Transitions...
• This is a difficult stage because your child is having more and more contact with peers and is starting to establish true friendships, rather than just playing alongside other children.
You child will really start to tune into what is going on around her. Some children will just keep doing their own thing without giving much attention to outside forces while others will seem to be trying to fit in and possibly start to imitate other children. Depending on how your child deals with these outside forces can determine, to some degree, how she will deal with her bilingualism and biculturalism. She might enjoy her unique identity and therefore like having her own language with her family or she might feel awkward and want to stop speaking her second language. She may also sway back and forth between these feelings, so don't make any quick assumptions.
• Starting preschool and then Kindergarten can be a bit overwhelming so expect some language transitions during this period. Depending on what kind of school you have in mind for your child, you might want to do some research ahead of time. Are you interested in an immersion school? Does the school you are interested in (immersion or not) want your child to have a certain level of language ability before entering, or does it not matter? Some schools and teachers are concerned about these issues so make sure to inquire ahead of time to avoid any confusion and frustration later.
• Your best bet in helping your child transition through this stage is to make sure he is given a good amount of time to spend with his friends who are also living in bilingual families. Even if the children don't speak a common language together, they will be able to talk about school, friends, activities without feeling odd about their language and their strange parents.
Transitions in general are difficult so keeping as many things as comfortable and stable as possible will help your child through this period.
Most importantly, try not to make language or culture a big deal and instead treat it as simply who you are as a family.
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BBFN Columnists |
• Multicultural Melange - Alice grew up in a bilingual/bicultural Korean-Austrian family. In this month's column, Alice shares her thoughts on raising her child trilingually.
• The Single Language Spouse - Get to know Colleen, the "single language spouse". She is married to a Russian and in this month's column shares her thoughts on raising a child bilingually when you don't speak the "other" language.
• Eurapsody - Meet Clo, an Italian native currently based in France with her Belgian partner and raising a quadrilingual child. In this month's column she helps us with finding a name for our future multilingual child.
• One Family One Language - Lilian and her husband live in the US but both are originally from Brazil. In her column, Lilian will share with us the joys and struggles of raising two boys bilingually with the minority-language-at-home approach.
• Between Grandparent and Grandchild - Corey's mother's tough questions contributed to this group actually coming into being! In this column she introduces herself to you through her experience of becoming a mother and the hopes for global understanding that came with it. |
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Stay Informed |
• News Around the World - Check out articles, essays and opinions about language, culture and identity around the world.
• Ages & Stages - Want to know if your child is just going through a stage or maybe prepare for the next step in your child's life?
• Tips & Advice - Check out "My Kid Speaks Better Than Yours!" and questions answered by Harriet.
• Once A Day! - Rev up your grey cells with today's tip, word, quote, wisdom, Did You Know? and activity!
• Humor & Fun - Read "Oh No, My Chil Caught Bilingualism!", test your American English vowel knowledge and learn how to bark like a dog in different languges. |
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Spotlights & Info |
• Marketplace Spotlights - check out this month's book review, Sponge School and Magellan's Toy Shop.
• Website Spotlights - Have you heard of "Talkin About Talk" and read Maya Lin's essay on being bicultural.
• What's New at BBFN? - Ask Harriet, Interviews with people of influence, share postcards with other bilingual/bicultural families, and check out Corey's blog.
• Look Who's Talking - Harriet's presentation is coming up at the end of March and Corey will offer a seminar at the end of April.
• Mailbag- Carol in Spain shares her thoughts about our February newsletter and contrasts our American Between Worlds essay with her experiences in Spain. |
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