Teacher of Immigrant Children Shares Advice with Families in Lithuania: These Days, Children Won’t Learn Lithuanian on Their Own

Over the past three years, there has been a noticeable change in emigration trends – more Lithuanians are returning to the country than leaving. Since it is mostly young, working-age people who return, it is natural that they bring their children with them. According to data from the Migration Information Centre “I Choose Lithuania,” the number of children returning from emigration has increased by as much as 60.53% over the past three years, with the majority of them being preschool-aged children. This trend should not be surprising, as various surveys reveal that the desire to raise children in Lithuania is one of the most popular reasons for returning, and often this decision is made when it is time to send the child to school.

Returning and starting over is not easy, especially for children who have to adjust to a new environment. One of the biggest challenges they face is the Lithuanian language. Not everyone living abroad is able to pass on the language to their children in a way that, upon arriving in Lithuania, they can speak as if they were born there. Kotryna Norvilienė, a Lithuanian language and literature teacher at Karalienės Mortos School, who teaches Lithuanian language lessons to children living abroad, shared her insights with Delfi Family about how immigrant children are faring in Lithuanian schools, the biggest challenges they face, and what parents can do to help their children with this issue.

First, let’s talk about children living in Lithuania – speech therapists say that our children have never had so many problems with language. One of the main reasons cited is the time spent in front of screens, as children from a young age, watching English-language cartoons, start to pick up English words more easily, which negatively affects their Lithuanian language skills. Meanwhile, English language clubs are offered to preschoolers, many of whom are not yet clearly speaking their native language. What is your assessment?

I trust research that shows learning multiple languages from an early age has more benefits than harm, but it seems to me that we must very consciously understand that today, children won’t learn Lithuanian on their own. Just as we invest in teaching English, we need to focus as much, if not more, on teaching Lithuanian and enriching vocabulary.

Indeed, even with the best of intentions, the time spent in front of screens should be limited for young children, as more and more studies show that moving and noisy images on screens are not recommended for children under six years old.

I have often seen requests for advice and questions from emigrant parents in various forums, asking if it would be easy for them to return to Lithuania with school-age children. How are children who have returned from abroad faring, and what are the biggest problems they face?

This does not come without consequences – various studies show that changing living locations is one of the biggest causes of stress, affecting not only adults but also children. For children, it means not only a change of room but also a change of school and the loss of friends. Building new relationships will take time. However, the arrival of children in Lithuania should not be as frightening anymore for a few simple reasons – the internet provides a wealth of tools for communication, and pop culture practiced by youth worldwide connects them. Since Lithuanian children generally have good English language skills, even children who cannot speak Lithuanian well can easily communicate on various topics and make new friends.

Another important detail that should be understood by those wanting to return to Lithuania is that there aren’t many multicultural communities here, and they are not as strongly expressed, making it difficult to create mixed groups in schools. In other countries with large diaspora communities, there can be dozens or more different languages spoken in schools. For example, in Luxembourg, nearly half of the students in classes are from other countries, and in Italy, Spain, France, and Germany, such children make up at least a third of the student body. Lithuania, with its neighboring countries Poland and Latvia, is one of the few European countries where children who do not speak the national language are rare.

Of course, “jumping” into the new Lithuanian education system can present challenges for all children, as adapting to a new environment, school rules, and teachers is difficult. It is especially hard due to the language barrier, especially if they haven’t spoken Lithuanian before. However, children are quick to adapt to new circumstances. The sooner this happens, the easier it is, as reintegration is simpler for children up to fourth grade.

Is it much harder for older children? What should parents pay attention to?

From my experience, I can say that children who return and start attending Lithuanian schools in third or fourth grade usually face literacy challenges for a long time. That’s why it’s important to start forming their language skills early at home. Otherwise, if they move to Lithuania without knowing Lithuanian, they might struggle to catch up with their peers and will have to remain in lower classes with younger children, which leads to social and intellectual isolation.

It is also important for parents to familiarize themselves with the school’s rules and options for integrating such children before returning to Lithuania. It would also be helpful to meet virtually with future classmates in advance so that the child doesn’t feel lonely later.

There are various theories on how best to raise a child in a bilingual family. Some suggest that, for example, it is best to focus on one language until the child is five, and then add another. Others recommend that the mother speaks her native language to the child, the father speaks his, so that the child learns to distinguish and does not mix the two languages in one sentence. Others go further and specifically hire a nanny who speaks the language that is not spoken at home, hoping the child will learn another language from her. What is the best way to do this, and what are the common mistakes made in this process?

If I were to create a bilingual family, I would follow the principle that the mother speaks her language, the father speaks his language, and they speak a common language with each other. There is a very good reason for this.

