Using expanded from a

Bam Radio Network segment

Mother
Tongues
as Building
Blocks

© Fjcjgphotography/Shutterstock
in
Childhood Education

“The limits of my language mean the
limits of my world.”
—Ludwig Wittgenstein
“The world is richer
than it is possible to express
in any one language.”
—Ilya Prigogine,
Nobel Prize-winning scientist
“If we spoke a different language,
we would perceive a
somewhat different world.”
—Ludwig Wittgenstein
F
orty-one years ago, on June 16, 1972, 176
Zulu-speakers, including many children,
were gunned down in Soweto, South
Africa. They had assembled to peace-
ably protest the introduction of Afrikaans
as the medium of instruction in then-apartheid
South Africa. They were being denied the right to
learn in their home languages. This was just two
years after the birth of Bangladesh and 24 years
after several Bangladeshi intellectuals, including
four university students, were killed (on February
21, 1952) while fighting for their right to speak,
read, and write their language. In 1999, recogniz-
ing the sacrifices of these and other brave indi-
viduals who risked their lives while defending
their language rights, the United Nations declared
February 21 International Mother Language Day,
a global celebration of language diversity.

by Anita Pandey
Anita Pandey is Professor of Applied Linguistics, and Coordinator,
Professional Development & Technical & Professional Communication,
Department of English and Language Arts, Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland.

January/February 2014 / 61

CEvol90no1.indd 61 12/4/13 8:55 AM

 All around the world, communities have been
experiencing linguistic erosion in varying degrees,
as English usage—and use of other ex-colonial lan-
guages, like French in francophone Africa, Spanish in
the bulk of Latin America, and Portuguese in Angola,
Brazil, Mozambique, and East Timur—steadily sur-
pass local language usage in institutions of power,
including schools (Buque, 2013). Parents and other
educators tend to believe that English and the other
dominant European languages are more prestigious,
and will take their children further educationally. Yet,
use of the mother tongue (MT) is essential for inter-
personal and educational success, particularly in the
early years (see also Heugh, 2011; Pandey, 2013a).
In a 2012 study involving 24 schools in Camer-
oon—12 of which employed the local language,
Kom, for the first three grades (before transitioning
children to English) and 12 others that used just Eng-
lish—the children who started out using their MT,
Kom, outperformed their peers in the English-only
schools in all subject areas, including reading, math,
and even English (see “Mother,” 2013). In North
America, specifically the United States and Canada,
studies suggest similar benefits of early bilingualism
(Carlson & Metzoff, 2008; Pandey, 2013a).
When you devalue home languages by, for in-
stance, using just English with students who speak
another language at home, you stifle learning and
community engagement. Some language laws, like
Arizona’s English-only law and Russia’s law banning
instruction in minority languages like Bashkir and Ta-
tar (effective September 1, 2013), silence students and
jeopardize the success of entire communities. They
prompt us to ask why linguistic progress—a prereq-
uisite for educational success across the globe—has
not kept pace with technological advancements.
In celebration of the 2013 International Mother Lan-
guage Day, ACEI Executive Director, Diane White-
head (DW), discussed this subject with the author
(AP), in the interview below. The condensed version
of their BAM Radio Network exchange is available at
http://acei.org/news-publications/acei-radio.html.
Drawing on current research, it is a tribute to the ad-
vocacy efforts and sacrifices of individuals all over
the globe who celebrate the magic of multilingualism,
and who recognize the importance of including heri-
tage languages in early and lifelong schooling and
community building.
Editor’s Note: Anita Pandey is the author of Language
Building Blocks: Essential Linguistics for Early Childhood
Educators, from Teachers College Press, which further
elaborates on the ideas and research mentioned in
this interview.
62 \ Childhood Education
CEvol90no1.indd 62
DW: Anita, why is language, in general,
so important to a child’s development and
early education?
AP: Language is the foundation for all learning, in-
cluding interpersonal communication, reading, writ-
ing, and the core content we expect children to know.
Children’s language also mirrors what they know,
and how they categorize information and conceptu-
alize their world. How children respond, talk, read,
and/or write also signals their readiness for various
skills and content learning. Language is, in fact, the
most effective means through which we assess chil-
dren’s abilities and knowledge base. Since language
is both the vehicle for acquiring more knowledge
and an end in itself, it is beneficial to focus on its in-
dividual components—the building blocks of early
education.
