The last night at Glen Waverley Library was devoted to Bilingualism. Our speaker, Averil Grieve, is a very active supporter of maintaining two mother tongues in the Australian home and she had some great insights to share, and lots of marvellous tips!
Amazingly, there are 260 languages spoken in Australia (60 of those indigenous). Despite a study in the 1950's which 'found' that bilingualism confuses the child and leads to learning difficulties and all sorts of other problems, Dr Grieve cited recent studies that found, the bilingual brain promotes strong thinking skills, greater cultural awareness and increases reading comprehension. It allows for more career opportunities and makes travel a more exciting prospect - and: it delays the onset of Alzheimer by about five years!
Amazingly, there are 260 languages spoken in Australia (60 of those indigenous). Despite a study in the 1950's which 'found' that bilingualism confuses the child and leads to learning difficulties and all sorts of other problems, Dr Grieve cited recent studies that found, the bilingual brain promotes strong thinking skills, greater cultural awareness and increases reading comprehension. It allows for more career opportunities and makes travel a more exciting prospect - and: it delays the onset of Alzheimer by about five years!
Interesting diagrams and pictures helped Averil to demonstrate the positive effects of bilingualism. What happens when you have more than one language to see, understand and comprehend your world, she asked. Well, you have a unique way of expressing yourself!
Example: A table is not just a table but also a "Tisch". And everything you associate with the table (food, decorations, people gathering around to talk or to play a game, doing homework), the brain registeres simultaneously in the other language! Wow, how busy our brains are! And not only do they store away the vocabulary, at the same time the emotions associated with these activities are scored up - taste, comfort, beauty, fun, excitement ... Since these activities are coloured by culture and traditions (Australians eat different food to Germans, gather for different traditional activities etc), the brain processes that information as well! No wonder then that our childhood memories remain such a strong feature in our lives - that's when we learned to distinguish various activities and learned our internal language.
Averil delighted us with her story about the "language police" in her home. To give their children the best possible chance to maintain their German language, Averil's family speaks German at home. Inevitably (we all know!), the odd English word slips into a German conversation - simply because it's the one we first think of or because that particular expression is not a German one. If that happens, Averil's daughter (die Sprachpolizistin) is quick to issue a fine to the offender!
And should you wonder how children who are raised in a language other than English manage to cope in the world outside the home, well: English comes for free! Inevitably, children hear English! On the radio or the TV, when Mum or Dad make a phone call, when the neighbours call by, when the family goes shopping or to the playground ... English is all around and children are exposed to it every day.
If you are interested to find out more about the bilingual child, visit the Deutsche Schule Melbourne at its next open day and watch bilingualism in action! It is a marvellous experience! And most likely you get to meet Averil, she usually speaks at the Open Days!
The Deutsche Schule Melbourne is at 96 Barkly, Street North Fitzroy. The next Open Day is on the 13 March, 5- 7 pm.
Example: A table is not just a table but also a "Tisch". And everything you associate with the table (food, decorations, people gathering around to talk or to play a game, doing homework), the brain registeres simultaneously in the other language! Wow, how busy our brains are! And not only do they store away the vocabulary, at the same time the emotions associated with these activities are scored up - taste, comfort, beauty, fun, excitement ... Since these activities are coloured by culture and traditions (Australians eat different food to Germans, gather for different traditional activities etc), the brain processes that information as well! No wonder then that our childhood memories remain such a strong feature in our lives - that's when we learned to distinguish various activities and learned our internal language.
Averil delighted us with her story about the "language police" in her home. To give their children the best possible chance to maintain their German language, Averil's family speaks German at home. Inevitably (we all know!), the odd English word slips into a German conversation - simply because it's the one we first think of or because that particular expression is not a German one. If that happens, Averil's daughter (die Sprachpolizistin) is quick to issue a fine to the offender!
And should you wonder how children who are raised in a language other than English manage to cope in the world outside the home, well: English comes for free! Inevitably, children hear English! On the radio or the TV, when Mum or Dad make a phone call, when the neighbours call by, when the family goes shopping or to the playground ... English is all around and children are exposed to it every day.
If you are interested to find out more about the bilingual child, visit the Deutsche Schule Melbourne at its next open day and watch bilingualism in action! It is a marvellous experience! And most likely you get to meet Averil, she usually speaks at the Open Days!
The Deutsche Schule Melbourne is at 96 Barkly, Street North Fitzroy. The next Open Day is on the 13 March, 5- 7 pm.
