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Blog postADAM’S NOTE: I’m pleased to share a very insightful PhD thesis on bilingualism written by Arancha Ruiz Martín. In this guest post, Arancha introduces herself and her work and generously offers her thesis for downloading. Get the PDF file here then continue with her engaging guest post below. Thank you so much, Arancha! And congratulations on the success of both your thesis and your bilingual journey with your family! As I watch my British-Spanish daughters, now 14 and 12, chat away i
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Blog postThe new school year has just begun in Japan (the academic year runs from April to March) and my son has now joined my daughter at the same Japanese high school. In fact, they’re in the same program, the “International Communication Course” that offers more emphasis on English and other foreign languages, with my daughter in her third and final year, and my son in his first.
It’s hard to believe that my bilingual journey with them is very nearly at an end. While, naturally, they can st -
Blog postThe vast and needless suffering of the Ukrainian people is absolutely tragic. Yet it’s hard not to feel helpless, on top of our sympathy and outrage, in the face of such tremendous destruction.
Whatever support we can offer may seem ridiculously small, but each drop in this sea of need still matters.
In March I held a fundraiser, pledging to donate the proceeds from my two newest books, Bilingual Success Stories Around the World and Bearded Dragon, Home Alone to help the Ukrai -
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Blog postIn early April, I’ll share the details of this donation from the month of March. As I’ve mentioned, I know the amount will be a drop in the ocean, in terms of the vast need, but every drop counts.
Buy now at Amazon.
Buy now at Amazon.
The post Final Appeal for Ukraine Fundraiser appeared first on Bilingual Monkeys.
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Blog postNOTE: I recently shared Marta Garcia’s encouraging guest post Our Successful Playgroup for Minority Language Families and thought I would now follow up by offering the full story of her rewarding experience raising three bilingual children. Her family’s story, along with the inspiring, in-depth stories of 25 other families, is featured in Bilingual Success Stories Around the World: Parents Raising Multilingual Kids Share Their Experiences and Encouragement. The photos that accompany this post i
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Blog postLike so much of the world, here in Hiroshima, Japan I’m following the terrible tragedy now unfolding in Ukraine with feelings of shock and sorrow and helplessness. I know this gesture of support for the people of Ukraine is a tiny drop in a vast ocean of need, but, of course, every uncountable drop in the sea still counts.
Let us continue to offer all the drops of support we can.
#standwithUkraine
The post Supporting the People of Ukraine appeared first on Bilingual Mo -
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Blog postADAM’S NOTE: In this encouraging guest post, Marta Garcia shares the story of forming and running a very successful playgroup for minority language families for more than 10 years. In fact, I had the happy opportunity to visit Marta’s playgroup in person in September 2019, when conducting interviews for Bilingual Success Stories Around the World, and was incredibly impressed. Marta is a shining example of a proactive parent and her efforts to create community have benefited so many families beyo
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Blog postI began this blog 10 years ago, when my kids were 8 and 5—like in the photos above and below. Today they’re 17 and 14 and will turn 18 and 15 in just a few more months.
I’ve covered many of the milestones we’ve experienced during this decade and I now have two more: this week each of them received some very good news tied to their bilingual ability.
In fact, these large milestones will likely be among the last I’ll experience with them while they’re still at home. With my daug -
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Blog postI recently had the pleasure of speaking with Dolores Guiñazú, the executive director of Lift Value, a company that provides a range of helpful language services to clients worldwide. Dolores also offers a very thoughtful podcast called Attitudeable and I was honored to join her to share my personal perspective on raising bilingual children.
Listen to our conversation below, in the Spotify player, or visit The Gift of Bilingualism at Attitudeable for more listening option -
Blog postRecently, at The Bilingual Zoo forum, I responded to a parent’s concerns about their bilingual journey by offering the metaphor that I’ll share today. A blog post on this theme feels like a good way to begin a new year that will hopefully be very fruitful for your bilingual or multilingual aim with your kids.
The post How Your Bilingual Journey Is Like Driving a Car at Night When a Deer Suddenly Appears on the Road Ahead appeared first on Bilingual Monkeys.
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Blog postAnother challenging year has come to an end. In this post I look back at my mostly home-bound life, both the highlights and lowlights I experienced over the past 12 months.
