why I want to teach my kids Cantonese

When thinking about teaching my kids Chinese/Cantonese (read about the distinction between the two here), it has been surprisingly hard to determine how I want to proceed. There are a myriad of reasons why people want their kids to learn Chinese - many of them are connected to giving them opportunities in life and their future - but these reasons don’t really resonate with me or fuel me with inspiration. So I have to ask myself - why am I doing this? What are my intentions? What is my ideal end-goal?

This journey started because I wanted to learn to read Chinese, for me. I want to continue on this journey as it has helped me feel more connected with my heritage, my parents and my sense of identity. So often, parents impose things that are really about them onto their children and I want to make sure I steer clear of that. So I ask myself...

Why do I want to share with my kids in terms of Chinese language learning?

• I’m excited and passionate about it, and I’m keen to share anything I’m passionate about with my kids. Cantonese is such a neat and fascinating language - I want to raise them to see the poetry, humour and heart that is woven in the language!

• It may help them feel connected to this abstract concept of “their culture” the way it has for me.

• This one may be a long shot - but to help them communicate with their grandparents in their native language.

What are the intentions & priorities of Chinese language learning for my kids?

• It would be amazing if they learned to read Chinese and speak Cantonese fluently, but I’m a realist… and fluency isn’t my priority when I look at the why’s I just listed above...

• More practically, my goal is to provide opportunities to learn Chinese for my kids by having Chinese books in the house, speaking Cantonese to them, and now in the post-COVID era we even have the option of signing up for online Cantonese programs

• I want their relationship with the Chinese language to be positive and normalized; I want to feel comfortable speaking my heritage language in my house with my family, and I want them to feel comfortable speaking Cantonese, too, if they want to

What can I do to promote Chinese language learning for my kids?

• This is the hard part! Even harder since my partner doesn’t speak Cantonese or read Chinese. How can I normalize and maintain a presence of Chinese in our household?

• I have put many Chinese books on the shelf; I still can’t read them all, but I think it’s great for my kids to see that I’m learning, too. They can look at the characters, and it can be a normalized thing to have Chinese books in the house. Just as having any books in the house promotes literacy and language exploration, the Chinese books may promote interest in reading and understanding the Chinese language.

• I try to use simple routine phrases with them, though this is a really hard one for me to remember! It is so much easier to speak English and to be understood right away - otherwise I have to say everything twice - once in Cantonese, then again in English so my 4-year-old knows what I’m saying. But I just keep trying!

• I participate in a few online Cantonese programs/storytimes. It is SO AMAZING that these are available! There is a very passionate community of Cantonese content creators out there that are making so much practical, fun and engaging content.

• I’ve started learning and singing nursery rhymes. Songs are such an effective and fun mode of language acquisition - but again, it can be hard! I only know how to sing about 5 songs in Cantonese, whereas I’ve got an endless repertoire in English. But I’ll keep adding to the repertoire slowly but surely!

It’s a lot to think about and it is easy to get off track of priorities. My priority for the kids isn’t that they learn to read and write; my priority at this stage in their life is to promote a positive relationship with the language and normalize it. If they can sing a few songs and understand a few phrases, then all the better! But progress and growth is slow, as with many things in life - especially when it comes to kids and parenting. You can’t always see the impacts of what you’re doing until much, much later when your kid surprises you by singing a song in Cantonese for you on their own! And sometimes it feels like no progress is being made at all, and I feel like if I just invest in the right product or program or teacher, then *poof* the kids will know Chinese! It’s really helpful to be able to look back on what the intentions and priorities I’ve made for myself and my kids to reset the compass every once in a while, or see if they still accurately reflect the age/stage that we’re all in now.

For anyone out there wanting to pass on a heritage language to your kids - stay strong! It is really hard work, especially if you’re the only parent speaking it in the house. I know it feels like you’re talking to no one, or like talking to a brick wall most of the time. No one responds, and sometimes no one even understands. It takes time and so much repetition (just think how many times we repeat things even in English to our kids, day in and day out). But if you’re excited and passionate about it and it’s still filling your bucket - then keep going!