1 ENFANT 2 LANGUES
The Role of the Francophone Parent in a Bilingual Family
The earlier that we start, the more natural it will be for the child to communicate in French with the Francophone parent in the family.
In families where the Francophone parent did not speak French to the child from birth, it is worth the effort to change this language habit.
The main things…
- Habitually speak French to the child.
- Obtain support from the non-francophone parent about French.
The challenge…
- As the language of communication between the parents is not French, it may be difficult to adopt a habit of speaking French with the child, especially in the presence of the non-francophone parent.
- How do we not exclude the non-francophone parent? Depending on the attitude and the feelings of the non-francophone parent, we may need to keep to the times when the Francophone parent is alone with the child to speak in French.
- It is essential to expose the child to French every day. For the child to acquire a strong bilingualism in both languages, the critical exposure threshold is at least 30% of the time.
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