Mama Dee; love as always!! I am a born free, as you could probably guess, and in the short years I lived back in S.A I went to English speaking schools because the public schools as you know we’re underperforming. I picked up English very quickly at an early age but I would Xhosa was still my strongest at the time. To gain admission at my primary school my principal, unknown to me, was conducting my interview in English and my grasp of the language was key to my entry…. Apparently I passed with flying colours – i still remember the whole interview/tour of the grounds. At the age of 8 my family moved to England; this is where I can attest to what you spoke of when saying it’s easy to forget native languages if there is no incentive to speak them. In S.A I was able to retain my knowledge of Xhosa and Sotho because away from school that was my life’s context being surrounded by my people -speaking my languages. In the U.K I did not have that context apply outside of school – and I was already used to speaking English and being around white people. My parents, similar to you and the context you exemplified, did not feel the need to push our development in Xhosa and Sotho and I didn’t have the foresight to notice the gradual “shoving to the back” of our native languages. In recent years I found myself feeling like I have a part of me missing; not only because I struggle to speak my language but also because that disconnect took me and my mind away from any knowledge of even small cultural and historical things that I felt are important to know as a South African.
Mama Dee you are absolutely right that we have to preserve our languages. I grew up in Johannesburg, and my siblings and I went to multiracial schools in the 70s. However, my father who was a senior member of the PAC insisted that we speak Sesotho well. When we spoke with him it was either in proper Sesotho or English. It was annoying at the time but I am thankful to him now. After my siblings went to college and I was left alone at St Mary’s (Waverley) it was decided that I should transfer to a private school in Soweto. (Driving me everyday out of the township to school became tricky due to riots). I adjusted very well in the Black private school. I remember that I was so good in Sesotho that I was even chosen as one of the students to meet with the school inspector who was doing rounds in schools and asking students random questions. My point is, the parents are responsible for instilling in their children the importance of their native languages. However, I do understand those who didn’t during apartheid because it was a matter of survival and trying to have a better opportunities for their children. Today there is no excuse! I am ashamed that my nieces ( the born free) barely speak Sesotho with each other, although I insist on speaking with them Sesotho. Now, my daughter who was born in Canada is like Luke in that even though I try to teach her, the language doesn’t come as easily to her as she really doesn’t hear it. Plus I am divorced and is just the two of us and therefore she doesn’t hear me speak it.
I disagree, your whole argument is based on concepts of the early 2000’s. Currently the most used and spoken languages is Zulu, pop culture is in African languages. Its becoming more apparent that to understand math and scientific concepts children should be taught in their African languages. We as black people are so quick to disregard their cultures in order to succeed. Children should be taught in both their native tongue and in English. It is possible.
Hello MamaDee – I’m a black American born/raised in California but I relocate to Georgia over a decade ago… I didn’t realize that Southern people all speak Ebonics, I’m not sure that’s true, but what we black Americans would say is that Southerners speak with an ancient (but its not Ebonics which is very insulting to anyone) and many uneducated Southerners speak or use bad or improper English…
Greetings My Background African languages are an interest of mine hence I am learning Tshivhenda and Isizulu (which the more I learn about the history of Bantu and colonisation the more I think it is an injustice that it is still called isiZulu as It predates it’s notorious famed speaker Shaka Zulu). I digress. I was shocked when my 81 year old father suddenly switched from Setswana to pure perfect Sesotho when the local shepherds visited him (there’s a shortage of this skill in South African villages which has attracted migrants from Lesotho to fill the gap. As always it’s poor migrants.) Then he switched to perfect Isixhosa when my EC friends visited my village last month. I mean accent and all. Apparently he is fluent according to my friends. He had only told me he spoke Ndebele and Isiswati but I had never heard or seen him speak the languages. I felt he denied me the chance to learn by not passing it on. It hurt to know I was struggling to acquire a skill he possessed all these years right in front of me. Mind you….He was home everyday while I was growing up. He was right there perusal me play and in-between he talked about geography in English instead. Back to your article. Speaking English like a white person (without an African accent) Even in 2018 this has not changed. I attended a women’s talk where Gill Marcus, the only female Governor of the SA Reserve Bank, put it in these words, “in the workplace, if you are a woman you have to work significantly harder to earn the same rewards (income or recognition or promotion) as a man.