In spring 2014, I released the e-book Instant Inspiration for Parents Raising Bilingual Kids. The response to this unique resource was very positive and I’m so thankful to all those who made a contribution, in exchange for the e-book, to help support my work at Bilingual Monkeys and The Bilingual Zoo. As promised, 100% of these funds have gone toward maintaining and enhancing these two websites.
Meanwhile, I’ve also heard from some parents who wanted a copy of the e-book but weren’t able, for one reason or another, to make a donation online. (So I imagine there are others, too, who haven’t contacted me.) In fact, I’ve felt badly about this, because my main purpose in creating this resource was to lend support to other parents. Of course, the funds I’ve received have been really helpful, but I basically viewed this project as a nonprofit effort.
And so, I’ve decided to make the e-book available to all, entirely for free. At the same time, if Bilingual Monkeys and The Bilingual Zoo are of value to you, and you’re able to give something back by making a small contribution, this is still possible, too, and I would be grateful for your support. But it’s completely up to you: download the e-book for free or for an amount of your choice.
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What is this e-book?
I created this e-book (and updated it for 2015) to help empower the daily efforts and long-term success of busy parents seeking to raise bilingual (or multilingual) kids. In it, I focus on “10 qualities of spirit” that are vital for success, such as perspective, planning, attitude, effort, perseverance, and more. For each of these key qualities, I’ve written an essay explaining its connection to raising bilingual kids, followed by a wealth of inspiring quotes on the subject.
These are quotes that I’ve gathered over the past 15 years and then carefully selected with parents of bilingual children in mind. The result is a “power pack” of wisdom that runs over 17,000 words, featuring 636 motivating quotes.
The truth is, raising a bilingual child requires more than suitable guidelines and practical ideas. These are essential, of course, but they’re not nearly enough. Without a strong spirit as well—day after day, year after year—those guidelines and ideas won’t get you very far.
The stronger your spirit, the more success you’ll ultimately have, and this resource is designed to do just that: strengthen your spirit and boost your success. A versatile PDF document, it can be quickly accessed via your computer or mobile device, as well as printed out if you’d like a paper copy.
As I write in the introduction, my hope is that this “power pack” of wisdom will inspire you to continue giving your best effort, each and every day of your bilingual journey. In doing so, not only will you nurture your child’s language development more effectively, you’ll deepen these qualities of spirit within your own mind and heart.
In the end, you see, the bilingual journey is a journey as much about a parent’s spirit as it is about a child’s language.
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What do other parents think?
This resource has touched parents in a wide range of places and circumstances. Here’s what a few of them have said about it…
“Helps give strength and motivation to keep going, day after day—a precious tool for all parents.” —Emilia in Italy
“It feels like having a friend who shares your goal and holds your hand to give you more strength to continue on your bilingual journey.”—Corinne in the United Kingdom
“Really inspiring! I found myself noting a lot of the quotes to write them big and hang them around the house. Instant motivation to continue on the journey of raising bilingual kids!” —Marta in the United States
“If raising bilingual kids is like a very long road trip, then Adam’s e-book is the resource that will help you get through it—and remember it fondly!” —Mayken in France
“A really well thought-out guide for parents hoping to raise bilingual children. Very supportive and magnificently inspirational! Don’t miss it!” —Len in the United States
“I LOVE this resource. L-O-V-E it, truly. The content is clear, well-organized, and easy to navigate. Thank you so much for compiling such a comprehensive document. Your insight and guidance have been so meaningful to me.” —Jeannie in the United States
“Instant Inspiration for Parents Raising Bilingual Kids fully justifies its name—it’s a shortcut to the power within each parent. The ten qualities of spirit Adam focuses on reflect his deep understanding of the process of raising bilingual kids. This ‘power pack’ will greatly benefit all parents who strive for long-term success in their bilingual journey.” —Elena in Belarus
