Category: Reading

How do you talk to your newborn baby?

3/8/2020

I've been a language teacher and enthusiast for half of my life. I've learned about foreign language learning and experienced it myself.

For a couple of years now I've been immersed in everything multilingual children and how they acquire different languages at the same time.

I've dreamed of the day my own children would be growing up multilingual. I would love to see them speaking to my family in Brazil, reading and writing in Portuguese.

But then I had a baby…

The most common advice out there is that you should talk to your baby even before they're born. I honestly found myself feeling quite awkward talking to my bump. I tried reading aloud, but I didn't have much material in Portuguese at the time. So yeah, during pregnancy my partner and I read a little bit and awkwardly talked to the bump a little bit.

When she was born I thought "No time to waste! She's here, she sees me, she hears me, she's watching and learning all the time! Let's dooooo this!"

But then… postpartum exhaustion! And you know what newborns actually do most of the time? Eat, sleep, pee and poop. How am I supposed to talk to her? To give her that precious language input?

When I started feeling a bit more like myself and when she started staying more alert, I naturally incorporated "conversations" during: diaper changes, feeding and tummy time. I say good morning, ask how she slept, if she had good dreams, I describe what we're doing, talk about the day ahead, about the weather, etc. I do baby talk, which is slower, emphasizes vowel sounds and helps babies distinguish the sounds and words of a particular language. She started cooing and making cute sounds, so I reply - and so she learns how conversations work!

We also add to the experience by singing and reading a lot to her - pretty much any time she's awake! I honestly like that better than talking, I feel like there’s a purpose and an end to it.

As with any advice, we see what works for us. How do/did you talk to your babies?

★ ★ ★

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Reading and writing in the minority language

7/3/2019

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It still seems to be a controversial topic: can children learn to read and write in more than one language at once? Will they get confused and not do well in either language? Shouldn’t we wait until they can read and write in one language first?

There’s no black and white answer to these questions. Like other aspects of parenting, you must do what’s best for your children and what works for your family.

A great article on this topic is Biliteracy: When should kids start to read and write in their second language? on Bilingual Kidspot. The author differentiates the scenarios of learning to read in similar alphabets versus different ones, as well as different writing systems.
“Children can learn to read and write simultaneously in two languages if given the time and resources to do so.” (Chontelle Bonfiglio)

Despite initial confusion and transference between languages, there’s no proof that learning to read and write in more than one language simultaneously is harmful. Children all over the world grow up - and thrive - in multilingual contexts.

So, it’s never too early or too late to reflect on your family’s choice to pass on a minority language. Here are some questions to guide you:
★ What are your expectations?
What level of speaking, reading and writing would you like your children to obtain?
★ What is their motivation?
Is there a clear purpose for learning?
How do they use the minority language in real life?
★ What are the family’s long-term plans?
Are you likely to move countries? Will the children attend school in another language?
Where are they likely to go to University?
★ How supportive is your environment?
How involved can friends and extended family be in your children’s education?
Can you count on their school?
Can you find minority language resources?
Who can you go to for specific help?
★ Can you teach them yourself?
What will you teach them? When? How often?
Will you hire a tutor or enroll them in weekend lessons?

Another fantastic resource to help you understand multiliteracy and support your children’s development is ‘Learning to Read and Write in the Multilingual Family’, by Xiao-lei Wang. Her book is research and experience based, with lots of practical tips for each age group, planning advice and reflection.

No one will ever regret having taught their children their heritage language. The opposite is not always true.

★ ★ ★

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What you need in order to raise a biliterate child

4/6/2018

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Raising your children to speak more than one language might already feel like a daily battle. But if you’re here I guess you’ve also made the choice to teach them to read and write in the minority language.

We’ve discussed a few good reasons for bi-literacy here.

Multilingual families exist in so many different contexts - sets of languages learned, level of proficiency of each, access to international/bilingual schools or language tutoring, motivation for learning. For the purpose of this post I’m thinking of parents whose kids go to local monolingual schools and who want to help their kids to read and write in the minority language at home.

What you need in order to raise a biliterate child

Your mind must be full of questions: Where do I start? What materials should I use? Will they get confused? What if I mess this up?

Let me tell you, you have what it takes.

★ Lots of books
Is your home literacy-friendly? Do you have enough reading material in the minority language?
Different types of books, ebooks, magazines, comics, games, etc. Is there a library nearby? Are there storytelling events?
Yes, you can foster a love of reading and writing but sometimes it’s more a question of fostering a habit.