It has been scientifically established that in a bilingual family, a child begins to hear and distinguish two languages even before birth, so they become highly receptive to bilingualism. When parents speak to the child in both languages from birth, both languages “imprint” on the same part of the brain and both become native languages for the child, allowing them to switch easily between the two. This is called early bilingualism. Unfortunately, it fades – the ability to learn two languages equally well disappears a few years after birth because the main language for the child becomes the one spoken by the parent who spends the most time with them. Later bilingualism is based on learning the mother tongue, and it is as good as the effort both parents put into it.

While the child is young, it’s natural for them to mix words from both languages in one sentence, just as we sometimes insert a commonly used English word into everyday language. But as the child grows, their understanding of language use becomes more mature, and they will distinguish languages in the appropriate context.

Typically, by the age of 2.5 years, children can distinguish which language to speak with which parent, but while they are internalizing a bilingual vocabulary, it’s natural for them to mix up words from both languages. This process lasts until about 4 years old, and it’s completely natural. What can loving parents do? Communicate with the child in both languages and, if necessary, help them choose the right word.

Children’s brains are certainly receptive, and they can learn multiple languages. But if we hire a foreign nanny who spends up to 10 hours a day with the child, sings songs, tells stories, and creates narratives with the child, while we as parents only spend a few hours with our child in the evening and our conversations mostly consist of commands like “eat,” “don’t take,” “wait,” “stay,” then we will have problems.

I see bilingualism as a gift for the child, not a curse, because, after all, we have a saying that “what you learn, you carry with you.” However, like anything, we need to avoid extremes. It’s worth calmly considering how much and which language your child will be exposed to during the day, week, and month, and decide what is important for you – perhaps your child’s future is not planned in Lithuania, and they need to master another language more thoroughly? Focus on quality education in that language.

What would you advise emigrant parents who have moved to another country and are raising their children in a different language environment but want their children to retain Lithuanian?

Language skills are much more than just fluent communication with people who speak the same language, although this is also very important. Although due to globalisation this is slowly fading, Lithuanian people living abroad often feel that they are not quite the same as the citizens of the country they live in, and this can lead to feelings of inferiority, that something is missing as a person and individual. And this, undoubtedly, is passed on to children, so it’s important not to forget your roots when raising a global citizen – by learning their parents’ native languages, culture, and traditions, the child will understand in the future that they are a full-fledged and richer person, with more experiences, and bilingualism will open up more opportunities.

How to learn a language? By creating a live connection with others. Since humans are social beings, textbooks or simply watching videos in the language are the slowest teachers – both children and adults learn languages best from each other. In order for the child to learn and not forget Lithuanian, it is essential to spend quality time with them, talk to them, find them Lithuanian-speaking friends, in other words, do everything so that Lithuanian is not just a household language. It would help a lot if once a week, they

called their grandmother in Lithuania, read a passage from a book and talked about it with her, recited poems on the way to school and back, sang Lithuanian songs, and so on.

What else should be done in emigration to ensure that the child learns Lithuanian beyond the household level? How do you, as a specialist working in Lithuania, evaluate Lithuanian schools?

If parents want Lithuanian to be their child’s native language, they must speak it to them from the first days of their life – patiently, abundantly, and meaningfully. After all, when learning a language, it’s not just about speaking, but also reading and understanding what’s read – vocabulary richness plays a very important role in the learning process.

In order for the child to understand Lithuanian text well, their active vocabulary should contain between 1200 and 1500 words by the time they are in primary school. If it is much smaller, expanding vocabulary should become the family’s priority. This should be done by explaining unknown concepts, word meanings, and synonyms to the child, and, whenever possible, associating words with images – this way the child will internalize the language more quickly and learn to use it properly. When the child is older, the most suitable practice is to use interactive learning, videos, mind maps, newspapers, magazines, and social media.

Of course, not all parents have a philological education, and maybe not all want to delve into the nuances of Lithuanian grammar or punctuation with their children, so it would be worthwhile to find someone who could professionally handle this – right now, there are many opportunities to find the right Lithuanian school or private tutor online. Believe me, this is essential, because from practice, I see that for children returning to Lithuania, it is much harder not only to catch up with their classmates in terms of literacy but also to deal with new educational program topics.

Can you point out the country where emigrant Lithuanians find it hardest to solve this issue, and where there are the most successful examples? What else determines success? Are there any other important aspects that we don’t even realize?

I can’t quote specific studies on this, but it should be easier for those living in countries where there is a large Lithuanian diaspora and where united Lithuanian communities have formed, as well as in countries that have family-friendly policies that allow parents to spend as much time as possible with their children. It is also easier for Lithuanian emigrant families who have more opportunities to come to Lithuania during holidays.

If there is a strong and quality relationship between the parents and children, the importance of this language is explained, it is spoken at home every day, and they are encouraged to speak it, the child’s attitude and motivation will be very strong, and they will adapt much more easily to the changed situation. However, if parents themselves do not strive to promote the Lithuanian language, it is unrealistic to expect that the child will find it relevant, and they will easily succeed in the new school.

Source: Delfi.lt, Toma Miknevičienė