Like any other “project” in your life, bringing up your son to become bilingual is much more likely to have a successful outcome if you plan ahead. You may ask: “Why do I need a plan? I grew up to become bilingual without anyone making a plan for me!” This is true – I...
I don’t know how many times I have heard comments along those lines – someone regretting that one of their parents didn’t pass on their language. I have never heard the opposite though, anyone regretting that they learnt a language when they were small. This speaks...
Word games are a great way to enhance your daughter’s vocabulary. They are easy to do as part of your daily life, they don’t require much planning, and – best of all – they are free and fun to do together. Naturally, it depends on your daughter’s age what kind of...
I am very happy with how my daughters have grown up to speak several languages, but there are still a few things I would have liked to have known when they were growing up. The speed at which language develops can vary considerably between siblings My elder daughter...
Interaction is crucial when you are learning a language, both for adults and children. A great and fun way to support your son’s language development is to make up stories together. You might at first think that you are not creative enough to come up with a story,...
Today I will tell you the story about Pricken, the Swedish speaking kitten, that came to play an important role in my eldest daughter Minna’s language learning. It shows how a little bit of creative thinking can come to rescue when you are bringing up a bilingual...
I believe that knowing where you come from is extremely important for your confidence and self-esteem. For someone growing up in a multilingual family being able to speak the family’s languages makes it easier to understand your background and becoming familiar with...
We have all heard about parents that start teaching their children maths or science, or train them in playing piano or tennis at a very early age. Sometime it feels as if the parents may be trying to fulfil their own dreams through their children and not thinking of...
So you have decided to bring up your son to speak your family’s languages – what will this mean for your family life? What will be different? 1. A little bit of extra effort There is a bit of extra effort to be put in for you to succeed in raising your son to become a...
Why do not all children in multilingual families grow up to become bilingual? What are the differences between the families that succeed and those who don’t? First, let’s start with some quick myth-busting: How clever or linguistically talented a child is has nothing...