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
Tag: one parent-one language
It’s DRONGO time again! Join us for a day of multilingual delights (Sept. 27)
It may seem a bit precocious to be announcing a festival upcoming in September, but it is never too early to mark it on your calendar! Last year's DRONGO, the second edition, was a roaring success, with over 7,000 visitors over the day. This year's promises to be bigger and better! I am once again … Continue reading It’s DRONGO time again! Join us for a day of multilingual delights (Sept. 27)
Raising Bilingual Children: Seminar October 17 (Amsterdam)
For all those who are local, we are offering the seminar "Raising Bilingual Children: Six building blocks for success" in cooperation with Jacaranda Tree Montessori in Amsterdam, on October 17, from 20h00-22h00. This seminar is aimed at parents (or parents-to-be) who have either decided on bi/multilingualism for their children, or are considering it. The seminar … Continue reading Raising Bilingual Children: Seminar October 17 (Amsterdam)
Mother Tongue? Father Tongue? What’s it all about?
Traditionally, bilingualism research used the term "Mother Tongue" to describe the language spoken by the mother. Because there is no use of "Father Tongue" there is an implication that the language that the father speaks is of lesser importance. Is this true? Is the "mother tongue" more important? The answer is, of course, "no". The … Continue reading Mother Tongue? Father Tongue? What’s it all about?
Different Perspectives on OPOL
Since I published this blog, two bloggers that I know and love to read have posted their stories and their take on the OPOL issue, so I thought I'd share them with you. Stephanie Meade of InCultureParent shares her family's OPOL experiment here: Why OPOL Doesn't Always Work. Annabelle Humanes of the piri-piri lexicon tells … Continue reading Different Perspectives on OPOL
Once an OPOL, always an OPOL?
One of the most common and well-understood methods of raising bilingual children is OPOL - the "One-parent-one language" paradigm. Used mainly in families where the parents have different first languages, OPOL is generally a successful method for raising children who speak two languages. One of the main tenants of OPOL is the importance of consistency … Continue reading Once an OPOL, always an OPOL?
So if you want to choose bilingualism, which languages?
For many families, bilingualism is determined by having two parents with different L1s. It is always the right choice to raise children speaking the languages of both parents/families. I sometimes meet adults who were raised as monolinguals, with one of their parents choosing *not* to speak their L1 with them. And I can say that … Continue reading So if you want to choose bilingualism, which languages?
