Question from parents, whose heritage languages are different from community language. How to support the trilingual child's minority languages and keep them in balance.

Question from parents, who have two different heritage languages (Greek and Italian) and live in the country, where a third language is spoken (English). Only one parent speaks the spouse's language. How to support the minority languages and keep trilingual child's languages in balance.

How Minority Language Speaking Parent Helps Bilingual Children With Homework.

by Emilia Pallado

Emilia Pallado has already shared with you the list of children's books in Polish. Today she tells us about her experience as a minority language speaking parent with supporting her trilingual children with their homework. 

Our bilingual family language arrangement

I have two children. My son is 5 and my daughter is 8. They are both bilingual Spanish-Polish, with native-speaker levels in both languages. We live in Spain and they attend a local bilingual school (Spanish-English). On Saturdays they attend a Polish school.

Their English level is basic in case of my son and intermediate in case of my daughter. They both pronounce very well in English and understand a lot. Only recently my daughter has started to make longer sentences and she is now able to hold a simple conversation in English.

I communicate in Spanish with my Spanish husband but my language of communication with the children is Polish. I am a strong OPOL proponent, especially since I have seen it works great for families in our situation. The kids sometimes respond in Spanish, to which I respond in Polish, sometimes rephrasing what they said. Especially in situations when I know that the reason for their answering in Spanish was lacking vocabulary.

School and homework

My daughter Emma is in third grade in both Polish and Spanish-English bilingual school. Since first grade she brings a lot of homework, most of it is in Spanish.

At first we thought that my husband was going to be responsible for the Spanish part of the homework and that I would help with English and Polish (to keep a bit of balance). But things have turned out differently and even though sometimes this division works, most of the time I am the one helping with all the tasks.

There’s obviously no problem when the task is in Polish.

While doing English homework (which includes Natural Science and Arts & Crafts homework) we use Polish to communicate as my daughter doesn’t speak English fluently enough to switch completely. Although there are some parts of the conversation that we have in English, like for example reading the instructions aloud and translating only if necessary, saying “which page was that?” and the number in English. I also always praise her in English: “Great!”, “Well done!”, etc.

The challenge comes with the homework in Spanish. We usually use Polish but sometimes it is necessary to switch to Spanish, although I try to limit it to strictly indispensable part of conversation and would rather code-switch than switch completely. I would say that it is 90% of Polish on my part and about 30% on Emma’s part. It is definitely easier for her to talk in Spanish about the subjects related with school. Doing homework using our minority language is an opportunity to learn new vocabulary, too.

While doing maths I noticed that when we talk about a new concept, for example addition or multiplication, it is necessary for Emma to use Spanish. Once she has learned the new type of operation, she can use Polish to speak about it and make the operations.

When the task involves writing a short text (a summary or a composition), I usually ask my husband to take over. Translating back and forth seems a waste of time and is also confusing. If the only thing to do is to correct what Emma has already written, I do it and I point out the mistakes in Polish as she is familiar with concepts like (written) accent, coma, etc. If there’s a letter missing (common mistake), I will pronounce it in Spanish: “Tutaj wpisz jota”, “Hacer pisze się z hache”, etc. (“Write jota here”, We spell hacer with an hache”)

So far I have little experience with my son as he doesn’t bring homework yet. One thing we did this summer for the Spanish school was a sort of diary. We had to collect tickets, leaflets, etc. from the places we visited and glue them in a notebook, also make a drawing and write something. Naturally most of the conversation was in Polish, I would ask him to tell me what word he wanted to write and then he would answer either in Polish or in Spanish and I would write down the word in Spanish for him to copy. We would then read it aloud together to practice reading as well.

Bilingual child learns to read

Another thing I have already done with my son is help him learn to read. We practice in Polish with some simple words (up to 3 syllables), no diacritic signs, no digraphs. We also sometimes read a page or two from a syllabic reading book. In this case all conversation would be in Polish, I would only correct his reading in Spanish (“Co tu jest napisane? Ca…sa.). (“What does it say here? Ca… sa).

Share your family experience. How are you helping your bilingual child with homework?

 

I wonder how other multilingual families deal with homework and whether it is an issue at all. (Please leave your comment below). In our case the time we need to spend doing homework six days a week is an important part of the time we spend with our children. It will also certainly evolve with time and perhaps the pattern of communication is different when our second child starts to bring homework, too.

Emilia

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List of children's books in Polish language - Lista książek po Polsku dla dzieci

Multilingual Family Interview: When your home languages are different from community language. Plus resources for teaching phonics and reading to children in English.

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Review: Book to learn animal names and sounds in Russian

We were asked to give our honest opinion about "Animal Names and Sounds in Russian", a book written by Russian Step by Step.

Here is our verdict:

Multilingual Families: 8 Quick & Effective Ways to Learn Your Spouse’s Language, For the Busy Parent

by Paul Martin

A great thing about multilingual families is that the children have the invaluable opportunity to learn any of the languages that the parents speak. However, this comes with a tradeoff: if mom and dad speak different languages, one parent might struggle to understand the communication between the other parent and the child. This can inhibit family bonding time, and can be frustrating for everyone involved.

