RaBBiT - Family Language Policy

01.01.2024
─

Dr. Yvonne TSE CREPALDI

Contributors: Prof. Ng Bee Chin, Prof. Elizabeth Lanza, Prof. Mohd. Mukhlis Abu Bakar, Prof.
Lakshmi Seetha, Prof. Suzy Styles

Supported by:
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Tables of Content

Project Overview................................................................................................................................. 1
Why should you read this?.................................................................................................................2
0. Family Language Policy.................................................................................................................. 3
1.1 Language belief............................................................................................................................. 4
1.1 Two surveys of language ideology.....................................................................................4
1.2 Your language beliefs...................................................................................................... 10
1.3 Your language expectation.............................................................................................. 12
2. Language resources................................................................................................................ 14
2.1 Language environment.................................................................................................... 15
2.2 Parents’ linguistic competence........................................................................................ 16
2.3 Linguistic Resources........................................................................................................18
3. Summary of Recommendations................................................................................................. 22
3.1 Share your language beliefs............................................................................................ 22
3.2 Identify available resources............................................................................................. 22
3.3 Review periodically............................................................................................................... 23
References.................................................................................................................................. 24
Contributors................................................................................................................................. 24
Follow us on...........................................................................................................................26
RaBBiT.................................................................................................................................. 26
Supporting your children’s journey to bilingualism.................................................................26
Notes:.................................................................................................................................... 27

Project Overview
RaBBiT (Raising Bilingual Babies in Talk), an initiative supported by the Lee Kuan Yew
Fund for Bilingualism (MOE), Singapore, aims to provide research-informed guidance
through videos and e-booklets, on how to raise bilingual children to parents-to-be and
parents with young children aged 0 to 6. The initiative is led by Dr. Yvonne Tse Crepaldi and
supported by a team of experts in bilingualism. They include Prof. Suzy Styles and Prof. Ng
Bee Chin from Nanyang Technological University, Prof. Seetha Lakshmi and Prof. Mukhlis
Abu Bakar from National Institute of Education, Singapore, and Prof. Elizabeth Lanza from
the University of Oslo, Norway.
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Before using this booklet, you may watch the supplementary video first to get a quick
overview: https://www.youtube.com/@bilingualrabbit
Follow us also on social media to learn more about bilingualism in early childhood and
share these wonderful materials with your family, friends, and community. Take an active
role in making bilingualism and multiculturalism flourish in Singapore and beyond!
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bilingualrabbit
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bilingualrabbit

Why should you read this?

Some parents or expecting paretns in Singapore may think that: we live in a multilingual
society, surrounded by many languages at home and in everyday life, and the public
schools teach in English and offer mother tongue languages as subjects (Mandarin Chinese,
Malay, and Tamil), so our children will naturally become bilingual.
Well, that is partially true. There are many types of bilingualism. If you want to nurture
your child to be an ‘active bilingual’, with strong language skills in both of their two (or
more) languages, as supposed to a ‘passive bilingual’, then some work needs to be done,
preferably from their early childhood at home.
‘Active bilinguals’ refers to bilinguals who actively use both of their languages in their
everyday life. Active bilingual children can speak and write in both of their languages,
whereas passive bilinguals may have mainly receptive ability (listening and reading) in one
of their two languages. While bilingual children in Singapore receive formal education in
two languages, the formal learning of both languages may not start until kindergarten or
primary school and the exposure in both languages may be far from balanced. Thus, early
learning of both languages in the home is key. Early childhood research informs us that
oral skills facilitate literacy development. Also, being an early bilingual, or ‘simultaneous
bilingual’ who acquires both languages from birth (versus ‘consecutive bilingual’ who
acquires the second language later) does not only help your child in obtaining a high
proficiency in both languages, but it will also help foster a stronger cultural identity.
So, well done, parents! Thank you for taking an interest in this material and caring for your
child’s bilingual development. We wish you and your family a joyful bilingual journey!
 3

