We highly recommend and encourage that parents with children entering Iceland keep speaking native language to their children. This is due to the fact that when the language environment children are most accustomed to changes suddenly, while learning a new language, it can have a negative affect on their language learning and confuse their vocabulary. To enable a child to learn another language naturally, the mother tongue must be developed and maintained. Otherwise, the child will encounter difficulties learning Icelandic vocabulary and developing language skills in Icelandic. Furthermore, if the child does not learn to communicate in mother tongue, the danger arises that he or she might develop difficulties communicating with his or her parents in the future.

Reasons why maintaining the mother tongue is important:

*    It is the first language learned and therefore, it has become the foundation for the balanced development of the child’s thoughts and emotions.
*    It is an essential aid in acquiring a new language and skills.
*    It is essential in maintaining contact with family and friends from the home country.
*    It helps the child become aware of his roots and helps him identify with the country, culture, and history of his family. This in turn will enrich children and help them better identify and understand themselves in the increasingly multicultural world in which they live.
*    Its study together with Icelandic will help create the conditions necessary for bilingual development.

It is important to remember that the skills learned by the child in one language are easily transferred to the other. Therefore, children who have learned to read in their native language or mother tongue do not need to learn to read all over again when they start to learn a new language and vice-versa for the skills have already been acquired. They only transfer those reading skills over to the new language.

Parents are encouraged to create an environment for their child that helps them to understand the importance and benefits of knowing two separate languages. Children who watch their parents utilizing and appreciating their native language and culture alongside Icelandic will be positively influenced to learn the native language as well.

Here are some ways in which parents can encourage the study of their native language and help their children to become bilingual:

    *    Always talk a lot to your child in your language. Even when the child is too little to understand you should talk to them about what you are doing when you are cooking, writing, shopping etc… 
    *    Read together in the mother tongue. 
    *    Celebrate holidays from the home country. 
    *    Tell stories in your language. Encourage your child to join in with the story telling. 
    *    Show videos and movies in the mother tongue. 
    *    Play music and sing songs in the mother tongue, teach your child nursery rhymes and songs in your own language. 
    *    Have children write letters in the native language to relatives back home. 
    *    Arrange play times and social meetings with children, adults and other families that speak the same mother tongue. 
    *    Talk to your children about what they did at playgroup, nursery of school in your language. If They use Icelandic words don’t get stressed. Simply repeat what they have said using your language. 
    *    Don’t be shy or embarrassed to use you language in public. If some people don’t like it, it is their problem hot your. 
    *    Make sure that your child knows the names of the different languages he speaks. 
    *    Never laugh or tease your child because of mistakes or her accent. 
    *    You may notice that your child uses a lot of Icelandic. Don’t let this upset you. Just keep speaking your language. Never make it a power struggle or get angry or impatient with them. Try and keep it fun and light. Something that is normal and natural. Here is a good way to check that the child knows which language has which name. Ask the child in your language how to say a word in Icelandic, and then ask them in Icelandic how to say a word in your language. You can try to trick them by asking them in your language how to say a word in your language. Children as young as three will enjoy this kind of play with language.

Currently in the capital area a non-profit organization called Mother tongue: Association of Bilingual Teaching is offering mother tongue teaching in 9 different languages. The 9 languages being taught in autumn 2005 are: English, Japanese, Russian, Lithuanian, Spanish, Portuguese, Albanian, Polish, and Tai. For information on mother tongue classes call the Intercultural Centre at               530 9300       , or visit the associations’ website at www.modurmal.com