The (mostly) lowlights The continuing pandemic
To date, Japan has been more fortunate than many other parts of the world. The number of Covid cases has remained relatively low and much of life has carried on, though with widespread vaccinations, masking, and social distancing. My own family has stayed healt -
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Blog postBearded dragon is a quiet, mild-mannered little lizard when others are around. But when this spunky reptile is home alone, it’s a very different story! Let the mischief-making begin in this joyful wordless picture book, a fun-filled romp for kids and grown-ups alike!
Bearded Dragon, Home Alone is not only an ideal book for lovers of wordless picture books and fans of bearded dragons, it’s also perfect for parents raising bilingual or multilingual kids because the story can be told in -
Blog postBearded dragon is a quiet, mild-mannered little lizard when others are around. But when this spunky reptile is home alone, it’s a very different story! Let the mischief-making begin in this joyful wordless picture book, a fun-filled romp for kids and grown-ups alike! Many years ago, when I first started teaching bilingual and multilingual kids at Hiroshima International School, I was filling up my classroom with books…when I came across a picture book that had no text at all. It was a story
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Blog postThe latest newsletter from Bilingual Japan includes the feature article “Bilingual Success and Children with Developmental Differences.” This article is the story of a family featured in my new book Bilingual Success Stories Around the World.
To download the PDF version of this newsletter, and read the full success story of this inspiring family, just click the link below…
Download the newsletter for free.
Get the paperback or e-book of Bilingual Success Stories Around -
Blog postLast weekend was the virtual book launch for my new book "Bilingual Success Stories Around the World: Parents Raising Multilingual Children Share Their Experiences and Encouragement". The idea was to bring together as many of the 26 families from the book as possible to celebrate its release and offer them a chance to connect “in person,” since most of them had never previously met. It was challenging
The post Watch the Video of Our Virtual Book Launch appeared first on Bili -
Blog postIn connection with the release of my new book, Bilingual Success Stories Around the World, I wrote a guest post about my own experience raising bilingual kids at the lovely site Mama Llama Linguist.
(Full disclosure: I love llamas. In fact, I wrote a humorous novel for children and adults which features a whole herd of *144* llamas. Really! It’s called How I Lost My Ear and you can find it at Amazon! It has quite a few five-star reviews and won a couple of awards, too!)
Sorry, -
Blog postI’m really happy that the early reactions to the book have been so positive. And this isn’t only because such reviews are enormously helpful for encouraging other parents to read it and gain value from it as well. On a personal level, as the author, it’s extremely gratifying when the reader “gets” the book
The post Read Early Reviews of My New Book, “Bilingual Success Stories Around the World” appeared first on Bilingual Monkeys.
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Blog postMy new book, Bilingual Success Stories Around the World, is now available worldwide at Amazon and other booksellers.
You’re welcome to download a PDF sample and read the first 37 pages of this 252-page book.
Download the PDF sample now.
And feel free to share this short link with others who might like the same sample: https://bit.ly/bilingual-success
The post Download a Free Sample of “Bilingual Success Stories Around the World” appeared first on Bilingual Monk -
Blog postAt long last, after three years of work, my new book has been published! I’m thrilled with how it turned out and I’d love for you to read it!
Here’s how the book is described…
Bilingual Success Stories Around the World: Parents Raising Multilingual Kids Share Their Experiences and Encouragement is a real-life roadmap to greater success and joy for any parent raising bilingual or multilingual children. Written by Adam Beck, in the same empowering spirit as his influential first -
Blog postADAM’S NOTE: I recently recommended a book by Yoshito Darmon-Shimamori, The Parents’ Guide to Raising Multi-literate Children, which contains a wealth of fun and effective games for literacy development. Another book that I highly recommend for parents is The Toolbox for Multilingual Families, by Ute Limacher-Riebold and Ana Elisa Miranda, which provides a wide range of practical and productive activities that can help nurture a child’s progress in any target language. The book covers both commu
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Blog postHappy Father’s Day! It’s hard to believe I’ve marked so many of them! My kids are now 17 and 14 and today I looked through old photos, taken a dozen or so years ago, and I’ve chosen a few to share. To be honest, I’m feeling wistful for that bygone time. It’s been over for a while now and I’ll never experience it again. Looking back
The post Memories of Fatherhood on this Father’s Day 2021 appeared first on Bilingual Monkeys.
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Blog postOver the years I’ve advocated the idea of regularly pursuing creative projects with your kids in the minority language. Such short-term activities not only can add to the amount of language exposure and engagement your children already receive through daily habits and routines, they can be very productive fun. In fact, projects like this can potentially foster glowing memories and impact people far beyond your own family.