★ Knowledge of sound-letters and how children learn to read
Our brains were not made for reading. It’s a relatively new skill in the human evolution and it doesn’t just happen - like walking and talking. We need to train our brains to make connections between what we see - letters, words, sentences - and what they sound like and what they mean. It’s hard work.
On this post I described how you can start teaching your child to decode.

★ Time and dedication
As with anything that needs mastering, literacy demands consistent practice. But don’t feel discouraged even before you start! A little bit everyday goes a long way. You don’t need to teach your child for hours straight, just make sure you have a good reading habit and engage your children in different opportunities to read and write in their minority language.

★ Patience
As I said, reading doesn’t just happen and it definitely happens differently for different children. Sometimes it will feel like an impossible task, or a very slow one. Or you won’t understand why your child is not progressing.
Be patient. Stay consistent. They need time and support.

★ Resourcefulness and creativity
Try to incorporate learning in a variety of ways throughout your days: playing, singing, crafting, moving. The internet is this gigantic resource bank and with the right key words you can find anything.

★ Real opportunities for reading and writing
There’s no better motivation for learning anything than a reason to use it. The reason we all learn to read an write is to either access information or express it.
Make minority language literacy relevant for your family. Why are you reading? What do you write for?

You might like to read: How to sneak in English Literacy in your multilingual home

★ What you don’t need
A teaching degree;
Workbooks and piles of worksheets;
Fear of confusing your child;

★★★

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Raising compassionate global citizens through reading

30/4/2018

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Bethany has been a professional educator for the past 12 years. She has taught in California, Turkmenistan, Egypt, Ukraine, Latvia, and Mauritania.
She is currently in Washington, DC writing children’s books and teaching courses for parents, caregivers and teachers online.
She’s the founder of Biracial Bookworms and mother of two little girls. In this interview she shares her experience with multilingualism and literacy.

Raising Compassionate Global Citizens Through Reading

Tell us about Biracial Bookworms. How did it start? What are your goals?

My goal is to empower and arm families and teachers with the tools to give children the world through reading, traveling, and learning languages!

My first experience with teaching children to read began in a 1st grade classroom in California. Like many of you, I was forced to figure out how I was going to inspire young children to want to open books and devour not just the words, but discover the world through the pages. I began totally overwhelmed at the responsibility of teaching children to read, and felt like I had more questions than answers for parents.

I currently have two daughters. While I was teaching in international schools overseas, we lived and traveled in many different countries. Most of our experiences were extremely positive, but interracial families were not always accepted. When my oldest daughter started school, she too started experiencing ignorance and racism in her pre-school classes and in the communities where we lived. I decided to take action and create something positive out of these negative interactions.

I am committed to doing everything in my power to create a world where my girls’ mixed ethnicity is celebrated. My ultimate goal is to ensure my girls, as well as all children, know they can conquer anything. I have built my business platform with my own girls as my inspiration.

What benefits do you see in your children from knowing different cultures and languages?

We read with our kids to help them become lifelong readers, but we do it for another reason as well. Well known book character Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird said “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

To teach your children about different people in history who were everyday heroes will inspire them to change the world. Reading, traveling, learning multiple languages and going places outside of your comfort zone where people share a different opinion than yours can be transforming as well.

You can use words for powerful changes almost instantaneously. How does this happen? The answer I have come up with is emotion. When you appeal to a person emotionally with your words, they can be transformed. Our words have the power to inspire, encourage, as well as motivate our children through books when we use the power of emotion.

A very popular joke I have heard many times in the international communities abroad at both international schools and at social events: “What do you call a person who speaks 3 languages? Trilingual. What do you call a person who speaks 2 languages? Bilingual. What do you call a person who speaks only one language? American.” I am determined to have my kids not be the butt of that joke! :)

We made the choice to prioritize language learning after reading about the science behind the benefits of speaking multiple languages from birth. Specifically, the book Brain Rules for Baby by John Medina, outlined the many cognitive, emotional, as well as social benefits of raising a multilingual child.

Can your oldest daughter read in another language? How do you incorporate that in your daily lives?

Yes, in French (still very much a beginner) and in Spanish. She is in a Spanish immersion school and we do all her math and science homework/games, etc. in Spanish. She also goes to conversational French and Spanish classes with children and adults. We also have neighbors and friends who speak French and Spanish, so she practices on the playground at the park, etc. She is also learning ASL with her younger sister (15 months old).

