You might think it’s strange to ask whether you are expecting a bilingual baby. Surely you can’t know how many languages your child is going to speak! Well, of course you are right, you can not exactly know how it will all turn out with the languages in your family,...
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...
As the benefits of bilingualism are getting more widely known and the old myths about it dispelled, more and more parents decide to pass on the family languages to their children, giving them the gift of an additional language, fantastic! But what if everything...
So you want to pass on your language to your children, but feel that they are not getting enough exposure to it – a familiar scenario for many minority language parents. You have made a quick calculation and noticed that you are not reaching the recommended thirty...
Most advice for parents raising bilingual children is based on the presumption that there are two parents actively involved in the upbringing. What if you are a single parent and don’t have the support of a partner – can it still be done? This is a question that has...
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...
Motivation is the key to any language learning, never more so than for a bilingual child keeping up with the minority language. 1 - Habit If you consistently stick to speaking the minority language with your children, they are less likely to want to switch to the...
This post is also available in the following languages (click on the picture to read the post). More translations to follow: [mlp_include id=4168] 1 - It doesn’t happen by magic Children do not become bilingual “by magic”. There is a persistent myth claiming that...
It is fascinating to observe children learning to speak, and it is mind-boggling how quickly they get skilled at using their language to get something, first by directly asking to soon finding an imaginative way of using language to manipulate their parents to act in...