I visit schools all over the world that are filled with language learners. International education is on the rise, and these schools tend to be heavily populated with students who are learning the language of instruction. One thing I am always struck by is how many parents have a very laissez-faire attitude about the … Continue reading Don’t forget about your own language!
Tag: Mother Tongue
International Mother Language Day
A statement by the International Association of Applied Linguistics Research Network on Social and Affective Factors in Home Language Maintenance and Development. As much as these divisive times concern advocates of multiculturalism and human rights, so too do they concern linguists and educators. With the rise of populist nationalism, the threat of walls between sovereign … Continue reading International Mother Language Day
Q: How do we chose which languages to focus on with our child?
A: This is a tricky question to answer, because parents ask it for different reasons. Some parents ask this question because they have multiple languages in their family/community and are trying to formulate an effective language plan. Other parents ask this because they believe the "children are sponges" myth and want to try and … Continue reading Q: How do we chose which languages to focus on with our child?
Top 5 posts of 2017
2017 was a busy year for me, and ended with the splitting of my site for parents (this one) from my site for schools (now at http://www.crisfieldeducationalconsulting.com). Although in many ways it is easier to maintain one site, and although the messages I hope to share on my blog are equally important for parents and … Continue reading Top 5 posts of 2017
Is early English-language education always the right choice?
There is a common presumption among ex-pat families, in particular, that if you have a choice between primary school in the home language and in English, the latter is the better choice. This ties in to the common myth "earlier is always better" for acquiring a new language, especially through immersion. Let's take a quick … Continue reading Is early English-language education always the right choice?
Top 5 Tips for parents with children starting school in a new language
It's that time a year again, kids heading off to school all over the world (with the exception of the Antipodeans!). In an increasingly mobile world, many children will be starting at new schools this year, and that may be in a new language. Parents often like to believe that going to school in … Continue reading Top 5 Tips for parents with children starting school in a new language
Identity language – what’s that? (Spotlight on Good Practice series)
To reject the child's language in school is to reject the child. Jim Cummins First language, home language, mother tongue, family language... all these terms are used in international education, to try and talk about the languages students bring into schools. But what is implied by all these terms, and how does that affect the … Continue reading Identity language – what’s that? (Spotlight on Good Practice series)
Raising Bilingual (or multilingual!) Children: 6 building blocks for success (May 18)
Next parent seminar in Amsterdam coming up! If you are raising your children with more than one language (or thinking about it), come along and find out the six building blocks for a successful Family Language Plan. This seminar has been developed over a decade of working with bilingual/multilingual families and packs in theoretical background … Continue reading Raising Bilingual (or multilingual!) Children: 6 building blocks for success (May 18)
Spotlight on good practice: Multilingual Poetry
With respect to ELLs, there is undeniable and growing evidence that the home language of ELLs is of considerable benefit to their overall academic success. Fred Genesee (Professor of Psychology Department at McGill University, Montreal and recipient of the Canadian Psychological Associate Award for Distinguished Contributions to Community or Public Service) This is the … Continue reading Spotlight on good practice: Multilingual Poetry
Spotlight on Good Practice: New blog series
In the month of March, I had the privilege of presenting at three international events. The first was the ECIS ESL/MT conference (now the ECIS MLIE group). There I presented on using pedagogical translanguaging to support learning in international education. The second event was the CIS Symposium on Intercultural Learning (Amsterdam), where I presented in the … Continue reading Spotlight on Good Practice: New blog series