But don’t worry! There are plenty of easy-to-implement tips and tricks that can help you sneak in some extra practice in your spouse’s language. Even for parents who are pressed for time, this list will help you improve your language skills each day -- and more importantly, will make it easier for the whole family to communicate.

1. Make labels around the house

A great way to internalize names for useful, everyday objects is to make labels for various items around your house. For example, if you’re trying to learn French, ask your spouse to put labels with the French names on your appliances around the kitchen. This way, you’ll be constantly exposed to basic words in your target language, and you’ll memorize them without even realizing it.

2. Read comic books in the target language

Comic books are an especially great language-learning tool for two reasons. First, they’re fun, engaging, and quick -- they make for a perfect read when you have a few spare minutes at home, or on the subway on the way to work. Second, they are highly visual, so even if you don’t know some of the words, the pictures can help you figure out what they mean.

3. Watch movies and TV series with subtitles -- and pay attention

DVDs for most recent movies and series come with subtitles in several languages. If you’re just starting to learn a language, try watching your favorite series with subtitles in the target language. But be careful! It’s easy to get wrapped up in the action, and ignore the subtitles. Make sure that you’re really engaging with the subtitles to see how common words and phrases are pronounced in your target language. Pause frequently to make sure you understand what you’re reading, and when there’s something you don’t understand, make a note to ask your spouse for clarification.

If you don’t have subtitles for a particular movie or series, try searching for them online: there are several free websites that have subtitles available to download in many different languages. And once you’re comfortable enough to watch movies in the target language, check out some film suggestions for language learners , specifically selected to help you learn a plethora of new slang and colloquialisms.

4. Listen -- and sing along -- to music in the foreign language

Music is a great way to understand both the cultural and linguistic features of a given language. And with the internet, it’s available everywhere -- for almost any language, there are plenty of great resources with song suggestions from past to present. Songs are excellent for language learners, as you can follow along with the lyrics to learn new words and grammatical constructions -- all while enjoying some catchy tunes.

Load up your iPod with target-language songs to squeeze in some practice when you’re on the go -- and don’t forget to sing along! This way, you’ll be practicing both your listening and your speaking skills.

5. Release your inner child

Reading books can be challenging for language learners, as they’re often filled with complex language and advanced grammar. There’s an exception, however -- children’s books! Reading children’s books is a fantastic way to learn the basics of a foreign language, while at the same time revisiting some of your favorite reads from your childhood. Once you’re familiar with a book, show off your newfound knowledge -- and get in some speaking practice -- by reading it aloud to the whole family.

6. Find a pen pal

If you don’t have enough time to meet regularly with a language teacher and your spouse is not willing to take a role as such either, consider finding a pen pal on the internet with whom you can practice writing in the target language. Websites like Conversation Exchange allow you to create a free profile with speakers of any language, and communicate via email or Skype. It’s a great way to talk with native speakers, as well as practice your writing.

7. Set a regular time to speak the language at home

Once you feel comfortable enough to hold a conversation, set a fixed time each week to speak the language with your family. For example, if you’re trying to learn Chinese, you could make a household tradition of speaking only in Chinese at dinnertime on Friday. Or if you’d rather test the waters first, try spending a few minutes each day before bedtime speaking in the target language with just your spouse.

8. Track your progress

Learning a language is a slow process, and it’s easy to feel discouraged or get bogged down by details. Every few months, take an online level test to see how your language skills have progressed. You’ll be surprised by how much you’ve improved! And in addition, you’ll be able to see which areas you still struggle with, so you can focus your efforts on what needs the most work.

When learning a foreign language, practice makes perfect. But even if you don’t have hours to devote to studying a language, these tips and tricks will help you engage with your spouse’s language in your everyday life. With a little bit of effort each day, you’ll be well on your way to communicating more openly and freely with your family -- in whichever language you please.

Paul writes for Language Trainers, which provides individually-tailored language training on a one-on-one or small group basis worldwide. Language Trainers offers several free educational resources, such as audio-recorded listening tests. Don’t hesitate to email paul@languagetrainers.com or visit Language Trainers' Facebook page for more information. 




Note: The photos are provided by the author. The cover photo is a cut from the original one taken by  Lucia Sanchez and is licensed under CC by 2.0.

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Get Your Hero to clean your home - Sweepstake.

Do you live in Milan, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid or Paris? Are you tired of cleaning your apartment and putting toys in place? - Then this is for you!

Imagine that you can forget about cleaning your apartment for just one day. Leave your house, enjoy quality time together with your family, just to return to a place that shines and full of order!

Or you can use that extra 3 hours of free time to visit a beauty salon, have your hair done or just run some errands before St. Valentines?

Life Story: Languages are just a huge part of who I am.

