In this section I discuss about characteristics of the German, Italian, French, English and Dutch languages and about bilingualism (including multilingualism), raising bilingual children and everything that has to do with linguistics.
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 […]
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 […]
I recently discussed this topic with linguists and parents who are raising their children bilingually and I noticed that people generally tend to jump onto general conclusions way too quickly. Parents who send their children to a local school or an international school where lessons are held in […]
A few weeks ago I found a very useful map about British Schools Abroad and shared it on social media. I’m now glad to publish Luke Rees’ very insightful post about it here. *** Parents who are planning to move abroad face a number of initial challenges. To […]
(“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 […]
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 […]
This post is somehow a response in a dialogical way, to the brilliant post by Rita Rosenback “7 things you should not say to a bilingual child“. I did experience some of the 7 things she listed up and I totally agree with her that “children can be […]
Do you know that feeling when the smell of something or listening to music brings you back in time, reminds you of happy moments spent with dear friends or family? Smells and sounds have this effect on me. They bring me back in time and I feel exactly […]
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Expat Since Birth – A Life spent "abroad" 