Happy Easter everyone!

Happy Easter to everyone!

Look what I found in one Italian pastry shop! - Chocolate Minions! :)

 

Tips on Rolling Your R's. Сreative Kids Culture Blog Hop - March 2016

Did I tell you that one of my trilingual children is trying to master perhaps one of the most difficult sounds in all the languages that have it - “R”. The first word he said was not "mama", it was "rul’" (руль) which is “steering wheel” in Russian. So it is one of the first sounds he was able to pronounce, but unfortunately the tongue had remained in not the correct position accord to his SLP. Happily everything is getting better now and his guttural R is finally changing to the rolling R.

I am sure my child is not alone with this kind of problem, and in some cases parents can help to correct their child's pronunciation. I talk about it in my earlier article:  Ha ha ha or correcting your child's pronunciation problem.

I really liked Frances’ post where she shares tips from parents on how to roll R. Check it out, it might be just the right little push your child needs.

How to explain your bilingual child the importance of speaking a minority language?

Do you want your child to speak your (minority) language with you and/or with a sibling? Or do you want her/him stop mixing the languages? Use this great tip from Berna to explain your bilingual child why it is important to stick to speaking the minority language and to speak it more often.


by Berna

We live in the USA and have two kids. Their majority language is English and minority is German.

My older daughter always speaks to her little sister in our minority language. I usually leave it be when she slips and uses English words every now and then, but recently she has been talking more and more in English (majority language!) to her sibling.


I kept reminding her by saying
"Remember we need to speak to your sister in German so she can learn it too" .

My daughter’s response was
"She's a baby. She'll learn it eventually".
I guess it is something she heard another adult was saying.


She didn't seem to quite 'get' it why it is very important to speak German to her sister. So I decided to show it to her in the form of a little game.

1. The sponge represents our brain. Two colors represent our languages.

I have chosen the dark color for the majority language English and the light color to represent the minority language - German.

2. Each time we counted where we (must) speak English we made a dot with blue color.

3.We did the same for German in yellow.

4. “Now what happens when we choose English between us?” I asked her.

The German gets diluted and eventually we can't see it!


I asked my 5 year old what can we do so this doesn't happen?

5. She took the yellow color representing German and said "we speak speak speak it all the time" and added that daddy can get some yellow too cause he's too blue.



7. At the end we got a beautiful color and she understood that this is the result of keeping up with German. She also asked if we could add red for Turkish. “Absolutely!” - I said. “We just need to keep practicing so we don't forget the languages.”

If you have a child who refuses to speak with you in the minority language and who is old enough to understand the concept using the colors same as I did above, maybe this fun way of explaining how the brain works is just what you need!
For those of you, who speaks more than one language to your child, try to use two sponges and more colors. Be creative! :)


Are you interested to participate in the Life Story series and write about your experience as a bilingual or multilingual child and/or a parent?  Would you like to take part in the Multilingual Family Interview series ? You can contact me here.



You might also like:


7 facts that can determine the language spoken between multilingual siblings. 

 




Kids Radio Sations from around the world!
In so many different languages !


One parent speaks two languages. Raising a trilingual child.

PROS & CONS of Raising a Trilingual Child



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

Would you like to receive Tips and Updates from us?

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name *

Books in French by Ophélie Texier. Crocolou - half Crocodile & half Wolf. Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop - February 2016

Do you speak French with your kid? Your child surely will enjoy  "Crocolou aime les voyages"  , a beautiful book about a little crocodile Crocolou  or... stop! He is not a crocodile. His mother is a crocodile, but his is father is a wolf! He and his little sister Marilou are a mixture of both: a crocodile and a wolf.  Read more about the book on Eiola's  website.

Keep in mind that there are more books written by Ophélie Texier about Crocolou. Here are all the titles listed in the order of publishing:

Crocolou aime avoir peur
Crocolou aime les câlins
Crocolou aime les voyages
Crocolou aime ses copains
Crocolou aime le sport
Crocolou aime les gâteaux
Crocolou aime la nature
Crocolou aime sa petite sœur
Crocolou aime être beau
Crocolou aime le père Noël
Crocolou aime son doudou
Crocolou aime être amoureux
Crocolou aime sa nounou
Crocolou aime la fête !
Crocolou aime son papa
Crocolou aime les saisons
Crocolou aime l'école
Crocolou aime son chien
Crocolou aime cuisiner
Crocolou aime sa maman
Crocolou aime les livres
Crocolou aime jardiner
Crocolou aime dire non

Some titles are available on  Amazon.  Enjoy!

15 Inspirational Tips From A Mother Raising Trilingual Children

by Filipa

As you already know from my previous post, I am a mother of two beautiful trilingual children French/Spanish/English. We live in Perth, Western Australia.

My son Tiago has just turned 3 and my daughter Elisa is 23 months old. They are amazing little learners.
As you will notice when your children reach that age, their little minds absorb much more than you expect. It is great fun and a privilege to witness their progress on a daily basis.

Tiago speaks French and Spanish as well as any same age little Aussie speaks English. He understands everything in English but for now it is his minority language, so he is not as fluent.

I am not worried about my children’s English since they are going to be schooled in Australia. I’d rather focus on the French and Spanish while they are little. I feel that the more efforts I put into these languages now the harder it will be for them to give up later. It requires a lot of discipline from us but it is well worth it.

Elisa is starting to associate the languages with the people. Where before she used to ask me for “agua” (water in Spanish) now she says “eau” and “agua” is just for dad.It is very amusing to hear my son correcting her when she speaks Spanish to me instead of French “Non, en français ma poupée” (No, in French my doll).

