Blog Assignment 5

Watching this video on language development made me think of a fellow mother in a playgroup whose child was referred to a speech specialist because he showed delayed language development. She was trying to raise him bilingually in the U.S.--she spoke to him in Japanese, his father spoke to him in English, and he attended a U.S. school. But because he was deemed as having a "problem," I think she gave up trying to speak to him in Japanese. That is just too bad. As was the case with my kids, sometimes it takes time for kids in a bilingual environment to show true fluency in one language, and if the language support is not strong enough, he may not ever become fully fluent in one language. But the cognitive and cultural gifts that knowing a second language are too great, and so as a parent, I will continue to support my children's dual language development. And as a teacher, I will wholeheartedly encourage second, even third language use at home.