“I’ve only just recently started my journey to raise a bilingual child, but I’ve already come to realize that the most difficult aspect of this entire process is getting yourself in the right frame of mind—changing your own habits and mentality. To that end, this is an excellent resource. It’s a source of extra motivation that can help your regain perspective and get you back on the right track when times of difficulty arise.” —Justin in Russia
“Sometimes you wonder if all your hard work is really worth it. This inspiring and motivating book really made me believe that YES IT IS! I really enjoyed this interesting and thought-provoking work. It was cleverly designed to make it accessible and easy to digest. I would recommend this book to people hoping to raise their children in a bilingual environment, those who are already doing so and need some extra motivation, and also to teachers of languages who will take great inspiration from the many quotations and ideas.” —Marie Louise in Ireland
“Parents are the key force in helping children become bilingual. Raising bilingual kids doesn’t happen from sending them to a class once a week or even every day. Children need to use the language naturally and frequently. This can be exhausting. It takes a lot of effort (especially if you don’t fluently speak the second language yourself) to build this into daily life. Adam has compiled a helpful list of quotes and his own experiences to encourage resilience and enjoyment of the undertaking.” —Margaret in the United States
“When I started to think about raising my kids bilingual, I had the idea that just talking to them would be enough. Half of the world was doing it so it couldn’t be so difficult. I imagined myself riding in a wonderful car on the fantastic bilingual highway. When reality hit me in the head, I saw that my car was looking more like the one from the Flintstones and that the road ahead was no highway but a bumpy road, full of beautiful views but also with difficult moments in which my little car got stuck. Getting back to the road can be tough if you’re missing the spirit to keep on going for your goals. Instant Inspiration for Parents Raising Bilingual Kids provides you with fuel to light up your legs and get your Flintstones car back running on the fantastic road to bilingualism.” —Reina in the Netherlands
“With this unique resource, Adam give us a different perspective on how to raise bilingual children. He taps into perhaps the most important, and yet most often overlooked aspect, which is the parent’s spirit. In short, our motivation, what keeps us inspired and moving forward on this long-distance journey with our kids, where years fly by more quickly than we think. Adam writes about each component that makes up this spirit, so necessary to us in reaching our goals, and includes inspirational quotes for each to encourage us and keep us moving. This is not a typical ‘how-to’ book on bilingual kids—there are plenty of those around—but this one is no less important…is perhaps even far MORE important, because this motivation is essential to raising our kids in a bilingual home.” —Alisa in France
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12 Responses
Great resource. Love this. Thanks for your hard work.
Miguel, you’re welcome. I hope it’s helpful to your efforts. And thank you for the positive feedback.
Nice work.
Nice work.
Thank you for your comments. It’s so helpful. I have a boy 5 years and teach English as second language. I have MA in English teaching. Would you help me more?
I hope you’ll continue to find Bilingual Monkeys, The Bilingual Zoo (my forum), and Maximize Your Child’s Bilingual Ability (my new book) helpful sources of support on your bilingual journey!
Such crucial issues raised pertaining to raising bilingual kids. I am in South Africa where English is increasingly the dominant language in the education system and it is becoming harder to convince parents to maintain their mother tongue, which is often not English.
Thandeka, yes, it can be difficult to nurture another language against a tidal wave of English, but the many benefits of bilingualism make it well worth the effort.
Thanks for the free PDF.
You’re welcome, Barry. I hope you find it helpful!
I am trying to teach my 5-year-old English. It is difficult, because the majority language has already made its strong point. I would highly appreciate your help with this.
Thanks,
Jessica
Jessica, I don’t know the details of your situation, but the main thing is to be proactive and playful about providing exposure to the target language on a regular basis. I suggest starting with an “English Time” each day where you read books, sing songs, play games, etc. for 30 minutes or so, then expand this exposure to the language as time goes by. Above all, make these English experiences as enjoyable as possible so that your child will feel positively toward English and your efforts to nurture his/her English ability will be sustainable over the months and years ahead. And I hope my blog, forum, and book can offer ideas and inspiration to help you succeed!