image credit: dominio de las lenguas, via Público (click to view full size image)

If you’ve been reading us for a while, I’m sure you know that we try to avoid political discussions about bilingualism and the minority languages spoken in Spain. This is primarily because we believe that there is plenty of evidence to support the fact that a bilingual upbringing has loads of benefits, regardless of which combination of languages you choose to teach your children. One of the most recent studies on the subject demonstrates some of the many cognitive advantages bilingual children and adults have over their monolingual peers. Click here for more in-depth information on the benefits of bilingualism. So we strongly encourage parents to raise their children bilingually, whether that means English/Spanish, Arabic/French, Polish/Chinese or whatever language combination you feel motivated to share with your children.

That said, a interesting article in the Spanish daily newspaper Publico recently caught my eye. Under the headline “La recuperación de las lenguas aún es un reto” (Language Recovery is Still a Challenge), the article uses pictographs and numerical data to show the evolution of each of Spain’s minority languages over the last 30 years in those regions where each language is spoken. It’s especially interesting to see the challenges each region has faced over the years and the impact that social and political support for these minority languages has had on the recovery of each language.

The main (non-political) conclusion we can gain from these statistics is that it takes work for children to learn any language that is not the primary community language. Children first need to be exposed to a language and then they need to feel a motivation to communicate in that language. Just as those communities who have supported the use of their minority languages and worked for more opportunities for children to find a practical use for those languages have seen a growth in the percentage of the population that is truly bilingual, any family that makes the choice to raise their children bilingually will see greater results if they take active steps to both expose children to the language and create real opportunities for them to use the language on a daily basis. Best of luck to those of you who are fighting to give your children the wonderful gift of bilingualism!

As some of you may know, the annual European Day of Languages was celebrated on Saturday September 26th. This annual celebration was created by the Council of Europe to “alert the public to the importance of language learning and diversify the range of languages learnt in order to increase plurilingualism and intercultural understanding.” Of course we at Bilingual Readers agree wholeheartedly with that mission and are always working hard to provide resources for bilingual families to help children develop language skills through reading. For us, every day is a great day for celebrating languages, but this sort of celebration is a great opportunity to raise this important issue with the general public at least once a year.

This year the Council of Europe included a list of interesting facts about languages and bilingualism, which we thought we’d share with you today. Here are just a few highlights:

*There are between 6000 and 7000 languages in the world - spoken by six billion people divided into 189 independent states.

*Many Europeans (and Americans) think most people speak only one language, but in actual fact at least half of the world’s population are bilingual or plurilingual, i.e. they speak two or more languages.

*No language is in itself more difficult than any other – all children, in fact, learn their mother tongue in the same natural way and with equal ease.

*In its first year a baby utters a wide range of vocal sounds; at around one year the first understandable words are uttered; at around three years complex sentences are formed; at five years a child possesses several thousand words.

*The mother tongue is usually the language one knows best and uses most. But there can be “perfect bilinguals” who speak two languages equally well. Normally, however, bilinguals display no perfect balance between their two languages.

*Bilingualism brings with it many benefits: it makes the learning of additional languages easier, enhances the thinking process and fosters contacts with other people and their cultures.

*Bilingualism and plurilingualism entail economic advantages, too: jobs are more easily available to those who speak several languages, and multilingual companies have a better competitive edge than monolingual ones.

Have a great day and remember to celebrate your languages and cultures every day!

Last week we talked about the power of using bilingual play to help your child’s language development along. We all know that bilingual games can do wonders for helping children learn a new language or reinforce a minority language they’re already hearing at home, so I was very excited when Jessie from Gogolingo.com asked me to try out this new website, which uses a concept called “playful immersion” as a way of teaching language through on-line games. Gogolingo.com defines itself as providing “research-based, age-appropriate activities with individualized progress reports that customize to your child’s personal learning curve.” After playing around with my own little lingo (a lingo is a little bear-like creature which your child is supposed to help learn a new language), I got to know the site a bit better and thought I’d share some of my observations with our readers.

