A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about why "heritage" languages are important, which came out of conversations with families trying to pass on a language with little "usefulness" but great emotional significance. Some of the most emotional stories I've heard over the years have been from adults who should have been raised bilingual, … Continue reading Recovering heritage languages: rediscovering your “whole self”
Tag: minority language
Keeping the window open: why “heritage” languages are important too
I feel like I can not be half of myself. I've heard variations of those words so many times over my career as a consultant, from adults all over the world, all referencing the fact that they do not speak the language of one (or both) of their parents. Many of them are children of … Continue reading Keeping the window open: why “heritage” languages are important too
Learning from the past?
Aboriginal people have a right to language. Unless we do something in this generation the languages will die in the next generation -- the generation of my daughter. -- Lorena Fontaine, PhD student at the University of Manitoba As a Canadian living abroad, I tend to focus on all the good things about our history and have an admittedly Pollyanna … Continue reading Learning from the past?
When the Mother Tongue becomes a minority language: Changing your family plan
This post was inspired by a reader question, and fits well with the theme of the month, so I am putting my thoughts in a post. This family is from the Middle East, and has Arabic and English as the two languages in their language plan. They began their family in the Middle East and … Continue reading When the Mother Tongue becomes a minority language: Changing your family plan
#IMLD: Supporting languages at school
I wrote this post at the end of the school year last year, the first year my children attended a European School. As both a professional in the field of bilingualism and as a parent of bilingual children, it was a year of reflection and growth for me in my understandings of a truly … Continue reading #IMLD: Supporting languages at school
Whole-family support for (very minor) minority languages
Last night I had the pleasure of spending the evening with a very diverse group of parents. All of them had children who will grow up with two languages, and many had children growing up with three or more languages. A few of the families are lucky enough to have multilingual partners, who speak … Continue reading Whole-family support for (very minor) minority languages
Being an OPOL family – guarantee of success?
Over the last decade or so, the OPOL method of raising bilingual children has gotten a lot of positive press. It sounds pretty simple - One parent, one language. So I speak French to my kids and my husband speaks English to them, and they will grow up bilingual. Sounds easy, yes? But the reality, … Continue reading Being an OPOL family – guarantee of success?
International Mother Language Day 2015 – #IMLD campaign
Join us in celebrating all our languages with a month of events/posts/ promotions leading up to "International Mother Language Day" on February 21, 2015 (Fathers, your language is included too!). Onraisingbilingualchildren will have special posts on February 12 and 19 on supporting Mother Tongue at home and at school. Please share links using the #IMLD … Continue reading International Mother Language Day 2015 – #IMLD campaign
Teaching ELLs: Arkansas Educator Shares His Approach to Language Instruction – Learning the Language – Education Week
Love, love, love this short article. It warms the cockles of my heart to hear about schools and districts where people are making strides in respecting and supporting the language journey of bilinguals. I especially love this bit: A school where every teacher is trained in ESL techniques, in a district where everyone from the … Continue reading Teaching ELLs: Arkansas Educator Shares His Approach to Language Instruction – Learning the Language – Education Week
The Languages you Speak to Your Bilingual Child | Psychology Today
This is a great article that explains, from the research, why no one method is a guarantee of bilingual success. When I do parent seminars we talk about this a lot. Being an OPOL family doesn't automatically mean your kids will be bilingual. Having a minority language at home does not automatically mean your kids … Continue reading The Languages you Speak to Your Bilingual Child | Psychology Today