Family Language Policy

It is worthwhile for parents and family members to spend some time thinking and
discussing how to nurture your child's bilingual skills. This explicit thinking process or
deliberate planning about your child's language development is a part of what language
scientists call ‘Family Language Policy’.
‘Family Language Policy’ covers broadly three components (1) parental language ideology -
the beliefs or attitudes about language(s) and the role of parenting in language
development; (2) language management - thinking about resources or ways that support
your child’s language development; and (3) communicative practices - parents’ everyday
language choice and habitual way of talking or interacting with their child. Please note that
these concepts do not only apply to ‘parents’, but they can be extended to other caregivers
in the child’s surroundings, including grandparents, domestic helpers or babysitters, older
siblings, nursery caregivers, and teachers.
In this booklet, we will focus on the first two components - language ideology and
resources for language management. In the following, you can first understand your beliefs
in languages and bilingualism through two surveys, and think about your expectations for
your child’s languages. Following that, you will start thinking about the language
environment for your child and resources that you may have and may need in order to
help your child blossom in the bilingual journey. We encourage couples to go through these
exercises together, and discuss openly your common or different beliefs and make
decisions together.
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1.1 Language belief

“Language ideology and beliefs shape language use", as Prof. Ng Bee Chin explained in our
video. A better understanding of what you believe will help understand the way you use
your language(s) with your child, and the way your nurture your child's language
competence.

1.1 Two surveys of language ideology

Below are two questionnaires - the first one shorter, the second one longer. You may do
either or both, depending on your time and interest.
Survey 1 is extracted from Madelena Cruz-Ferreira’s (2010) book ‘Multilinguals are…?’, with
slight edit. Survey 2 is extracted mostly from the SHELLS Survey1 created by Prof. Suzy
Styles and colleagues (2021), and a few additional statements based the author's own
personal observations in Singapore. Please rate each statement according to your beliefs.
You are encouraged to do this exercise with your spouse - simply write your initials in the
respective boxes.

Survey 1

Statement Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

disagre agree
e

1. Multilinguals must have balanced

languages

2. Multilinguals must develop one

main language

3. Multilinguals can only be dominant

in one of their languages

4. Multilinguals have no mother

tongue, because they are not

1
The Shells Survey was a study designed to help understand how parents in Singapore think about what is the
best for their child's language development, and how families plan for their child's language experience in the
home in the early years. The survey contains questions suitable for parents and expecting parents. You may
find the original full survey of “SHELL_Qualtrics.pdf” at https://doi.org/10.21979/N9/RL5UMY.
 5

native speakers of any language

5. Multilinguals can learn new

languages easily, but only in
childhood

6. Multilingual competence means

erasing signs of multilingualism
from the speech of multilinguals
(i.e. they must sound like native
monolinguals in each of their
languages)

7. Multilinguals don’t have many

languages, they have many
half-languages (i.e. they may not be
proficient in any language)

8. Becoming multilingual is both a

drain and a strain on your brain

9. Multilingualism can cause language

deficits or make things worse when
your child already has speech
disorders

10. In order to raise multilingual

children, you must speak to them
in only one language

11. Multilingualism should be

encouraged, but only in languages
that matter

12. Multilinguals are multilinguals

because they are gifted for
languages

13. Multilingualism is a boon, but also

a bane, or vice versa

Survey 2

Type Strongly Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly

disagre agree
e

Language Beliefs: How many languages

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1. Speaking many languages around

my child will be confusing for them.

2. Speaking many languages around

my child will help them develop
strong language skills.

3. Knowing only English is sufficient.

4. Knowing English plus one heritage

language (father’s or mother’s) is
sufficient.

Language Beliefs: Which language with whom?

5. It’d be the best when all family

members use just one language
with my child.

6. It’d be the best when all family

members use a mix of some of
their languages with my child.

7. It’d be the best when all family

members use a mix of all of their
languages with my child.

8. Each parent / caregiver must only

speak one language and this is the
only way to develop the child’s
bilingualism.

9. The best strategy is

One-Parent-One-Language (Each
carer speaks in one language only
to the child at all times).