Take, for instance, the alphabet of a language like
English. It can be quite challenging to teach many
English language learners how the 26 letters of Eng-
lish make over twice as many sounds. It is helpful to
use a phonetic home language, like Hindi or Spanish,
where the letters and sounds correspond. The con-
ventional English alphabet song doesn’t make it clear
that A can make some six sounds. To teach my own
children that A makes multiple sounds, I drew on
Hindi, which has a vowel alphabet and a consonant
one. The Hindi vowel alphabet has 12 letters, one for
each sound, namely: a, aa, i, ee, u, oo, é, ei, o, ow, əŋ, ə.
The same vowel sounds are used in English, but are
hidden in just five letters (a, e, i, o, and u).
This mismatch between letters and sounds, and the
fact that English has no consistent way of capturing
sounds makes English pronunciation and reading/
spelling difficult. By drawing on other languages,
I was able to successfully teach my children that
the letters of English are like suitcases; they carry
sounds—often more than two (see Pandey, 2012,
Fig. 1, pp. 20-21). My children and I also employed
a sound-based alphabet song, using personalized
catch-phrases and pseudonyms they proposed: All of
Anita’s apples, arms, angels and—anything else?
Another reason language is critical for early and
continued learning and a predictor of childhood
success is that it is scientific and, as such, should be
taught systematically. When we pause to think, for
example, that the consonant sounds made in all 6,000
or so languages that are still in everyday use add up
to just 58 sounds in all (see the International Phonetic
Alphabet [IPA]), we quickly realize that we have
more in common than we might think. Similarly, the
vowel chart contains an average of 12 sounds for
most languages. As I mentioned, the same 12 vowel
sounds used in Hindi and Urdu are employed in
12/4/13 8:55 AM
 English. The only difference is that while Hindi and
Urdu have one letter for each of these vowel sounds
(i.e., 12 letter sounds), English has just five letters for
all 12. Use of the IPA chart could help teachers iden-
tify which consonants are employed in a specific lan-
guage (e.g., Thai); once we add up the vowels (e.g.,
by referring to the English vowel chart), we realize
that 45 to 50 sounds are typically used in English,
depending on one’s accent. Indeed, language unites
us, and mirrors our humanity and our individuality
better than any other trait.
DW: Why is mother language so important
to a child?
AP: The mother tongue (MT) or one’s primary
language—these are not necessarily synonymous—
represents the comfort zone essential for learning,
especially in early years when children latch on to
the familiar. Children need to be relaxed before they
can learn, as stress could interfere with learning.
Dual language learners may display traits frequently
associated with learning disabilities, and be labeled
as such; yet it may be their high anxiety prompting
misdiagnoses.
The MT is the primary means through which a
child makes sense of her world and connects with
others—learning new words and vital content. While
dialoging, she observes and engages in meaning-
making, learns about proxemics (the physical distance
she is expected to maintain, which varies from culture
to culture), and develops communication strategies
(e.g., turn-taking and conversation entry prompts).
Through interaction—easiest in the MT—she masters
culture-specific politeness norms, such as how to ap-
propriately respond to gratitude (e.g., by uttering De
rien!/You’re welcome!), and to apologize when she of-
fends someone or behaves in a socially unacceptable
way (e.g., by saying “Excuse me!,” although not all
languages have equivalent expressions).
Children need the familiar as a bridge to the un-
known. Continued use of another language allows
children to connect with more people (i.e., learn
about others). Indeed, it literally expands their circles
and enables them to comfortably navigate both their
primary culture and the school or secondary one.
Research also shows that continued use of the
MT actually facilitates acquisition of subsequent
languages, including English. When we think about
this, it makes sense that we learn more about our
primary language in the course of learning another,
as we compare the other language to ours. Without
continued use of the MT, a child feels lost, uprooted.
Perhaps the best analogy I can think of is a plant’s
roots. Put a stem in water and you are likely to find
CEvol90no1.indd 63
that while up to 10% might take root, the vast major-
ity will wilt and dry. A powerful Spanish dicho or
proverb sums up the value of the MT in every child’s
life: “El árbol fuerté tiene raices maduras” (A strong
tree has mature, strong roots).
When you cut out the MT in a bid to supposedly
accelerate mastery of English or another “second”
language, you end up with catastrophes. In Arizona,
for example, “English language learners,” as DLLs are
often described (although this is an ideologically load-
ed term that elevates and prioritizes just English), are
forced to take four hours of English a day. Arizona’s
goal is to transition DLLs to English only as quickly
as possible (i.e., to essentially eliminate the MT), typi-
cally within a year, or two at most. Yet research shows
that students need a minimum of five years, and ide-
ally seven, to master academic language.