Parents play an important role in child's life. Sometimes one little thing we do can change child's life completely.  Those who immigrated to a different country will find Marianna Du Bosq's story deeply touching.  She became bilingual ( English and Spanish ) as a teenager and  now raises a trilingual child, who speaks  English, Spanish and German. 

Marianna and her sister at public middle school

My multilingual journey starts approximately twenty years ago when my family and I left everything behind and moved from Caracas, Venezuela to the United States in search of the American dream. We left everyone we loved and everything we owned in search of new opportunities with education at the top of our list.

Prior to this point I had learned some English but it was all very basic. I had taken some after school classes in Venezuela and had some instruction here and there at my school but my knowledge was fairly limited. I could maybe name all the colors, list some fruits, identify the names of family members, count to a hundred and make some very very basic sentences. A far cry from what I needed to know to communicate in the eighth grade. The idea of the moving to a whole new country, culture and language was quite intimidating! Yet to be honest, I was also just so excited that I really had no idea what a challenge learning a whole new language would be and just what was waiting for me on the other side.

Find a Playdate in YOUR Language

I know how it is sometimes hard to find a platedate for your child. It is even harder, if you are a multilingual family and looking for a playdate in your language.

With a thought of you and with a wish to help many multilingual parents around the word, I offer you an opportunity to find each other just simply filling out the form below and waiting for a match to occur.

Try it!

There might be a great family living next to you down the block, with whom you will be able to share the joy and worries of raising multilingual children!

It is simple!

In the form below put

The city and the country you live in.

Language you would like to speak during a playdate.
There is also a field to add another language , if you are interested in more than one.

The child's year of birth, in order to match the families with children of the same age whenever is possible.

And your email address to send the matched family contact info. Your email will be kept confidential and will be used strictly to make a contact with other families. If you are interested to subscribe to the Raising a Trilingual Child newsletter, you would need to follow this link or use a form on the webside's side bar.

Feel free to share the information about this opportunity with others!

Why You Should Visit Italy During Winter Holiday Season and Why You Should Not.

I am keeping the promise I made last year to tell you more about Christmas in Italy. And will tell you why you should visit Italy during Christmas and why you should not.

Winter in Italy is cold and not sunny if you listen to Italians living there.  Visitors from northern parts of this world would not agree with that statement.  Take Milan, one of the biggest cities up north; it has on average 11 sunny days in December.  Yes, there is thick morning fog some mornings.  But it is beautiful!  You feel like the famous Russian hedgehog in the fog!  I love this cartoon, BTW!  Watch it, if you have not seen it.  It also has English subtitles!

Life Story: A language story that spans two centuries.

If you are undecided whether you should pass your mother tongue onto your child or not, read this story. 
Lets take a look at the way international families life was back in the last century. 
Back then, parents had many obstacles in preserving and passing their mother tongue onto their children.  
I can only say: Today we are very lucky! We have so much support coming from all around us! Let's make sure that our children can speak at least two languages because, as Danuta Rosevear says, "... knowing a language well also means understanding other people’s desires, needs and worries..."

International, Bilingual schools and Early childhood education institutions in Rome, Italy

International and bilingual nursery, preschool, elementary, middle and high schools in Rome, Italy

If you live in Rome and are looking for an international school, a bilingual school or early childhood institution, or a school with French, English, Russian, German, Spanish as a primary language for your child look at this kindergarten and school's list.

FRENCH SCHOOLS - ÉCOLE FRANÇAISE
ENGLISH SCHOOLS : BILINGUAL AND INTERNATIONAL
RUSSIAN SCHOOL - РУССКАЯ ШКОЛА
GERMAN SCHOOLS - DEUTSCHEN SCHULEN
SPANISH SCHOOL - ESCUELAS DE ESPAÑOL

Could you help make this list more complete?

I’d love your help so this list can be as complete as possible.

Is there a bilingual daycare or school in Rome, Italy that is not listed here?

Let me know by leaving a comment on this post or emailing at trilingualchildren [at] gmail.com. I’ll be happy to share it with other parents.  I hope this school list comes in handy for you either you are Italian and would like your child to learn a new language or an expat living in Rome.

Share your experience.

If your child attends or attended one of these schools, please leave a comment and tell us what you think about it.

What is named what in Italian Education.

Compulsory education in Italy is from 5 - 16 years, which includes 5 years of "Scuola Primaria" (Elementary school), 3 years of "Schuola Secondaria di primo grado" ( Middle School) and 2 years of
Scuola Secondaria di secondo grado ( High School)

Below are names of educational institutions in Italian and children's age:

"Asilo Nido"  (3 month - 3 years) 

"Scuola dell'Infanzia" or "Asilo" or "Scuola Materna"or ( 3 - 6 years)
Note: An earlier entrance is possible for children, who turn 3 years before 31 December based on availability.

