new and improved!

Well, in advertising, that's a specious claim--how can a product be both new and improved? But in the case of Multilingual Living, it truly applies. The Bilingual/Bicultural Family Network (BBFN) has been reborn as Multilingual Living.

(Does that name ring a bell? BBFN also published Multilingual Living Magazine, now defunct, in which my regular column "Tatie Teaches a Toddler" appeared for several years! By the way, you can pay a one-time subscription fee to have access to all the back issues online--what a great deal!)

Anyway, their new website has some of the old content, plus new stuff, easy on the eyes, and in a more interactive format. It's not exactly a traditional blog, but you can leave comments on the articles. They cover all sorts of questions that come up when you're raising bilingual or multilingual children. So what are you waiting for? Go read it and get inspired!

hooray for Multilingual Living Magazine!

What? You're a regular reader of this blog but you don't subscribe to the fantabulous online magazine Multilingual Living? You're interested in raising children with more than one language but you're not a subscriber yet? You love learning about other cultures but you're missing out on this magazine?

Well then, what are you waiting for? Subscribe for only $12!

By the way, my regular column in the magazine needs a new name: "Tatie Teaches a Toddler" no longer works now that Griffin has joined our bilingual adventure. I've added a poll in my sidebar--please weigh in on what sounds best to you! To suggest a different name altogether, click on "comments" below and type in your ideas. Thank you!

when Mommy won't speak her mother tongue

I never thought it would be strange to speak to my child in my native language; in fact, it's been challenging to meet my goal of barraging Griffin with French, especially when we're together all day long! (See my most recent column in Multilingual Living Magazine for the full scoop on my struggle as a non-native speaker trying to raise my baby bilingually. It's one of the cover stories this time!)

But now, after three and a half months of being a maman, this must be starting to come more easily, because it feels weird to speak English to him now.

Yes, I do speak English around him when I'm with non-francophone family and friends (in other words, just about everyone); I'm not trying to disguise the fact that I speak and understand English. (To my delight, my nephew Carl has never protested that he and I only speak French together, even though he knows I'm an Anglophone--but many parents have to pretend that they don't understand the dominant language so that their kids will keep addressing them in the parents' language.)

However, I rarely address my son directly in English, unless my comments are actually directed towards other people--like to explain, say, why he's not wearing any pants ("Griffin, you've got to stop with these leaky diapers already!") or to make a request ("Griffin, don't you think that Daddy should bring Maman a glass of wine?").

And since his daddy doesn't speak French (yet!), when we sing to him together--such an important activity--we sing in English. But I don't sing songs in English by myself. That's hard enough, when so many fantastic songs that appeal to children exist and hold sentimental value for me; what's even harder is not reading to him in English.

But I've discovered one situation for which to make an exception to this rule: baby storytime at the library. The Lafayette Public Library has just begun a new program called "Book Babies." The babies--and I do mean babies, for no toddlers are allowed--and their grown-ups meet once a week for half an hour of songs, rhymes, fingerplays, and sharing board books geared towards babies. It's very interactive--we sing along with the librarian, help the babies clap, raise their arms to say "so big!", pretend our fingers are fleas crawling up and down their bodies, share books with them, give them horsey rides on our knees, and so on. Just imagine a roomful of infants and crawlers poking each other, shaking baby-sized maracas, gnawing on peek-a-boo books, and staring wide-eyed at the crazy lady ringing bells in Winnie-the-Pooh's face! It's been so successful that this month-long experiment will continue through the summer.

So you see, it would be rude for me to attend this storytime and refuse to participate; it would be pretentious to disregard the directions and conversations in English in order to translate them into French. (Not that I could translate many of these nursery rhymes and fingerplays on the fly anyway--"eensie weensie"? "waterspout"? How the heck do you say that in French?)

Therefore, every Wednesday morning, I toss aside the French so we can hang out with the other bibliobabies. And it feels quite strange to make that switch! Even though Griffin's clearly too young to care which language he's hearing from whom, I have the sensation that I'm breaking the law but have immunity because of a loophole. It's a little exciting, a little dangerous.

But w hat if I like it too much? What if I find myself informing him "I'm a little teapot" instead of "Je suis une petite théière?" What if I say to myself, "Oh, it's just a board book. One round of Bear Snores On won't hurt anybody"? Will I be able to resist when my mom pressures me into taking a hit of Eric Carle? What if The Very Hungry Caterpillar is just a gateway story to all my other beloved children's books and I start sneaking around to expose Griffin to English, hiding the evidence behind the couch or in the laundry room, denying to my friends and family that I've been reading and singing in English, saying that I'm taking Griffin to the grocery store but instead going to Borders and coming home late with bloodshot eyes and the incriminating evidence of papercuts on our fingers, until I need more and more and more songs and stories in English with my son to feel good?!

