As the benefits of bilingualism are getting more widely known and the old myths about it dispelled, more and more parents decide to pass on the family languages to their children, giving them the gift of an additional language, fantastic!… Read More ›
So you want to pass on your language to your children, but feel that they are not getting enough exposure to it – a familiar scenario for many minority language parents. You have made a quick calculation and noticed that… Read More ›
This is the second instalment in my series on why I think reading is so important for all children and especially so for children in families with more than one language. Expands the vocabulary It is a given that reading… Read More ›
Today I am starting a four part A-B-C for all you parents passing on your languages to your children – or maybe you are planning to do so, but haven’t quite made up your mind yet. A is for Advantages… Read More ›
Today, as on the 6th of November every year, the “Finland Swedish Heritage Day” is celebrated in my home country. On this day all things to do with the Swedish-speaking part of Finland is brought to attention and appreciated. I… Read More ›
If you are a parent trying to pass on your language to your son in a place where the majority language is different from yours, what should you do to increase the amount of time he is exposed to the… Read More ›
Consistency is important in any aspect of raising a child, and no less so when it comes to passing on your language. While a child can learn more than one language even if the parents are not consistent in their… Read More ›
I have mentioned the term passive language skill a few times time before in my posts: if you have a passive knowledge of a language you can understand some or most of it but you are not able to communicate… Read More ›
Like any other “project” in your life, bringing up your son to become bilingual is much more likely to have a successful outcome if you plan ahead. You may ask: “Why do I need a plan? I grew up to… Read More ›
Being aware of potential pitfalls is vital to ensure that the family’s languages are passed on to the next generation. This is the last post in a three-part series on things that could go wrong. Here are the links to… Read More ›
multilingual families raising bilingual children 