Essays from BBFN contributers...

What to Do When He Won’t Speak the Language
A son, a diagnosis of SPD and giving the language another try.

I Before Me
One father's heart-warming essay about his young son and language.

Where My Home Is
An essay on finding home in more than one culture and language.

Maths - Not My Favourite Subject
Embracing our complexities and refusing to limit ourselves to the definitions others place on us.

The Politics of Bilingualism
Do you have the right to speak your language in a public institution? Maybe not.

3 Steps Parents Can Take to Support Elementary Language Education in Their Communities
Is there anything a parent can do to support early childhood language education in their communities? Yes!

My Half Identity - a reprint about not trying to be half this and half that; instead being two in one.

Monica shares her Bilingual/Bicultural Journey
Meet Monica and her bilingual-bicultural journey around the world

Accenting Your Love Life - how to meet the foreigner of your dreams! An article based on the responses from international couples around the world.

More essays on the internet...

Lessons in Language
by Amel Abdullah
"When Fatimah was still pregnant with her first child, she made an agreement with her husband that their child's mother tongue would be Arabic, even though her own knowledge of the language was somewhat limited as a native speaker of English who had lived in the United States her whole life long. Still, she decided to give it her best shot..."

Doubletalk: Raising a Bilingual Family
by Tara Swords
Excerpt: "Vivian Conley grew up in Mexico. Naturally, she and her family spoke Spanish. So when Vivian and her American husband had a son 4 years ago, she knew she would teach her child to speak her native language, even though they lived in the U.S." 

Bicultural Families: Meeting the Challenges of Raising Children with Two Cultures.
Excerpt: "When Aziz and I got married 18 years ago, we told each other we'd give our children both our cultures: Syrian and American. Our goal is to have them feel like natives in both countries – to be able to speak Arabic and English; to feel comfortable kissing cheeks when greeting their Syrian relatives and hugging their American ones; to enjoy hamburgers and falafels; and to appreciate Beethoven, The Beatles and Um Khartoum, the most famous singer of the Arabic-speaking world." 

Bilingual/Bicultural Family Blogs
Don't forget to check out what parents on our site are saying via their blogs and columns!