Click to read

At home we use the OPOL method. I only speak French to the children and dad only Spanish. I am fluent in Spanish and my husband can also speak French, therefore none of us is excluded. I never switch to English when talking to my children even if I am with people who cannot understand French. I simply translate in English for their benefit. I do not want my children to think that English is better than French or Spanish.

I personally believe that switching to English would confuse them and would undermine my efforts in getting them fully proficient in the other languages. We want them to be able to communicate with their grandparents and cousins who live overseas. We cannot travel every year to France or the USA where my father-in-law lives. It is expensive. The journey is too long and we like to explore other places too.

We use several tools to ensure that they are learning French and Spanish without feeling excluded.

Let me share a few with you:

1. Consistency

We never switch to English (our community language). When they learn new English words at daycare, unless they are singing a song, I will translate everything back to them in the form of a question. “Oh! You have played with the farm animals at daycare. What did they eat? (my son knows the difference between herbivores, carnivores and omnivores) Who else was with you?”

Click to read

2. Video calling

We skype with my family in France once or twice a week. My children practise by speaking with their grandparents and their cousins. We also skype once a week with my father in law in New York and again they practise their Spanish.

3. Playdates

We are lucky to have South American friends who have same age children. We try to organize playdates at least once a month.

4. Reading Books

I own an online bookstore specialized in international children’s books and we are lucky to have access to hundreds of books in French and in Spanish. My children love books and they are my fiercest critics. So far they loved all the books I showed them.

Click to read

5. Language Workshop for kids

I also run Spanish and French workshops for little ones. I take my son along with me so he can get more practice with other children but it also motivates the other children who do not have a Spanish or French speaking background. When I ask them to repeat new words, some of them are shy and Tiago says the words straight away, then the children give it a go.


6. Activity Book

I am crazy about activity books, I love them since I was a kid and used to complete them the first couple of days of the holidays. Every time I go back to France or the USA I come back with at least 10kgs of books, same when I have friends who come over. I could never resist a book; I would cut down on my coffees or something else but not on books. However, it can be quite expensive but with the magic of internet you can now find many free activity books that you can download and print. For example, I use for the Spanish http://www.edufichas.com and for French http://www.teteamodeler.com/cahier-de-vacances/cahier-vacances.asp . There are many more just Google “free activity books for a 2 or 3 year olds” and you will see many options offered.
I still buy some activity books with stickers as both my kids love them.


7. Music

Click to read

My children love dancing and singing. I have CDs with French and Spanish rhymes.The other day I got really confused when my son asked me to sing the rhyme with the elephant. I told him I did not know any French rhymes with elephants. He then added, “Yes you know! The elephant that rocks on a spider web.” It is a Spanish rhyme but since he made his request in French I assumed he wanted a French rhyme! When we sing together, I let them finish the sentence. They would sing the last word, and then little by little they are singing the whole sentences and songs.



8. Making mistakes

When I read a story or I sing a song, I will change it to say something silly. They will correct me right away.


9. Play games

For my last Spanish workshop I took a small Christmas tree with coloured balls and stars to decorate it. In order to hang a decoration on the tree the children had to tell me the colour and the shape of what they were picking up. Anything to make them speak.


10. Flashcards & Memory cards

I like to use flashcards. I make my own for my workshops. The ones you can buy tend to be on a single topic at the time. I have made about 45 that cover several themes, such as the house, clothing, food, farm animals, wild animals…..

I also like to play memory cards with them. Again I make my own using different themes such as Halloween, Christmas, birthdays…..


11. Comment on everything

I make comments when we are at the library for storytime or at the theatre. Obviously it is all in English, so I say something like “did you hear that? The cat jumped on the bed then went out of the window and he wasn’t even afraid”. I want to make sure they understand all the English words they are listening to but also I want them to tell me in our home languages what they remember of the story once it is over.


12. Encourage conversations  

Even if they are little and do not speak clearly, it is always great to get them included in the conversation. Promote open end questions? Avoid “yes” or ‘no’ questions. For example, today it is windy I pointed the tree branches moving and asked my children to look at the branches and hear what noise the leaves were making. Then I asked them if the wind was blowing softly or strongly. They could feel the wind on their faces, was it cold, warm? Ask them to describe what they see and feel when they are older.


13. Do not correct kids speaking

I do not correct them every time they make a mistake. It might make them want to stop talking.


14. Exposure

I take them to museums, art galleries, fairs, cultural events and exhibitions to develop their vocabulary.


15. Learning before travelling

When we are travelling, I organize little activities with them on the country we are going to visit. It is fun to see them recognizing some monuments and greet people in the local language.



If your partner speaks English only

I get to speak to many mothers who are trying to raise their children in a language other than English and it seems that they find it more difficult when one of the parents speaks English only. What I tend to tell them is to avoid switching to English when their partner is home, keep speaking German, Polish whatever language you are teaching your child (remember consistency) and say it again in English for the partner’s benefit. This way the partner can also pick up a few words in the foreign language.


Raising children in other languages than the one spoken in the country we live in is not easy.

I always tell myself it all comes down to 3 words: 

CONSISTENCY,  DISCIPLINE and PERSEVERANCE.

When you speak different languages, you are able to think differently and be more tolerant and open to other cultures. We all really need it these days.

Now it is your turn! Let us know what you do to keep your children speaking their mother tongue.

Comment below or share your story!

