👓 Why Did I Teach My Son to Speak Russian? | New Yorker

Read Why Did I Teach My Son to Speak Russian? (The New Yorker)

When bilingualism isn’t obviously valuable, you have to decide what you think of the language.

A nice essay that focuses on the personal side of raising bilingual children. In my experience needing to have a reason to speak a language is very important. Often around the age of three (or the beginning of daycare and/or school) children who realize they don’t have to speak a language will give it up (and often flatly refuse) as they begin to become more broadly socialized. It definitely helps if they’ve got a peer group who primarily speaks the language as well.

I quite liked the parts about a language “filling one up” or the ways in which language was implicated with attention. These are intriguing observations.