TRUE SELF ESTEEM FOR IMMIGRANT CHILDREN THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE OF THEIR HERITAGE LANGUAGE What your child can get from learning your heritage language is more than bilingualism. It is the recognition and acceptance into your community that brings out true self esteem which can only be achieved with the knowledge of your heritage language Self esteem and pride form your heritage is a true recognition of one’s real identity. This factor has been seen in a lot of cases where an immigrant tries to pretend to be a native by virtue of having lived in that country all his life or being born there, but the fact remains that children of immigrant parents will always have to search their true identity in the original identity of their parents. Those who deny this fact are only kidding themselves. But those who accept the fact and do not play the make believe game are the ones who are better recognized and accepted by the local population and respected for who they are.
Experiences of old immigrants show that if children are brought up with their heritage culture and given adequate knowledge of their heritage language, they turn out to be good citizens who have pride in their origin and are easily accepted everywhere in the society. The basic building block of a personality is the heritage language, because with language comes the knowledge and acceptance of the culture and tradition. And without this acceptance, a cultural spirit cannot be invoked into an individual that makes him or her true member of that culture. When an immigrant youth accepts the reality of his heritage, he then develops his personality which is in unison with your heritage and this can only be perfected when he or she has absolute fluency in your heritage language. With advancement in his fluency in your heritage language, you will see more confidence and stronger self esteem which only a true heritage language speaker can have in his heritage. His mannerism and poise will reflect his heritage and this will become his identity in the society which will not just be appreciated by the other members of your community, but will be respected and accepted by other cultural groups and the local population as well. It is not the matter of age or gender. Every child, youth and adult needs to have an identity which is true and in coherence with the individual’s actual origin. In order to develop a correct personality and further develop his self esteem in it, it is mandatory for you to provide adequate knowledge of your heritage language to your kids. Click here now for Free Report On How To Rescue Their English Speaking Immigrant Children From Being Culturally Lost http://www.BilingualImmigrantKids.com Soji Oyenuga and Titi Oyenuga are the authors of "101 Tips To Have Your English Speaking Child Understanding and Speaking Your Heritage Language In Only a Few Short Days" and Originator of Innovative and Interactive Language Software For Immigrant Children http://www.101TipsForImmigrantParents.com Click here now for Free Report On How To Rescue Their English Speaking Immigrant Children From Being Culturall Lost http://www.BilingualImmigrantKids.com __________________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Canada Toolbar: Search from anywhere on the web, and bookmark your favourite sites. Download it now http://ca.toolbar.yahoo.com. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