My husband Albis and I live in Perth, Western Australia. Everyday brings more fun when we hear our children Tiago and Elisa speaking in French, Spanish and English. I love listening to my son literally translating jokes from one language to another. I cannot wait until Elisa is a bit older to hear them sharing a secret code/language in French or Spanish.



Are you interested to participate in the Life Story series and write about your experience as a bilingual or multilingual child and/or a parent?  Would you like to take part in the Multilingual Family Interview series ? You can contact me here.


Recommended Books for Parents Raising Trilingual Children

Language Strategies for Trilingual Families: Parents' Perspectives (Parents' and Teachers' Guides) by Andreas Braun  - Read more

Growing up with Three Languages: Birth to Eleven (Parents' and Teachers' Guides) by Xiao-lei Wang  - Read more

Trilingual by Six: The sane way to raise intelligent, talented children by Lennis Dippel MD - Read more


You might also like:

Click to read

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




Kids Radio Sations from around the world!
In so many different languages !


One parent speaks two languages. Raising a trilingual child.

PROS & CONS of Raising a Trilingual Child



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



Russian Schools and Communities in Australia

What I Love about my Trilingual Kids.

The Valentine's day is approaching, so let’s have some fun and talk about love; love in relation to our multilingual children. So, what do you love about your bilingual / trilingual kids?

Here is what I love about my kiddos:

1. they can switch between the languages with ease!


2. you never know in what language they will talk during their sleep


3. you can leave them with the monolingual grandparents that are visiting you, knowing that everything will be fine and nobody will starve even if the adults can not say what they need at a local store - the grandchildren will do all the talking for them.


4. you can leave them with two sets of grandparents, who do not speak each other‘s languages, and go on vacation and know that grandparents from both sides will be able to talk to each other thanks to the little translators!


5. they have three different perspectives on life


6. they never get bored from reading the same book - just read it in another language!


7. they can follow the messy multilingual family / family friends conversation, when one speaks one language and answers to others in another and it all makes sense to them.


8. they can find friends easily no matter where they are


9. they are great communicators in general


10. they know what the fastest means of transportation are and are used to flying


11. they are reflection of the way I speak my mother tongue as I am the main language input for them


12. they explode with creativity and imagination. I wonder where that is coming from…


13. they are the sweetest kids, who hug and kiss me such that I feel that I am their baby and not the way around.


What about you?

What do you love about your bilingual / trilingual child?

Comment below!
♡ ♡ ♡

Raising a Trilingual Child. Going with the Trilingual Flow.

by Kerry

"Mummy, go down!" my 17 month old said to me as I tried to persuade him to eat a meal that he didn’t really want (it was his favourite yesterday!)

"No, you haven’t finished eating yet" I tried to say in a lovely, calm, patient Mummy voice. I watched his little face, full of confusion, suddenly spring to life.

"Mummy, go down pleeeeeeeeeeeeeese!" he said as he began victoriously trying to climb out of his high chair. The little rascal thought he’d got it there.

"No, Ollie, you haven’t finished yet."

He slumped down again and thought for a moment. I wondered what was going on in his little brain. Then he shouted:


"Turun Mummy!" Turun is the Indonesian word for "go down". He translated for me because he thought I hadn’t understood him.

While laughing, I explained again that he had to eat some more first. He still sat there as if he was trying to work out a little puzzle and the answer was just on the tip of his tongue, just out of reach.

Then he yelled "Mudun Mummy!" with a little exasperated look on his face. This is the Javanese word for go down.

I plopped one last spoonful in his mouth and let him down. If the smarty pants can ask me in three languages then I can't help but let him down!

This was my first experience that made me feel absolutely certain that I was doing the right thing by exposing him to three languages from birth.


Let me give you a little background about our situation. I am Scottish and my husband is from Indonesia. We live in Indonesia together. We married here and in July 2013 I gave birth to my son, Oliver. The local language spoken in Surabaya is Javanese and the formal language is Indonesian. These 2 languages, although similar, are far from being the same. They follow the same grammatical structure but the words are on the whole, different.

When Oliver was first born I was confused. Should we speak only English to him and let him learn Indonesian later? This wasn’t really an option as none of my husband’s family can speak English. I wanted him to have a close relationship with everyone. Should we just speak to him in Indonesian and I can teach him English later? Well, that wasn’t going to work either. I speak Indonesian well but the idea of speaking to my baby in a foreign language all the time just felt too strange and my family can’t understand Indonesian either. And then there's Javanese, which is mostly just a spoken language. It is actually the first language of most people in this area and is what my husband’s family mainly uses at home. So acquiring three languages was unavoidable. Some people told me he was going to get confused or have some sort of speech delay. Others thought it was a great idea.


After thinking it through I realised that being bilingual or trilingual is not a strange thing at all in Indonesia. All children grow up speaking at least 2 languages: Indonesian and their local language. Many whom I have spoken to can speak at least one other local language. As well, all the Muslim children learn how to read and write in Arabic and I have seen people study it throughout their lives. The people of Chinese decent that live in Indonesia often learn Mandarin and many whom I have encountered use it as their first language.


So, I had to decide how was I was going to introduce three languages to my new son? I see a lot of information about the "one person one language rule" and while I respect that it works for many people I could see from early on that it wasn’t really going to work with my family. We pretty much decided to go with the flow and what felt most natural. I do that with most things in my life and it works. When I over think things then I am filled with uncertainty.