"Scuola Pimaria" or "Scuola Elementare" ( 6 - 10 years)

"Scuola Secondaria di primo grado"  or "Scuola Media" or "Scuola Media Inferiore" (11-13 years)

"Scuola Secondaria di secondo grado" or Schuola Media Superiore (14-19 years)
different choice of schools: 

• Liceo (Artistico, Classico, Linguistico, Musicale e Coreutico, Scientifico , delle Scienze Umane),  
• Istituto Tecnico (Economico, Tecnologico )  
• Istituto Professionale

If you'd like to learn more about Italian education system, read this article on Wikidedia


If you use any information form this website, please link back to me. Thank you!

List of Schools:

FRENCH SCHOOLS - ÉCOLE FRANÇAISE

La Maisonnette
Trilingual School : Nursery school, Kindergarten, Elementary school, Summer school
Language: English - French - Italian

AGE: 3 month and up

Main school:
Via Treviso
29 00161 Roma
Tel. +39 06 44240517

Affiliated Centers:
Viale del Monte Oppio 7
00184 Roma
Tel. +39 06 4873185

Viale dell'Umanesimo 72-74
00144 Roma
Tel. +39 06 5910339

Via Alessandro Rolla, 5
00124 Infernetto (Roma)
Tel. +39 06 5053422

Via Olmetti 3z
00060 Formello (Roma)
Tel. +39 06 90405045
Cell. +39 3888708673

Via Tripolitania 175/181
00199 Roma
Tel. +39 06 86214960

Viale Liegi 48/c
00198 Roma
Tel: +39 06 64780765
Cell +39 333 4497994


Asilo Nido " Villa delle Rondine"
Bilingual Nursery
Language: French - Italian and English
Age: 3 month -  3, 5 years
Via delle Fornaci 251-265
00165 Roma
Tel. +39 06 45434731
Cell +39 339 3950192


Lycée Chateaubriand
Kindergarden,  Primary and Secondary School
Language: French 
Age: 3 - 17
Via di Villa Ruffo, 31 (Kindergarden)
00196 Roma
Tel: +39 06 441604501
Via di Villa Patrizi, 9 (Elementary school)
00161 Roma
Tel: +39 06 441604501


Institut Saint Dominique
Baby Parking, Kindergarten, Primary and Secondary School
Language: French
Age: 13 month - 17 years
Via Igino Lega 5 / Via Cassia 1173
00189 Roma
Tel: +39 06 30310817


I Piccoli Delfini
Asilo Nido and  Bilingual Kindergarten ( Scuola Materna )
Languages: Italian - English, French
Activities for children age 4 - 10 years in English and French
Age: 0 - 6 years
via Giovanni Botero, 16a
00179 Roma
Cell  +39 392 3555513 - 320 0140352 - 329 5912920 - 320 0140086


Le Fate Turchine
Asilo Nido and Scuola Materna, Course of French for children once a week, plus private lessons, Theater for children in English ( age 3-6, 7-11 years)
Language: Italian , French once a week as a lesson, English theater
Age: 1 - 7 years
Via delle Fornaci di Tor di Quinto, 10
00191 Roma
Tel. +39 06 62280465

ENGLISH SCHOOLS : BILINGUAL AND INTERNATIONAL

The Giving Tree
Bilingual Asilo Nido, Scuola dell'infanzia & English playgroup
Languages: Italian - English
Age: 3 month - 6 years
viale XXI Aprile 15
Roma
Tel. +39 06 83709708
Cell. +39 327 1959967


GrandMotherGoose
Bilingual Asilo Nido and Scuola Infanzia
Languages: English - Italian
Age: 4 month - 5 years
via del Casale Cavallari 14,
00156 Roma
Tel. 06 41222128
Cell +39 329 0783752


Little Star Daycare International School
Nursery and Kindergarten
Language: English
Age: 4 month - 5 years
via Cassia 344
00191 Roma
Tel. +39 06 33429578
Cell. +39 348 5450050


Il Nido e le Nuvole
Asilo Nido Bilingue & English courses for children 4-8 years old
Languages: English - Italian
Age: 4 month - 5 years
via Nomentana 331/A,
00162 Roma
Tel +39 06 45436798


ABC kids
Kindergarten
Language: English
Age: 2,5 month - 6 years
via Giovanni Animuccia, 11
Roma
Tel +39 06 86206599


Greenwood Garden School
International Pre-school and Kindergarten
Language: English
Age: 2 - 6 years 
Via Vito Sinisi 5
00189 Roma
Tel. 063326-6703


Petranova International Institute
Asilo Nido, Scuola della Infanzia, Scuola Primaria, Scuola Secondaria di 1° Grado
Bilingual project 
Languages: Italian, English from age 4
Age:3 month - 13
Via Pavia, 23
00161 Roma
Tel. +39 06 44292551


Junior International Institute
Bilingual Elementary School (Scuola Primaria Bilingue), Secondary school ( Scuola Secondaria di 1° Grado)

Language: Italian - English
Age: 6 - 13 years
Via G.B. De Rossi, 48
00161 Roma
Tel. +39 06 44239356