Help me be strong, dear readers. You are my support group!

another plug for Multilngual Living Magazine!

I know, I know, you've heard me mention it before--but it really is a great resource! (And I'm not just saying that because of my regular column, "Tatie Teaches a Toddler," which is included therein.) The March/April issue was recently published--check it out here and get more ideas for how and why to raise your children with more than one language.

new issue of Multilingual Living Magazine!

The January-February issue has been released! It includes my regular column, "Tatie Teaches a Toddler," about being an aunt exposing her nephew to a second language (French), one that she speaks as a non-native. And in this month's column I announced my pregnancy and intention to speak French with the new baby too! Subscribe for only $12/year to receive a wealth of information about raising children with more than one language.

a new "Tatie Teaches a Toddler" column

You'll find my regular column about helping my nephew learn French in the latest issue of Multilingual Living Magazine. In this one, "Cheers for Carl," I describe what sorts of things in French and in English he could say and understand at a year and a half old--and how he could already use two- or three-word sentences (and one four-word sentence) in French to narrate his activities, describe what he saw, and make requests. (Yes, as you might expect from this budding gourmand, he would ask for food!)

Remember, subscriptions to the magazine are only $12 per year, and you can request a free copy of the current issue if you want to check it out! Just click here. This online magazine, sponsored by the Bilingual/Bicultural Family Network, publishes a lot of short, useful articles for people raising their child with more than one language, and the experts like Fred Genesee often weigh in.

new issue of Multilingual Living Magazine

Multilingual Living Magazine has just published its September/October issue, which includes my regular column, "Tatie Teaches a Toddler." This one isn't so much about Carl, though, because I had to submit it in late June after having spent May and June traveling and missing most of my regular Thursdays with Carl. Instead, I talk more about the type of language-learning materials I'm using with him and how to find them cheaply (or make them for free).

This "back-to-school" issue focuses on education, include home schooling. Check it out here--you can even receive a free issue--and please do consider subscribing--it's only $12 a year!

"Tatie Teaches a Toddler" column 3

I'm pleased to announce that my third column about being an aunt teaching my non-native foreign language to my nephew has been published in the July-August issue of Multilingual Living Magazine. In it, I describe which language Carl uses when and some musings on why. It's called "Arbres and Apples and Pommes, Oh My!" (The first column was an introduction of what we're doing and what difficulties we're facing; the second one detailed the ways I could tell that he understood French even before he could speak.) You can see a free sample issue or subscribe on the Bicultural/Bilingual Family Network homepage (and if you subscribe at the very reasonable rate of $12 per year, you'll receive access to past issues). The editors Corey and Alice are unpaid volunteers--please support their efforts to help us learn how to raise children with more than one language!

"Kisses for Carl"

My second piece about teaching French to my nephew Carl has appeared in the May/June issue of Multilingual Living Magazine; it's called "Kisses for Carl" and it's about my realization of how much French he understands (and has understood from early on). In fact, I'm now writing a regular column for them called "Tatie Teaches a Toddler"!

This month's issue of Multilingual Living Magazine focuses on common problems and challenges of raising kids with more than one language. Check it out here --and think about subscribing! It's a great resource.

Sarah's first non-blog publication about Carl

The March/April edition of Multilingual Living Magazine has been released, and in it is my first of what will become a regular column, "Tatie Teaches a Toddler," about being a non-native speaker trying to teach a language to a kid who's not my own child. (Plus, this issue includes a short article I wrote about my friend and colleague Mary's trilingual family.) To request a free issue and read my articles, click here! And think seriously about subscribing--it's packed with information and is available for only $12 per year.

free issue of Multilingual Living Magazine!

When I started researching for this blog, I quickly came across the Bilingual/Bicultural Family Network website. I read over some of articles and columns and tips and then realized that they offered more information than I could absorb in just one afternoon. So I added it to the links on my blog and promised myself to read it in depth later on. Well, it's been a few months and I'm just now getting back to it. But the more I read, the more I like! The authors make it seem like raising a child with two or more languages is infinitely possible. I like their tone, the practicality of their advice, the wealth of resources and ideas and links on the website, and the sense of support they convey to bilingual families.

In addition to the website, BBFN also publishes a related online magazine, Multilingual Living. I particularly like the fact that they offer a free issue for those of us who want to check it out before subscribing! Click here to request a sample issue.