building community in your minority language

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​And now....on to community building!
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Before we get to community building, I want to tell you about this AMAZING resource I've created just for you!

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I’m here today to talk about community building!...community building for families with children who speak more than one language!

​If you missed the Facebook LIVE video that I did about this topic you can check it out HERE.
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I want to start with a little bit about what exactly I mean by building communities. When I talk about building communities around our minority languages I'm referring to just the basic standard definition of community which is ‘a group of people with a common interest’. A soccer team is a community. A city as a community. A Facebook group is a community. Today let's talk about building a community for your family and for your child around that minority language.

At a core level, language is communication but that means if we have no reason to communicate then we have no reason to use the language. We communicate because we need something, we communicate because we want something, we communicate because we're just having fun. Building communities is really important because it gives your child a reason to speak the language that's important to your family.

For some families, it's really easy to build a community and for some families it’s really difficult to build a community. The tips I'm going to share here can work for anybody regardless of your own language abilities, finances or family situation.

The first and obvious suggestion is family. If you have family that speaks your minority language, get them in touch with your kid. Especially now, in the world of the internet, we have video chat calls, messenger services and voice memos. Schedule time for your kids to communicate with grandparents and cousins and aunts and uncles who are fluent in the language.

Family definitely trumps all but not everybody has that option. My own family doesn't have that option either so building community is something that I’ve had to work really hard at in order to make this happen for my kids.

I hope that of the following options you can find at least one good fit for your family. Maybe it's not in the cards right now but you'll keep it in mind for later or maybe you're ready to jump on it right now.
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Spanish classes/library story time

Look for classes that aren't just sitting down and doing workbook pages but rather play based immersion classes for kids or library story time in your minority language. Language classes can cost money however library story times are typically free and it really just depends on your source. The downside to these is that the community it builds isn't always available outside of class.
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online language exchanges

An online language exchange is simply regular virtual video chats with another child. Ask around on social media for another family who 1. Wants to improve their skills in your community language and 2. Lives in a community that speaks your minority language. Each meeting alternate which language is spoken. When the meetings are held in your community language, plan a couple of fun activities for the kids & the following time the other parent can do the planning. It's completely free and you can schedule it around your schedule.
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​bilingual playgroup

Bilingual playgroups are an option if you can find other families in your area that are raising their kids with the same language so that you can get together and host a playgroup. You'd want these playgroups to be structured to help the kids stay in the minority language. A parent lead can guide the conversation and ask questions in the minority language. This is free but it can be difficult to find other people in your local area that are speaking the same language you are. Luckily social media platforms make it much easier to find others.
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child care

Finding a child care provider who speaks the language. Even if you don't need child care, you can hire them to come to your house an hour a week or twice a week to play with your kid in your home language. They can provide complete immersion and give them somebody else outside the family that can make the language fun. 
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Host an exchange student

Students all over the world are looking to spend a year of high school in another country. Typically these students are coming to learn {your community language} but they're typically willing to play with your kids in the target language, their own native language, for a little bit of time every week. This can also give your child insight into the culture that they might not already have at home.
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Hire a nanny

This is a step up from childcare just a couple of times each week. If you can hire a nanny who speaks your minority language, or if you can get your child into a bilingual childcare program or a bilingual school program, it would encompass much more of their life and provide much more experience with the language. This typically costs more, it’s a bigger time commitment and it can be more difficult to plan but with that comes the greater benefit in the fluency that your child's achieves.
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hire an au pair

An au pair is a live in nanny that you hire from another country. They provide you with child care services in exchange for a stipend + room & board. This wouldn’t cost you quite as much because you're providing room and board and then when they're not working they would be able to go out and experience your culture in your area. Be mindful that when hiring an au pair you do have to comply with all the local labor laws as it's a regular full-time employee.

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I hope that these suggestions are helpful in your venture to build a community in your minority language for your kids. The bigger support system that you can build for them, the more likely they are to retain their language and to continue using it beyond living at home with you.

I'd love to know, how have you built a community for your kids and how's it going so far? Let me know in the comments below or hop on over to our Facebook group to let us know there!