Yoshito: Multilingual Educator & Author

Meet Yoshito—a French and Spanish educator currently based in England who grew up in France.

What is your favorite word or expression in another language?

등잔밑이 어둡다

This Korean idiom means: “What we see the least is just under the lamp.” Traditionally there were candles in lamps which created a shadow just under the lamp, making anything under the lamp less visible. It is a reminder that sometimes, what is just under our noses is the least visible. It can often be used to criticize someone who cannot see something in front of their face, but I like to take it as a reminder to not neglect what is just under my nose (my family). I tend to pursue and take part in many projects, but I make a conscious effort to protect the time I spend with my family.

What has been your favorite memory using (or teaching) a language so far?

Korean is the language I am the least proficient in, and it is my wife’s language. Korean helped me get closer to my eldest child when he was 2. We were in Korea, it was the summer holidays, and my wife had just given birth to our second child. So, I took my eldest out every day. We would spend the whole day together, going to the swimming pool, playgroups, restaurants, soft play areas, etc.

I was speaking all the time in French with my son, but to go to all these fun places and take part in activities, I had to use my very (VERY!) limited knowledge of Korean, along with many gestures and sound effects to communicate with people. Every outing was a real challenge, but using my least proficient language is what led to the creation of all those memories that I cherish.

Outside of your teaching, you are also a published author. Tell us about the audience for your books and why writing them is important to you!

In secondary school, I started doubting my own bilingual identity because of certain myths about bilingualism. I believed that being bilingual meant I should speak, read and write perfectly in both of my languages. But I was much less proficient in Japanese and kept thinking that I wasn’t good enough. As I became an adult, I realized that unbalanced bilingualism was actually the norm. As I became a father, I wanted to make sure that my sons benefited from their multilingualism and avoided the challenges I experienced.

This is why I started writing books that help pre-teens and teens explore their multilingual and multicultural identity in a more positive way. Another reason I focus on multilingual pre-teens and teens is because although there are many books for younger multilingual children, children aged 10 and above don’t have many options. From personal experience, I know how crucial it is to have help and guidance during our teenage years.

What advice or encouragement would you like to share with aspiring or early-career language educators? What advice would you like to give your younger self?

Learning to speak, read and write in a language demands a lot of effort. So, we need to make sure our students (and children) are motivated. Motivation is going to drive practice and will have a direct impact on how much they retain.

To allow this, a simple ratio I keep in mind whenever I plan activities is 20/80: 20% of effort for 80% of fun. In other words, children need to put a little bit of effort to have a lot of fun. If we only ask students to put in 100% effort for no reward or fun, they won’t do it. If they get 50% fun by putting in 50% effort, they might do it on a good day, but not on a bad day. If we only ask for 20% effort to get 80% fun, it becomes a no-brainer, and students will put the effort.

Complete the thought: "My #LanguageDream for the future is..."

...for every multilingual child to grow up feeling empowered by their languages and be grateful for what their languages and cultures bring into their lives.