Three strategies to maintain your child’s mother tongue
As summer draws to a close and the routine of school, work and daily life resumes, many bilingual families face the challenge of maintaining their children’s mother tongue. The long, relaxed days of summer may have provided an opportunity to immerse your child in their heritage language. However as schedules tighten and external influences like school and peers begin to dominate, it can be easy for the home language to take a backseat. But fear not! With a little planning and consistency, you can continue to nurture your child’s language skills throughout the year.
Here are three key tips to help you keep your mother tongue alive after the summer holidays:
1. Integrate the mother tongue into daily routines
One of the most effective ways to ensure that your child continues to use and develop their mother tongue is to weave it seamlessly into your daily routines. Start by incorporating the language into everyday activities, such as mealtime conversations, bedtime stories and work you do together around the house. By making the mother tongue a natural part of your daily life, you create a consistent and familiar environment in which your child feels comfortable communicating.
Consider establishing specific times of the day when only the mother tongue is spoken. For example, you could designate certain hours in the evening or during the weekend as “mother tongue time”. This helps reinforce the importance of the language and ensures regular practice.
2. Engage in culturally rich activities
Cultural and artistic activities are a powerful way to immerse your child in your mother tongue while fostering creativity and self-expression. Participating in activities such as drawing, painting, music, dance, or theatre in your native language helps your child associate the language with fun and meaningful experiences. This not only strengthens their vocabulary but also deepens their cultural connection to the language.
Therefore, you could consider participating in our Language Explorers workshops, where children can engage in artistic activities that are both educational and enjoyable.
These workshops are designed for children aged 3 to 6 to strengthen the parent-child bond and encourage home language use through creative expression. Everyone is invited to speak their preferred language, making it easier for your child to maintain and grow their language skills even after the summer holidays.
3. Foster connections with other speakers
Creating opportunities for your child to interact with other people who speak your language is invaluable in maintaining and developing their language skills. Surrounding your child with speakers of the language provides a natural and immersive environment that encourages them to use the language authentically.
Arrange playdates or regular meet-ups with other families who speak the same language. This social interaction allows your child to hear and practice the language in a natural context, making it more likely that they will continue to use it confidently.
If you are based anywhere in Ireland, you can find families with young children who speak your language and connect with many other families who live in your local area by using our Mother Tongues Families free app. Additionally, consider finding a language tutor or enrolling your child in a heritage language class where they can engage with peers in a structured setting.
If you have relatives or friends who can support you, encourage regular communication. This not only reinforces language use but also makes it a living part of your child’s social world. Maintaining your child’s mother tongue after the summer holidays requires intentional effort and consistency, but the rewards are well worth it.
At Mother Tongues, we are dedicated to building confidence in bilingual families and supporting the home languages. Check out our free resources always available to you on our website and our Learning Hub, with dozens of articles and webinars on raising bilingual children.
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