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News Release
Uncovering The Challenges Facing Parents With Bilingual And Multilingual Children
12 March 2010
Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
One in four UK children has a mother born overseas which means at least one parent speaks a foreign language at home. But what are the challenges for parents raising bilingual and multilingual offspring? This is just one of the questions up for debate at the Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) Festival of Social Science on 19 March.
The event ‘Bringing up Bilingual and Multilingual Children’ will investigate the challenges of bringing up children with multiple languages. Event organizer Dr Zhu Hua from Birkbeck College at the University of London says, “Children who use two or more languages from a young age have many advantages”. But she points out “there are many misconceptions about the process”.
Dr Hua continues: “Bringing up children bilingually can be challenging at times, partly because there is a shortage of knowledge, resources and support network. Furthermore it requires joint efforts from parents, children and professionals.”
The purpose of the event is to offer guidance to parents and enable them to share their personal experiences. Parents and grandparents with experiences of bringing up children this way will be a key part of the audience and debate. They will be encouraged to come with their own stories and advice. International experts from bilingualism, bilingual education, sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics and speech and language therapy will also be attending.
As part of the event a panel of experts will offer answers to questions such as:
- Why does any parent want to bring up their children bilingually or multilingually?
- If they do, what is the best way to achieve a good level of competence without putting unnecessary stress on the children?
- What are the implications of being bilingual or multilingual in the early years of a child’s schooling?
The panel presentation will be followed by an open discussion giving parents and professionals the opportunity to share experiences. The event will also provide material on further research. As part of the event organisers will be carrying out a survey on the day into the current issues facing bilingual and multilingual families in London in the 21st century.
The event also includes an exhibition by multi-lingual publishers of learning resources.