So, at the beginning of 2012 I declared it my personal "Year of Talking about Bilingualism". At the beginning of 2013 I'd like to take a moment to review how the year went, both in "real life" and in the blogosphere. "Real Life" FIVE: Number of countries in which I talked about bilingualism this year … Continue reading 2012: “Year of Talking about Bilingualism: in review
Tag: year of talking about bilingualism
A Holiday Tribute
Last week, I spent three days in Greece, at the invitation of a colleague from the Poliglotti4.eu project. I was so warmly welcomed (and not only by the temperatures, which were much better than here in NL!) by organisers and participants from both the Ministry of Education where I did a training seminar, and the … Continue reading A Holiday Tribute
Local Language or Not?
Continuing in the spirit and theme of helping your children fit in with a new culture, I'd like to talk briefly about the benefits of having your children acquire a "temporary" language. These days, more families are moving to other countries/cultures with their children, for a few or several years, and then moving either home … Continue reading Local Language or Not?
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 each … Continue reading Whole-family support for (very minor) minority languages
Post-Parma blues…
Well, I promised a post from Parma, and here it is, almost a week later. It was such a whirlwind conference, book-ended on each side by long days of travel, that I've hardly had time to settle into the experience. Here are a few thoughts: 1. It's really, really hard to try and function in … Continue reading Post-Parma blues…
Talking about Bilingualism in Parma…
So, November is well upon us, and I can see that my "Year of Talking about Bilingualism" is drawing to a close. One of the last big events for me this year is the closing conference of the "Poliglotti4.eu" project. This EU project has focused on the state of multilingualism in Europe, from different aspects. … Continue reading Talking about Bilingualism in Parma…
In Defense of the Bilingual Child
These three phrases, and the knowledge that goes behind them, could be the most important tools parents have when advocating for their bilingual child: 1) "His/her language development is on-target for bilingual acquisition. Would you like me to give you some resources to read about this topic?" - This phrase demonstrates that you are not … Continue reading In Defense of the Bilingual Child
How much (insert language here) is enough?
Whether you are an expat family considering a new local language for your children, or a family dealing with multiple languages, the concern about amount of language is the same. How much of a language, over what time frame, is enough for bilingualism to be successful? Or at the least, how much is enough to … Continue reading How much (insert language here) is enough?
Talking about accents
Last night I went to the class meeting for my older daughter's new class. Over the course of the meeting, I asked a couple of questions. Today, my daughter came home upset, because the father of a girl in her class said that I "talk French funny". Now I am presuming that he was referring … Continue reading Talking about accents
Blogging about bilingualism: One year on
This week marks the one year anniversary of my blog (although I technically started it in July, I didn't start posting regularly until September - anyone with kids will understand why!). I wasn't keen on the idea of blogging, and have often found it hard-going over the year to think of topics I think people … Continue reading Blogging about bilingualism: One year on