The outcome? Well, I definitely speak to my son mostly in English but when we are with his cousins or other family, none of whom speak English, I generally speak to him in Indonesian with some Javanese thrown in there. My husband flows between all three languages constantly and I’ve seen my son copy him. He can do it so easily and seems to enjoy it, treating it like a game. I know he can differentiate between the languages because when he meets someone who can only speak one of the languages he only uses one but when he is with people he knows understand more, then he seems to like to mix things up. Sometimes I play games with him. I say a sentence in one language and he answers in the same language. Then I reply using a different language, which he follows and then we go back and forth between them. It’s fun and he doesn’t seem to get confused. He giggles and seems to understand that it is funny.


So now, little Ollie is two and half years old. He speaks in full sentences in all three languages. He has recently started translating for other people that he knows don’t understand one of the said languages. The other day my English friend arrived at my house as my Indonesian sister-in-law was leaving. She said in Indonesian how she had to go to pick up her daughter at school. I was about to translate but the words were taken out of my mouth by my little 2 year old and he explained the situation before I had the chance to talk.

Reading a book with Mummy

I think the key to developing any child's vocabulary and language skill is to read stories to them. I have lots of books for my son and he loves sitting on my knee or snuggling under the covers to listen to stories and point out absolutely everything in the pictures. For example, Bob the Builder, page 1, I ask him "Where is the cat?" every time and he points it out with the same overjoyed enthusiasm every time. The other day we were in the car on a long drive and I had some of my nephews sitting beside my son. My son had brought some books for the journey. My nephew can’t really speak any English so I thought that the two of them reading the books together wouldn’t go well. So, while driving I was going to start asking him to point out different things in the picture. I have all the books memorised (I’ve read them so many times!). I glanced around to see what book he had chosen. I saw Bob the Builder (as usual!) so of course I opened my mouth to ask him "Where is the cat?" when he stepped in and said to his cousin "Bima, di mana kucingnya?" (Bima, where is the cat?). I just laughed and felt proud as my little two and a half year old began to lead his older cousin through the book in a different language. I only hope that he can continue this easy flow as he grows older.

Ollie with his cousins including Bima (the boy with the hat)

Later when he goes to school he will learn to read, write and speak in Mandarin also. Sometimes I worry it will be too much but I see all my students managing it every day (I am a teacher in the school he will go to) and I hope that my son can do that too. My husband’s family are all Muslim and so later, outside school, he will probably also learn to read and write in Arabic.


If you hope to raise your child as bilingual or trilingual but worry he or she will be confused, know that learning multiple languages in childhood in Indonesia is common (and I’m sure in many, many other countries but I have no first-hand experience).  

Do whatever suits your family. 

Do what feels right. 

Follow your instincts. 

Trust in your child's little growing brain that he or she will be able to sort through the languages.

Ollie being a cheeky monkey in the sand

I feel so proud that my little boy can cope with it all but really, when I step aside from my mummy role and see him as just another kid then I believe that he is just normal. Most children in the right environment would be able to do what he does without a problem; they just have to be given the chance.


Kerry is from Scotland and has lived in Indonesia for 5 years. She is married to her Indonesian husband, Mulianto, and has a little cheeky son called Oliver. Kerry is a playgroup and kindergarten English teacher in a trilingual International school in Surabaya. In her spare time she enjoys going on camping road trips with her huge extended family and exploring Indonesia.



Are you interested to participate in the Life Story series and write about your experience as a bilingual or multilingual child and/or a parent?  Would you like to take part in the Multilingual Family Interview series ? You can contact me here.


You might also like:



Kids Radio Sations from around the world!
In so many different languages !




Pros and Cons of Raising a Trilingual Child


One parent speaks two languages. Raising trilingual child.



Non-native Speaker Raising Bilingual Children. Interview with Christine Jernigan, the author of "Family Language Learning"



What language should I speak to my child in public? - Multilingual parent dilemma.




Can babies distinguish foreign languages?

Life Story: A Story of a Bilingual Child. Where the passion for language learning can lead you to.

by Filipa
From Europe and South America to Australia: Our multicultural journey.

I was raised bilingually in Portuguese and French. I was born in Portugal and, when I was 18-months old, my parents permanently moved to France. We used to speak Portuguese at home only unless we had French guests with us.

Preserving the minority language.

With my sister we used to spend all our summer holidays in Portugal with our family. Our parents would join us for the second month. We were lucky to benefit from a full immersion and no-one to talk to in French besides each other

The fact that we spoke Portuguese at home in France allowed us to communicate with our cousins and friends without any issues. I met so many children who could understand Portuguese but could not speak a word of it and were therefore unable to converse with their grandparents.

Unfortunately, we did not attend a Portuguese school but my parents made sure that our babysitters were Portuguese and most of our friends spoke Portuguese too.

Our grandparents stayed with me and my sister for a couple of years as I started first grade. We used to sing Portuguese songs all the time and watch movies. When my grandparents went back to Lisbon, we would call them every week.

When I became a teenager I felt that something was missing and I could not appreciate my culture to the full extent. So I taught myself how to read in Portuguese. I remember I asked my mother to buy me a good but easy book for me to start my reading. She got me a romance novel! Well at least the story was easy to follow but I was not learning much about the culture and grammatical rules. After that, I went myself to the nearest bookstore and bought a collection of classic authors. I still have those books and I love them.

I think the only way to fully appreciate a culture is when you can read books in the original language. I love Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I read his books in French, Spanish and English. I did not feel the same for each language. The Spanish version for me is the best. I wish I could read them in more languages!

 

Funny misunderstandings.

