Tips for maintaining bilingualism in everyday life

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There are many reasons to enroll your child in a bilingual school: to continue an already bilingual environment at home, or to learn a second language, such as French or English, depending on the language already spoken. It's particularly in the latter case that the question arises of how to continue bilingualism at home.

At Esclaibes bilingual schools, children spend as much time in a French-speaking environment as in an English-speaking one. But one question often comes up: how can this linguistic bath be extended at home?

If each parent speaks a different language, the use of languages comes naturally. Children switch from one language to another depending on who they're talking to. And family rules can be put in place, like a dinner party where everyone speaks English.

But what can you do when your parents aren't bilingual themselves? How can you help your child practice, progress and become bilingual? And what activities can help maintain exposure to both languages, particularly outside the school environment?

Here are some concrete, accessible ways to support bilingualism on a daily basis, without pressure and with pleasure.

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Continuing bilingualism at home with an immersive environment

A child learns a language by listening to it, using it and integrating it into everyday life. Even if parents don't master the target language, they can structure a supportive environment.
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Applying the OPOL method, One Person, One Language

If each parent speaks a different language, this method is ideal. Each parent addresses the child solely in his or her mother tongue. This approach enables the child to develop two distinct language systems.
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Opt for the ML@H method, Minority Language at Home

When both parents share the same mother tongue, they may decide to use this target language exclusively at home. This approach works well if the second language is taught at school.

In fact, it's preferable for the child to learn the language best mastered at home, and to be immersed in the other language at school and in extra-curricular activities. If the child speaks English, Arabic, Italian, etc. at home, he or she will learn French in class and with friends.
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Creating moments dedicated to the target language

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If, for example, the objective is to develop English language learning, you can :

• Set a topic (e.g., marine animals, space) and talk about it throughout the day or week, plan games on the theme to integrate the associated vocabulary, etc.
  
  
• Cooking with recipes in English: read the instructions or listen to them in a video, name the ingredients and comment on the action.
  
  
• Organize an English Day or French Day, depending on the target language: on this day, the child hears and speaks only in the target language. This requires mastery of the target language.
  
  

Using routines to reinforce language

‍Smalleveryday rituals are perfect for integrating vocabulary. If we take the example of the child learning English, accompany him on little expressions, which even without being a bilingual parent, you can easily acquire.‍
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• Brushing your teeth : let's brush your teeth! One, two, three...
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• Mettre la table : can you set the table, please ?
  
  
• Read the time and plan your day: what's the time? What are we doing next?
  

• Ranger : where does this book go?

In the end, even if you're not fluent, the important thing is to dare to use the language with your child!

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Everyday bilingualism through fun activities

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‍Languagelearning is most effective when combined with fun. So make way for games and interactive activities.

Of course, depending on the child's age, you can offer cartoons and films in the original version, with subtitles in the mother tongue, then progressively in the target language.

You can also use educational applications and interactive online games to brush up on vocabulary and grammar. Nevertheless, to avoid overexposure to screens, here are a few ideas... without screens:

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Bilingual board games

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• invent a story in English (or French) using images or dice like those in Story Cubes ;
  
  
• associate pictures and words in the target language to enrich vocabulary, for example with a Dobble or a Lynx game;
  
  
• form words in English or French by playing Scrabble Junior, or make age-appropriate crosswords to practice on your own.
  
  

Role-playing and creative activities

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• play shopkeeper, doctor or teacher, improvising dialogues in the target language;
  
  
• create a bilingual photo album with captions in both languages;
  
  
• keep a short written, audio or video diary of your weekend, in English or French, depending on the language.
  
  

Singing, listening and telling stories

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• Listen to and learn English nursery rhymes: The Wheels on the Bus; Twinkle Twinkle Little Star; Head, shoulders, knees and toes or French nursery rhymes. These suggestions work regardless of the second language to be acquired.
  
  
• Invent a story by mixing languages: the child narrates in French and the adult reformulates part of the story in English. You can use children's books without text.
  
  
• Listen to stories in English (or French) with the help of storytellers, podcasts such as Little Stories for Tiny People in English and France Inter's children's podcasts in French. You can also borrow children's books translated into various languages from the libraries, and read them to your child.

Developing bilingualism at home through reading

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Reading is also an excellent way to enrich your vocabulary and improve your understanding of the language you're learning. For this to be both enjoyable and effective, you need to :

Choosing the right books

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• Bilingual albums where each page features a text in French and English.
  
  
• Simple books for beginners, such as Eric Carle's Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The French version is just as suitable for children learning French.
  
  
• More advanced books for older children, such as those by Roald Dahl including the famous, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or albums like Julia Donaldson's The Gruffalo.
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Setting up reading rituals

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• For example, one book in English, one in French each evening, when the books are small, and an excerpt when the books are larger.
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• Or listen to an audio version while reading the text.
  
  
• And don't forget to visit the library and/or bookshop regularly to let your child choose his or her own books. Their interest will be heightened.

And if the child doesn't understand everything when he listens to a story, that's no problem: he absorbs the sounds and the context.

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Maintaining language exposure through social interaction

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‍Alanguage is learned by using it with native speakers. To encourage such encounters, there's nothing like :

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Multiply interactions with English or French speakers
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• by organizing meetings with bilingual families;
  
  
• finding an English-speaking babysitter for a few hours a week;
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• enrolling your child in extracurricular activities (sports, choir, drawing, etc.),
  
  
• by taking part in conversation groups or bilingual workshops.
  
  

Sign up for immersion courses and workshops

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‍Otheravenues to explore via each bilingual school, in Paris, Marseille or Clichy, in the Esclaibes International Schools network:

• Wednesday Workshops in English;
  
  
• Vacation Workshops to learn English.

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These meetings give children the chance to practice English in a structured, interactive setting.

Children's English courses offer complete immersion through projects carried out in the language, during the school vacations.

Wednesday workshops are based on funactivities for learning English from kindergarten onwards. Elementary students can opt for Wednesday Tutoring.

These formats are perfect for gaining fluency while having fun. And they're also accessible to children outside the school.

The most important thing is to give the child real opportunities to interact in the target language.

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A bilingual environment can't be built in a day. What's important is regularity and variety of supports and situations. You can :

• Encourage the use of English at key moments in everyday life.
  
  
• Give priority to games, reading and human interaction over screens.
  
  
• Multiply interactions with English speakers and immersion activities.
  
  

The aim is not perfection, but to make language a pleasure rather than a constraint. By integrating playful, natural rituals, children develop a fluid, lasting bilingualism.