… do you worry about what will happen with the minority language? Whether it will still be the means of communication between you and your child, or whether the majority language will take over? If you are a bit concerned, you are not alone, but there are steps you...
Since you clicked on the link, I presume you are looking for ways to motivate (your) kids to learn new words in your own or another language. You are in for a treat! Whether you are a parent, grandparent, homeschooler, childminder or teacher – read on and you...
Some time ago I wrote a post on what you need to consider when you want bring (back) a family language into your child’s life. I also wrote a piece on motivating your child to use the minority language and become an active bilingual. Many parents have asked me to...
You have decided to bring up your children to become bilingual so they can reap all the benefits of knowing more than one language. Exciting! You speak to your family and friends about your decision and ask other parents about their experiences. Others may not be as...
The number of parents who raise their children in a multilingual environment is increasing. More and more individuals and whole families move from one country to another due to work, studies or other reasons. Couples with different native languages meet and start a...
There was a time when teachers and even speech therapists were during their training told to recommend to parents in multilingual and migrant families to stick only to the majority language and stop using their native family language at home. Today we know that this...
Summer holidays = time to relax and spend quality time with your family, but not “only” that – they are an excellent opportunity to give your bilingual children’s language skills a significant boost. Having discussed holidays with other multilingual families, one...
“How fantastic that your child will learn many languages!” and “I think you should stick to the majority language only!” Those are the two extreme reactions that parents may hear when they say that they want their children to become bilingual. My hope is that most...
Consistency – you have heard it from me and many others: to be in with the best chance of raising a bilingual child, who can confidently speak the family languages, the recommendation for parents is to be consistent with their choice of language. You may have decided...
“What if I don’t understand what my child is saying?” is one of the bigger concerns a parent of a budding bilingual child can have. It can be a worry especially for parents in families who follow the one parent, one language (OPOL) strategy. Parents who do not...