We had funny moments! The best memories of my childhood were these holidays spent in Portugal. When I did not know a word, my brain would switch to the French mode and I would translate it literally. Like the time I was speaking with my aunties of star signs. I was saying that my dad’s star sign was Cancer. In Portuguese the correct word for the Cancer star sign is ‘crab’. Cancer is for the illness! I can still see the puzzled look on their faces trying to figure out what I meant. Then they realized my mistake and we had a good laugh!

Nowadays I do not get to speak Portuguese very often. I speak Spanish with my husband and South American friends, French with my children and English when I work or when I interact with people from other cultures.

So when I skype my family in Portugal or go for a visit, I need a few hours to switch to a 100% Portuguese mode because I tend to speak ‘Portunhol’ (Portugues-Espanhol).

What languages and cultures mean to me.

I am passionate about multiculturalism. By the time I finished high school , I had studied 7 years of English, 5 years of German and 3 years of Spanish. I guess it is easier when you live in Europe with nearly all the countries speaking a different language.

When I started Law School I gave up German but I carried on reading in English and Spanish. Funnily I was determined to study International Law but we only had to study any foreign language for 1 semester only, very ironic for an international career!

I interrupted my Law School studies for a couple of years to look after my father who was ill and work full time. I still had 4 years to go to become a lawyer and in the meantime I changed my mind and switched to International Trade. This gave me the opportunity to practise my languages: English in the morning with Australia and Asia, Spanish and Portuguese in the afternoon with South America.

I have backpacked a fair bit in Europe and Australia. I love meeting new people and learn about their customs, stories, legends, the way they live. I try not to judge with my Westerner’s eyes and instead learn as much as I can by talking to people.

Moving to Australia, starting a family and raising trilingual children.

I moved to Australia ten and half years ago, when I came over to study a Master of International Trade. I was determined to immigrate as I fell in love with the country back when I was ten years old while watching a documentary about Ayers Rock and the Aboriginal culture. In 2000, I spent a couple of months in Sydney to gain work experience, it was just before the Olympics and the whole country was in a happy and excited mood! Before going back home I decided to visit the East Coast and the Centre part of the country. I really wanted to see Ayers Rock and as I expected I loved it. So peaceful and rich in stories.

When I came back for the university I chose to study in Perth. During the uni breaks, I took my backpack and travelled up and down the West Coast and in Tasmania.

I did get my degree and something that I did not expect: Love. I met my husband-to-be in a methodology class for international students. The irony is that he is Peruvian and has one of the most common French surnames ‘Durand’ this is like ‘Smith’ in UK! Now I am a mother of two beautiful trilingual toddlers (French, Spanish, English). I work from home, I own and manage an online bookstore specialised in International books for children, it is called Le Toboggan. It has always been a struggle to find good children’s books in French and Spanish here in Perth. For example, when my sister came over to visit us last year with her family, she brought over 11kgs of books from France that I had purchased online. I thought I could not be the only one in the same situation and my children being my inspiration, I decided to go ahead with the bookshop. I am lucky both my children love books and when my son misbehaves I tell him that he will go to bed without any stories. This is the end of the world for him. I can take anything away but the books. He is three and already knows what he likes or not. He is my toughest critic when it comes to assess the ‘books from mommy’s work’. So far so good, he likes them all and I have a hard time to keep him away from reading the books without my supervision.

I also run French and Spanish workshops for children and I am a consultant in International Trade. As you can see I am very busy but my priority is to emphasize my children’s French and Spanish skills as best as possible before they start schooling. There will be my next story about.

A bientôt.
Filipa

My husband Albis and I live in Perth, Western Australia. Everyday brings more fun when we hear our children Tiago and Elisa speaking in French, Spanish and English. I love listening to my son literally translating jokes from one language to another. I cannot wait until Elisa is a bit older to hear them sharing a secret code/language in French or Spanish.





                                                        ----

Are you interested to participate in the Life Story series and write about your experience as a bilingual or multilingual child and/or a parent?  Would you like to take part in the Multilingual Family Interview series ? You can contact me here.


You might also like:

One parent speaks two languages.Raising trilingual child.

Non-native Speaker Raising Bilingual Children. Interview with Christine Jernigan, the author of "Family Language Learning" 

Kids radio from around the world!

Bilingual English Korean Folktales. Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop - January 2016

Have you read Korean folktales to your child?   Here is my pick from December blog Hop - great Korean English bilingual kids' book to start exploring Korean culture with. One folktale is talking about a tiger that is afraid of dried persimmons! Curious? Me too!  Thanks Jackie from Our MultiAsian family life for sharing these stories with us! And do not worry if you do not have Korean book store near by. Gmarket online store ships books internationally and if you are in Korea you can find books on Kyobo and Bandi N Lunis.

One Parent Speaking Two Languages. Raising a Trilingual Child.

by Semiha Sözeri

We are a family of three living in the Netherlands.
I am originally from Bulgaria and I belong to the Turkish minority there. I grew up bilingual: speaking Bulgarian and Turkish equally well. When I was born, my parents spoke primarily Turkish to me. I started learning Bulgarian at the kindergarten when I was 2 years old. Both of my parents were teachers in primary schools located in areas with high percentage of Turkish minority population. They were experienced in supporting majority language acquisition without attrition of the minority language. In this respect, they spoke both in Turkish and in Bulgarian with me and my brother in order to maintain both languages simultaneously. Their only rule was never to mix the languages within the same sentence. I think I have adopted a great deal of their approach to me in the linguistic education of my own son, whom I raise trilingually in Turkish, Dutch and English and expose to the fourth language - Bulgarian.

