イベント等最新情報はこちらをクリック<<The Importance and Role of Mother Tongue Languages>>
A mother tongue language can be defined as the first language a child learns and the one they most fully understand, or the language that the child’s parents or grandparents use on a daily basis. It’s believed that improving the mother tongue language proficiency of children who have connections to foreign countries may have a positive effect on their studies at school, as well as on their acquisition of Japanese language. In particular, if the child has a strong grasp of their mother tongue before entering elementary school, it will assist them to learn Japanese more smoothly. If the child has a strong ability to think and communicate in their mother tongue , it will also make it much easier for them to learn in a Japanese language environment. This is because they can understand concepts by connecting any Japanese vocabulary that they don’t know with vocabulary in their mother tongue.
Having a solid grasp of their mother tongue language before learning Japanese will allow the child to become bilingual, giving them a dual perspective on life.
Being able to communicate in their mother tongue allows for richer communication between children and their parents.
Preserving and maintaining a child’s mother tongue is a way for them to place importance on their roots, which in turn will improve their self-confidence.
It will also broaden their future career paths.
Additionally, their mother tongue language provides a way of connecting them with their homeland and to people living around the world throughout their lives.
It’s said, however, that due to Japanese being the primary language spoken in Japan, children will lose their mother tongue within 2 to 3 years of entering school if there aren’t many people who speak that language around them. In particular, reading and writing skills need to be fostered through conscious efforts such as reading books.
Having a solid grasp of their mother tongue language before learning Japanese will allow the child to become bilingual, giving them a dual perspective on life.
Being able to communicate in their mother tongue allows for richer communication between children and their parents.
Preserving and maintaining a child’s mother tongue is a way for them to place importance on their roots, which in turn will improve their self-confidence.
It will also broaden their future career paths.
Additionally, their mother tongue language provides a way of connecting them with their homeland and to people living around the world throughout their lives.
It’s said, however, that due to Japanese being the primary language spoken in Japan, children will lose their mother tongue within 2 to 3 years of entering school if there aren’t many people who speak that language around them. In particular, reading and writing skills need to be fostered through conscious efforts such as reading books.
<<Japanese Language Acquisition>>
Learning both their mother tongue language and Japanese from a young age will cause some children to temporarily go through a stage of mixing up words from both languages. Once they reach a certain point, however, they will become able to switch between the two. In many cases it’s said that learning using both languages can even have a synergistic effect, leading to improvements in Japanese language acquisition and overall study ability.
When teaching a child Japanese along with their mother tongue language, it’s important to ensure they understand the difference between language used in every day life, and language used for studying. For instance, the phrase “Me and my little brother have the same sized room” would be appropriate in an every day life situation, whereas when speaking in mathematical terms, the phrase “The area of my little brother’s room is equal to my own” would be more appropriate. In order for children to study the various subjects covered at school, it’s necessary for them to learn the language unique to each subject.
In general, due to Japanese being used so frequently at school, children who are fast learners are able to learn enough Japanese for everyday conversations within 1 to 2 years. However, it’s said that it may take between 5 – 6 years for them to acquire Japanese specific to certain subjects. It’s therefore necessary for children to make a conscious effort to strengthen their ability to use subject specific language appropriate to their level.
Some people worry that making a child maintain their mother tongue while they learn Japanese will interfere with their Japanese language acquisition, however this is not true. Children’s linguistic abilities are extremely flexible, they can actually learn multiple perspectives, and it’s not rare for people to learn 3 or more languages.
When teaching a child Japanese along with their mother tongue language, it’s important to ensure they understand the difference between language used in every day life, and language used for studying. For instance, the phrase “Me and my little brother have the same sized room” would be appropriate in an every day life situation, whereas when speaking in mathematical terms, the phrase “The area of my little brother’s room is equal to my own” would be more appropriate. In order for children to study the various subjects covered at school, it’s necessary for them to learn the language unique to each subject.
In general, due to Japanese being used so frequently at school, children who are fast learners are able to learn enough Japanese for everyday conversations within 1 to 2 years. However, it’s said that it may take between 5 – 6 years for them to acquire Japanese specific to certain subjects. It’s therefore necessary for children to make a conscious effort to strengthen their ability to use subject specific language appropriate to their level.
Some people worry that making a child maintain their mother tongue while they learn Japanese will interfere with their Japanese language acquisition, however this is not true. Children’s linguistic abilities are extremely flexible, they can actually learn multiple perspectives, and it’s not rare for people to learn 3 or more languages.
