Like many people who regularly use more than one language, I have some words I use in an incorrect way because the same – or similar – form of the word has a different meaning in another language I speak. Native speakers would probably not make those mistakes, […]
In the strictest sense, we all have a mother tongue as we all have only one (biological) mother. – But does this mean that the language our mother talked to us is automatically our mother tongue? What about this friend I had in school, who was adopted […]
Why don’t we say “amn’t I” instead of “aren’t I”? If we say “am I” why don’t we say “amn’t I”? Isn’t “aren’t I” grammatically incorrect? – I recently had a long discussion with my son about the fact that using aren’t I doesn’t seem right, at least not if we […]
This is an extended version of an answer I gave to parents who asked me for advice about their 7 yo boy turning silent. One or the biggest myths about bilingual children is that they are all like sponges and that they become fluent in no time… Fact […]
Are you raising your children abroad? Are you trying (almost) everything to transmit your cultural heritage and your mothertongue? When our children are second – or third, fourth etc – generation of international children, transmitting cultural heritage and language becomes a real challenge. If your child is first […]
Linguists distinguish between language acquisition and language learning. Children acquire language through a subconscious process during which they are unaware of grammatical rules. This happens especially when they acquire their first language. They repeat what is said to them and get a feel for what is and what […]
We can find many suggestions about how to support our children to become bilinguals* when they are toddlers, in preschool or primary school. But what happens when they are teenagers and young adults? Can we still support them with their family languages or other languages they’re learning along […]
Since the General Conference of UNESCO proclaimed it officially on 19th November 1999, the International Mother Language Day is celebrated every year on the 21st of February since 2000. The aim is to develop awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions all over the world by promoting linguistic diversity […]
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Expat Since Birth – A Life spent "abroad" 