Comments for on raising bilingual children

Comment on Phonology and Grammar in Bilingual Children by eacrisfield

eacrisfield — Tue, 21 May 2013 08:09:38 +0000

That’s a good question Ute. My instinct would be that the relationship would be the same- I think that when a child’s brain is still busy figuring out how to understand and use a language via the sounds, they don’t have as much mental space to focus in on the grammatical nuances. It would seem to me that this type of “paying attention” to fine-tuning grammar would come after they are comfortable enough with the phonology to understand speech (and text) with less effort. But that’s just my best guess…

Comment on Phonology and Grammar in Bilingual Children by expatsincebirth

expatsincebirth — Tue, 21 May 2013 07:38:20 +0000

Thanks for sharing this article here too! I read it at 2Languages2Worlds and this was just what I needed right now. My daughter is working on her phonological production for two years now and I was wondering if she shouldn’t also get some help on the morphological and syntactic level too… – This study is about kindergarten children. I’m wondering how the data would change if the children were about 7 years old.

Comment on Raising Bilingual Children: Six building blocks for success by Robert Lemstra

Robert Lemstra — Sun, 19 May 2013 17:14:32 +0000

Dear Eowyn,
My wife and I are raising two bilingual children, in Dutch and English. She told me about you through a lecture you gave at the ICTY and was very enthusiastic about it. I have a question, my son (2.5 years) gets much more Dutch because I speak Dutch to him, and my wife speaks English. He seems to be getting much more Dutch -about 5 days, while English with my wife on weekends and in the evenings. I speak only Dutch to him and my wife only English. He is speaking very well for his age, but its very obvious that the Dutch is dominating. He seems to understand all the English spoken to him, but often responds to my wife in Dutch. My question is: Should I speak English to him in the evenings, or on weekends? or on the Monday I am with him?, or will that just really confuse him? I speak English to my wife so he does hear me speak it, but I don’t want him to start speaking a mixture of the two languages. Any tips?
Thank you,

Robert

Comment on So this bilingualism thing isn’t really working… now what? by expatsincebirth

expatsincebirth — Wed, 08 May 2013 21:06:26 +0000

I agree with you that seeking help is important as soon as parents think that bilingualism (or multilingualism) is not working like they expect. But how can they recognize if it’s only a matter of time – every child has a different way to cope with languages etc. – or if there is really something that needs professional help. I know that the range of “signs” to seek for help is huge, but maybe there are a few more general ones who can help parents? In your experience, is there a time frame within which for example a delay in speaking the languages or becoming is considered “normal” for multilinguals? Or is it also possible that this would be “too late”?

Comment on Dropping a language: Is it ever the right choice? by So this bilingualism thing isn’t really working… now what? | on raising bilingual children

Wed, 08 May 2013 20:49:15 +0000

[...] be happy with having a monolingual child. I think that is very rarely good advice (see this post: Dropping a language?). If you are dedicated to your languages (and in most cases you should be!) what are your options [...]

Comment on Different Perspectives on OPOL by Stephanie-InCultureParent

Stephanie-InCultureParent — Sun, 05 May 2013 05:27:01 +0000

Thanks so much for sharing my article! OPOL has definitely been an uphill struggle for us and we definitely don’t have the “perfectly” bilingual kids we expected when they were born. But thanks to so many great people and sites, like yours, publishing more and more conversations around bilingualism, I am hopeful that with everything we know now, we will one day have kids that are as comfortable conversing in Arabic as they are in English.

Comment on OPOL: Does it always work? by Claudine

Claudine — Sat, 04 May 2013 19:24:23 +0000

Very well stated. The great thing about consistency is that it pushes you up against limitations. with my children (we implemented OPOL) And, when we speak in one language or another I encourage my children to find the word they need in that same language. It may not come forth immediately or they may need to ask me for the correct word in French, but, their vocabulary expands when they persist.
http://www.raisingkidsfrench.com

Comment on And a Final Roundup of OPOL Stories by bilingualtranslationmatters

bilingualtranslationmatters — Wed, 01 May 2013 19:07:09 +0000

Thank you for highlighting my OPOL success! I think the key is to stick with it, even if it seems ‘different’ along the way, as the breakthrough moment will surely arrive. Keep to your respective mother tongues and resist the temptation to speak in your partners language in front of the kids (if you are fluent in both!); this keeps the pronunciation pure and their understanding crystal clear. They will start to switch from one language to another where appropriate….have faith and watch the most natural thing in the world take place
My bilingual book and apps are in Italian and English (Pippo and Poppy go to the Seaside/Pippo e Poppy vanno al mare) however my children are asking for more, so watch this space!

Comment on Different Perspectives on OPOL by bilingualtranslationmatters

bilingualtranslationmatters — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:55:28 +0000

Here is my take on it…
http://bilingualtranslationmatters.wordpress.com/2012/05/02/hello-world/

I am on the “success with OPOL” side of the fence

Comment on Different Perspectives on OPOL by expatsincebirth

expatsincebirth — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:47:43 +0000

I wrote about how OPOL works within my children… http://expatsincebirth.com/2013/03/23/opol-among-multilingual-siblings/