A. It depends! One of the key factors in successful bilingualism-for-life is being able to read and write a language. Parents pass down a language mainly orally, which is a natural pattern of language use in a family. Trying to teach your children to read and write in your language is not always easy, and … Continue reading Q: Should I send my child to Saturday School?
Tag: biliteracy
Being Bilingual with Betty and Cat books
What makes a good bilingual book for children? I get a lot of requests from various companies to partner on my blog, or to have me promote their services or products. I rarely do so, because I rarely find anything worth sharing. But every once and a while I get an email about a … Continue reading Being Bilingual with Betty and Cat books
Professor Calls for Bilingual Education Services to Go Beyond English Instruction
This is a great article about bilingual advocate Diane Rodriguez. She is working on improving provisions in US schools for newly arrived immigrant children who do not speak English. Schools often see these learners in a very one-dimensional way - they are "English-language learners", and therefore the focus is on teaching them English. Her point, … Continue reading Professor Calls for Bilingual Education Services to Go Beyond English Instruction
#IMLD: Books for kids
Firstly, I'd like to say that I think there should be more books for kids about being bilingual. I've had an idea in my head for years for a children's book, but it's still in my head... Bilingual books are important not only to help children achieve literacy in both languages, but also to help … Continue reading #IMLD: Books for kids
California Puts More Attention on Long-Term English-Language Learners – Learning the Language – Education Week
Way to go California - recognising that being a language learner lasts a lot longer than the 1-2 years support usually given. It's a first step in narrowing the gap between those-who-can in the school language and those-who-can't... now let's follow it up with Mother Tongue/first language teaching in schools, and models that promote positive … Continue reading California Puts More Attention on Long-Term English-Language Learners – Learning the Language – Education Week
“A” is for airplane. But “V” is for vliegtuig… the beauty of bilingual resources from Diglot Books
The question of reading - who reads what and in what language? is a common one in bilingual families. Should each parent only read books in their own language? Is it okay to read books in the other language? What if your accent is terrible? What if you only want to read in *your* language … Continue reading “A” is for airplane. But “V” is for vliegtuig… the beauty of bilingual resources from Diglot Books
Bilingual = Biliterate?
If bilingualism is the ability to be able to use two or more languages, is literacy a necessary part of this? Do you need to be able to read and write a language to qualify as "bilingual"? And if you would like your children to be literate in two or more languages, how do you … Continue reading Bilingual = Biliterate?
Reading: Who does what, and why?
One of the questions that comes up in almost every seminar I do is related to reading. Most of the families I work with are lucky enough to have available children's books in both family languages. Children (being often contrary) tend to pick up a book from the "other" language and refuse any attempt … Continue reading Reading: Who does what, and why?
Bilingualism, biliteracy?
I'm going to the British School of Amsterdam tomorrow, to do a workshop on literacy strategies with the Early Years' teachers. So, today I have literacy on my mind. All children need to learn to read and write, in at least one language. That said, should all bilingual children learn to read and write in … Continue reading Bilingualism, biliteracy?
