We have answered more than two hundred questions on the topic of raising bilingual children, and the worry that gets mentioned most frequently is whether kids growing up to learn more than one language can get confused by the languages in their family and...
Myths
Early Bilingual Language Development: Facts and Fictions [guest post]
I am delighted to introduce you to today’s guest blogger, Dr. Mary-Pat O'Malley-Keighran. She is a lecturer, author, researcher, speech and language therapist, and lover of all things to do with speech, language, and communication. She has over 20 years’ experience of...
Two parents, two languages – 2P2L, double the benefits of OPOL?
In my series on different strategies for raising a bilingual child, I will today introduce an approach, which you may not have heard about: two parents, two languages (2P2L). Previously in this series, I have written about one parent/person, one language (OPOL),...
A-B-C for parents bringing up bilingual children: M-S
This is the third post in my four-part A-B-C for parents in families with more than one language. M is for Myths There are so many myths about bilingual children and how to raise them that I don’t know where to start. In my opinion, the most damaging ones are: 1. that...
Life as a Bilingual – Blog by Professor François Grosjean
https://multilingualparenting.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/p1010819.jpgToday I would like to draw your attention to an interesting blog by Professor François Grosjean: Life as a Bilingual. I have thoroughly enjoyed his insightful comments on what it means to be bilingual, what advantages you gain and what challenges you can expect along...
Things that can go wrong when raising a bilingual child. Part 2 of 3
This is the second post in a series of three about the things that can go wrong when raising a bilingual child. This week’s topics mainly deal with your confidence as a parent and your ability to pass your language on. Read part one of the series here, part three is...
Teachers don’t always know best – bilinguals at school
What to do if a teacher tells you that your daughter’s progress at school is hampered by the use of the minority language at home? How to react if the school thinks that you are making her learning more difficult by insisting on her becoming bilingual? Hearing...
“You are confusing your child!”
How many of us parents of bilingual children haven’t heard that comment? It might put doubts in your mind – are you actually doing more harm than good to your child’s development? The simple answer is: no, you are not disadvantaging your children by bringing them up...