François Grosjean Responds: Cherishing the Multilingual Heart

Sunday, January 29th, 2012

By


At the end of last year, the title of a post by Jan Petersen on InCultureParent caught my attention: “How Francois Grosjean Broke My Multilingual Heart.” I was troubled at first as I have defended bi- and multilinguals most of my academic life, not broken their hearts!

How My Kids Lost and Found Their Native Language

Saturday, December 31st, 2011

By


I feel defeated when I watch childhood home videos of my two daughters, Alina and Alexa. In the videos, they are speaking their beautiful native tongue, a bittersweet memory, as they lost their ability and desire to speak it as they got older.

All I Want for Christmas is Perfectly Bilingual Children

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

By


When it comes to raising a bilingual child, I have several beliefs about how you can waste your time.

Getting Back on the OPOL Wagon

Wednesday, November 30th, 2011

By


As a wrote about in Part I of this article, Falling off the OPOL Wagon, I didn’t realize I had fallen off the one parent one language (OPOL) wagon until I found myself face down on the ground with a chipped tooth and a mouthful of dirt.

So how did I get back on the wagon? I credit reading about other multilingual children’s progress on various blogs with flipping the switch for me.

Falling off the OPOL Wagon

Thursday, October 27th, 2011

By


I didn’t realize I had fallen off the one parent one language (OPOL) wagon until I found myself face down on the ground with a chipped tooth and a mouthful of dirt.

Code-Switching in My Multilingual Family

Friday, September 30th, 2011

By


“Mommy,” my son stated, “for lunch, uno quesadilla con queso istiyorum.” In our family, this sentence that combines English, Spanish and Turkish not only makes sense, but it is also a normal exchange.

Language for Family Ties or Competitive Edge?

Thursday, September 15th, 2011

By


When we decided to move to Singapore about 18 months ago, people’s reactions fell into roughly three categories:

The Influence of Bilingual Preschool Teachers

Monday, September 12th, 2011

By


Lately, both of my girls have taken to calling my youngest, Lila, “Lilita.” Although they do not attend a bilingual Spanish preschool, two of the three teachers are native Spanish speakers.

Is Raising Bilingual Children Worth the Costs?

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

By


I am now married to a so-white-it’s-almost-blinding husband, who only speaks English, and together we are attempting to raise bilingual and bicultural children. It is both easier and harder than we anticipated. Oh, and more expensive.

Chinese School Dropout: Why I No Longer Torture My Son With Bilingualism

Monday, August 1st, 2011

By


After three years of flashcards, tracing sheets, computer games and CDs, I’m giving in. I’m a Chinese School Dropout. Or rather my second-grader is.

Defining a Child’s World through Language

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

By


The power of language in shaping children’s world views.

The 10 Best Things About Going Bilingual

Friday, June 3rd, 2011

By


The best 10 things about going bilingual with your children.

Speaking in Tongues Film

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

By


Why is bilingualism important to you? Answer this question to win the DVD of the film, Speaking in Tongues.

Bilingual Parenting: OPOL or Mixed Language—Does it Matter?

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011

By


One of the most frequently asked questions from parents bringing up their children bilingually is whether they should speak both languages or separate them. Some bilingual families mix both languages on a regular basis, sometimes in the same sentence. Other families choose to link one language to a parent, a strategy known as the one parent one language (OPOL) approach, to expose the child to a ‘pure’ example of the language.

Learning to Read When Bilingual: Which Language First?

Tuesday, May 24th, 2011

By


A hot topic for parents trying to raise balanced bilinguals is which language do you teach first, the minority one or the community language? Or maybe both at once?

How to go about Japanese-English bilingualism in the U.S.? I don’t want my kids feeling alone and like they don’t fit in.

Thursday, May 19th, 2011

By


How do you suggest a parent work with, while protecting, her children from the strong pressures to conform to making English dominant in one’s head, in the context of the U.S. and Japan? U.S. bilingualism is short lived. Japanese bilingualism is even shorter.

Perfect Bilingualism: Does it Exist?

Saturday, April 30th, 2011

By


Recent research shows that most bilingual speakers, although there may be exceptions, have an accent in one of their languages, or even in both.

Invisible Interpreter: The Grandmother – Child Language Divide

Saturday, April 30th, 2011

By


Paati (grandma) joined us this past summer from India. It was her first visit to our home in the U.S since the kids. Paati can understand, read and write elementary English, while our six-something-year-old daughter can handle only minimal Tamil (the regional Indian language we speak).

Benefits of Raising Bilingual Children: Correcting My Grammar

Tuesday, April 12th, 2011

By


I’ve long been resigned (though secretly thrilled) that my six-year-old daughter corrects my French, but I didn’t expect my three-year-old son to start just yet.