In pre-World War II United States, however, bilin-
gual instruction was provided—and in multiple lan-
guages. Wartime saw the birth of linguistic control,
reflected in anti-German sentiments and legislature
requiring proficiency in English for naturalization. It
was around this time that fines (of up of $25 in Balti-
more, for instance) were imposed for using languages
other than English. Not surprisingly, educational
failure became a reality for many children, evidenc-
ing the need for the MT. When English was imposed
(initiated by President T. Roosevelt) in Puerto Rico,
following the Spanish-American war, 84% of 3rd-
graders dropped out right away. Puerto Rico is still
recovering from that decision, as is Hawaii and the
Philippines, where similar educational failures result-
ed when the United States mandated use of English.
Ignoring or minimizing use of the MT in a child’s
life also causes other problems, including misdiagno-
sis of learning disabilities, as was noted, and undue
pressure on the part of children who speak other lan-
guages to perform in English-dominant or English-
only schools. Low self-esteem and identity crises are
rampant, and often lead to a high drop-out rate—all
of which bode badly for a nation with an aging popu-
lation that is dependant on this generation. So we
must make every effort to stop failing our children—and
use of the MT and a mathematical language-building-
blocks approach could be just the solution.
Language diversity is, as most of us know, a child’s
passport to participation in the global economy. Dif-
ferent languages allow us to appreciate and convey
unique culture-specific meanings (Pandey, 2013b).
The ML enables children to hear, see, feel, and taste
unique concepts for which another language might
lack equivalent terms. Indeed, everything valued in a
culture is encoded in its language.
Most languages have unique words and longer
language units that lack exact equivalents in English
January/February 2014 / 63
12/4/13 8:55 AM
 (see Pandey, 2013b). Examples include Portuguese
suadade, a term that communicates one’s longing
for childhood foods and other cultural enjoyments.
Cariňo, the Spanish term of endearment for a child or
a romantic connection, is not the same as “my dear.”
Urdu uses the terms wasool, lajh-sharam, sankoch,
and farz (now adopted by Hindi, Punjabi, and many
other languages). Wasool is like recoup, but not ex-
actly; one could go to a shadi (i.e., a wedding) and
“wasool” the equivalent value of one’s gift in food
and entertainment. The terms lajh-sharam (roughly
honor and shame) date back to Mughal-influenced
India and were borrowed from Farsi and/or Arabic.
They explain some individuals’ expectations regard-
ing gender-specific roles and demeanor, including
dress codes and verbal and body language. Farz
(termed farj in Hindi, which has no /z/ sound) refers
to obligation in Farsi, much like Portuguese obrigago
and Japanese arigato—an obligatory thanks. These
are culture-specific forms of politeness that someone
who speaks English alone might have trouble truly
appreciating. Farz prompts an Indian hotel manager
to ask if an individual who has expressed an interest
in staying at his/her hotel wishes to pay in advance
or at the time of arrival. In short, to require pre-pay-
ment is considered rude in this Farz-oriented culture.
Sankoch (borrowed from Farsi, where the equiva-
lent is termed tariif) is a Hindi term that captures
one’s hesitation to inconvenience one’s host and re-
quire guests to persistently decline hospitality until
they are forced to accept. Hosts, on their part, have
to literally badger their guests into acceptance. The
process of coaxing a guest to accept chai-pani (i.e., a
drink and snack) can be long and exhausting from
an outsider’s perspective. Varieties of English in
use around the word also differ. For example, in In-
dian English, “foreign” means “promptly” or “right
away,” and “no” means “yes,” when used as a tag
question (e.g., “It was a good film, no?”).
Some words have added meanings in other lan-
guages. In Spanish, the term educacíon refers to man-
ners or positive demeanor as well as book-based
education. So, one could be schooled, yet have poco
or no educacíon in this primarily oral culture that
prizes respect and positive (oral) language use. By
focusing on the MT, then, we gain valuable insights
into key cultural literacy practices that account for
children’s success (or lack, thereof) at literacies em-
phasized at school.
Inventorying culture this way—by listing lan-
guage and dialect-specific sounds, words, and (non)
verbal expressions—could go a long way toward
enhancing children’s and adult educators’ global
understanding. We owe it to our children to peri-
odically investigate their out-of-class language and
64 \ Childhood Education
CEvol90no1.indd 64
literacy habits—through, for instance, homework
assignments that require use of the MT (e.g., inquir-
ing about their weekly translation engagements;
see Dorner, Orellana, & Li-Grining, 2007). Ask them
about other languages they understand, speak, read,
and/or write. Their MT is very likely their primary
language; it embodies valuable cultural capital and is
an integral part of their identity. It is who they are,
where they came from, and where they are headed.
