What do your days look like? I’ve been reading Daily Rituals: How Artists Work, a book describing the days of famous artists, writers, composers, and thinkers. Apparently the psychologist B.F. Skinner ate cornflakes every morning at the same time. The novelist Toni Morrison squeezed i
What can we consider from community organizing? I have been working this summer as an intern with Where Are Your Keys in the community of St. Paul, Alaska, where a local language team is leading the revitalization of the native language, Unangam Tunuu. The experience has directed my a
Starting Out Right for Sustained Language Learning Recently I watched my friend, clinical counsellor Elana Sures, talk about values-driven goal setting during a Breakfast Television spot about New Year’s resolutions. She spoke about the importance of focussing on our values and
Welcome to 2016 ! After a 2 week holiday that felt like it went far too quickly, I’m back in the classroom. A new year and new courses, but with the same students and same hard-to-break teaching habits. Although the New Year is half way through the school year, it doesn’t
Our bilingual goals and action plan for this year We’re exhausted – Kindergarten is a lot of work! After a long wait due to the BC teacher’s strike, our daughter has finally entered the world of public education. The goals that we set for her bilingualism were to ach
French vs. Punjabi I hope that one day I can speak fluently in many languages. But my dreams of becoming a polyglot may not be realistic given the other interests and obligations that take up my time. I also find that wherever I am, I want to learn as much of the local language as I c
A Great Strategy for Private Language Teachers There are many different approaches to language teaching, and especially to private language teaching. Each student is unique and will respond differently to different activities and teaching styles. I’ve written before about the im
How are we doing? It’s been 6 months since I wrote about our bilingual goals and action plan. I’m now ready to revisit those goals and see what we’ve accomplished and what has changed since then. Bilingual To-do List Round Two 1. Decide which languages are important
Thoughts on planning my (yet-to-exist) children’s linguistic futures My life has entered baby season. My Facebook news feed is filled with pictures of toddlers dressed up for Halloween and sitting on Santa’s lap. I’ve been spending time with a close friend’s newborn, and&
An American in Berlin You know those crazy people who speak more languages than we have fingers? Jeremy is one of them. I met him in Turkish language school in Istanbul six years ago, and this weekend I visited him in Berlin. He has been a constant source of inspiration for travelling
