Been taking it all a little too seriously lately?
Give yourself a break and have some fun!
Sometimes we get so involved in raising our children bilingually and biculturally, worrying that we aren't doing things right or that we've missed that one "perfect window of opportunity", that we forget that it is all supposed to be about making life more enjoyable and fulfilling. Take some time out to just have fun with it all…
HUMOR ARTICLES
FUN WEBSITE LINKS
- Test out your American English Vowels - Many think that American English is pretty much the same wherever you go. But that is probably because you have to go fairly far to hear the different accents. Try out this vowel power test and see what you think.
- Welcome to the Animal Talk Ranch - Learn how different cultures imitate different animal sounds. It is amazing how protective many of us are about our version of how a dog or a rooster sound!
- Sounds of the world's animals - Another site of animal sounds around the world with short clips of actual speakers making the sounds. Great fun!
KIDS SAY THE FUNNIEST THINGS
Jane lives in Canada and is raising her sons in her non-native French while her husband speaks to them in English. She shares some of the funniest things her boys (ages 3 and 5) have said:
Maman: qu'est-ce que tu veux faire pour le week-end? (what do you want to do for the week-end? 'le
week-end' is common in France, but a no-no in French
Canada, where English is strictly forbidden in
translation like this; my son attends a
French-language primary school, and they are not
allowed to speak English at school)
Son: Maman, tu a parle anglais! (Mum, you
spoke English (when you said week-end)!)
The boys are constantly finding funny things about
both French and English:
Daddy: Do you want an English muffin?
Son: I'd rather a French muffin, please.
My oldest son's first experience at his French-language
daycare:
Teacher: Est-ce que tu parles francais ou anglais?
(do you speak English or French?)
Son: (in English) I speak French.
Do you have any funny stories or know of other fun bilingual links? Email them to us and we'll include them: info@biculturalfamily.org.
 back to Main Newsletter page
|
|
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. |
|
|
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. |
|
|
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. |
|
|
|
