Families have different styles of teaching their kids to speak both English and Chinese. For families who have one parent who can speak Mandarin-Chinese, they can opt to use the One Parent, One Language (OPOL) method. This technique prescribes that one of the parents will speak only Chinese to the children at all times, while the other parent will speak only English to kids. This should be rigidly exercised, as consistency is key. By having one parent speak a language consistently, the children will be able to pick up what language to use with a parent. Children eventually learn to speak Chinese with the Chinese-speaking parent, and English with the other parent.
In the book "7 Steps to Raising a Bilingual Child," Naomi Steiner shares some benefits of using the One Parent, One Language Technique to help a child learn Chinese. The main benefit of using the OPOL technique is that it encompasses all the problems encountered when learning a language. In the end, what is most notable about this technique is that it assures children of a huge total number of exposure to the Chinese language.
Consistency is a main problem in raising a child to learn Mandarin-Chinese. Some families start a child on a language, but later on, due to assorted reasons, the exposure becomes less and less. If one parent consistently talks to a child in Chinese, the child will eventually learn the language.
Also, compared to other techniques, the One Parent, One Language system is fairly simple to carry out. Upon deciding that a child will be raised bilingual, each parent can just assign to each other "You speak to her in Chinese, I speak to her in English." Some families schedule second language sessions at home. "Let's speak Chinese to each other on Tuesday nights", or weekends, or whenever. It is easier to forget when the next talk session will be.
The language boundary is very easy to see. Kids will quickly get it to speak to mom only in Chinese, and only English to Dad. More so if there are extended family living nearby or making frequent calls, and they also speak to the child in the same language as the parent does, a child can easily identify that "This is Mommy's language. This is Daddy's language."
When using the One Parent, One Language technique, children become accustomed to respond to the parent in the same language any time, any place. Other techniques may make a child hesitant or shy to answer a parent in Chinese when at home, or when they go out. With this technique, the child gets it is but natural to talk to a parent in Chinese wherever they are, who ever they are with.
It is more orderly for a child to learn two languages at the same time when Dad speaks Chinese only and mom speaks English only. Most likely, mixing languages up is less likely to occur when the child knows English is to be used for mom only and Chinese is to be used on dad only.
The OPOL system can be backed up with other language activities outside the home, such as attending Chinese camp, play dates with other Chinese-speaking playmates, etc. A Chinese-speaking baby sitter may also be of great help. If you live near a Chinese-speaking community, take your child along with you during grocery shopping, etc. so they can hear Chinese being spoken by other people as well. Introducing your child to books like Chinese Made Easy would also greatly help.
One problem that may bother parents is that kids may feel that the other parent is excluded, particularly if that parent does not understand or speak the language. One recommendation for this discomfort is for one parent to speak to the child in Chinese and request them to tell the other parent something in the other language. As the other parent responds in English, he/ she can also ask the child to involve the other parent. An example, can be "Tell Daddy what you did today." Child then proceeds to tell Daddy in Mandarin-Chinese. Dad can then ask in Mandarin-Chinese "How about Mommy? Did she enjoy the visit to the museum with you?" Then child can ask mom the question in English as well.
With consistent use, the One Parent One Language technique can be a big help to children learn both Chinese and English at the same time.
owner of the site Childbook.com that offers excellent Chinese textbooks like Kuaile Hanyu and Chinese Made Easy. Childbook.com also offers free Chinese New Year worksheets and other resources for your child to learn.
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