ECTACO Info | Parent to Parent: “Multilingualism Fosters Greater Understanding and Acceptance of Other Cultures”
Full Article Source: Multilingual Mania (http://multilingualmania.com/parent-to-parent-multilingualism-fosters-greater-understanding-and-acceptance-of-other-cultures/)
I think the key reason we want to raise our kids trilingual is so they can communicate with their extended families and understand their cultural heritage. I can’t imagine taking them to see their grandparents in Mexico and not be able to communicate to them. To me that is a tragedy. This was really reinforced when my brother (who speaks English, French, Spanish, Italian and Guarani!) had children and was pressured out of speaking French to his son by their pediatrician. I found it so sad at family gatherings that they couldn’t understand what was going on when we spoke with their grandmother or when I spoke to my daughter. On a personal level, my multilingualism is such an important part of who I am, I can’t imagine not sharing that with my girls. On a deeper level, I think multilingualism fosters greater understanding and acceptance of other cultures and people and in an ever-shrinking crowded world, that can only be a good thing..."
excerpt from the article
"....Why is it important to you that you raise your children to be multilingual? Why is multilingualism important to you?
I think the key reason we want to raise our kids trilingual is so they can communicate with their extended families and understand their cultural heritage. I can’t imagine taking them to see their grandparents in Mexico and not be able to communicate to them. To me that is a tragedy. This was really reinforced when my brother (who speaks English, French, Spanish, Italian and Guarani!) had children and was pressured out of speaking French to his son by their pediatrician. I found it so sad at family gatherings that they couldn’t understand what was going on when we spoke with their grandmother or when I spoke to my daughter. On a personal level, my multilingualism is such an important part of who I am, I can’t imagine not sharing that with my girls. On a deeper level, I think multilingualism fosters greater understanding and acceptance of other cultures and people and in an ever-shrinking crowded world, that can only be a good thing..."
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