Most Recent Posts

Supporting the People of Ukraine
Like so much of the world, here in Hiroshima, Japan I’m following the terrible tragedy now unfolding in Ukraine with feelings of shock and sorrow and helplessness. I know this gesture of support for the people of Ukraine is a tiny drop in a vast ocean of need, but, of course, every uncountable drop in the sea still counts.

Guest Post: Our Successful Playgroup for Minority Language Families
I’ve always believed that language has a very important social component and I wanted my children to feel that Spanish was a language that allowed them to communicate not only with their mother and their family in Spain, but also with other children and families around them here in Germany. So, in the summer of 2010, when my eldest was about a year and a half

Two Bilingual Teens, Two Big Milestones
I began this blog 10 years ago, when my kids were 8 and 5—like in the photos above and below. Today they’re 17 and 14 and will turn 18 and 15 in just a few more months. I’ve covered many of the milestones we’ve experienced during this decade and I now have two more

Podcast Episode: The Gift of Bilingualism
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Dolores Guiñazú, the executive director of Lift Value, a company that provides a range of helpful language services to clients worldwide. Dolores also offers a very thoughtful podcast called Attitudeable and I was honored to join her to share my personal perspective on raising bilingual children.

How Your Bilingual Journey Is Like Driving a Car at Night When a Deer Suddenly Appears on the Road Ahead
Recently, at The Bilingual Zoo forum, I responded to a parent’s concerns about their bilingual journey by offering the metaphor that I’ll share today. A blog post on this theme feels like a good way to begin a new year that will hopefully be very fruitful for your bilingual or multilingual aim with your kids.

My Personal Highlights (and Lowlights) from 2021
Another challenging year has come to an end. In this post I look back at my mostly home-bound life, both the highlights and lowlights I experienced over the past 12 months.