What first caught my attention was the huge level of parental involvement. In the Grown Ups section of the site, gogolingo makes it clear that they “want to partner with YOU - your child’s first and most important teacher - to help your child develop a life-long love of languages.” Now that’s a statement we at Bilingual Readers can agree with wholeheartedly! Each time a child plays on the site, the parents receive an email notification of what the child learned that day with helpful hints on how to reinforce those concepts. There are forums for parents to discuss their concerns, language learning tips of the day, individualized progress charts, external resource links and even reminder emails when your child hasn’t visited the site in a while.

As for the games, they are simple, fun and tailored to each child’s age and language level.* We were also pleased to find some great literary focused games, geared toward helping children learn the abc’s and read storybooks in Spanish. At this point in time the only language combination available is for for English speakers who want to learn Spanish, but Jessie assured me that they will be adding new language combinations (Spanish speakers who want to learn English are the next on the list!) as soon as they’ve perfected the product. In that sense, you can help out by contacting gogolingo.com directly with any suggestions you may have.

Of course, when it comes to language development, on-line language games are no substitute for direct parental interaction, but they can be a great complementary tool. In order to maximize the effectiveness of these on-line games, make sure you sit in as much as possible on your child’s play sessions at gogolingo.com or any of the other bilingual on-line game sites we recommend in our Just for Kids! section. Have fun!

*The possibilities of tailoring the program to your child’s specific needs increase with the premium model. You can see a comparison of the free vs. premium package here: http://www.gogolingo.com/membership/)

image credit: School Girls playing Hopscotch_Cuba 042, via flickr

We all know that children learn all sorts of important skills from playing, but did you know that child’s play is also essential for language development? The truth is that children use play to discover the world around them, develop their imaginations, form bonds with their peers and learn many other important life skills. According to a recent article by Marisa Constantinides for TEFL Matters, there are nine different types of play (conceptual games, visual perceptual tasks, auditory perceptual tasks, fine motor tasks, artistic activities, material play, physical play, representational object play and fantasy play), which all contribute to developing various facets of your child’s language skills. Of course there are specific games which may help parents from bilingual families gently nudge children into using developing language skills in both languages. Here are a few time tested Spanish/English favorites, as well as some more modern ideas, to get you started:

*I Spy/Veo veo: This guessing game reinforces vocabulary and sentence structure by repeating the same little rhyme over and over again with the child. It also teaches deductive reasoning skills and can be played pretty much anytime, anywhere. Older children can play a sort of 20 questions version of this game, in which the child may ask you 20 questions to help narrow down the item you “spied”.

*Mother May I?: This time tested favorite, along with Simon Says and other similar games, teach children how to listen to, give and follow orders. They also teach vocabulary and help develop fine motor skills.

*Songs and Nursery rhymes: Singing songs and reciting nursery rhymes with your children is another great way to reinforce vocabulary and sentence structure. The rhythm and rhyme of this sort of language also makes it easy for children to remember and reproduce. Who doesn’t remember the songs and nursery rhymes of his youth?

*On-line games: For this new tech savvy generation, it’s never to early to play on-line games. There are all sorts of bilingual and language learning websites which can help your child develop their language and technological skills at the same time, and many of them are even free! You can check out a few of our favorite English and Spanish language sites for kids in the Just for Kids! section of our resources page.

We should never underestimate the power of bilingual play for children of all ages, so have a blast!

image credit: coloring up close, via flickr

We write a lot on this blog about the many benefits of reading aloud to kids, but what we haven’t talked about much before is just how important it is to encourage our children to become writers. Yet learning to recognize and write letters is a fundamental step in the language learning process. According to a fabulous article written by our friends at Reading is Fundamental for the Children’s Book Review, “The scribbles of very young children have meaning to them, and scribbling actually helps them to develop the language skills that lead to reading. Young children who are encouraged to draw and scribble stories will learn to write more easily, effectively, and confidently once they head off to school.”