10. The best strategy is Context

Multilingualism (all members use
particular languages only in
particular contexts, e.g. one
language at home, one language in
a place of worship).

Language Beliefs: When does my child learn?

11. It is no use talking to my child until

they understand words.

12. Talking to my child before they

understand words helps them to
learn language skills.
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Language Beliefs: How does my child learn?

13. Digital media like TV, videos,

YouTube etc. can help my child
learn language skills.

14. Digital media like TV, videos,

YouTube etc. are no substitute for
live interactions.

15. Digital communication through

digital video interactions (e.g.
Zoom calls) can help my child learn
language skills.

16. Interacting with family members is

an important way to build up
language skills.

17. Interacting with other children the

same age is an important way to
build up language skills.

18. School is the best place to develop

language skills.

Language Beliefs: Which language first?

19. My child should learn languages

they will use in school first.

20. My child should learn Mother's and

Father's most frequently used
languages first.

21. My child should learn languages

spoken by the older generation in
our family.

22. My child can learn any of my

household's languages so my child
hears as much speech as possible.

23. My child should learn languages

with the greatest economic value.

24. My child should learn only

languages that they are likely to
use in the future.
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25. My child should learn the

community language(s) first.

26. My child should learn the language

for our religious purpose first.

Family Language Policy related Thinking

27. It is important to think about how

best to support my child’s bilingual
development.

28. It is important to think about who

should speak what language(s) in
which context.

29. It is little use to think about

bilingual development, because
they grow up naturally in their
language.

30. It is little use to learn more about

bilingual development because
language policies are set by the
government and schools.

Additional beliefs related to Bilingualism

31. A child can only become bilingual if

both parents are bilingual.

32. If neither parent is proficient

enough in the Mother Tongue
language (Chinese, Malay or Tamil),
then it is better not to use that
language with the child at home, or
leave it to the school entirely.

33. If the parents do not speak good

English, then they better speak the
Mother Tongue only.

34. It is bad or confusing for the child if

one parent speaks in a mix of two
or more languages to the child.

35. Grandparents can be as effective

as parents in teaching the child
language(s).

36. Domestic helpers can be a good

source for transmitting a language
to my child too.
 9

37. If grandparents speak in a dialect

to the child, it will affect their
learning of English and the mother
tongue.

38. Learning English should be the

priority.

39. There is no need to think too much

about my child’s language learning.
They will learn naturally, and there
is little that parents can do.

40. Having one person speak a

language (English or mother
tongue) to the child is the best.

41. Knowing a second language is of

little value in life, because there are
many translation apps today.

42. Bilinguals are born having a talent

in languages. So not every child
can master two or more languages.

43. Developing a bilingual child is a

hard mission, as it requires a lot of
money, time and effort.

There are no right or wrong opinions here, although some of these statements are myths
that have no scientific evidence while some others are proved wrong by language
scientists, such as the myth that multilingualism is related to language deficits, teaching
young children multiple languages will get them confused or bilingual ability is a born
talent. Some myths still remain.
More importantly, these statements that you have agreed or disagreed with reflect what
you value and what you believe about the languages that your child is acquiring, about
language development, language use, and bilingualism in general. We encourage you and
your spouse to take a few minutes to review your answers and think about how they may
influence your child’s bilingual development. For instance, if a parent values English more
than their mother tongue, they may likely invest more time and effort on nurturing their
child’s English. If a parent believes that only professional teachers are capable of
transmitting another language well to their child, then they may leave their child’s learning
of another language later when they attend schools.
There is also no right or wrong way in becoming bilingual because every family has their
own ideologies and circumstances. Parents need not compare their way of parenting with
 10

others. It is important, however, that parents are aware of what they want for their child
(their expectation), what they think about language(s), and that these beliefs may be
manifested consciously or unconsciously in their decisions or behaviour which may
influence their child’s language development.

1.2 Your language beliefs

Here are some of the language ideologies of the families who participated in our project.
They talk about what they believe, what they expect of their children in terms of language
abilities, and how they value their languages.
 11

What are your language ideologies? Reflect on the following questions:

1. What do you think about the languages that your child is acquiring? Do they hold the
same value and significance?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What do you think about bilingualism? Why do you want to your child to be
bilingual?

