October is Celebrating The Bilingual Child

October is here which means it is time to focus on celebrating bilingual children!

Although we know that childhood bilingualism is fabulous and fantastic, it feels as if many in this country haven’t yet come to realize this (let alone celebrate it).

When it comes to bilingual children, words such as worry and concern are often used: “We are concerned that the bilingual children in this country won’t learn English, especially if their parents speak to them in their heritage languages at home.” We hear the word funding all the time: “The funding for our dual language learning program is being cut – yet again!” And, of course, the words motivate, encourage and inspire are key when it comes to bilingual children: “What can I do to motivate bilingual families to keep using their language(s) at home?”

But what about the word celebrate? When was the last time we called out: “Let’s celebrate bilingualism!”

Luckily for us, we have an excellent excuse to do some serious celebrating this month since October is Celebrate The Bilingual Child Month! Having a month set aside each year to celebrate the glories and joys of something as fantastic as childhood bilingualism is a wonderful way to instill pride in bilingual children and involve bilingual families in classroom activities.