FAQ
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For Parents, Teachers and Librarians:
What is Bilingual Readers all about?
Bilingual Readers is a brand new publishing company which aims to provide resources for bilingual and multilingual families and communities. We believe that growing up with more than one language can be an enriching experience for children, parents and teachers alike, and the great news is it can also be a lot of fun! Bilingual Readers' fabulous catalogue of English/Spanish bilingual books, games and activities is a constantly growing source of materials, which will help parents to reinforce their children's language skills and instill a love of reading in them from day one.
The sky is the limit, and Bilingual Readers is constantly developing creative new opportunities for parents and children to read, play and cultivate bilingualism. Come see what the buzz is about!!!
What are the benefits of growing up bilingual?
We all know that in today's globalized world, those who speak more than one language fluently automatically have an advantage over those who just speak one language. With English being the modern day lingua franca, and Spanish being spoken by more than 436 million people worldwide (and over 45 million people in the United States alone), English/Spanish is definitely one of the most popular language combinations.
But aside from the many social and economic benefits that await our bilingual children when they become adults, there are also many other reasons for teaching your children two languages, whatever the language combination may be. Studies show that children who learn to speak more than one language from a very early age are able to develop and make use of parts of their brains that monolingual children typically don't use. This not only allows them to speak more than one language fluently, but it also makes it easier for them to learn additional languages later in life. Recent studies have even shown that bilingualism protects the brain in old age by delaying the onset of dementia in elderly bilinguals. For more information on the many, many benefits of bilingualism, please read this article.
What's the best strategy for helping my children to become bilingual?
There's no one "correct" way to raise multilingual children, so each family must decide which mulitilingual family model works best for them (click here for a few suggested multilingual family models). Whatever model you choose, consistency is the key to providing a stable language learning environment for your child.
Why is reading aloud so important for bilingual children? At what age should I start reading to my children?
Although babies don't begin to associate sound with objects until around eight months, studies show that parents who begin reading to their children at four months are more likely to continue to read consistently to their children throughout their childhood. Bear in mind that your baby's brain is still constantly growing and developing during his early childhood years, and reading aloud to your children is the number one tool for helping your child's language development along. Written language is different from oral expression, so by reading aloud to your children you are exposing them to new ways of combining words.
But the most important reason for shared parent/child reading in the early development years is the impact this will have on your child's view of reading in the future. It has been shown that kids who enjoy reading with their parents will be more motivated to learn to read in school. Parents who take the time to read with their young children are setting the stage for strong literacy skills in the future. And the better your children read in both their languages, the stronger their mastery of each individual language will be. These children will not only have a better grasp on the languages they speak and read, but they will also have a greater understanding of the world they live in. And this, of course, will make it easier for your child to learn and master even more languages in the future.
Why bilingual books? Can't I just read my child monolingual books in both languages?
While reading monolingual books to your children is certainly beneficial, bilingual books are especially beneficial for bilingual families. If one parent reads a book to a child in English and the other parent reads the same book in Spanish, the child will automatically begin to associate both languages with the stories and objects on the pages of the book. We all know that children love to read and be read the same stories over and over again, so hearing the exact same text in each language every time a book is read will reinforce vocabulary and sentence structure for the bilingual child. By translating a monolingual book as you read aloud to your child you risk using different vocabulary and sentence structure with each new reading, which could be confusing for your child. Bilingual books eliminate this risk, and you get two books for the price of one!
Does Bilingual Readers offer products for language combinations other than Spanish/English?
Currently we only have products available for bilingual readers of English and Spanish, but we are very excited about offering our products in many different language combinations in the very near future.
What kind of free support is available for the parents of multilingual children?
Giving your child the gift of multilingualism is one of the most rewarding things you will ever do for your kids, but we also understand that helping your children to become truly proficient in more than one language is not an easy task. It takes time, effort and consistency to make this happen, and we at Bilingual Readers are here to share in your struggles and support you in any way we can.
Aside from the parental discussion groups and other free resources available on this page, you can also find links on our site to many relevant organizations, blogs and support groups all over the world. Our free monthly e-newsletter includes articles, in English and Spanish, on the latest research on issues such as bilingual language acquistion, cultivating your child's creativity through language, achieving biliteracy and much more. Each issue also includes interviews with real life parents of multilingual children from a wide variety of backgrounds, chocked full of touching moments and fun stories.
We're in this crazy adventure together, so please feel free to email us with with your questions, comments and stories!
Where are you located? Is Bilingual Readers doing anything on a local level?
We are located in Madrid, Spain, and we have a strong commitment to our local community. If you live in or near Madrid, please check out our News & Events calendar for up to date information on our local activities (link interno a News & Events Calendar).
