Celebrating International Mother Language Day in Classes With LESLLA Learners

by Theresa Wall

February 21 will be the United Nations' International Mother Language Day, which each year celebrates language diversity and variety worldwide. We have all heard statements that second language learners, young and old, should focus on the language spoken in their new country and community and leave behind the language(s) that they have spoken in their countries. I still remember seeing an ‘English only’ sign in a school hallway in one of my first teaching jobs.

At the same time, attitudes are beginning to shift as we begin to understand the benefits of being bilingual and biliterate. We now know that children who speak their mother tongue at home and in their communities do better in learning an additional language, the language of the new country and education system, than those who speak only one language. ‘Judicial use of the first language’ in classes was one of the promising practices that Condelli and Wrigley (2008) highlighted in their What Works Study: Instruction, Literacy, and Language Learning for Adult ESL Literacy Students. We are now beginning to see more research on the benefits of using the first language with adult language learners as well.

What can teachers of LESLLA learners do?

As teachers and tutors working with LESLLA learners (adults who are learning to read and write for the first time, in any language, and who have migrated to a country where they need to be orally proficient and literate in a new language), there are several ways that we can promote mother tongue use in our classes and communities. Here are a few ideas to get started.

Learn about bilingualism and what it means for learners, their families, and their communities. Take advantage of some of the many virtual workshops and conferences on heritage language use in target language classes. Read an article about including learners’ home languages in the classroom, or talk with a colleague about ways to promote the home language in your community.

Encourage mother tongue use in your classes. Think about ways to included learners’ home languages in your classes and the different activities you can do; for example, invite learners to clarify concepts with each other in their home language; share words and phrases in the languages they speak; if you have picked up some key words in their languages, use them with the learners; and encourage them to read books and articles in their home language.

Visit the Heritage Language Resources Hub on LESLLA’s website and use one or more of the stories in home languages of the learners in your class in a learning activity. Try out one of the tried and tested activities and projects shared by teachers in Italy, like the books they wrote or the multilingual children’s book fair.

Talk to the learners in your classes about the benefits and challenges of home language maintenance and development. Family decisions around home language use are complex. Parents may be discouraged by educators and others from using their mother tongue at home. And, once children start school, it’s common for them to no longer want to speak the home language. Here are some ideas from the Mother Language group about ways that parents can encourage their children to speak their mother tongue at home and in their communities.

On this International Mother Language Day, let’s commit to learning about and promoting the use of heritage languages in our classrooms and communities.

Learn More:

·      Heritage Language Hub: https://www.leslla.org/hub-overview

·      Mother Tongues: https://discover.mothertongues.ie