Ambrit International School
Early Childhood,  Primary,  Middle School
Language: English
Age: 3 - 13 years
Via F. Tajani 50
00149 Rome
Tel. +39 06 5595305


American Overseas School of Rome
Pre-Kindergarten , Elementary , Middle,  High School,  Boarding
Language: English is the primary language.  All students study Italian. Other languages offered include Spanish, French and Mandarin.
Age: 3- 18 years
Via Cassia 811
00189 Roma
Tel. +39 06 334381


Castelli Kindergarten
Kindergarten
Language: English
Age: 2,5 -6 years
Via dei Laghi, 8
00047 Marino (Roma)
Tel. +39 06 93661311


Castelli International School Rome
International, Bilingual Elementary and Middle School
Languages: English, Itaian
Age: 6-13 years
Via degli Scozzesi, 13
00046 Grottaferrata (Roma)
Tel. +39 06 94315779 


Core International School in Rome
Nursery,  Primary School
Language: English , Italian starts from age 5
Age: 3 - 11 years
Via Crati 19
00199 Roma
Tel. +39 06 8411137



Marymount International School
Early Childhood to Grade 12
provided ESL teacher support
Language: English
Age: 3 - 17 years
Via di Villa Lauchli 180 (Via Cassia Antica Km. 7)
00191 Roma
Tel. +39 06 3629101


Rome International School
Kindergarten , Elementary, Middle and High School
Languages: English
Age: 2-18 years
Via Panama, 25
00198 Roma
tel. +39 06 84482650 - 06 84482651



St. Francis International School
Early Childhood , Primary and Middle School
Language: English
Age: 3 - 13 years
Via S. Borgia 85
00168 Roma
Tel. +39 06 35511023



St. George's  British International School
Preschool, Elementary, Middle and High school
Language: English
Age: 3-18 years
Via Cassia Km. 16
00123 Roma
Tel. +39 06 3086001


St. Stephen's School
Day and Boarding International High School
Language: English is required as a first language, Italian and French are optional as first languages
Age: 14 -19 years
Via Aventina 3
00153 Roma
Tel. +39 06 5750605


Southlands English School in Rome
Nursery, Primary and Secondary Schools
Language: English, French and Italian from age 5
Age: 3- 18 years
Via Teleclide 40
00124 Casalpalocco (Roma)
Tel. +39 06 5053932


The New School Rome
Nursery, Kindergarten, Primary, Secondary School
Language: English
Age:  3- 18 years
Via della Camilluccia 669
00135 Roma
Tel. +39 063294269


Kendale Primary International School
Pre-school, Elementary School
Language: English is the primary language, Italian, French introduction from 7 years
Age:3-10 years
Via Gradoli, 86
Rome, 00189
Tel. +39 06 33267608


Little Genius International
Nursery and Primary School, Children's Afterschool English language course, Playgroup, Summer school
Language: English is the primary language, Italian (daily lessons)
Age: 2-10 years
Via Grotte Portella 28
Frascati 00044 (RM)
Tel. +39 06 97245148
Mobile: +39 346 0823360

 

RUSSIAN SCHOOL - РУССКАЯ ШКОЛА

Secondary School of Russian Embassy in Rome
Cредняя школа при посольстве России в Италии
Language: Russian
Age: 6 - 16  years
Villa Abamelek
Via Cava Aurelia 199
00165 Roma
Tel.+39 06 634800, 06 4440080

GERMAN SCHOOLS - DEUTSCHEN SCHULEN

La Scuola Svizzera di Roma
Bilingual Kindergarten, Elementary, Middle and High School
Language: German - Italian
Age: 2- 18 years
Via Marcello Malpighi 14
00161 Roma
Middle and high school:
via Savoia 15
00198 Roma
Tel +39 06 4402109


Deutsche Schule Rom - Scuola Germanica Roma
Kindergarten, Primary and Secondary School
Two diplomas: German abitur and Italian maturità
Languages: German with  excellent  knowledge of Italian, English, Latin and French
Age: 3 - 18 years
Via Aurelia Antica 397-403
00165 Roma
Tel. +39 06 6638 776

SPANISH SCHOOL - ESCUELAS DE ESPAÑOL

Liceo Espanol Cervantes
Kindergarten, Primary and Secondary School
Language: Spanish
Age: 3 - 18 years
Via di Porta San Pancrazio, 9
00153 Roma
Tel. +39 06 5882252


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Multilingual Family Interview: When your home languages are different from community language. Plus resources for teaching phonics and reading to children in English.

You are a bilingual or a trilingual family living abroad.  You and your spouse have been speaking your mother tongues since the child’s birth.  And here you realize that the school time is approaching soon. You are worried how your child would do at school, since you did not teach your child the country language. 

How would he go to school in the community language?  Will he be able to communicate?  What can I do to help him?  These and many other questions I asked Richard and Agnieszka, English and Polish speakers, who found their home in Spain.  They are successfully raising trilingual children, who speak English, Polish and Spanish everyday. 

Question 1:  Where do you live now and where did you live before?

