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 […]
Health care providers all over the world: help to find, add and rate them
Many internationals struggle when relocating, to find a proper health care provider and this being one of the basic needs one really wants to be met, I was really glad when, a follower of this blog, Jeroen van de Velde, recently offered to write a post about health […]
Bilingualism and homework (part 1)
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 […]
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 […]
Do you find it hard to get back to your (family) routine in 2015?
If you find it hard to get back to your family routine, the main reason is the “time”. During holidays we tend to be less strict with our time schedule and getting back to “normal” feels difficult. Especially in the morning. Therefore getting back to our routines focusses […]
Our multicultural Christmas
Every country, every culture has its own ways to celebrate traditional festivities. Some families who live abroad adopt some of the local traditions and adapt them with those they know from their own childhood or from the other places they’ve lived. Multicultural families need to agree not only […]
Expat Since Birth – A Life spent "abroad" 