What Bilingualism is Not

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

By


There are also the myths that real bilinguals do not have an accent in their different languages and that they are excellent all-around translators. This is far from being true.

Forgetting my Mother Tongue

Thursday, March 24th, 2011

By


How can I hope to teach my kids German if I am losing it myself?

Si­, Yes: Raising Bilingual Twins

Monday, February 28th, 2011

By


Emma and Hannah have been bilingual since they were born and many times they mix up English and Spanish in one sentence. When they do this, they seem to pick the easiest words from each language. Most of the time, they combine both languages because they do not have the vocabulary they need.

Autism and Multilingualism: A Parent’s Perspective

Monday, January 31st, 2011

By


It happened again last week. I was enjoying a cup of coffee with a colleague when she asked me point blank what language we spoke at home. I often get that question as my husband and I come from different countries and on top of that we’re expats in Turkey.

Education in Multilingual Families: The Burning Question—Part One

Wednesday, January 19th, 2011

By


Education. One word, carrying so much baggage. Hope for the future; worries about its quality and quantity. And for families raising bilingual or multilingual children, the language question adds another dimension of difficulty…

Help! My Bilingual Child Won’t Speak My Language

Friday, December 31st, 2010

By


If you find your child refuses to speak your language, don’t hit the panic button just yet. All you need is a little bit of patience and perhaps some organization too.

Languages of the Mind and Heart: Growing up Trilingual in the UK

Friday, December 31st, 2010

By


As someone who loves to write and read, a love of language and words fits naturally. My family is of Punjabi origin, hailing from Jhelum, Pakistan and therefore speaks a Patwari dialect of Punjabi. Growing up, I spoke Patwari with my mother and grandparents; this was the language they scolded us in (Danger! Animals!) and loved us in.

Raising Bilingual Children in Non-Native Language: Tools for Parents

Tuesday, December 14th, 2010

By


So your kids have a ton of target-language DVDs, books, websites and toys to fast-track their bilingualism, but what about you, the parent? If the target language isn’t your native one, you’ll be wanting to maintain and improve it any chance you get.

Late Speaker and Bilingual? Changing a Common Belief

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

By


Popular wisdom would have it that bilingual children are generally late speakers. It was certainly my experience when my son at three didn’t speak but a few words. People around me would tell me oh, don’t worry it’s because he’s bilingual. My own doctor told me there was no need for concern as my son was learning two languages at the same time.

Osmosis of Language

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

By


By the age of four, I had lived in three different countries and spoke pieces of three different languages. I was born in the former Soviet Union to an East German father and a Peruvian mother. My parents were university students in present day Ukraine and they communicated with each other in their only common language at that time, Russian.

Why I Want My Children to be Multilingual

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010

By


Question: why is it important to me that my kids speak more than one language? I have to admit that I never really thought about this. When I married an Algerian woman I must have assumed my children would be multilingual. Or maybe I was so unprepared that I actually didn’t have an opinion. But [...]

Another Benefit of Raising Kids in Non-native Language

Saturday, November 13th, 2010

By


And an unforeseen benefit of raising bilingual children is that I feel less exposed when it comes to disciplining Schmoo in public.

Reinforcing the Minority Language

Thursday, November 4th, 2010

By


Early on, I read quite a bit about language acquisition and discovered that children need interactive language exposure in order to learn a language. This means that sitting your child in front of the television to watch minority language (ml) programs alone will not teach them that language. Your child needs to be highly motivated [...]

Myths of Multilingual Families

Tuesday, October 26th, 2010

By


The key to learning languages in the home—whether one, two, or even more—is interaction. Interaction involves speaking and listening. In many intercultural families, however, children do not become bilingual.

Adventures in Raising Trilingual Kids

Wednesday, October 20th, 2010

By


I am bringing up my children, Schmoo and Pan-Pan, to speak three languages: English, Twi and French.

Join the growing community of parents and friends who think global. Be InCulture.

*Required

You'll receive monthly newsletters and sometimes special promotions. We don't spam, sell or trade your email ever.

Question for InCultureParent's Linguist?


Dr. Anthea Gupta

Send questions to:
submissions@incultureparent.com. Please put "Ask a Linguist" in the subject line.

This month's question:
Adventures in Raising Trilingual Kids

More Language


Getting Back on the OPOL Wagon

Cordelia Newlin de Rojas

Falling off the OPOL Wagon

Cordelia Newlin de Rojas

Speaking in Tongues Film

InCultureParent Magazine

What Bilingualism is Not

Francois Grosjean

Osmosis of Language

Alexander Reuss
maxwell's quetzalcoatl gallery