______________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________
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3. What kind of effects do you think the above beliefs may have on your child’s
bilingual development?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

1.3 Your language expectation

Some questions you can ask yourselves here are:

- Do you wish your child to be an active user of both/all of their languages? Meaning,
they are using both/all of their languages at home, in school, in the community, and
perhaps at work in the future, on a daily basis. Or do you feel okay, if they are a
 13

passive user in one of the languages? For example, they can read/understand to a
certain extent but they may not be able to speak/write very well.
- Would you expect your child to have a more balanced proficiency in both/all of
their languages? Or do you anticipate that they will be strong in one language and
weak in another?
- Would you expect your child to have native-like* oracy (speaking & listening
skill) and/or literacy (reading & writing skill) in each of their languages?

Now given the environemnt in which your child will grow up, what do you expect?

I expect my child, by the age of ________ to have the following levels of proficiency:

(Please write in the boxes from 1 lowest to 10 highest)

Language(s) Listening Speaking Reading Writing Degree of

Active use
 14

Language(s) Listening Speaking Reading Writing Degree of

Active use

If you have more than one young child and you have different expectations of them, you
may mark out the scores for both of them in the same table above using different coloured
pens.

Now, why do you have these expectations? And are they realistic?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Are they aligned with those of your spouse? If not, what are the differences?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Language resources
Well done for coming this far. Now in order to support your child’s language development
and achieve the expectations you have written above, you can start by thinking about their
 15

current language envrionment, and what further resources may be helpful. You may not
alter the social environment much, but there are certainly actions that you can take to
create for a more nurturing environment that shapes up your child's language profile.

2.1 Language environment

Language environment refers to the physical surrounding (audio, visual and interactional)
in which your child encounters every day during their wake time. This is also refered to as
language input. We list some common ones below. Note that these are also language
resources to which parents can turn to for support.

1. Social interaction with the parent(s)

2. Social interaction with primary caregiver(s), such as domestic helpers,
grandparents, nursery caretakers or teachers, who look after and interact with your
child frequently (nearly daily)
3. Social interaction with secondary caregivers, such as part-time babysitters,
enrichment teachers, grandparents who regularly interact with your child but less
frequently
4. Social interaction with community members, such as neighbours, shopkeepers, taxi
drivers, cashiers, parents' friends, educators from ad-hoc activities, etc.
5. Social interaction with speakers of the target language when travelling
6. Educational materials - toys or items with written language or audio such as
speaking books, speaking pens, alphabet puzzle etc., also playing mat with prints
and letters that can stimulate conversation between caregivers and teh child
7. Media (audiovisual) – TV programmes, animations, videos, eBooks, radio, songs,
digital games
8. Media (printed) - storybooks, magazines, newspapers, etc.
9. Linguistic landscape (home) – educational posters, calendar, memo notes, books on
bookshelf, decorative (e.g. spring festival couplets, memorabilia), food packages etc.
- essentially items with language printed or written on them
10. Linguistic landscape (social) - advertisement, billboards, street signage, banners in
shop, menu's, etc.
 16

When thinking about the language environment, a key consideration is quanity and
quality of the available resources in the envrionemnt. For instance, among the one hour
contact time with the Mandarin-speaking grandparents, how much time is the child
interacting with them? And what are they talking about? Are they having the usual home
dialogues like 'are you hungry / full?", "need to go to toilet?", "want to nap?', or dialogues
that can help expand the child's vocabulary and grammar like reading a story book,
explaning what the beast is doing, why princess is upset, or having a walk in the
neighbourhood, talking about the different objects, shops and people they see?

2.2 Parents’ linguistic competence

Research shows that social interaction is the most critical for language development. In
early childhood, the most impactful social interaction comes likely from parents. In order to
evaluate what parents and other main caregivers can offer, we would like to invite you,
your spouse and other primary caregivers, if any, to reflect on your own linguistic
competence. Please rate your language skills from 1 (basic) to 10 (proficient) in the tables
beow.
 17

Mother’s Language Proficiency

Language(s) Listening Speaking Reading Writing Overall

1.

