Children can be sensitive about almost anything to do with themselves – be it their bodies, looks, family, friends, hobbies, the list is endless. Languages are no exception, so adults should be mindful when making comments or even asking questions to do with their...
When I tell people what I do and what my book “Bringing up a Bilingual Child” is about, I regularly get to hear comments such as “That’s great!” followed by “Oh, I wish I could speak my parent’s language.” It would be so beneficial for parents who are...
In the past few weeks several minority language parents have been in contact with me and their common concern has been: “How do I improve my own language skills, so I can pass on my language to my child?” Typically these parents are second or third generation...
I often speak about making it fun when you are practicing language skills with your children, so I thought it would be only fair that I come up with some ideas for examples of word play. Below is a list of games you could engage your language learner in – I suggest...
Happy International Mother Language Day! There could not be a more appropriate day than today to reflect on the term ‘mother tongue’ – but what does it really mean, especially if you speak more than one language? How should the term be defined in general and what...
To me there is no doubt that being bilingual can only be beneficial for you. Some people have challenged my view and asked me to write about situations that would have been easier had I been monolingual. Right. Hmm. OK, for the sake of balance it is only fair to take...
This is post I wish I wouldn’t have to write, and I had hoped advising parents to stick to only one language would be a thing of the past. But it isn’t. Only last week I was contacted by two worried parents from different parts of the world who had been told that...
I have been reading many articles on the benefits of bilingualism lately and I decided to gather some of the best ones into one post and share them with you. This is one of my favourite topics, so I have already written about it on different occasions: how languages...
When you have always been bilingual, like I have, you quite often take it for granted and forget how important an aspect it is in your life. So today I want to shout from the rooftops (or tweet from the top of a tree) the first 20 reasons for being thankful for all...
What to do when your young son questions why he should keep speaking your language? How to respond when he says he is never going to need it? These are questions that are not only hard to answer, but difficult to hear. Take a deep breath and don't get upset. Your...