Mari-Louise Candiotes is a well known South African blogger and public mama figure, and is proudly Afrikaans and English speaking in her home. We know that bringing a child into a multilingual family often raises questions; such as how do you go about teaching your child two languages, which language do you speak to your child vs. your husband - and when.
We decided to chat to the wonderful Mari-Louise to find out how her and "Mr Perfect" (as he is known), communicate to their three gorgeous girls. Instead of chatting theory and science, we thought it would be great to find out "real family life" - and ask if she also has any tips after being a mamma of three. She is also just won the top Parenting Travel Blog Award, so it's exciting how she touches on their travels - and how this inspires communication in their home, too.
Mari-Louise, do all three of your gorgeous children speak English and Afrikaans?
Yes. Ava only has a basic understanding but has surprised us with the things she says and understands.
What language are the girls most dominant in?
Afrikaans
Why is this the language they are more dominant in?
Both my husband and I were born and raised in Afrikaans homes. It's our mother tongue and the language we speak the most. It’s also the language our girls receive education in.
We love the Afrikaans language and we are proud of our heritage and wouldn’t want it to die out. Supporting the growth of the Afrikaans language through buying Afrikaans books and attending Afrikaans productions, small businesses and more is important to us.
Are there any challenges you have faced with speaking two languages at home, and with school?
Not to date. But like I mentioned it was never intentional. Our girls know that when we speak English or Afrikaans we stick to one language. We try not to mix the two. English is also a more social language for them. It is almost like they know when to use one or the other.
How do you overcome these challenges, such as mixing the two?
Being a former foundation phase teacher I know our approach to raising our kids bilingual is not traditional or what "experts" would recommend. Most would advice to sticking to only one language in the home or having one parent speak to the kids in English only and the other in Afrikaans only but our parenting style led to our kids speaking English and Afrikaans.
What tips can you give parents who want to teach their children to speak two languages at home, from the beginning?
There is so much literature available on this topic but for us not being intentional, not putting any pressure on the girls and just simply exposing them to a variety of languages through play, reading books, socialising and different environments fostered a natural comprehension and use of a second language.
We do everything as a team and our girls are exposed to a big, wide world outside of our home.
Traveling as a family to different countries is a top priority for us and we always try to learn a few phrases in whatever language the locals speaks. Our girls are friends with the kids of our English speaking friends. They have nephews in England who can only speak English. When we do allow limited screen time, the movies and TV shows they enjoy are mostly in English.
We listen to a variety of music as well (English, Afrikaans, French, even Kwaito...) and with both parent working from home our girls are exposed to us speaking English at work. Lia in particular is our social butterfly with a gift for languages. She still uses Greek words every now and again after just one visit to the Greek Islands last year. She inspires all of us to want to learn more languages.
We are raising proudly South African, "Afrikaanse Meisies" but they are also global citizens. They are just as comfortable baking "melktert with Ouma" as they are meeting a stranger in the streets of Athens.
If you have any tips and tricks you can add, let's chat about them in the comments! Are you battling, are you confused with how to do it, or are you acing it? The best part is that we all raise our kids differently, and there is no right or wrong way.
Marie-Louise is married to Mr Perfect, and has three gorgeous girls. She is proudly South African and resides in Pretoria, Gauteng. Her blog, Just A Mamma, is a space for Mammas by a Mamma. Intended to inspire, motivate and be helpful. No judgement or expert advice - just gorgeous photo shoots, fun celebrations, great finds for mamma and baby, inspirational moms I have come across, places to go and vacations to have, as well as my own journey of motherhood and family life.
You can contact Marie-Louise on hello@justamamma.com, and get social with her on Instagram and Facebook. Find her website here.
Photography Credit: Madison and West Lifestyle Division (https://www.madisonandwestlifestyle.com/)
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