The day they asked me to speak to them in different languages
Some of our family’s best conversations happen around the dinner table. I’ll reassure you, some of our worst happen there too. Dinner in a home of young ones is a […]
OPOL
Ignore the kids!
There is plenty of advice out there about getting kids to speak a second or third (weaker) language. One of my absolute favorite ways to get the kids speaking a […]
Raising Global Citizens at Home – online summit
You might have noticed the button on the right side of my page promoting this week’s virtual summit. If not, don’t worry, I ‘m here to tell you all about […]
This is my world.
Hi. I’m Ayo and it was my birthday this month. I’m four years old now. Ayo is my nickname. It’s actually my middle name. It’s short for Ayodelé. That’s not […]
For weary parents of bilinguals
A very pregnant Nae chased me around the park. She had overheard me speaking to the kids in French and was looking for tips. Encouragement, really. Nae had stopped speaking […]
Language-learning: an alive, natural, changing process
When I first thought about this month’s Multilingual Carnival topic on “lost languages“, I didn’t think we had all that much to share. Our kids are all under four years […]
Bilingual Avenue Podcast
I am really honored to feature on this week’s episode of Bilingual Avenue, a weekly podcast with insightful tips and advice from language experts and normal parents like us, raising […]
Sibling dynamics in multilingualism
Choosing and implementing a language strategy with your first child is often more straightforward than when the next child comes along. We generally speak more to our first-borns, we spend […]
Bilingualism: 3 Myths
It is amazing how much unsolicited and unfounded advice you receive when you expose your children to multiple languages. These misconceptions often come from individuals who never had a bilingual […]
This gift of diversity
How desperately, do I want to teach our kids to be lovers of this world. Interesting then, when it actually came to inviting the so-called ‘world’ into our home (without us […]
The case against bilingual books
Our local library branch recently purchased a handful of English/French bilingual books to add to their collection. Knowing our excitement for new books to read in French, the library staff […]
Hope for this weary mama
Two lanky girls stumbled into the coffee shop. One following the other. They both wore glasses. Their gait was either demonstrative of high intelligence or the insecurity that comes with […]
Mama thoughts at TWO!
We have a two year old! We once marveled at our infant boy’s mini features, wondering who he would become. Today, we already have glimpses of who this little boy […]
Minority language feelings
It’s got to be mind-boggling for any parent to watch the process of language acquisition unfold. As a linguist, I can’t tell you how much fun it is to experience […]
Language at 16 months
Language and speech is one of the most exciting areas of child development to me. If you know me at all, that comes as no surprise. Well, life is barreling […]
Language & travel: seizing the opportunities
I just finished reading Maria Babin’s thoughtful post on multilingualism and travel. When thinking about traveling with children for the sake of language acquisition, or to see family, or just […]
Hindsight is always 20/20
I recall sitting in a cozy café, sipping a frothy cappuccino while reading all the books I could find on the subject of multilingual parenting atop a basketball-shaped belly. I […]
Language class for tots DIY
Last Saturday, Ayo tried out a second language class for 1-2 year olds – this time at the Alliance Française. I asked if they did trials like the other center […]
Language tiers
Back when I was reading up about bilingual parenting, I found one book that wrote about the importance of understanding which tier your languages fall into. It went on to […]