2.

3.

4.

Which one of these languages is the most significant for you - the mother? (i.e., it is a
language in which you can express your thoughts and emotions the best, and it is also the
one closest to your heart.)

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Father’s Language Proficiency

Language(s) Listening Speaking Reading Writing Overall

1.

2.

3.

4.

Which one of these languages is the most significant for you - the father?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Language Proficiency of other primary caregivers, if any

Language(s) Listening Speaking Reading Writing Overall

1.

2.
 18

3.

4.

Which one of these languages is the most significant for you as a primary childminder?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

This self-reported language profile is done for two purposes: first, to reflect on your
language skills because you want to transmit your most proficient (richest) language to
your child. This also helps for establishing an intimate parent-child bonding, because you
can express in the most extensive and authentic way, and a profound way to connect with
your child and to socialize them in a natural tone. However, if there is another language
that your family wants or needs your child to acquire and you are not that proficient in it
(maybe not in all aspects, e.g., writing and speaking), then you may want to consider, in the
next exercise, which areas require more support. Another reason regarding your significant
language is to raise the awareness of your family's heritage or 'roots'. Some parents report
that they regret not having passed this significant heritage to their children when they were
young because there appeared to be other considerations at the time, such as schooling,
work opportunities, mobility, or other reasons at the time. Therefore, it is better to think
about this thoroughly and early.

2.3 Linguistic Resources

 19

Now, think about the language environment that your child is currently exposed to (or will
be exposed to, for expecting parents). Is this environment corresponding to your
expectations? In other words, does it support the child to achieve the desired proficiencies?
For instance, if you wish your child to have a more balanced proficiency in both languages,
does he/she have the same amount of exposure* in both languages?

If the language envrionmetn does not correspond to the expectations, which language may
require more support? And what type of support do you think would be appropriate?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Language Management Plan with linguistic resources

Think of a favourable support plan that your family can realistically arrange for your child in
order to reach a more desirable outcome. Do not over-engineer or stretch your limit. Make
good use of the resources around you, in your community and think creatively.
 20

Fill in the following Language Management Plan. In the ‘Language’ column, write the name
of the language (English, Mandarin, Malay, Tamil etc.) that the child will come in contact
with through a specific resource (e.g. Father or Grandmother). You may specify it to be "M"
(a mixed language) if you know, for instance, that the child's grandmother has the habbit of
speaking 90% in Mandarin with a mixed of 10% in English.

In the ‘Sources’ column, write the type of the linguistic source that supports development
of that language. Refer to 2.1, e.g., father, mother, grandfather, babysitter, enrichment
class, media (videos), etc.

In the ‘hours of contact per week’ column, put down an approximate number of hours of
contact in a regular week. For certain sources that take place infrequently or irregularly,
such as an ad-hoc educational activity (e.g., a Mandarin story session in a public library),
you can give an estimation, based on the frequency (an hour a month works out about 15
minutes per week). Please do not undervalue these ad-hoc resources - any resource is a
form of support.

In the 'Remarks', feel free to note down anything of your interest, such as, whether the
source is interactive (the child's speaking is required), the quality of the language input -
simple daily use or more sophisticated content, whether it is formal/informal, context
(home/school/community), language variety (proficiency, background or accent of the
resources).

Please bear in mind two important dimensions here: language diversity and
level-appropriateness. Children who are exposed to a more diverse range of accents
(Singaporean, British, American or Indian English) and interact with a variety of speakers
develop a wider range of linguistic competence. Also, young children are more likely to
absorb age appropriate and level appropriate content as opposed to adult content such as
news.

Despite our very best intention and devotion for our beloved children, we have limited
time, money and energy. Design a plan that is sustainable, which your family can execute
with ease and consistency.

Language Resources Hours of Remarks

 21

(one language or mixed contact per

language context) week*

Total hours ________hours*

Child’s total wake time _________hours

per week*
* These two numbers need to be the same.