Taking some time out to write with your children is another way of developing those early literacy skills which will be so useful when your kids begin to learn to read. It’s also a great way of teaching them about print communication in both their languages. What might seem like gibberish to you may just be your child’s first attempt at expressing the words he hears in print. Even the youngest of children can benefit from a few minutes a day with a sheet of paper and some crayons, so make sure these items are always available in your home. Here are a few creative ideas from RIF on how to get started:
*Everywhere you look. Help your children become aware of the writing that surrounds them. Read aloud stop signs, favorite restaurant signs, the S on Superman’s cape, and other interesting print you encounter in the course of your daily activities.

*Props for pretend play. Given a marker and a pad, little doctors can scribble their prescriptions and waiters can take orders. Opportunities for playtime writing are endless: restaurant menus, store signs and price tags, tickets for a show or a train ride, etc. Some children may ask for help in writing real words; others are satisfied with their own marks or drawings.

*Post office. Equip a play post office with paper, envelopes, and cards. Save stickers and stamps from junk mail for pretend postage stamps.  (One parent’s trash is another child’s treasure!) Reply promptly to mail that’s delivered to you.

*Taking dictation. Be your children’s secretary and take down word for word the stories they tell. These stories can be read back again and again. When you inquire about a drawing, write down your child’s response as a title or caption.

Incorporating reading and writing into playtime is one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways of helping your child’s language development along, so make sure you encourage this sort of play in both your child’s languages on a daily basis.

I’m afraid I’ve always been a bit of a summer addict. When most people are busy complaining about the heat and hiding out in air conditioned buildings, I’ve always been happy to break out my little sundresses, coat myself in sunscreen (a girl’s got to protect her skin after all) and enjoy all that fabulous sunshine. So after waving goodbye to my parents at the Madrid airport last week and noticing that it’s no longer light outside when my alarm clock rings at 7:01 am, I have to admit it would be very tempting for me to develop a case of the post vacation blues. And then I remember something that makes me almost want to speed the whole end of summer/start of fall process along: our new (and first) catalogue of bilingual books and games is set to launch in just six weeks!

While it may be the end of summer now, this fall is the start of something big for Bilingual Readers, and I can’t wait to see the books we’ve been working so hard on for so long in the hands of the bilingual families they were created for! That’s one of the many reasons we were so excited to see our first complete sample copies of Easy Alphabet!/¡Abecedario fácil! arrive from the printers last Friday. Our hands were trembling as we opened up the box and examined each item in this bilingual early literacy kit one at a time. Then yesterday we received another package from the printers with samples of Two Little Libros: Jungle Animals and Sea Animals. We could hardly believe it ourselves, but both the books and the kit turned out exactly how we envisioned them, so we just had to post a few pictures to give you all a sneak peak of what you can look forward to in October. We hope you love them as much as we do!

image credit: stumble trip, via flickr

My husband is Portuguese, but we live in Spain. My husband says that it feels unnatural for him to speak to our seven month old son Marco in Portuguese, although he plans to speak Portuguese to him when he is old enough to speak back. I’m always telling my husband it will be too late by then. How can I convince him to speak to our son in Portuguese now? What are the technical reasons why it is so important for Marco to hear both languages from the beginning?

María, Bilbao, Spain

Dear María:

When you feel comfortable speaking to your child in one language, it can be difficult to switch gears and speak to him in another language. Forcing this type of change can even cause emotional difficulties, since it is already hard enough to learn to be a parent, establish emotional ties with your child, etc. This is especially true when your baby’s communication skills are still rudimentary. I would encourage you not to worry too much because IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE.

At this point it seems like I support your husband’s decision, right? The truth is I’m not radically opposed to him waiting until your son is older to speak to him in his native language or even never speaking to him in Portuguese at all if that would somehow damage his relationship with his child. BUT…there would have to be a very good reason for him not to do so.

