How do you stay on the path of raising a bilingual child?
The answer is simple. Daily practice.
Do it every day. Rain or shine. Do it anyway even if you feel like taking a day off. Even if it gets challenging.
Never stop.
Some days you will have the flow with your child. Other days you will get stuck. You are not looking for perfection.
Building up a language takes time. Patience. Sometimes you need to wait in silence for the surprise.
It takes about one year for a baby to produce her first word. That is for twelve months. Fifty-two weeks. Three hundred sixty-five days. Eight thousand seven hundred sixty-five hours.
Think about this.
There is massive language listening input in the first year for a baby to prepare for speaking her FIRST word.
Just the first word.
For the target language, you are working on with your child it has a similar process just like the first language acquisition.
If you speak the target language I believe you are speaking it with your child.
When the target language is new to you it is fine because you are learning the new language with your child together. Practice what you are learning with your child every day. Be curious about the language and the journey.
If you speak the target language as a heritage language or a foreign language you should definitely speak it to your child whenever you can. You are helping your child to learn the target language and it is an opportunity to advance your proficiency at the same time.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
千里之行始於足下。
Qiānlǐ zhī xíng shǐ yú zúxià
-Lao Zi, Dao Te Ching
You have already begun the journey. Now stay on the path. Move forward every day.
One step at a time.
Every small step counts.
Trust yourself. You are a model to your child on this target language learning adventure.
Listen to Mandarin songs with your child. Sing together. Listen to bilingual podcasts so you and your child can comprehend the content and enjoy the learning.
Be your child’s learning partner. So, she is not just being given the learning material. Instead she has someone to interact, engage, and play with in the target language.
Read books written in Chinese, Pinyin, and English with quality audio support if you need assistance with the Chinese language.
One song at a time. One page at a time.
Accumulate and build up the language just like what you did for your child after she was born in the first year.
You will experience the excitement of waiting again for the very first word, first phrase, first sentence…
But, this time, in Mandarin.
You need to grow with your child on this journey.
From a baby to a toddler, from a toddler to a kinder, from a kinder to an elementary schooler. From a tween to a teen. There is a different need at each stage. Have empathy for your child. Be curious about your child’s needs.
As you stay on the path you are also building a strong connection with your child.
Resource You Can Use | These items guides you to help your child to play in Mandarin every day
Let’s Learn Mandarin Chinese with Miss Panda! audio lesson album now streaming on Amazon, iTunes, Spotify.
Playful Chinese podcast – Season One 24/7 on Apple Podcast, Amazon Music, Spotify
Storytime with Miss Panda Live! Every Friday on YourTube
Stay On the Path – Bilingual Parenting