MT use also enables children to expand their think-
ing—to engage in cultural ways of conceptualizing
(i.e., bi/multicultural thinking), which is essential
in this day and age), and thus fostering expanded
cognitive skills or what some researchers term higher
order thinking or executive functioning. Carlson and
Metzoff (2008), for example, found that bilingual
kindergartners from low-income households—whose
parents’ level of education is substantially lower than
their monolingual, English-only peers—exhibit supe-
rior problem-solving skills. Such skills also enhance
children’s memory, as well as their intercultural and
interpersonal skills, and are associated with a lower
incidence of Alzheimer’s and dementia. Continued
use of the MT is the best medicine for ensuring the
overall health of all children—not just DLLs.
For children who speak heavily Latinate languages,
like Spanish, the MT is their most vital vocabulary
tool available, since the bulk of 3-12 math and science
vocabulary is Latin-based. A child unfamiliar with
so-called simple words like plane, tree, ruler, above, top,
best, below, and not as good might, in fact, express the
same content using fewer words. They know words
like avion, arbol, regla, superior, and inferior, which are
similar to more complex words used in later grades,
including aviation, aviary, and arboretum. In Span-
ish, superior expresses multiple meanings, including
above, top, and best, and it helps us decode and appre-
ciate the English words super and superimpose. Many
Spanish and other Romance-language words are
multipurpose (regla for instance, refers to rule), and
so children fluent in these languages would actually
be ahead in vocabulary and content if we employed
the MT as a bridge to English. As my 5-year-old
rightly observed one day, “Mama, carné makes more
sense than meat. Carnivores eat carne!”
Indeed, all children would learn more—and argu-
ably much faster—once exposed to other languages.
Those fluent in these languages would have an
edge. We can systematically grow their vocabulary
and content by using what they already know to
introduce both similar and different English terms
(e.g., salt - sal; molestar - disturb vs. molest). Use of the
English-only approach, in contrast, only widens the
achievement gap so often reported for DLLs—due in
part to the use of culturally biased terms that under-
12/4/13 8:55 AM
 mine and overlook the unique skills DLLs’ possess,
as well as subtractive (vs. additive) language instruc-
tional approaches that disadvantage many.
DW: What strategies for mother language
education would you suggest?
AP: First, I would recommend public recognition
of students’ multilingualism. Examples include Cali-
fornia’s and New York’s Seals of Biliteracy, medals
and/or certificates awarded to DLLs at school events
(e.g., graduations), and overt listing of bilingual-
ism as a skill on report cards, progress reports, and
transcripts. Such recognitions would help children
develop interest in and a love for languages as they
build confidence and respect.
Conscious integration of other languages in the
classroom and through out-of-class language and
cultural-infusion projects is another strategy I would
recommend, since the MT is the best way to bridge
the school house and the home. Invite children and fami-
lies to share fables, family stories (which children
could creatively bilingualize), paired hand count-
ing and jump rope (also termed “skipping”) songs,
group songs, nursery rhymes, and birthday songs in
other languages. Teachers could explore the possibil-
ity of loaning families a camcorder for a day and/or
assigning tasks that involve digital clips from smart
phones to which families have access. Examine what
you get back and use the material to create family
portfolios, supplementing other assessment tools
you use to monitor student progress.
Displaying children’s and staff members’ names
in different languages/scripts at children’s desks or
on class doors, in the hallway, and in other visible
spaces at school sends a loud and clear message that
all are welcome.
Inviting bilingual couplets in language arts and
reading class, and bilingualizing popular songs,
like “Just Call Me Ed” and seasonal songs, (by in-
tegrating names and terms from other languages)
are additional ways to make schooling more cultur-
ally responsive. Engage children in multi-language
trivia at recess and throughout the day. Institute
food centers, and cross-cultural cooking activities,
so that “with a little bit of creativity, we can turn our
classrooms into welcoming international havens”
(Elder-Correa, 2012, p. 4). We can teach multisen-
sory vocabulary, word function (e.g., ingredients are
typically nouns), verbs, adverbs, math, science, and
social studies all at once—yielding a fulfilling and
integrated whole-child learning experience.