Reflecting on the above support system, what do you think?

- Are you happy with the plan?
- Is this sufficient? or overwhelming?
- Is this executable? or overwhelming?
- Any foreseeable challenges?
- Is there anything you can do to make it easier and more enjoyful for your family in
this bilingual journey?

Please feel free to revise it now or later, and write down any thoughts that come across
your mind.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________
 22

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Planning and executing a family language policy requires some effort from multiple family
members and caregivers. We encourage you to talk about this important topic with time
from time to time, to find out more about their ideology and thoughts on this topic, and
see what support they may offer. However, remember to put your family member’s
well-being in the first place. Language learning should be fun and seeing your child grow
linguistically is very rewarding. We should not stress ourselves or our family members too
much about this. Many families who keep a light-hearted and positive attitude towards
bilingualism have a positive experience, and their children are also more prone to become
a proud bilingual or multilingual. For this, Prof. Annick de Houwer suggested an important
concept of ‘harmonious bilingualism’, and has been providing many resources on her
organisation’s website Habilnet.org. We will discuss more about this in future materials.

3. Summary of Recommendations
To summarise the content in this booklet, here are the recommendations for bilingual
families:

3.1 Share your language beliefs

First, think about your language beliefs, values and expectations for the child, and discuss
about them openly with your family members.

3.2 Identify available resources

Second, identify the current language environemnt and available resources that would
facilitate your child’s bilingual language development.
 23

3.3 Review periodically

Third, review your child’s bilingual development from time to time. Adjust your
expectations, resources, see help from other resources, where necessary.

Most importantly, be flexible because there are social factors such as a dominant language
in the kindergarten, change of work situation or caregivers, that may be out of our control.
Importantly, keep everyone’s well-being in mind, and have fun!

Happy bilingual journey!

 24

References
● Cruz-Ferreira, Madalena. (2010). Multilinguals are…? Plymouth, England: Battlebridge.
● Lee, Danny. (2013, September 17). Photo of Mr Lee Kuan Yew. South China Morning
Post.https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1311138/leaders-pay-tribute-singapores-l
ee-kuan-yew-his-90th-birthday
● King, K.A., Fogle, L.W. (2017). Family Language Policy. In: McCarty, T., May, S. (eds)
Language Policy and Political Issues in Education. Encyclopedia of Language and
Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02344-1_25
● Lanza, Elizabeth (2021, January 17). Family Language Policies: Do We Need Them?
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/living-languages/202101/family-language-po
licies-do-we-need-them
● Prime Minister's Office Singapore (2023, April 8). DPM Heng Swee Keat at the Opening
of the Bilingualism Carnival 2023.
https://www.pmo.gov.sg/Newsroom/DPM-Heng-Swee-Keat-at-the-Opening-of-the-Biling
ualism-Carnival
● Spolsky, Bernard (2012). The Cambridge Handbook of Language Policy. Cambridge
University Press.
● Styles, Suzy J; Woon, Fei Ting; Eshwaaree C Yogarrajah; Mohd Salleh, Nur Sakinah.
(2021). SHELLS: Supportive Home Environments for Language Learning - Survey,
https://doi.org/10.21979/N9/RL5UMY, DR-NTU (Data), V1; SHELLS_Qualtrics.pdf
● Tham, Yuen C. (2013, August 19). Give kids early start in bilingualism: Lee Kuan Yew.
Strait Times.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/give-kids-early-start-in-bilingualism-lee-kuan-y
ew

Contributors

Project Lead and Producer:

Dr. Yvonne Tse Crepaldi is currently a researcher at the University of Alberta, Canada, and
is also affiliated with Nanyang Technological University (NTU), where she obtained her PhD
in Linguistics. She has collaborated on numerous research projects at NIE and NTU,
Singapore, related to parent-child interactions, multilingualism and healthcare
communication, and has published in international publications. Yvonne has also worked
as a cross-cultural trainer, language education entrepreneur, interpreter and language
teacher. Yvonne is avid language learner - speaking eight languages, and is raising two
trilingual children.
 25