As many expat parents, I was wondering which language teaching approach we should adopt. I have read extensively on the topic and I have benefited from observing other expat families with kids. I have seen that for many families where the father and the mother have different mother tongues, it is rather easier to follow the One Parent – One Language method and to obtain good results.

However, in our case we had more than two languages which we needed to teach our son. My husband is Turkish from Turkey. Significant part of our education was in English: we started learning English in secondary school, then our bachelor and master’s degrees were completely taught in English. Right now, we have many international friends. Thus, even before our son was born we knew that he will be exposed to multiple languages.

We knew it was possible for a child to learn up to four languages simultaneously and the literature on the subject was indicating that as long as the parents are consistent in their approach, the exposure to more languages would only be beneficial.


When my son was born, my husband was working full-time and I was lucky enough to be working part-time from home. The first language I started speaking with him was Turkish, but from the very beginning I exposed him to English and Dutch nursery rhymes, books and videos as well. Our child started going to Dutch daycare two days a week when he was 18 months old. In the meantime, we were attending English speaking playgroups in The Hague. This way we made sure he gets sufficient exposure to Turkish, Dutch and English.

When we read a book, I always ask him in which language he would like to hear it and I translate accordingly. When we learn the name of a new object, we try to name it in all of the languages we use making clear that things have different names in the different languages. Same goes for counting as well.

Now that my son is 2 years and 11 months, he has the same level of proficiency in Turkish and English with Dutch lagging somewhat behind these two. Nevertheless, he speaks in whole sentences in all three of them and I hope that going to a Dutch school will help him a lot. Neither I, nor my husband is a native speaker of Dutch and we started learning the language only after we settled in the Netherlands 5 years ago.

Also, I must admit that although Bulgarian is one of my native languages, I was a bit reluctant to introduce it. There are a number of reasons behind this decision. First of all, during my early childhood the Bulgarian state has banned speaking Turkish in public as a part of the assimilationist policy of the communist state. Because of this I had developed an idea of the Bulgarian state as an oppressor of its minorities and my ethnic identity as Turkish had a major place in my development. Therefore, it did not come natural to me to start speaking Bulgarian to my child after he was born.

Nevertheless, I do want to teach him Bulgarian as well, but I would prefer to wait until the other languages are established. Besides, we have no one else who speaks Bulgarian around us: I would be the only person who speaks Bulgarian to him. So, I opted for my mother tongue Turkish together with Dutch (the majority language) and English (the language of the playgroup) and decided to postpone Bulgarian for a later stage.

Luckily, I see that he shows interest in learning different languages (when we speak Turkish, for example, he is asking me “What do we call this in Dutch (or English)?”). This encouraged me to expose him to Bulgarian nursery rhymes as well. For now, Bulgarian is lagging very much behind the others but I am happy that he recognizes it and I believe that spending time in Bulgaria during the summer holidays, for example, will be beneficial for his learning.


I notice that many parents are worried when they encounter situations which do not allow them to strictly follow One Language – One Parent or Minority Language at Home – Majority in Public methods. So far, in our experience few languages can be successfully absorbed by a child even when the same care-taker is exposing the child to more than one language. I just would like to underline that this should not be interpreted as mixing the languages. We are very careful not to mix words from different languages within the same sentence and we always try to make it clear for the child when we switch from one language to another.


I am glad that the multilingual approach we have adopted has worked well for us so far. I do realize that it will become more challenging to sustain the minority languages once our son starts Dutch school. However, since I went to a majority school myself and managed to sustain my minority mother tongue skills at a native level, I am not very worried about it. I know that language maintenance through time requires the conscious effort of the family and the child himself.


According to me every family can have different linguistic needs based on their cultural heritage and current circumstances. I know of single mothers successfully raising bilingual kids and homeschooling families who are the sole teachers of their children for all languages and subjects taught in a regular school. In this respect, I don’t think that there is one-fit-all formula when it comes to language teaching. Instead, I believe in adapting the existing methods to the unique needs of each family.



                                                        ----

Are you interested to participate in the Life Story series and write about your experience as a bilingual or multilingual child and/or a parent?  Would you like to take part in the Multilingual Family Interview series ? You can contact me here.

Are you a multilingual family and looking for a playdate in your language or another family to chat with? Click here to find it now!

You might also like reading:

Pros and Cons of Raising a Trilingual Child 
 

Best Kids Radio Stations from around the world



7 facts that can determine the language spoken between multilingual siblings. 



Would like to teach your child English phonics? Check this interview for the resources: When your home languages are different from community language. 


How to Raise a Bilingual / Multilingual child. Where to start?


What language should I speak to my child in public? - Multilingual parent dilemma



Raising a Bilingual Child : Setting Your Priorities From The Start. 

Learning All About Ants in Spanish. Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop - December 2015

If your kids are learning Spanish, then these wonderful activities are for you! Help your child to learn everything about ants by making it fun. You could sing a song about ants in Spanish, watch video, play some games (free printables are available), read books. Recommended "Arriba, Abajo y Alrededor" book looks very interesting. Read more about my pick from November's Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop here.

Welcome to the Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop!

The Creative Kids Culture Blog Hop is a place where bloggers can share multicultural activities, crafts, recipes, and musings for our creative kids. We can't wait to see what you share this time! Created by Frances of Discovering the World through My Son's Eyes, the blog hop has now found a new home at Multicultural Kid Blogs.

This month our co-hosts are:

Non-native Speaker Raising Bilingual Children. Interview with Christine Jernigan, the author of "Family Language Learning" book.