Answer:  We live in Madrid. We moved here from the Netherlands in 2006 when our eldest was 18 months. He was born there. We moved without children to the Netherlands from Poland in 2003.

Question 2:  How many children do you have and what are their ages?

Answer:  Gavin will be 10 in 2 months , Veronica is 7 1/2, and Nicolas is 3 1/2.

Question 3:  Please describe your multilingual family language situation. Who speaks what language? What language approach do you follow?

Answer: My (Richard's) native language is English. Aga's is Polish. But we both speak these languages and Spanish pretty (Aga very) comfortably. My Polish is the worst, but still I almost never fail to understand conversations involving our kids.
Aga and I both only ever speak our respective native languages to the children (unless, rarely, we want some third party to understand). And the children universally speak to us in that same language.
The children (notably Veronica at the moment) do however quite often mix languages - but the syntax and base vocabulary make the language that they are fundamentally speaking very clear. The mixing is largely attaching endings from one language to words from another and in non-basic vocabulary.
Agnieszka and I speak to each other in Polish and English in roughly equal proportions.

Question 4:  At what age did your children get exposed to the community language and how (daycare, playgroups, television at home…)?

Answer:  Our kids were all introduced to Spanish in nursery school. All went for at least a year before starting school proper - which starts very early here - almost universally in the September of the calendar year when the child turns 3. Neither Gavin nor Veronica had any problems of note by the time they reached school (not even much in Nursery). Nicolas seemed to adapt similarly well to Nursery. But when he just recently started school he was slow to start speaking to his teachers. This problem seems now to have considerably faded.
Television I see as an important way to broaden their exposure to English (and Polish). But they do watch a reasonable amount to TV in Spanish.

Question 5.  What language Gavin and Veronica started speaking to each other? Did their language preference change over time?

Answer:  Until I guess about 18 months ago they still spoke to each other regularly in all three languages, Spanish having arrived last, but around then I noticed that they switched to almost always speaking Spanish.
I suspect that the first language that they spoke to each other was probably Polish, but in fact I don’t remember, so it may be that they used Polish or English depending on the context. I guess Polish because Veronica had a Polish woman looking after her during the day when she was 1-2. But at this point Gavin’s English may still have been better than his Polish.
Currently Gavin and Veronica Speak only (or almost only) Polish with Nicolas.

Question 6:  How old were the children when started a nursery school? Did I understand right that they were about 2 years old?

Answer:   Gavin was about 20 months, Veronica about 28 months, and Nicolas about 27.

Question 7.  What school did your children go to (bilingual immersion school, regular school...)?

Answer:   Bilingual in theory – part of a Madrid programme for bilingualism in state-funded schools. They are taught almost half the time in English (from 6 years old). But there are almost no other non-Spanish-native pupils, and English is not used at all apart from in lessons.

Question 8.  What languages as subject do they study there?

Answer:  English is taught from 3, and more seriously from 6. I worry a bit that this could bore our kids, but it doesn’t seem to have been a big problem yet. Gavin, I believe, has mostly learned only spelling in lessons at school, so I expect it is or will be, at best, a significant waste of time.
They are also taught French, at low intensity, from 6.

Question 9.  When your children went to school, how did they integrate? What was their proficiency level of community language? Were you and / or teachers concerned?

Answer:  We had sent them to nursery specifically to help avoid this sort of problem. And it seemed to work better than I expected. Even just one year.
The teachers were a little concerned initially – but positive. Gavin’s first teacher – a veteran of probably 30 years’ experience and a very good teacher it turned out – shocked me by telling me that he had NEVER had a non-Spanish-native child in his class. There are almost no immigrants in the area we are in.
However Gavin and Veronica may have been a little quiet at first, but when I ask about their level of Spanish I was told it was indistinguishable from that of the other kids. As mentioned earlier, Nico was even more quiet, but is now improving.

Question 10.  What did you do, if anything, to support your children at school?

Answer:  I use Khan Academy with both Gavin and Vero for maths. But with regard to language there has been no need.

Question 11:  What language do you speak to them, when you help them with homework?

Answer:  (Richard) English, throwing in the odd Spanish word to make sure they know it for class. Except when (only occasionally) helping with Spanish language homework in which case I speak Spanish mostly.

Question 12:  What do you think is important for a parent to do or pay attention to in order to insure that children’s knowledge of the community language is enough for performing well at elementary school?

Answer:  For us nursery was enough. More recently I also allow them to watch a fraction (maybe 1/3) of TV in Spanish. This primarily so they have the vocabulary (mostly character names etc) to talk to their school-friends.

Question 13:  Many parents are worried, that their child might have a communication problem with peers. That they are going to be teased because of an accent or inability to express her/himself in the community language at the same level as kids of their age do. Could you share your experience in this regards?

Answer:  Our kids have not to our knowledge experienced this sort of problem. Any trouble with peers has been for other reasons. We may be helped in this regard by the fact that 'school' in Spain starts so very early. Some kids are still well short of turning three - and so presumably some native monolinguals also barely speak.