Project Advisor and Expert Contributor:

Assistant Professor Suzy Styles investigates the relationship between language and
developing sensory systems, with a focus on how different patterns of language exposure
can create different outcomes for brains of language learning infants and children. She
leads the BLIP lab and works on multisensory perception, sensory development and
documentation of the diverse experience of language exposures in multilingual Singapore.
She is an Open Science advocate who is also active in the Science Communication
movement. She won the Nanyang Research Award for Junior Investigators in 2018 for her
work on the NRF Funded project 'How do Language Mixes contribute to Effective
bilingualism and Effective Biliteracy in Singapore’, and has held the Provost's Chair in
Psychology at Nanyang Technological University since 2019.

Expert Contributor:

Prof. Ng Bee Chin works in the area of bilingualism and multilingualism with a focus on the
impact of language contact on individuals and the community they live in. Her research
approach is to explore both cognitive and social aspects of language use across the
lifespan. Currently, she is working on language and emotion in multilinguals, language
attitudes, identity and social categorisation and communicative aspects of aging. A
common thread running through her research is the connection between the self and the
social. The self (person) and the community is intricately bound and to fully understand
language use, we need to understand the communities we live in. Invariably, our social
interactions will have an impact on the way information is organized cognitively and she
continues to navigate the nexus between these two fields. She co-authored the book
“Bilingualism: An Advanced Resource Book”. Currently she is the Associate Dean of
Graduate Studies in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological
University, Singapore.

Expert Contributor:

Prof. Mukhlis Abu Bakar is Associate Professor and Assistant Head (Malay) at the Asian
Languages and Cultures Academic Group, National Institute of Education. His research
interests include childhood bilingualism and biliteracy, sociocultural approach to literacy
learning in the home, school and faith settings, and pronunciation issues in the Malay
language. He sits on the Editorial Board of Jurnal Bahasa, a publication by Dewan Bahasa
dan Pustaka, Malaysia, and previously served as Associate Editor of the Asia Pacific Journal
of Education and Co-Editor of the Jurnal Pendidikan Awal Kanak-kanak. His latest
publication is a volume co-edited with R. Wills, M. de Souza, J. Mata-McMahon and C. Roux,
entitled The Bloomsbury Handbook of Culture and Identity from Early Childhood to Early
Adulthood (2021).

Expert Contributor:

Prof. Seetha Lakshmi is an Associate Professor and the Assistant Head of the of the Asian
Languages and Cultures (Tamil) at the National Institute of Education, Singapore. She has
led teaching and research concerned primarily with Standard Spoken Tamil, Curriculum
Review, Classroom Pedagogy, Tamil lexicography, Teaching Tamil as a second language,
Tamil pedagogy for the Tamil Diaspora and Teaching Tamil through Media.
 26

Expert Contributor:

Prof. Elizabeth Lanza is Professor Emerita of Linguistics at the University of Oslo and
former Director of the Center for Multilingualism in Society across the Lifespan (MultiLing),
funded by the Research Council of Norway. Her main field of research is
bilingualism/multilingualism with a sociolinguistic orientation. Lanza’s work concerns issues
of language, culture and identity in multilinguals, with a particular focus on family language
policy and language socialization. She was the leader of the research project MultiFam:
Family language policy in multilingual transcultural families. Some recent publications
include special issues in: the International Journal of Bilingualism co-edited with Kendall
King, entitled Ideology, Agency, and Imagination in Multilingual Families (2017), Multilingua
co-edited with Xiao Lan Curdt-Christiansen, entitled Multilingual Family Language
Management: Efforts, Measures and Choices (2018) and Journal of Multilingual Theories and
Practices, co-edited with Rafael Lomeu Gomes, entitled Family Multilingualism: Decolonial
and Southern Approaches (2024).

Other contributors:
Participating Families.
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Kalimuthu, Khuzaimah Yuni
Social Media: Melanie Wee
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Supported by: Lee Kuan Yew Fund for Bilingualism

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Supporting your children’s journey to bilingualism

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Notes: