Support Reading & Writing At Home
30 minutes a day can make all the difference.
Will Immersion negatively impact my child’s native language development?
One of the biggest concerns parents have regarding immersion education is the potential impact on a students native language development (Kavanagh & Hickey, 2013). Many believe that having a student immersed in a second language will cause them to forget or fall behind in the majority language. The reality is that science shows that learning a second language actually promotes first language development. Students who are immersed in a language will not have any negative impacts on their negative language. In fact, a recent study examining potentially negative effects of immersion education long-term found that there are no negatives yet a host of benefits to immersion learning (Hickey, 1999).
While immersion will not negatively impact a child’s native language development, there is still some responsibility on the part of the parent to continue to support their native language fluency and comprehension at home. This does not mean giving a reading class to your child every night! Impacting your child’s native language development can be as simple as reading with or to them every day for 20 minutes (Kavanagh & Hickey, 2013).
Read below for some tips and tricks on how to help your student develop their native language skills! Or click the button below to learn more about common concerns.
30 Minutes a Day
Impacting your child’s reading and writing in the target language can be as simple as reading with or to them for 30 minutes a day. Allow your child to lead with what you do and spend time together with books, magazines, or anything else that interests them.
Together is Better
It is alway better for students to work with their parents during this time, especially when they are in the early elementary grades. Working together with your student allows you to engage them in meaningful conversations, which also help develop their oral language skills in their native language.
A Variety of Genres
Reading doesn’t necessarily have to look like picking up a story and reading it cover to cover. Allow your student to explore the world of reading! Read fiction, nonfiction, magazines, recipes, newspapers, articles online, or anything else that is printed text! Remember, you are not teaching a reading class. You are exploring the world of reading with your child.
Think Outside the Box
Remember: you’re not teaching a class! Make reading and writing at home fun! Your child can write a thank you note, write out a grocery list, read through a magazine, play an alphabet game, and so much more! The goal is to have your child enjoy the reading and writing time you spend together. Be creative!
Reading at home:
Spending 20 minutes a day at home can help to increase a child’s reading, writing, and oral language skills. Countless studies have shown that reading at home with children is invaluable to their education and their cognitive development. This is also true in regards to immersion. It is vital for parents to spend at least 20 minutes a day reading with or to their child to help develop their native language skills and to transfer the reading skills they have learned in their immersion classroom to their native language. In a 2014 study looking at literacy activities of parents of immersion students, 77% of parents stated they read to their child in English (Feinauer & Feinauer Whiting, 2014). These parents noted a steady increase in their child’s English language abilities through this process (Feinauer & Feinauer Whiting, 2014).
Writing at home:
Students should practice writing at home with parents when it naturally comes up. If there is an opportunity to write a thank you note, a list, take notes for something, or anything else, encourage your child to write it themselves as much as possible! This will continue to develop your child’s language skills and further their development (Woumans, Surmont, Struys, & Duyck, 2016).
Feinauer, E., & Whiting, E. F. (2014). Home language and literacy practices of parents at one Spanish-English Two-Way immersion charter school. Bilingual Research Journal, 37(2), 142–163. https://doi.org/10.1080/15235882.2014.934969
Hickey, T. (1999). Parents and early immersion: Reciprocity between home and immersion pre-school. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 2(2), 94–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670059908667682
Kavanagh, L., & Hickey, T. M. (2013). ‘You’re looking at this different language and it freezes you out straight away’: Identifying challenges to parental involvement among immersion parents. Language and Education, 27(5), 432–450. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2012.714388
Woumans, E., Surmont, J., Struys, E., & Duyck, W. (2016). The longitudinal effect of bilingual immersion schooling on cognitive control and intelligence*. Language Learning, 66(S2), 76–91. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12171