Some examples include creating short films and videos, a podcas -
Blog post“AAAAAH ha ha ha ha!!” I was woken up by my sons laughing while reading Super Chien (the French version of Dog Man by Dav Pilkey). Most nights, I'm the one reading a bedtime story to my sons...and I also tend to fall asleep while doing so! But now, my eldest reads French (our minority language, along with Korean) quite fluently
The post Guest Post: What Does It Take to Raise a Multi-literate Child? appeared first on Bilingual Monkeys.
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Blog postFamilies are raising bilingual children all over the world. So, when you are expecting a baby and you or your partner speak more than one language, it can seem like a relatively simple project. Let's raise this baby bilingually! First and foremost, you are about to embark on a beautiful journey which will at times be 'laugh-out-loud' funny
The post Guest Post: 5 Things I Wish I Had Known About Raising Bilingual Children 10 Years Ago appeared first on Bilingual Monkeys.
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Blog post1. Since the book was published on April 17, 2016, it has been read by thousands of parents all over the world. Roughly 5~10 copies are sold each day, which totals over 10,000 books to date.
2. I’m not only humbled by this interest in the book, which is far stronger than I imagined when I wrote it, the positive impressions from readers through email, social media, and online reviews have meant so much to me both personally and professionally. The fact that the book resonates wi -
Blog postI recently spoke again with Amanda Hsiung Blodgett, popularly known as Miss Panda Chinese, about our experiences raising bilingual children. Our first conversation (that video is also below) took place four years ago when our kids, who are practically the same age, were pre-teens. And now, four years later, they’re full-fledged teenagers! (My daughter is nearly 17 and my son just turned 14.) Although our personal circumstances are very different, our experiences parallel one another in some b
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Blog postI’m referring to the book I’ve been working on for the past three years, a book that brings together the "success stories" of many different bilingual and multilingual families from many different parts of the world. Now titled Bilingual Success Stories, this week I finally finished the full manuscript
The post There’s Finally Light at the End of This Tunnel appeared first on Bilingual Monkeys.
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Blog postHappy Valentine’s Day! It’s time to celebrate our bilingual kids with a replay of this popular video! Please enjoy it again, or for the first time…
View this video at Bilingual Monkeys TV and subscribe to my YouTube channel.
How about you? What do you love about bilingual children? Add your thoughts in a comment below. The post VIDEO REPLAY: 20 Things to Love About Bilingual Children appeared first on Bilingual Monkeys.
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Blog postIf you’re curious what my plans are for 2021, I’ll summarize them in this post.
If you’re not curious what my plans are, you can stop reading here and enjoy a donut instead. (Or do both.)
First, though, let’s take a quick look back on my main efforts in 2020. Believe me, I’d rather not reflect much on 2020, either—it was a very difficult year for us all—but this year’s plans probably won’t make as much sense without the continuity of last year’s activities.
In 2020, I… -
Blog postThe world has been spinning madly for nearly a year now. I suppose our lives were never truly in our control even before the pandemic struck, but it feels like whatever control we did have has largely slipped away, laying bare the existential state at the heart of being human.
The post Read This If Ever You Doubt the Meaning of Your Bilingual Aim with Your Child appeared first on Bilingual Monkeys.
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Blog postIt’s the very last day of the year 2020. Though this year often felt awfully long, looking back, it now seems to have flashed by like a bad dream.
And yet we’re still dreaming as we enter 2021 and it appears we won’t be able to wake to a less anxious life for some time.
Still, we carry on as best we can (what else can we do?), staying as safe and sane as possible and giving to the world what we’re able, whatever that may be.
You see, our calling to give something to th -
Blog postDear Diary,
So here I am. Six weeks in the womb. And I’m bored silly.
I mean, there’s not much to do in here besides grow. I can’t even start kicking until I have legs. That’ll be kind of fun, I guess, but so far this life stuff has been really dull. No TV, no video games, no nothing.
So I’m starting this diary.
