Linguistic Leaps Since my last post, my daughter’s language has taken a huge leap. I don’t plan to provide quarterly updates on her language development, but so much has changed in the last 3 months that I felt compelled to share again. Almost everything I wrote about the
The Linguistic Quirks of a Spanish-Speaking Toddler The last time I wrote about raising my baby in my second language, Spanish, she was only 2 months old. I can’t believe that in just a few weeks she will be 2 YEARS old!! By age 1 she had many one-syllable words, and by 15 month
What my two-month-old has taught me in and about the Spanish language In my last post I wrote about my desire to raise my baby in my second language, Spanish. She was born two months ago and so far, so good: I have been speaking to her almost exclusively in Spanish, no matter who else
Is it Possible to Raise Children in Your Non-Dominant Language? I am expecting my first baby in early May and, of course, its linguistic future is on my mind. I’ve always planned to raise my children at least bilingually with English and Spanish but, given that I am curre
Reflections on Multi-generational Language Loss A guest post by fellow language lover and educator, Paloma Pacheco. In the latest edition of the excellent Maisonneuve magazine, journalist Chantal Braganza has something pretty important to say about language. Educators, researchers, an
Last December I took my daughter to see Disney’s Frozen and I am the first to admit that I loved it as much as she did. I laughed (and cried) and instantly fell in love with the music. Having grown up with musical theatre (my mother worked in wardrobe), I have a real soft spot f
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
Going back home to Oaxaca I just got back from two weeks in Oaxaca and after a two and a half year absence it was comforting to go back. My wife and daughter are staying an extra ten days to spend more time with family. All three of us felt overwhelmed by emotion and excitement and al
Multilingual Literacy through Stories I have written before about the importance of educating children in their first language. In Peru, I worked with schools that promote Intercultural Bilingual Education for indigenous children, teaching them literacy skills in their first language