The following is a list of common myths which are NOT good reasons for your husband to avoid speaking to your son in his native language:
-Myth 1: Portuguese would not be useful for my child, since it’s not as “prestigious” as languages such as English, German or French. Portuguese and its variants are spoken by millions of people worldwide (Brazil, Africa, etc.), and sometimes learning a less “popular” language can provide unexpected academic and career advantages for your child. Who knows if Brazil, like China, may one day become an important trade location for multinational companies?
-Myth 2: If my child learns both Spanish and Portuguese at the same time, this choice may prevent him from learning other important world languages like English. On the contrary, speaking two languages from the time he is small will help your child learn a third language later in life.
-Myth 3: All of my efforts to communicate with my son are in vain until he learns to speak. If that were the case, why should we speak to our children in any language if they don’t understand us?

I would like to help you both make the best possible decision for your family by giving you a few reasons why your son would benefit from hearing both languages as soon as possible:
-Language development begins when the fetus begins to hear. Babies can hear you from the very beginning, even when they’re in their mother’s womb. This process is passive at first, then it becomes more active as the child grows.
-A four month old baby is perfectly capable of distinguishing between the sounds and musicality of both his languages and reacts in a different way to each one.
-Four month olds are also able to learn (by imitating) the movements their parents’ mouths make when speaking with them. According to recent studies, they can even distinguish between facial movements of those who are speaking with them when presented with visual recordings with no sound.
-When a baby begins to babble, he is producing only those sounds included in the phonetic repertoire of the languages he hears at home. He generally produces the easiest sounds first and the more complicated ones later.
-One of the first steps in learning a language is to distinguish its musicality and phonetics. It has also been demonstrated that the earlier a child learns a second language, the easier it will be for him to speak without a foreign accent in that language.

Even if these arguments do convince your husband, he may still need some help deciding how to make the transition from one language to another. Here are few suggestions:
-A visit from a Portuguese family member or a vacation in Portugal would be a great help. When we hear others around us speaking in a language, it feels more natural for us to speak to our child in that language. In this context, the change may not feel as forced.
-It may be easier to make this transition when your husband is alone with your son in a relaxed environment such as bath time, when telling him a bedtime story or singing him a lullaby. The presence of a person he is not used to speaking Portuguese around may make the transition more uncomfortable or artificial.
-Sometimes reading a book in the native language can be a more practical first step. In this way your husband would only have to read what is written. The text could also inspire him to add his own comments or discuss the story with your son. Babies as young as nine months old already love to help turn the pages and look at the illustrations. Reading bilingual books is especially helpful, as each of you can read the text in your own language, which will help your son to associate two different words with the same illustration and actions.
-Playing some of the same games our parents played with us as children can also be helpful. Each culture has its own games, so have fun playing with your son!

Sometimes making these small changes can make the transition from one language to another easier. It also allows us to experiment before deciding whether or not we are capable of making this change, and just how fast or slow we want things to go.

María, I’m afraid this change won’t be immediate or forced, but I wish you both the best of luck with finding the right path for your bilingual family.

All the best,
Dr. Orlanda Varela

Dr. Orlanda Varela is a Child Psychiatrist and the Coordinator of the educational project for Bilingual Families at SINEWS Multilingual Therapy Institute in Madrid. SINEWS organizes bilingualism workshops for parents in Madrid, as well as personalized speech therapy sessions to bilingual families with specific language development problems. For more information, please visit sinews.es.

Update: Please feel free to send any questions you may have about raising children in a bilingual home to info@bilingualreaders.com, and the experts from Sinews will be happy to answer them.

image credit: at speed, via flickr

Most of our readers are aware of the many cultural, cognitive and social benefits of raising bilingual children, which is why so many of you dedicate so much time and effort to making sure your children receive maximum exposure to two or several languages from a very young age. But what you may not know is that all that bilingual language input may also help improve your children’s reading speed and comprehension.

So how exactly does this dual language thinking help our budding bilingual readers to excel in reading skills? According to a fascinating study which was recently published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Associaciation for Psychological Science, bilingual individuals are unable to “switch off” a language completely, meaning that a second language is always present in the thought processes of bilingual individuals. Researchers studied this phenomenon in 45 university students whose native language was Dutch and secondary language was English. The subjects were asked to read several sentences containing both cognates (words that have a similar meaning and form across several languages, such as “leopard” and “leopardo” in English and Spanish) and control words. The study clearly revealed that readers spent less time processing the cognates than the control words as they read, suggesting that the knowledge of words with similar meanings in both languages actually reinforces reading skills and comprehension in the native language.

