Event

Multilingual Childraising: Giving children access to the world

Saturday, September 21st, 2019, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM

Speaker: Christine Provenzano

(Please note: "Individual Factors, Mindsets, and FLL" by Mike Berg, originally scheduled as an additional presentation today, has been postponed to a future date TBA)

As the population of long-term non-Japanese residents rises in Japanese cities like Fukuoka, more and more families with at least one non-Japanese parent are working to help their children make the most of their international background by developing two, three, or more languages from birth. In such families, the non-Japanese parents may believe that it is a matter of course that their children will learn both Japanese and the heritage language. In reality, however, it is very often not the case.

Developing bilingualism and, in particular, biliteracy for children in such families requires sustained effort and dedication to the task by the whole family. It sounds very daunting, but the journey can be fun and rewarding for everyone, with the resulting experiences and skills providing opportunities for children that can carry them into the future.

The presenter will discuss strategies and approaches employed by creative parents all over Japan who have found a variety of ways to work towards the goal of bi- or multi-lingualism (and -literacy) with their children in this relatively monolingual society, with some cautionary tales thrown in to warn of possible misconceptions and pitfalls. Suggestions for parents will be offered, and the experiences of parents who have already walked the path will be solicited in an open discussion in the last part of the presentation. This presentation may be of interest to anyone wishing to share their experiences or, conversely, to learn from those who have "been there, done that". References for those with a deeper academic interest in bilingualism will also be provided.

By sharing our stories, we can learn from each other as we work to give our children greater access to the world.

Presenter Bio: Christie Provenzano is an associate professor at Chikushi Jo Gakuen University in Dazaifu, Fukuoka. Her interest in children's bilingual development is both personal and academic, as she has launched two Japanese/English bilingual daughters into the world and has an active seminar classroom full of student researchers in bilingualism at Chikujo. She can be reached at pcprov@mac.com

Organization: Fukuoka Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (Fukuoka JALT)

Cost: JALT Members: free
Non-members: 1,000 yen

Venue: Tenjin, Fukuoka City: Kurume University Satellite Campus (ELGALA building, next to Daimaru, room 601-2 map

Location: Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan

Contact Fukuoka JALT

Trevor Holster