Get your child speaking the minority language more actively right now!
Quick quiz! What is the one all-important and universal thing when it comes to successfully raising a bilingual child? (In fact, this is probably the only thing that’s actually universal for families worldwide and, without it, there’s no chance of success at all!)
Last month my daughter was 6. Next month she’ll be 19. Now, factually, I know this isn’t true, but it certainly feels that way. As mindful as I tried to be when it came to the passing of time, day by day, in the end my kids have still grown into young adults much faster than I ever imagined. Today let me emphasize this key idea by sharing a few journal entries from a little 6-year-old girl
Over the many years I’ve been working with bilingual and multilingual families, I’ve sought to support parents with ideas and encouragement for maintaining momentum and overcoming difficulties. Through a range of ways—through this blog, through my forum, through my books, through email and social media, through workshops and consulting sessions, and now through my new private coaching program
What sort of powerful impact could Bilingual SuperKids have on *your* bilingual journey?
This year my daughter, now 18, has taken two English proficiency tests. (English is her minority language; Japanese is her majority language.) The first was the highest level of the EIKEN seven-level test, which is widely used in Japan and is essentially a pass-or-fail sort of exam. And the second test, because she’s now applying to university programs in Japan that emphasize English, was the TOEFL
The bilingual journey of this Spanish family is an encouraging example, in a number of ways, of non-native parents nurturing early success. It shows that, despite being non-native speakers of the target language who acknowledge shortcomings in their own language skills, Cristina and Pedro have nevertheless been able to generate significant progress in their children’s bilingual ability through their attitude and actions. And even when faced with difficulties along the way
Victor and Olya may have grown up on opposite sides of the Earth, but their mutual love of languages ultimately brought them together somewhere in between, in a small city in the American heartland. They both had studied German and shared a mutual interest in the mechanics of German
At long last, after three years of work, my new book has been published! I’m thrilled with how it turned out and I’d love for you to read it! Here’s how the book is described… Bilingual Success Stories Around the World: Parents Raising Multilingual Kids Share Their Experiences and Encouragement is a real-life roadmap to greater success and joy for any parent raising bilingual or multilingual children. Written by Adam Beck
Families are raising bilingual children all over the world. So, when you are expecting a baby and you or your partner speak more than one language, it can seem like a relatively simple project. Let’s raise this baby bilingually! First and foremost, you are about to embark on a beautiful journey which will at times be ‘laugh-out-loud’ funny
Dear Diary, So here I am. Six weeks in the womb. And I’m bored silly. I mean, there’s not much to do in here besides grow. I can’t even start kicking until I have legs. That’ll be kind of fun, I guess, but so far this life stuff has been really dull. No TV, no video games, no nothing. So I’m starting this diary
Two threads of my life, both of them months in the making, have suddenly come together with the same message. The first thread involves my 15-year-old daughter and an English speech contest (recitation contest) that took place on Saturday. This event was the culmination of a long process that began in the spring, when her English teacher at school encouraged her to take part. When Lulu, now in her third and last year of junior high at a public school