Question 14:  How did you help the kids to understand how to separate 3 languages and improve their speech skills?

Answer:  We didn't do anything specific here other than try to expose them to plenty of all three languages through different media.

Question: 15:  In what language did your children learn to read and write first? Did you teach them? If yes, how did you do it?

Answer:  English. I taught Gavin and Veronica before the school started on reading. But I taught only reading - almost no writing. I used phonics books from a couple of different series (Jolly Phonics and Oxford Songbirds principally) then used a lot of Usborne graded readers. In addition I used flash cards (also from Usborne), showed then a nice BBC series, Alphablocks, and more recently used the online learning game Reading Eggs.  (Click to read more about mentioned phonics resources)

I would like to thank this wonderful family for the interview and for this unique opportunity Richard and Agneszka are giving us to learn more about what awaits us, parents to be and parents with small kids.

If you would like to share your family experience,  whatever it is good or bad,  feel free to contact me. 

Are you successfully raising bilingual or multilingual children? or do you have regrets about something you have not done on time? Please do not keep it for yourself, share it with other parents, by writing a comment or by contacting me for an Interview or by joining great contributors in the Life Story series. You will help thousands of readers!

Resources for Teaching Phonics and Reading to Children:

Alphablocks is children's educational television program. It aims to teach children how to spell with the use of animated blocks representing each letter.

Phonics with Alphablocks on Amazon

Alphablocks on YouTube




Jolly Phonics is a systematic synthetic phonics program designed to teach children to read and write. Children learn the letter sounds, rather than the alphabet. They are then taken through the stages of blending and segmenting words to develop reading and writing skills.

Jolly Phonics on Amazon

Jolly Phonics on Youtube

 
Oxford Songbirds make phonics fun! Series of 60 stories by Julia Donaldson. Levels 1 to 6 .

Oxford Songbirds on Amazon








Usborne First Reading - book series by Usborne publiser that is based on the principles of synthetic phonics. There are 7 books in each series and each book in the series builds on material in the previous books.

Usborne Very First Reading on Amazon 
Usborne Start to Read pack on Amazon

Usborne Very First Reading website -  learn more about the books, how they work. Information for parents and teachers. Plus resources with extra reading and wring practices. Printable sheet of practice words, fun activities and recording of the sounds of 44 phonemes



 
Reading Eggs - online reading application, where children are able to progress at their own rate.

Visit Reading Eggs website for more info.

Reading Eggs on Amazon




You might also like reading:

7 principles to keep in mind while teaching your child to read.  

Teaching the letter sounds before letter names.

Planting a language tree. Does passive language learning work?

Life Story. Our trilingual story: It’s all Greek, Italian and French to me!

Good Reads: to set mood for Halloween - Gobbolino, the Witch's Cat book, audiobook, song with notes

Multilingual Reads - great books that you can find translated in different languages!

Halloween is approaching and I have a great chapter book that would put your child into the Halloween mood! Gobbolino, the Witch's Cat  is a children's novel written by Ursula Moray Williams, an English writer. It is translated into Italian, Spanish, German and Russian. Plus it is available as an audiobook in all those languages!

Life Story. Our trilingual story: It’s all Greek, Italian and French to me!

Welcome to Life Story series. Collection of stories from parents and multilinguals around the world! Today's guest is Marina -  bilingual by birth and now multilingual mama - who is telling us about her experience in raising trilingual children in Brussels. 

 

Marina Kaffe:  I was born in Italy and raised in Greece. My father was Greek but spoke at home (very good) Italian with my mum so at home it was Italian for me and outside Greek. It was a piece of cake to learn both. I went to university in Italy and perfectionized it there. I actually dream in both languages, some words are definitely easier in one or another language. I have, I would say, definitely a bilingual mind, split and bipolar. English I learnt at school very soon and then at the Uni. I also speak French but in no way fluently. I really find great and lots of fun learning new languages and this I think I have definitely taken because of my bilinguality.

List of children's books in Polish language - Lista książek po Polsku dla dzieci

 

Big thanks to Emilia Pallado, who sent me this great list of children's books in Polish language so I can in turn share it with all of you! Emilia is a mother of two trilingual children, who are bilingual in Polish and Spanish from birth, and have been learning English at school.

Dear Emilia - Thank you! Dziękuję! Gracias!

Książki dla dzieci od urodzenia

Marta Bogdanowicz (opracowanie) – Rymowanki – Przytulanki - Author's books on Amazon

Jan Brzechwa - Wiersze i bajki - Author's books on Amazon

Julian Tuwim - Wiersze dla dzieci - Author's books on Amazon

Aleksander Fredro - Paweł i Gaweł - Author's books on Amazon

Maria Konopnicka dzieciom  -Author's books on Amazon

 

Książki dla dzieci od 3 lat

Trilingual Siblings Minority Language Progress Update. The Younger Sibling Is About to Enter Preschool.

