Empathy
Many Chinese families choose to raise their child to be bilingual in Chinese and English during their child’s language sensitive period because of the many benefits that come with it. In addition to linguistic benefits (For example, it is much easier for the child to acquire a new language during the sensitive language period), researchers have shown other non-linguistic advantages. The benefits promote parents especially new parents to be eager to have a try. But the problem is that many of them have limited understanding about children’s language development theory and they are not sure about the feasibility. This artifact which was created on October 28, 2022 listed some of the influencing factors that affect children to become bilingual to help parents have some understanding about the feasibility.
This is an Empathy artifact. It is used to figure out the possible feelings of the individuals involved. What they think and feel, hear, see, say and do are considered through the different perspectives so that it could offer new insights on how to provide solutions that really work.
Influencing factors that affect children to become bilingual
The artifact was made using TUZZit and this is the artifact link: https://board.tuzzit.com/ownerboard/0b56abbb-0933-4474-a91c-eb0a044a9733
Define
This artifact which was made on October 29, 2022 analyzed three personas to help us gain deeper understanding of the problem. In positioning the portrait of the problem, there are several personas considered.
Firstly, parents who want to raise their children to be bilingual or who are hesitant to raise their children to be bilingual. Many parents have made the decision within themselves to raise their children to be bilingual but are concerned about their ability to raise their children to be bilingual and about whether raising bilingualism will have a negative impact on their children.
Secondly, researchers or experts who published their own research findings. Many studies point to the benefits that bilingualism brings to children, and some other studies or pediatricians suggest that the child’s overall development may be more important than bilingualism. There are many studies that provide tips for promoting a child’s language development, and there are also studies that suggest the possible negative effects of raising a child to be bilingual if the parents’ second language is not proficient enough.
Thirdly, there are many for-profit schools or companies of interest, such as language programs at early childhood schools, foreign language training companies for children, and products introduced by various companies to initiate children into English. They all publicize the importance of early English awareness and the effectiveness their products bring to children. So Define stage is applied. By describing the three personas, we can understand how different groups perceive the matter and thus gain a deeper understanding.
Ideate
This artifact which was created on October 31, 2022 analyzed what the three groups of people involved want to do. Three groups of people were considered in terms of the wishes they might hold from their respective perspectives: parents who always want their children to become bilingual, researchers/experts in the field of children’s language development and bilingualism, and developers of the company’s products.
This is the Ideate stage. In the process of trying to find a solution, the Wishing approach is used to analyze the wishes of the individuals involved. The Wishing way of thinking helps to write down the possible ideas of the people involved, thus contributing to the formation of a solution. After making their wish list, the solution is one step closer.
Prototype
The inspiration came from this device. Link. This Chinese device inspired me to make an English version to provide an English environment for children. There are three problems parents may face during the process of raising their child to be bilingual. The problems and the features to address the problems are listed below.
Finally, the following artifact was generated on October 31, 2022 and is used to create a product to solve this problem.
This artifact aligns with the prototype stage in the Design Thinking. The prototype will be a small red car-shaped device. There is hardly a child who does not like cars. It is an audio device filled with English content for 0-5 years old children. It is an essential supplement for children on their way to bilingualism. It is also an adorable toy for children. Hopefully this product could provide enough language input for families who want to raise their child to be bilingual in Chinese and English for Chinese families.
Prototype
| Name & Description | Impact | Prototype | Test |
| The wicked problem is the feasibility of raising children to become bilingual in Chinese and English during children’s language sensitive period (best 0-5 years old) with the assistance of an abundant English environment. For most Chinese families, it is difficult to provide their children with a sufficient amount of English listening environment. However, a large amount of listening input is crucial to a child’s early language acquisition. | Parents: decision makers as well as the executors. They make the decision of whether to raise their child to be bilingual during 0 to 5 years’ age. Once they make the decision, they are responsible for communicating with their child and provide as much as English environment as possible. Researchers or experts: creators of theories and the theoretical supporters of parents raising their children to become bilingual. Developers: develop products that provide an English language environment, which have an impact on children’s language acquisition and vice versa families help them improve their products. |  It is an audio device filled with English content for 0-5 years old children as an essential supplement for children on their way to bilingualism. | I will interview families whose child have already become bilingual to know their way to raise their child to be bilingual. I will mainly interview them about the problems they encountered and how they solved them, as well as the products they use and what their ideal product would look like. I will also interview families with child aged from 0 to 5 and they are on their way to raise their child to be bilingual or have not made the decision. I will mainly interview them about the problems they are encountering and what support they need. |