Parents could be advised to do the same—through
PTA dialogs, radio announcements (more likely to
be understood by adults who do not read or do not
CEvol90no1.indd 65
read in the school’s primary language, and home and
community engagement activities (including after-
school programs and cultural events).
DW: Is there a role for technology?
AP: Absolutely! The Internet is a valuable resource
for international radio, music, and interactive lan-
guage instruction tools. Instructional YouTube videos
feature children and adult facilitators. Between 2000
and 2002, Luxembourger linguist Jerome Lulling
developed a database of 125,000 words for the very
first Luxembourgish spellchecker. Numerous tech-
enabled language revitalization projects are available
today; best of all, technology is multimodal—offer-
ing valuable audio and visual cues.
DW: What are some of the challenges of
mother language instruction?
AP: In the United States, one of the most obvious
challenges is the dissonance evident in schools: a
predominantly minority and young student popula-
tion is being taught by a majority monolingual white
and largely older (over 35) female teaching staff. This
mismatch in race, age, language, schooling practices
or pedagogy, and in gender is further exacerbated
by differences in social class and different cultural
conceptions regarding child rearing, and educa-
tion, instruction, and assessment. Statistics indicate
that over 80% of U.S. teachers are white and female,
and that the majority of the teaching staff in middle
through high school are unfamiliar with culturally
responsive instruction practices—most having been
trained pre-1980s. Concerns about the cost and avail-
ability of quality language resources (both knowl-
edgeable bilingual instructors and instructional
resources) tend to limit MT instruction. Yet we could
be creative when it comes to forwarding the knowl-
edge and skill sets of teachers and students alike.
One way is to tap students’ language know-how
and, with some training and/or technology integra-
tion, help them learn much more than they could
through adult-facilitated and/or classroom-based
instruction alone.
Challenges to be addressed include:
• Not enough trained teachers fluent in another lan-
guage who celebrate and/or discuss the value of
bilingualism/bidialectalism and even fewer will-
ing to hand over the instructional reins to or learn
from their students.
• Forced linguistic assimilation of children whose
families use other languages. This includes direc-
tives by doctors and special educators to parents
January/February 2014 / 65
12/4/13 8:55 AM
 about using just English at home so as not to “con-
fuse” their children. Richard Rodriguez shares his
traumatizing experience along those lines in his
book Hunger of Memory.
• Undue pressure many children and young adults
feel to fit in; many equate or associate being
“American” with speaking primarily English.
• Continued anti-immigration sentiments in the
United States, particularly in English-only states.
• A general lack of awareness of the value of the
mother tongue for not just speakers of these heri-
tage languages but for monolinguals, as well.
• Insufficient attention paid to preparing U.S.-based
children for participation in a global society. For
instance, over 80% of children worldwide speak
another language, as compared to a mere 6% in the
United States.
• Low buy-in from administrators, and limited
funds for professional development focusing on
enhancing teachers’ and administrators’ language
awareness.
• Mostly lip service paid to MT maintenance versus
genuine attempts to advance children’s knowledge
of heritage languages as the bedrock of quality
early and lifelong education.
• Improper identification of the primary language—
since self-reporting and conjecture are not always
reliable. For instance, we cannot assume that
Spanish is the MT of all Hispanic children; many
speak Tzotzil, Nahuathl, Guarani, and other less-
er-known languages (many just spoken).
• Fear of the unknown and subtle and not-so-subtle
discrimination on the basis of multiple variables,
including language. This includes conceptions
of diversity as a challenge or obstacle, and as-
sociating certain individuals and/or profiles (i.e.,
changing demographics) with lower standards
and expectations.
We can learn much about the richness of human
relationships from Africa, India, Europe, and Papua
New Guinea (which boasts the greatest linguistic di-
versity, and where Tok Pisin, an oral language until
relatively recently, is used in school, happily co-exist-
ing with some 830 other languages).
DW: In your book you note that some lan-
guages are more math and science instruc-
tive than others. What differences do you
see in children who are more fluent in the
math- and science-oriented languages?
AP: A better number sense is the first difference
observed. Greek-, Arabic-, and Hebrew-speaking
preschoolers who know the alphabet can typically
66 \ Childhood Education
CEvol90no1.indd 66
count from 900 to 1,000. Contrast this with preschool-
ers who know just English; few can count to 100,
much less 500. Children who speak Chinese learn to
multiply by the time they can count to 20, since this
number literally reads 2, 10 in Chinese (i.e., implying
multiplication). Therefore, these languages and oth-
ers, like Korean and Turkish, that are more intuitively
mathematical are more math-facilitative.