My not yet fully trilingual daughter is 3 now. A big change is coming to our multilingual family life this fall. She will join her brother at a preschool. I closed the eyes on my worries on how it can affect siblings' minority language development and asked to assigned her to a class that is located in the same wing of my son's school building. The preschool, my children go to, has two wings with separate internal playgrounds and one big shared external playground. During bad weather months my children will meet each other everyday for a joined play with peers. I could separate them for the sake of preserving their Russian-only speech relationship, but I did not do it. The time they will spend together playing, developing their brother-sister relationship stands above my ambitious wishes for their trilingualism.

From now on I’m going to keep a closer look at how the community affects their minority language development.

I would like to sum up their progress so far. I look at their language development from a bilingual child perspective, as their third language - English - is still behind their Italian (community language) and Russian (minority language), both of which they speak equally fluently.


Bilingual siblings speak minority language only.

No matter who is around and how far I am from my children, they speak only minority language to each other. They even speak Russian among themselves, when staying with Italian grandparents. If you are raising a bilingual child and expecting a second one, check this  7 facts that can determine the language spoken between multilingual siblings.


Bilingual siblings read in the minority language.

Yes! Both of them, 3 years old and 5 years old, are reading now! Literacy is the biggest milestone in child’s development that will help him at school and in life. No stress at all. I just started early and followed these 7 simple principles to teach a child to read before school.


Planning ahead and adjusting our family language strategy
 
You would say: “Your children speak your heritage language to each other. It is a success.” And I would agree, that it is, so far. It proofs the importance of good planning ahead and not missing on any opportunity to expose your child to your heritage language.

When your child is born ( and even before), it is a good idea to think what your child’s language environment would be for at least next 5 years. So you can concentrate on the “right” language in the right time.

There are many things that you can not predict. In my case I found it extremely hard to stick to my plan after the birth of our second child. There was a pretty long period when both kids remained babies, because the jealousy kept the older one from growing up and acting as a toddler he was. I had to deal with issues that mothers of monolingual, bilingual or trilingual siblings deal, when their kids are very close in age. Those of you who had to go through it, know what I am talking about.
Constant plan adjustments are necessary throughout the multilingual family journey.


Do you have multilingual siblings? How was it for you when they were little?

If you would like to share your family experience, whatever it is good or bad, feel free to contact me.

Are you successfully raising bilingual or multilingual children? or do you have regrets about something you have not done on time? Please do not keep it for yourself, share it with other parents, by writing a comment or by contacting me for an Interview or by joining great contributors in the Life Story series. You will help thousands of readers!

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You might also like 

Planting a language tree. Does passive language learning work?   

How Minority Language Speaking Parent Helps Bilingual Children With Homework.  

How to develop early phonemic awareness and reading readiness by using language play with kids from birth to preschool.

As I already mentioned in the 7 principles to keep in mind while teaching your child to read, before child learns to read he needs to learn how to separate  phonemes (speech sounds). It is better for parents and kids to start working on it as early as possible, since in reality it does not require anything special.  So what can you do to help your child develop phonemic awareness? - It’s quite simple: just sing, read and play. Play using the language and play with the language!

When your child is born, start singing to her/him. 

The first recorded lullaby is dating around 2000 BC. According to the researchers, lullabies prepare child's ear and brain for language.

Life Story: Sometimes knowing a language is worth it for its literature alone.

 
It is easy to learn languages as a baby and be bilingual from birth. But many of us, including the parents raising those lucky bilingual children, have a different story. Some were born and raised monolingual until leaving the country as teenagers, some - as adults. Andrey left his home country when he was 10 years old and moved to US with his parents. There he started a new life and learned a second language. He has also learned how to preserve his mother tongue and this gave his life a different spin - he started translating the poetry and putting his own thoughts into rhyme. He is also raising a bilingual daughter.

My name is Andrey. I was born and raised in Moscow, Russia. I remember my childhood, as most kids remember theirs, carefree and easy-going. I spend most of my summers with my grandparents, either from my mother’s side, in Pishchulino, a small village some five hours drive south of Moscow or from my father’s side, in Pyatigorsk, a city in southwestern part of Russia, known for its mountains and mineral springs. In Pishchulino, I learned how to collect mushrooms, pick berries, and play card games. In Pyatigorsk, my cousin and I would make water guns from old shampoo bottles, and run around with local kids, spraying one another. During the long winter months in Moscow, I would spend a lot of time outdoors, playing in the snow. My brother, who is six years older than I am, always had many friends and he would reluctantly drag me with him from one party to the next.


As a child, I did not ever think about the economy, politics, the army draft that was looming over my brother’s head, or future in general - that was my parents’ job, and so it was somewhat of a surprise when they had decided to follow my aunt and uncle and immigrate to New York.  I was ten at the time. I remember feeling anxious and excited at the same time, elated and depressed. I did not know what awaited me on the other side of the ocean. I knew that the chances of me coming back to Russia in the near future were slim. The evening before we left,