To be honest, I’m not really sure how I even got here. I mean, I get the birds and the bees and everything, but what I don’t understand is how one mome -
Blog postI’m thrilled to welcome the Polish edition of Maximize Your Child’s Bilingual Ability to the world! (In Polish the title is Podaruj dziecku szanse na dwujezycznosc.) This is the first translated edition of the book and, honestly speaking, I never imagined an exciting development like this when I wrote the original English edition, which was published in 2016. Back then, I was only hoping that the book in English, which was based on my experience as a teacher and parent of bilingual children,
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Blog postMy son is trilingual: he speaks English, Arabic, and Urdu. That’s a pretty cool super power. Passing it on hasn’t always been easy, especially living in the United States where we don’t need to speak other languages. This article lays out some tricks and challenges I’ve faced teaching Arabic (not to leave out my wife, […]
The post Guest Post: My Son Is a Language Superhero, Even If He Doesn’t Know It Yet appeared first on Bilingual Monkeys.
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Blog postExactly a year ago I was in Europe, traveling to nine countries and staying with 10 families. It was a fantastic trip, lasting nearly six weeks, and I was able to interview 15 parents for a new book I’m writing that features the “success stories” of bilingual and multilingual families. If you missed the posts […]
The post What Happened to My New Book Featuring the Success Stories of Bilingual and Multilingual Families? appeared first on Bilingual Monkeys.
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Blog postI took my daughter to the doctor this morning. Yesterday at school, during P.E. class, she felt a painful twinge in her left leg—probably a pulled muscle. It doesn’t seem to be anything serious, and will likely heal on its own in a few days, but the school wanted us to have it checked. Naturally, […]
The post My Bilingual Kids Are Now Teens and This Is the Key to Our Success appeared first on Bilingual Monkeys.
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Blog postWhat is 28 Bilingual English-Spanish Fairy Tales & Fables? 28 Bilingual English-Spanish Fairy Tales & Fables is a language learning resource (not a picture book) designed to fuel the improvement of learners of Spanish or English. Engaging and effective for children, teens, and adults, with easy access to online audio files offering professional narration in […]
The post Are Your Kids or Students Learning Spanish or English? This New Bilingual Book of Fairy Tales (with Online A -
Blog postPrologue Alice looked like my dad. She was seven seconds old and lay on my wife Bénédicte’s stomach, staring at me through cloudy eyes. That was a relief; not the cloudy eyes, the looking like my Dad. Definitely a Fielding, unquestionably half-English. Béné leaned over and kissed Alice’s mushy head and whispered, “Bonjour ma Belle,” […]
The post Guest Post: Alice in a Bilingual Wonderland – How to Nurture the Minority Language with Creativity and Mindset ap -
Blog postThe other day I had the pleasure of speaking to Scott Davison at The Dad Train for a podcast episode about Raising Bilingual Children. We had a great conversation and I hope all you dads (and moms) out there enjoy it!
Raising Bilingual Children, with Adam Beck – Episode 18
And if you’re in the mood for more interviews that I’ve taken part in previously, here are those links, too…
Podcast Interviews Raising a Bilingual Child – Episode 37
Preschool and Beyond, with -
Blog postI’m so pleased to tell you that there’s a new organization which is quickly proving to be an empowering source of support for bilingual and multilingual families around the world. HaBilNet stands for the Harmonious Bilingualism Network and as the homepage states: “HaBilNet promotes and carries out research on harmonious bilingual development. Through HaBilNet you […]
The post HaBilNet, an Empowering New Source of Support for Parents Raising Bilingual Kids appeared first on Bilingual M -
Blog postWhile it’s vital to provide ample language exposure to our children through continuous efforts like talking to them a lot and reading to them a lot, another productive option for language input involves short-term projects. Over the years I’ve shared a variety of ideas for creative projects—projects pursued by myself or other parents—that can give a significant boost to your bilingual journey by engaging your kids in fun, effective activities that make use of the target language. These projec
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Blog postIf only Chameleon Reader had been around when I was teaching bilingual kids, and when my own kids were small! It would have been such a fun and effective way to nurture their ability in our minority language!
Full disclosure: Over the past eight years, since I began this blog, I’ve regularly gotten requests to review books and products and services with some connection to raising bilingual kids. And in many cases, I’ve received free “review copies” of these things, which is also true -
Blog postThere aren’t too many children’s books out there in the world about children who are bilingual or multilingual, but Victor Santos has just published an appealing new picture book called Dylan’s Birthday Present. And it not only features multilingual kids, it features a multilingual chicken! I interviewed Victor, by email, about his new book, actually the first book in a series about bilingual and multilingual kids. Victor, tell us about your new series of children’s books. The new series is
