Integrating Bilingual Children into Language Classes

During your first lesson, you should try to find out if you have bilingual children in your class. Let them talk about where they or their parents come from and where they learned the language. Some may have been born in another country; others have a parent with a different mother tongue or even an au-pair from abroad.

Show them from the beginning that you appreciate their knowledge and are willing to integrate them into your lessons. Do not see them as rivals; make them your allies. There are not many complicated special needs bilingual children have. They simply do not want to be bored.

Ask the bilingual child or children to stay after the other children have left the classroom. Tell them that you would like them to help you. Most children are bursting with pride when adults, especially teachers or other persons with authority, signal that they need their help. Together, try to find a way to integrate them into class.

Maybe they can make a short presentation about their home country / their parents’ home country and tell the class about the culture, the food, the traditions and what they like or do not like from that country. This would be a win-win situation. These children have a special task and can work on that while the other children follow the normal lessons and the presentations are sure to capture the interest of the classmates. They will get a stronger bond to the new language if they can experience it through their bilingual mates.

Make the bilingual children your co-teachers. When the other children have to work on their own or in small groups, for example, the bilingual children can go round and help them. You can prepare the next task in the meantime. Or ask them to explain certain grammar exceptions or idioms to the class.

Whenever you start a new topic, you could ask them beforehand if they like to prepare some additional information for the class. Thus, they will be busy during lessons without getting bored. They will thank you these tasks with little disruptions and good behavior during lessons.

Make them feel special. They are special and they should be proud of it. However, watch out for them starting to show off or pick on other children. If they do, you have to stop that at once. They are special but not superior to others only because they speak more languages.

You see, bilingual children can be a great enrichment to your language class but they can become a problem too if they start to feel superior to others. A healthy balance between assigning them special tasks and treating them the same way as their classmates may be difficult to attain but is essential.

Advantages for Bilingual Children when Learning Further Languages