International Mother Language Day: 21 February
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMj7u8O_X0Q https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyNa2TzUEVE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6M3-xbE7W8
Bilingualism: Language acquisition and language learning
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 […]
Bilingual teens and young adults (#IMLD 2015)
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 […]
International Mother Language Day #IMLD campaign
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 […]
Online news sites for children
When children reach a certain age, parents want them to learn about what happens in the world. Many parents struggle with the way news are presented on TV. In fact, pictures and the way news are presented in the evening news can be quite traumatising. A great alternative […]
Which language to choose (part II)
(“Constant dripping wears the stone”) (updated 2020) Raising bilingual children is not only a commitment which requires lots of energy to provide the regular inputs, maintain the passion for the language throughout all the years, but also requires a great amount of flexibility. Several years ago, I wrote […]
Monolingual parents and bilingual children?
Many parents wonder if they can succeed in raising their children bilingually. Most of the studies of the ’60-’80 about bilingualism were about monolingual parents who wanted their children to become bilingual. Some parents would share the same mothertongue and the community language would be L2, in some […]
Why reading aloud is important: a challenge with English
In addition to my post about the importance of reading aloud, I would like to make an example for English. Every non-native speaker will struggle with the pronunciation of English and sooner or later will understand that English is not an easy language. Maybe the grammar is easier […]
