This part of the toolbox is meant for caregivers of multilingual children. This includes parents, guardians, aunts, uncles, grandparents, siblings, babysitters, and friends—anyone who may have consistent caregiving responsibilities in raising a multilingual child.
The tools are meant to inspire and provide examples of how multilingualism can be not only accepted, but also utilized for learning at home. You can try out these tools at home, in the supermarket, in the park, in a train station, or anywhere that you interact with the multilingual child(ren) in your life. The toolbox was developed for children between 6 and 13 years old, but with a few adaptations, the tools may be suitable for other age groups.
Activities
Estimation game
Model curiosity about language
Ask your child’s friend or a fellow caregiver what language(s) they speak at home, when they learned a language, how they feel when they speak a language. Show your interest in them (and their language(s)). You can also do this with your child’s teacher. Ask them what language(s) they know, and let them know what language(s) you and your child use.
Putting it into action: Go from a place of curiosity and ask someone what language(s) they speak. If you want to inform your child’s teacher about their language(s), use the forms below. The worksheet below can also be used with groups of parents/caregivers.
What’s behind it: showing interest in someone’s language helps to show them and others that many people are multilingual, and home languages can be used outside of the home. Knowing what language(s) someone speaks can help us to interact and use our languages more often and more effectively. As a teacher, it can be super valuable to know what languages your students speak. As a parent or caregiver, learning about what other languages are spoken in your child’s school or classroom, or amongst other parents/caregivers can be interesting, and can show the way you value multilingualism
Compliment your child’s multilingualism
Speaking and understanding multiple languages can truly be a superpower, but it can also be challenging! Take opportunities to compliment your child for their multilingualism and the way you see them growing in their language(s).
Putting it into action: Take time to tell your child that they can be proud of their languages and their multilingual brain.
Example: “You can be super proud of that way you’re learning to count in Dutch at school and in Polish at home, it’s awesome!”
What’s behind it: During design meetings with parents, we often begin asking what languages everyone speaks. People often reference Dutch and English, and how much/little they speak of these two languages. Some people forget that their Turkish, Arabic, Polish, or Spanish is also a language that they speak…and a valuable one at that! It’s important to remind children that
their multilingualism is something that is useful and unique to them! This can also help children to overcome any shame they may have. Perhaps they feel insecure about their vocabulary or pronunciation in one of their languages. Complimenting their perseverance and hard-working multilingual brain can bring more positive association to their multilingualism.
Give your child opportunities to make connections between their languages
Talk about what they’re learning at school, summer camp, or in soccer practice, and help to scaffold their language at home when they may be missing or forgetting certain words.
Putting it into action: Multilingual children can live and thrive between languages, but we can help them process between languages. Often, they have knowledge in multiple languages, but miss a few words in order to share their knowledge. Asking them about what they are learning in school (in Dutch) using your home language can help them to make connections between the two languages (and the concepts!).
Practical example: When talking about math with your child, let them talk. If you hear them describing something, offer them the word for it. They may say, “you know, a number that can always be divided evenly by two and ends in 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8…” You can respond with “Ah, an even number”.
What’s behind it? Encouraging children to share their thoughts even if they don’t have all the words can open opportunities for language learning, as well as conceptual mathematical learning. Once a child has the words to describe their thoughts, you can continue discussion and move towards greater conceptual understanding. In the case of even numbers, knowing the word “even” and making sure your child knows this word can prompt further questioning: how many even numbers are there between 1-100? Are there more even or odd numbers? How do you know?
Look to your daily surroundings
(sitting in the bus station, shopping in the supermarket, or walking to the park) for everyday examples of math… and talk about them! Invite your child(ren) into your thought process.
Putting it into action: Talking about math can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be. Looking for daily examples of math can help children to see math as something that is everywhere and perhaps isn’t so scary. Using multiple languages to do this can enrich the discussion.
Practical example: You’ve opened a new bag of pepernoten. The packaging says 300 grams, but no one knows how many pepernoten that is. How many could it be? What do you think? Why?
What’s behind it? When we first tried this activity with a group of mothers in Veenendaal, everyone sat silently. Once one person shared an idea, another built on that idea, while the third mother listened. Eventually, they worked together using various tools to measure and discuss how many pepernoten there could be without counting.
Sharing your thought process can help expand another’s ideas, or scaffold the thinking and or language of another. Curiosity is a muscle, it helps if we can teach children to exercise it in their daily lives. Talking about math with your child—whether in Dutch, your home language, or multiple languages—can help them to develop their thinking, voice their thinking, and process their thoughts. When sharing your ideas in your home language(s), you are likely using words that your child may passively understand but not use themself, or perhaps not yet be familiar with at all. Talking about math and using the words necessary to do so helps everyone to become more familiar with mathematical words and concepts.
FAQ
FAQ1: I don’t like math, nor do my children. How can I help them?
Ideas: Many parents and caregivers who took part in Multi-STEM research indicated that they didn’t like math, feared math, or had had negative experiences with math as a child. Some also expressed that they (often unwillingly) passed this onto their children. Below are a few tips for caregivers who don’t enjoy math, and find their children also not enjoying it.
- Think about your words and attitude towards math: It’s easy to make your own opinions (consciously or unconsciously) known. If your child comes to you with math homework, instead of saying “Ah, I hated math too”, try saying “Ah, math can be challenging, but you seem to be working hard!”. Instead of saying “you’ll never use this math in real life”, try saying “the math you are working hard on now will help you as you learn math in the coming years”.
- Praise progress and process in math, not result: Many caregivers who participated in Multi-STEM research admitted to being very focused on grades. It was great to see them involved in their children’s education. However, specifically in math, it helps if we praise children for progress they are making instead of grades. If your child got a 4 on their first test, and a 6 on their second test, you can praise their improvement. If your child finds something about math challenging, praise them for persevering.
- Show your children that math can be fun: Have a look at some of the activities offered in the toolbox! Math goes far beyond calculations. Doing activities where your child can learn to think mathematically can help them to see that math is a) everywhere and b) fun!
People at school tell me to speak Dutch with my child, but I’ve also heard that I should speak my home language. What should I do?
Ideas: We heard this quite frequently from Multi-STEM research participants. While the advice to speak Dutch with your child (regardless of your level of Dutch) is changing, it is still very much the “norm” in certain places. In our research, we also saw that even in situations when caregivers were advised to speak their home language with their children, they felt pressure to speak Dutch.
The choice to speak one language or another language (or multiple languages!) with your child is yours. Caregivers in our research indicated that they could discuss mathematical content much more thoroughly in their home language. They indicated that this was easier for them, that they could find their words more quickly, and that they felt more confident when using their home language.
There is no right or wrong answer as to which language(s) you should speak with your children. It is most important that you feel confident and able to converse in your child in whichever language(s) you use.
I’m from a different country and don’t understand the strategies they are teaching my child in math here. What can I do?
Ideas: We heard this from many caregivers during our research. Some were frustrated, some were curious, and all had a desire to learn more about how their children were learning math. The first thing you can do is let your child and their teacher know that you’re interested in the math that they are learning. This shows your involvement.
Secondly, don’t be afraid to ask the teacher how your child is learning math. You can ask your child for an explanation, or ask the teacher. They may not have time immediately, but often they are willing to make time if you are really interested. Some schools also have math lessons for caregivers who are interested in learning about how their children are doing math.
You can also look up math methods in your home language/home country. Helping with homework or practicing calculations at home is important, but there are other ways to help your child with math. Have a look at some of the activities available in the toolbox, perhaps they give some ideas about how to support your multilingual child’s mathematical thinking.