Another notable difference between English-only
speaking children and those fluent in these other
languages is the latter’s enhanced working memo-
ry—very likely aided through pattern recognition-
oriented language tasks. Consider, for instance the
multiple neuronal connections 3,000 characters very
likely instigate versus exposure to just 26 letters that
are inconsistent in sound and that have zero numeri-
cal associations or systematic chronology. The com-
pactness of words in languages like Cantonese, and
the use of rhyming words for numbers (like 1 and 7
for most Cantonese speakers), also eases vocabulary
and content acquisition. Not surprisingly, Cantonese-
speaking children can recall digits in the billions. This
is certainly noteworthy.
Children’s problem-solving skills also vary. Bilin-
guals, in general, and monolinguals competent in the
more math and science-oriented languages can be
more self-confident and savvy at math and science.
Exposure to culturally variable approaches to solv-
ing math problems (e.g., the Latin vs. Russian way
of dividing) undoubtedly helps. And translation is
excellent practice for computation, since it requires
individuals to identify equivalent forms (semantical-
ly or from the standpoint of meaning components).
Children who frequently translate are arguably more
mathematically savvy and, as such, more likely to
instinctively categorize, sort (through), compare,
and contrast. Languages like Chinese, in which the
written form is idea-based and not simply a mix of
arbitrary letters that make multiple sounds, teach
children to literally compute or add up meaningful
parts, as when doing a jigsaw puzzle.
DW: Can you share some examples of ways
that schools are meeting these challenges?
AP: I can certainly mention things schools could do.
First, schools should make every effort to interna-
tionalize their offerings, starting with their websites
and front office spaces to the curriculum, teaching
approach(es), and recess and after-school activi-
ties. Developing in children a curiosity about and
love and respect for other languages and cultures
throughout the school day—and not just on occa-
sion or in a single subject area—is key. Include other
languages in institutional spaces dedicated to mostly
12/4/13 8:55 AM
 English (through name tags, accessories, and door
and hallway displays, for instance). Invite code-
mixed or bilingual couplets; include verses across
languages during holiday concerts; and showcase
international musical genres, clothing, cuisine, and
dance styles. Play a short clip featuring a different
language or genre at lunchtime and/or during recess
and right before or during dismissal, and periodically
invite children to guess the language, artist, or instru-
ments in return for a prize (e.g., a gift certificate to a
restaurant featuring food and musical flavors from a
particular region). Incentive-based trivia and cultural
programs are also instructional. Schools could, for
example, institute a Question of the Day! and invite
children and families to submit questions, such as:
• In which part of the world do people speak Xhosa?
• What is this language famous for?
Acceptable responses would be “S. Africa” and “the
click sounds.” Play some clips to familiarize students
with these sounds. Host an international day and
celebrate days like International Mother Language
Day by eliciting and sharing our rich linguistic and
cultural heritages. (Contact editorial@acei.org for ad-
ditional collaborative classroom activities that would
simultaneously connect home and school.)
DW: How can parents support the use of
mother language for their children?
AP: Parents could insist on keeping their heritage
language alive through use of the one parent-one
language policy that my parents employed when
we were growing up in Africa, or by enrolling their
children in an after-school language program and/or
ensuring that they frequently interact with (and pref-
erably not merely hear) speakers of other languages,
through movies, television programs, music, cultural
events, summer visits to a country or location where
a certain language is used, and other conscious
means of developing children’s interest in other lan-
guages and cultures.
We all know that, in the case of language, you must
use or else lose the skills and associated cultural trea-
sures. It is time to consider the negative side effects
of teaching and emphasizing a single language. Eng-
lish is recognized globally precisely because it has
borrowed something from practically every continent
and every language family. To overlook the richness
of the many languages that helped create English and
to forget the history of English would be misguided.
Use of only one language is bound to slow down our
children in both the language arts (i.e., reading) and
core content areas.
CEvol90no1.indd 67
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helped my mom” and it helped me: Translating the skills
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Pandey, A. (2013b). Say sí, oui, ee, yee, `a-ha, da, jee/ji,
haa(n), ja, jeje, ye(s), yo!: 6,000 voices alive and strong!
Perspectives, 35(1), Jan.-March.
Are you in need of some inspiration?
You’ll find it on ACEI Radio,
where you can hear interviews from
some of the leading voices in
international childhood education.
Topics include: goals for learning,
bi-literacy, the importance of fathers in
early childhood, and educating
homeless children.
Listen any time at www.acei.org/
news-publications/acei-radio.html
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