Of course the implications of this particular study vary according to the language combinations spoken in each bilingual family (there are obviously more English/Spanish or Spanish/French cognates than Japanese/Swedish ones), but this is very encouraging news, as it highlights just one more reason why giving your child the gift of bilingualism is so important. It also reinforces the need for a family reading routine in both languages, to make sure children are reading and being read to in both their languages on a daily basis (click here for an article on a few of the many benefits of reading aloud to children).

image credit: bored, via flickr

The incredible capacity of a young human brain to simultaneously acquire several languages at a time is something that will never cease to amaze me. While learning a new language is often difficult for our mature adult brains, it’s actually a piece of cake for children under the age of 7. So how exactly does a child who depends on his parents for every single aspect of his existence become bilingual (or even multilingual) so effortlessly?

The answer won’t come as much of a shock to those who are raising bilingual children, but it is fascinating nonetheless. A recent Italian study confirmed that children who are exposed to two different languages from a very young age will actually develop two different neural circuits dedicated to both languages. In other words, babies are officially language learning machines. According to this study, “each language uses a unique set of sounds. Scientists now know babies are born with the ability to distinguish all of them, but that ability starts weakening even before they start talking, by the first birthday…Babies being raised bilingual-by simply speaking to them in two languages-can learn both in the time it takes most babies to learn one. On average, monolingual and bilingual babies start talking around age 1 and can say about 50 words by 18 months. While new language learning is easiest by age 7, it markedly declines before puberty.”

So what does all of this mean for bilingual families? The most important implication is the sheer importance of exposing young children to new languages before the age of 7. Whether they realize it or not, parents and other caregivers are constantly programming their children’s brains by using their input to develop their children’s language skills. A parent’s role in their children’s language development is of the utmost importance, so take advantage of every opportunity to talk to your children and expose them to as many opportunities to hear new languages as possible.  Reading stories and singing songs are great ways to help your child’s language development along, as are baby talk and even letting your baby listen to conversations between adults. The more your child hears each of his languages, the more fine tuned the language areas of his bilingual brain will become.

For those of you who may be considering the benefits of exposing your children to new languages, remember that the window of opportunity begins to close around the age of 7. Of course it’s never too late to discover a new language and culture, but learning languages will be much easier for your child if you start early. For more information on the benefits of bilingualism, please see the Bilingualism Basics section of our Resources page.

image credit: the world is made up of different cultures, via flickr

Knowing how to put yourself in someone else’s shoes is important in many areas of life, but a recent study has shown that feeling empathy for other cultures also makes it easier to learn a language. According to  a study by the University of Haifa which was recently published in the International Journal of Bilingualism, “The more empathy one has for another, the lighter the accent will be when speaking in a second language.”

This study was carried out among a group of university students who were divided into three groups: native speakers of Hebrew, those who learned Hebrew between the ages of 7 and 8 and those who began to study Hebrew after the age of 13.

The authors of the study explained that “Israel is a perfect lab location for testing the topic of second languages, because of the complex composition of its population. This population is made up of immigrants who learn Hebrew at an advanced age; an ethnic minority of Arabs, some of whom learn Hebrew from an early age, and others who learn the language as mature adults; and a majority group of native Hebrew speakers.”

This social and personal reasoning seems to be directly related to the pronunciation of a second language, although speaking a second language with an accent is generally explained away by ” the difficulties of pronouncing sounds in a different linguistic system.”

While we believe there are many diverse linguistically based reasons why second language learners and even some bilingual children tend to speak with an accent, this study does raise an interesting issue for bilingual families. Whatever languages we decide to teach our children, we should also try to teach them about the cultures of the people who speak these languages. It’s important to bear this in mind , since by teaching our children about the cultures associated with each new language we are helping them to feel more emotionally connected with those languages.