Bilingualism in children. The language ombudsman explained how to deal with it.

Ukrainian should become the language of home communication - says the language ombudsman

The language protector Taras Kremen believes that in order to effectively combat bilingualism among children, Ukrainian should become the language of home communication. He emphasizes that the language children use for communication outside of school depends on adults. Therefore, in Ukraine, there are language courses for parents. He also adds that the behavior and culture of parents, as well as the education and authority of educators, influence the youth and their language of communication in 5-10 years.

According to Kremen, language courses should not only be separate activities but also accessible to all parents. These can be conversation clubs, meetings with interesting people, familiarization with Ukrainian literature. The ombudsman emphasizes that there are already such courses in Ukraine, but more needs to be said about them.

Taras Kremen reminds of a study by the State Service for Quality of Education, which shows that the number of students, their parents, and teachers who consider Ukrainian their native language has decreased. Less than 40% of students communicate only in Ukrainian, and about 20% communicate equally in Ukrainian and Russian. One of the reasons for bilingualism is the habit of communicating in a non-state language and using Russian for communication in the family.

Kremen calls on the state to support the spread of the Ukrainian language at home and everywhere. He emphasizes that today in Ukraine, the Ukrainian language is fuller than ever before in years of independence. The language ombudsman also notes that bilingualism in adults can lead to linguistic schizophrenia, when a person simultaneously uses several languages without a defined priority for Ukrainian. He argues that this is harmful and threatens national interests.

Kremen emphasizes that due to bilingualism, there is a risk of attracting people to the Russian Orthodox Church and national positions, as well as local opponents of conversation with Russia. He urges caution and compliance with the language law in all areas of public life in Ukraine.

The Ministry of Education and Science supported the ban on communicating in Russian during school breaks. Kyiv ranks first in the number of complaints about violations of the language law.