Fantastic interview with Professor François Grosjean, my all-time favourite specialist on bilingualism, conducted by Fabrice Jaumont, Education Attaché at the Cultural Services in New York. The video is brimming with useful information, to-the-point observations and helpful advice on raising bilingual children, not forgetting interesting insights into Professor Grosjean’s own bilingual background. The interview lasts about […]
This is an extended version of a post from January 2013. If you are a bilingual like me, you know we all do it – mix our languages when we speak to other bilinguals. When we cannot think of a word in one language or if there is a better expression for what we want […]
Bringing up your children to speak more than one language has many benefits – this has been proven both through research and personal experiences of bilinguals themselves. If you have read my posts before, you know that I often emphasize the benefits to the extended family bonds. When children have a common language with their […]
Further diary entries from the 100% fictional but totally real mother living with the ups and downs of raising bilingual children in a new home country. Monday Only two weeks to go now! All the gifts have been ordered – fingers crossed everything arrives in time – especially the rest of the books. I love […]
Monday I really can’t sing … but I want my daughter to hear the songs my mum sung to me when I was little, so I do it anyway. D does fall asleep a lot quicker when I sing to her, but maybe she just pretends to sleep so she doesn’t have to listen that […]
The next installment from the fictional, but oh, so real diary of a bilingual mother. Monday I must get some new books to read to my kids. I know repetition is good, but I am really getting enough of the inquisitive puppy who gets into all sorts of trouble, not to mention the scarecrow and the owl … […]
A completely fictional diary based on very real situations from bilingual families. Monday Went to the shop with our youngest daughter. She loves the game of me saying the words for everything, and she points at what feels like every single item in the shop and I diligently deliver the corresponding word. I notice a […]
Should you be able to speak a language without an accent to call yourself bilingual? Can you acquire a native-like accent in a language you learn later in life? Do others guess where your accent is from? Does it really matter? Do you care? I have recently discussed accents with a few different people, some […]
In a recent radio program on multilingualism the bilingual poet and Professor Gustavo Perez Firmat stated that he feels very differently about his two languages, with English being a happier language than Spanish. He also answered ‘Yes’ to the question whether he felt like a different person when speaking each language. I find this very […]
Kids tend to come with surprises – raising a child in more than one language can only add to the bewilderment. Bilingual children can certainly surprise their parents (and others), because they … … sometimes refuse to speak one of their languages There are several phases and situations where a bilingual child may choose not […]