In your course, you focus on teaching reading to children 0 to 5. Why is it important that parents are aware of literacy at that age?

Many would argue the first 5 years of a child’s life matter the most. The early experiences of a young child shape the course of their lives. We know this, but if you are like me, doing what we know is best for the children in our lives is NOT easy. Sometimes, we need a little help.

This course takes all of the guesswork of teaching a child to read. I show parents and caregivers how to combine speaking, writing reading, listening, to raise a confident and successful reader.

After 12 years of teaching children from all over the world, I had to figure out how to put all my knowledge from my degrees and experience the classroom into action when I got pregnant. That’s when I decided to approach teaching a child to read in a different way. This was largely in part because a mini-version of my stubborn self was staring back at me. I wanted to create a process that would work for any parent to see their child be successful when they started school and not struggle as I have seen so many times in my classroom. This approach is integrating all of the literacy skills together so you have maximum success when you are teaching a child to read.

The guilt we carry as parents and caregivers is real. Nevertheless, I refuse to let those bad days discourage me from my ultimate goals and purpose. The past 5 years of being a parent, I have worked relentlessly to research, learn, and implement the most engaging strategies possible for raising a reader from both. And it worked.

Five years later, I was sending my oldest child to Kindergarten who could confidently read any book I put in front of her. She was reading, writing, speaking, and listening far above grade level. She was immediately placed into advanced classes due to her off the charts scores. Academically and socially, she excelled. Raising compassionate and successful readers; it's what we all dream about, but now I had the joy of seeing it become a reality. I want the exact same for you!

What is the best thing parents can do to support their toddlers' literacy skills?

The key to unlocking a child’s reading ability and potential starts the day they are born. Giving them a rich literacy environment from the moment they come home from the hospital is crucial. And it is not only important to teach kids the HOW, but also WHAT to read.

Through culturally rich experiences, travel, learning multiple languages, and reading GREAT books, you will not only raise readers but empathetic and compassionate global citizens.

The most important thing parents can do: be an avid reader themselves. Lead by example. “Children have never been good at listening to their parents, but they have never failed to imitate them.” ― John Medina, Brain Rules for Baby

What would you tell parents who are hesitating about teaching their kids to read in multiple languages?

Outside resources are a must, however, a child’s first and most important teacher are their parents. To support and encourage our daughter learning languages, we practiced with her as well. We supplement what she is learning at school and in language classes at home every single day.

On Biracial Bookworms you'll find articles on multilingualism and diversity, book reviews, book giveaways and amazing reading lists!

Bethany runs the group Read Your World: Teaching Literacy Skills With Diverse Books. Check it out!

Her brand new course Teaching Kids to Read
0-5 is available here.

Photo credits: Biracial Bookworms.

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Why should you raise bi-literate children?

2/4/2018

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Why you should raise bi-literate children

When you look at your little one today it might be difficult to imagine them growing up. Heck, you might even refuse to do it. Time flies and they grow up so fast, you just want to enjoy every moment of every phase.

But bear with me for a moment. Look into your future. How do you see your family? What do your children do as they grow up? How do you want to feel as you look back?

Multilingual families have important choices to make regarding their language goals and priorities. There are so many different settings and factors that play a role in those choices (feel free to share yours!) but today we’ll talk about raising your children literate in the minority language. Have you thought about it?

Many parents are either afraid of confusing their child or believe they’ll just pick it up later. And so, many bilingual children are not literate in one of their mother tongues, which is a pity.

In your ideal future, do your children master all their languages' skills? Or are they able to speak, but not write? Where are they going to college? Are they glad they'd learned it early or are they struggling?

Young children are incredible learners. All they need is time, consistency and someone who’s there for them. You can teach your child to read!

By learning to read and write well in English (or any other minority language) they will, in the short run:

★ Have a deeper connection to your culture;
★ Enjoy your favorite childhood stories with you;
★ Develop their sense of identity as a multilingual person;
★ Grow their vocabulary, comprehension and expression skills;
★ Be able to access and appreciate a wider variety of content;
★ Develop a higher awareness of how languages work;

On top of that, they are more likely to experience academic and professional success in the long run. It’s an open world of opportunities, connection and identity that starts with your choice and commitment.

What’s holding you back?

★★★

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How do you talk to your newborn baby?

Reading and writing in the minority language

What you need in order to raise a biliterate child

Raising compassionate global citizens through reading

Why should you raise bi-literate children?

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