Can a parent successfully pass a non-native language on to a child? - Absolutely! Christine Jernigan, the author of "Family Language Learning: Learn Another Language, Raise Bilingual Children" book , is one of those parents. She is a non native speaker of Portuguese and raises her two children bilingually from birth. If you have doubts whether this is doable, perhaps you are worried about your accent, than read on!

 

Question 1: Where do you live?  How many children do you have and what are their ages?

Answer : Chapel Hill, North Carolina, U.S.   I have a daughter who is 13 and a son who is 11.
 

 

Question 2: Please describe your family language situation. Who speaks what language? What language strategy do you follow?

Answer :  We do One Parent One Language (also called One Person One Language). My husband speaks English to the children, and I speak Portuguese. (My husband understands Portuguese fairly well after hearing it for 13 years, but he does not speak it.) When we are all four together, we tend to speak English unless the children are directly addressing me (or I, them). We switch naturally from English to Portuguese using eye contact as our cue. I discuss this swapping of languages in the book "Family Language Learning: Learn Another Language, Raise Bilingual Children"

The most common technique we use is that of "false monolingual strategy." This means that I act as if I only speak Portuguese, even though I speak English as a native language. Speaking exclusively in the language was the only way I felt they could attain fluency with me being the only speaker of Portuguese at home. If they say something in English to me, I do not respond.

However, if they are lost and cannot remember a word, I use the strategy of "feeding" in which I offer the first syllable of the word they need. Most of the time, they can then supply the rest.

This doesn't have to be as oppressive as it may sound. I can remember times when we've laughed about it, because, of course, the kids know by now that I speak English. Recently James (my son) tossed some keys to me and said in English, "Catch!" I let the keys fall to the ground as if I had heard nothing. It was funny because it was so ridiculous. I picked them up and looked perplexed. In Portuguese, I asked him, "Was I supposed to catch these?" That way he had the word "catch" in his vocabulary and could use it next time he needed it.

Question 3. When and how did you acquired the languages you speak?

Answer : I learned a little French from high school and college. I went to Wake Forest University and it had a strong French program. Unfortunately, I was not a strong student of the strong program, but enough rubbed off that I was able to do their study abroad. Looking back, I spent time with my American friends and English speaking boyfriend and spoke French very little. At this point, I can get by in a French-speaking country, but don't have conversations.

Portuguese, I started learning the semester after college when I went to the interior of Brazil to teach English. There weren’t many English speakers around, so I had to learn fast. I studied this grammar book I bought in the States and read through my pocket Portuguese-English dictionary late at night. I was highly motivated because I wanted to understand the jokes and conversations of the people I spent time with. I was there 6 months and was able to converse, though probably with heaps of mistakes. In the book I talk about some embarrassing stuff I said in those days.

I went back to Brazil a couple of years later and taught English in a Pan American School. Spent a lot of time with Americans but still managed to learn some Portuguese. At this point I would say I'm fluent, but that it's obvious I'm a foreigner from my accent and grammar mistakes, though the errors don't interfere with comprehension.

Question 4: Do you think parents, who are not fluent in a foreign language (pronounce some words wrong, speak that language with an accent and make grammatical errors), are able to teach children that language from birth and speak it exclusively with them?

Answer :  I definitely think even parents who just know some of the language can teach it to their children successfully. From early on, it's good for parents to think about what they hope to accomplish and what's realistic. If they don't feel they can become fluent in the language, then they can shoot for exposing their children to the language. What's great is that in giving children that exposure, parents are learning themselves, such that there's a building process. Parents become more adept in the language as they read to their children, for example. They are able to read more complex books the more they practice with the simple ones.

Parents may also find that learning a foreign language isn't as painful as they assumed it would be. So many people judge language learning by the torture they faced in high school and college. These classes don't always have students using real language. The words parents will find in children's songs or books are the vocabulary they need to interact with kids. The authenticity of the language makes it stick. It's so relevant that it motivates parents to keep learning.

Question 5: How about passing a language if a parent has an accent? Will be the accent passed on as well? Or is there a way to avoid it?

Answer : I would say that I really don't see accent as an issue, as long as it doesn't interfere with comprehension. So in my case, sure, I have an accent in Portuguese. But I have an accent in English, too, actually-- I'm from Nashville, TN, after all.

When I took my kids to Brazil, they were able to play with Brazilians. If they said words differently, they may have been corrected, but it was never anything discouraging, just very matter of fact.

I tell parents not to worry about their accent in the second language. I suggest they do what they can so that native speakers will understand them. (I list many ways of how to accomplish this in the book, but basically things like watching movies in the second language and listening to music from the target country).

Question 6: From my experience reading books everyday is essential for building strong vocabulary in the minority language. What kind of language learning activities did you find the most productive with your kids?

Answer : Wow, I wouldn't say "every day" because that's pretty restrictive. It's like telling someone on a diet they can never eat cake. If you take out the "always" and "nevers," people stay more motivated because they feel less bossed around.

(NOTE from Raising a Trilingual Child): Sure, reading everyday might not be always possible, but this is what a parent, and especially a minority language speaking parent, should try to do. If parents are able to set the right routine, kids would crave for books. My kids just do not want to go to bed without reading at least a short story. The only compromise they will accept from me is listening to my own story. )

That being said, we did read a lot of children's books. And we reread them too because it's not easy to find Portuguese children's books. Sometimes I would just use books in English and tell the story in Portuguese. We used Richard Scarry's Fun with Words book where the kids point to interesting things they see and I say it in Portuguese.

