From the Editors' Desks

Another year is upon us and with it comes new challenges.

Have you already created your list of New Year’s Resolutions for how you will do better this year in supporting language in your family? Want to spend more time speaking your language? Been putting off joining or starting a language playgroup? What about your children learning to read and write in the second language - have you given that any thought? If you are like most of us, you find it hard to know where to begin once you have your list in place. Even the best intensions can’t put goals into action.

Luckily, we have others to help us out, especially at this time of year full of new beginnings. The theme for this issue of Multilingual Living Magazine is “getting started and staying motivated in raising bilingual children.” We have asked experts, researchers, parents, families and more to share their best kept secrets with us so that we can learn from what is working (and not working) for them. Their knowledge, insight and expertise is what makes this magazine the perfect supplement to a multilingual life.

As always, the line-up of articles in this issue is incredible. We are honored to have experts from so many differing fields to share their insights. Fred Genesee has written an article for us on how to get started in raising bilingual children. His “short guide” will answer some of your most pressing questions and get you on your way. And don’t miss Madalena and Gerry’s articles! They will give you just want you need to take those first steps! As always, Suzanne will inspire you with her honesty and wit to help you find ways to blend your different languages and cultures.

As we have come to appreciate, our columnists will touch your heart, share your concerns and offer a supportive hand. Knowing what others are going through and how they are making things work can be just the support we need. It is an honor to have so many share their insecurities, worries and tears as well as joys, successes and delights.

Are you a Third Culture Kid or maybe you are raising one? TCKs are a unique breed indeed. They often feel they are caught between worlds, cultures, languages and countries but they wouldn’t have it any other way. Make sure you are aware of what it means to be a TCK, how to support the needs of TCKs (whether you are one or are raising one) and to come to realize that you and your children are not alone. The world is FULL of TCKs just like you and your family.

So, your children are speaking your language - CONGRATULATIONS! But you aren’t sure how to go about helping them become biliterate in your language. Don’t assume that biliteracy will happen on its own in your family! Your children need to have a reason to learn how to read and write in your language. If you have visions of your children sending hand-written letters to their grandparents overseas, they must know how to write in your language. Or perhaps you are looking forward to when your children can discuss some of your favorite authors and books with you? This can not happen if they are unable to read in your language. In this issue, our experts share tips, ideas and guidance in how to support your children in their biliteracy efforts. Don’t hesitate. Get started NOW before your children have lost interest.

Feeling frustrated? Not sure how to get your children to use your language? How about some language activities? Try one of our 9 activities and see if your children can resist using your language! Keeping language use fun is a key to success. It is important to first figure out which types of activities interest each of your children. Then make sure to try out a few different ones to figure out what works. Remember, an activity that works one day or week or month may not work the next time around. Stay flexible and be willing to go with the flow. Your children will notice and appreciate it.

THANK YOU for all of your questions! Please keep them coming. Each time you send in a question for one of our experts, you help answer issues that others are dealing with as well. Although it often feels we are living alone in a vaccuum, this is not the case. In this issue, Kate shares her question about how to introduce letters in her language to her children. What should you do when the same letter is pronounced differently in each language? Won’t our children become confused? Is there a right and wrong way to do this? Madalena shares her insights and tips to help us get on our way. And what about choosing which languages to maintain in your household? Grace helps Laine, and us, decide on the criteria to make such decisions.

We have a delightful addition in this issue... Oliver Kim introduces us to Esperanto. If there ever was a language created for multilingualism across the globe, this is it! We will have additional lessons in future issue, so stay tuned and have fun.
These are just some random highlights of this issue of Multilingual Living Magazine. The full contents will delight you, touch your heart and bring you page after page of inspiration. We would like to thank each and every one of our contributors who provide articles, essays and more. It is a true honor for us to be able to pass on their valuable words to you.

It is easy to forget that language and culture in our lives are not only extremely important, they are the foundation of who we are as individuals and a family and they help define who our children will become. Many of us have suppressed our frustrations and stayed silent over the years as we struggled with our feelings of dissatisfaction, unsure of why we felt so disjointed. The time has come to acknowledge the importance of all of your unique fascets and to put them into play.

As Harriet encourages in this issue, take the opportunity this new year to care for yourself and to take care of your family’s true multilingual and multicultural needs. You are not alone. There are millions of people who are struggling to make sense of their language-complex lives. Sometimes we are thriving, sometimes falling behind. As our sister organization in Australia, Bilingual Families Perth, has said it perfectly on the cover of their new CD created to support families just like yours: “bilingualism is beautiful.”

Your language, your culture, your life, your family is beautiful because of your multilingual mixture. The elements you combine to form your linguistic mosaic create a unique masterpiece of your making. You are an artist, a sculptor, a musician, an inventor. Just make sure to stand back and appreciate your wonderful creation from time to time!

Your MLL Editors,

Corey and Alice
corey@biculturalfamily.org
editor@biculturalfamily.org

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