As far as activities that were most helpful for us, I'd say learning songs and nursery rhymes in Portuguese. I found a neat book of songs and rhymes that had a CD. (scroll all the way down to see the language resources) That way, I could listen to it alongside the kids and pick up the songs. Then we'd sing them around the house, in the car, etc. I always had children's CDs in the car that had fun Portuguese songs on it. Story books also helped because they loved to be read to -- it didn't matter the language. And just doing everyday things in Portuguese -- getting dressed, eating breakfast, playing Candy Land. What I try to get across in Family Language Learning is that your house doesn't have to become a school. You just live your life and do it in the second language.

 

Question 7: When you just started speaking Portuguese to your first child, were you able to stick to it all the time?

Answer :  In the beginning, in fact, with my first child, she was better in Portuguese than English in some areas. My son was the second child and my daughter ended up speaking English to him-- she was in preschool by the time he was old enough to speak. Had there been a Portuguese preschool, I definitely would have had her in there.

What's funny is that Portuguese became our language such that it felt fake to speak in English. I've talked about this with other bilingual parents and I'm not alone. It's as if you choose a language with your child and it's awkward to speak to each other in a language other than that chosen language. Imagine if you're learning Spanish and your best friend is too. So you get together and are talking about your Spanish classes, you might try speaking some Spanish together, but it feels strange because you've already chosen English as the language that holds that relationship.

Question 8: What language did your bilingual children start speaking first?

Answer : They spoke first in Portuguese probably b/c I was home with them so they heard me more than my English-speaking husband. It freaked out one of my relatives to the point that when I would say something to my daughter, he would repeat it loudly in English. When they went to preschool, their English became stronger.

Question 9: Some parents are concerned that if their child is exposed to two languages, he/she will be a late talker. Did your children experience any speech and language delays? What would you say to stop parents believing in this myth?

Answer :  It's funny because I was speaking about this at a Teaching English as a Second or Other Language (TESOL) conference I attended last week. The delay is very little. It's less than the delay boys have from girls in language development. What I've seen happen is that the child stays at home with a parent who is teaching the second language. The child hears more of that language and becomes stronger in that language. Then along comes the grandparents who don't speak that second language and they are frustrated at not being able to communicate as much as they feel they should. Pressure is often put upon the parents to change their language plan so that English will be the stronger language.

What should happen, in my opinion, is that parents feel confident enough to explain to Grandma and Grandpa that as soon as little Suzy starts preschool, English will become her stronger language

Question 10: When you departed on your bilingual family journey, what was the goal for your children's Portuguese language fluency? Were you able to achieve it? What was the most important element in achieving it?

Answer :  I feel like I've met my goals in speaking. However with reading and writing, I would like my children to be more proficient. They do some homeschooling every school morning. Just 5 minutes or so of work that I correct and have follow up questions about. They can send a text message in Portuguese or leave me a note on the fridge saying where they are going. They understand if I give them a to-do note or a grocery list. They do not read on their own in Portuguese. I think if they take Portuguese in college, however, they will do more of this and will feel much more confident at it than their non-Portuguese speaking colleagues will.

 

Question 11: Some non-native language speaking parents report difficulty in dealing with disciplinary issues due to the vocabulary limitation. When kids are small the parents response time is very crucial. A child may get hurt while you are looking up a word in a dictionary. How were you handling this situation?

Answer :  I should be clear in saying that if your child's safety is at stake, you the parent should speak whichever language comes out first. I think you will find, however, that if you get in the habit of speaking the second language, it will feel odd to speak in English.

I would also encourage parents to learn well words like, "Be careful!" "It's hot!" "Don't touch," and "Stop!"

Question 12: How would you encourage non-native language speaking parents to launch on this wonderful adventure of raising bilingual children in non-native language and give them the precious gift of languages?

Answer :  There are so many benefits I could list-- so many reasons why learning another language makes sense and helps your child. But the one I've found most important is that you'll spend more time with your child. You'll talk more, listen more, and spend more time together reading books and listening to music. You'll have a code that other parents and kids don't share.

I asked several moms and dads what they would say to other parents interested in speaking another language to their children. Here are two of their responses:

When he was born, I worried “How will I potty train him in French?” then “How will I prepare him for the arrival of his little sister?” etc., but then it just happened fine. Now I try and foresee us discussing the facts of life in French, when he's older, or talking about girlfriends, drugs, drinking, etc., and it's hard to imagine, but it may all just happen naturally...we're both learning! (M.G., email interview)

Be persistent! A majority of children and young kids will be stubborn. They don’t see the point in learning a language they won’t be able to speak at school or with their friends. Only when they start to mature or develop will they see the usefulness and worth in knowing two language. Their lives will only be benefited by it. (H.G., email interview)

I would like to thank Christine for the interview and encouragement! Click here "Family Language Learning: Learn Another Language, Raise Bilingual Children" to view this book on Amazon.

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!

MULTILINGUAL RESOURCES:

Kids Radio Sations from around the world!
In so many different languages !

in RUSSIAN:

Best Children's Books in Russian

List of Russian Children's Cartoons and Movies. 
 

in POLISH:

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


in ENGLISH:


19 Best Websites with FREE Audio books and Stories in English for Kids


in PORTUGUESE: 


"Songs from a Journey with a Parrot" 
Lullabies and Nursery Rhymes from Portugal and Brazil in Portuguese with English translation + music CD

ARTICLES ON RAISING BILINGUAL KIDS:

 

9 Steps of Raising a Bilingual Child Successfully. How to Start So You Don't Feel Giving It Up Halfway Through.

Q & A: How to pass on two non-native languages to a child?