Wow....is it really a year ago today that I first sat down infront of my computer and started to chronicle my hopes and fears around our efforts to create a bilingual household?
It's actually been over a year since I started speaking French with Poppette. When I think of all the angst and self doubt that typified those first months, I can honestly say there were a few times I didn't think we would get this far. If I had a list back then setting out exactly the achievements we have made to date, I just wouldn't have believed we could come even close.
So today is an exciting day.
A day of reflection and celebration.
Don't get me wrong, I still have the odd 'wobble' and crisis of confidence. But I have learnt to manage these by not looking too far forward and focussing on the here and now. If we can just get through each day with no major communication issues... then why should tomorrow be any different???
So far my darling daughter truly is bilingual. My heart skips a beat when I say those words :D Although she still only says the odd word (and admittedly right now these tend to be English ones more than their French counterparts), she understands French and English equally well...in fact, Papa is convinced that she understands more French.... and I am inclined to agree as there are some questions, requests and instructions that she responds to immediately when I am speaking in French but that she seems not to understand when said in English by Papa.
Poppette loves books. She spends a huge amount of time each day picking them off her shelf and turning each page carefully. Papa and I sit with her and as she points things out we name them. If we ask her where something is she turns to the correct page and points it out. For Poppette it seems entirely normal that objects have more than one name....'le soleil'/ 'the sun', 'un nuage' / 'a cloud', 'un cochon'/ 'a pig'.....language aquisition and the human brain truly are mind blowing.
Now 16 months in age, Poppette has been saying meaningful words since around the 11 month mark. One thing I have noticed, however, is that her use of these words ebbs and flows and sometimes I wonder if I actually dreamt that she had been saying a word for a week or two that she then no longer seems to say. Currently, her main words are 'Didi' (for Doudou), 'More' (for 'more', 'again' and also to indicate that she wishes to do an activity). She also says 'Daddy' and 'Papa' a lot. I'm not really sure where all the other words have gone for now.
We have been talking to her more and more over recent weeks about the impending arrival of her baby brother and about a week ago she started to say 'Baby'. I don't think she has grasped the fact that she will soon be an older sister but I still think it's good to talk about it with her. The interesting point from a language point of view is that I always speak about 'le petit bébé' (the little baby) and we read 'Et dedans il y a' ('and inside there is..') so I'm not too sure why Poppette has chosen the English word over the French.... Is this a sign of things to come.....?
One thing that I am excited about and that I hope will give legs to our ongoing bilingual success is that I am due to take maternity leave which will allow me to spend more time with Poppette. The opportunity to be able to play a larger part in her life and her development than I have been able to recently as a full time working mum makes me smile wider than ever. I feel very lucky.
Thursday, 16 February 2012
Thursday, 9 February 2012
English Language DVDs with French Language Options
As many of us know only too well, the costs of buying French language DVDs and having them shipped over from France can really mount up.
Fortunately for us, another non-native Maman who is a friend of mine has done an awful lot of research into which English DVDs can be bought with a French language option (she has also helpfully noted the other available language options).
I have added this list to the DVD section of my resource page which can be accessed by the "Resource" tab at the top of this page.
Many of the DVDs on the list are far cheaper to buy (through Amazon.co.uk) than their French counterparts (through Amazon.fr) even before you discount the cost of international postage.
Fortunately for us, another non-native Maman who is a friend of mine has done an awful lot of research into which English DVDs can be bought with a French language option (she has also helpfully noted the other available language options).
I have added this list to the DVD section of my resource page which can be accessed by the "Resource" tab at the top of this page.
Many of the DVDs on the list are far cheaper to buy (through Amazon.co.uk) than their French counterparts (through Amazon.fr) even before you discount the cost of international postage.
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
January's Carnival
It's that time again... the Blogging Carnival on Bilingualism is being hosted by Cordelia over at Multilingual Mama this month.
Thanks Cordelia.
You can access the entries via this link. What a great selection of posts.
I get excited each month in the run up to every new Carnival - I find it so inspiring that so many of us come together to share and support each other in this way.
Happy reading.
Thanks Cordelia.
You can access the entries via this link. What a great selection of posts.
I get excited each month in the run up to every new Carnival - I find it so inspiring that so many of us come together to share and support each other in this way.
Happy reading.
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Non-Native Crib Sheet
Since my fortuitous meeting with Belgian Maman a few weeks ago, we have been getting to know each other and excitedly trading ideas, words and phrases.
Belgian Maman came up with a fantastic idea - creating a Non-Native Crib Sheet full of useful words and phrases that we need on an almost daily basis when chatting with our little ones. She also suggested we share this crib sheet on my blog.
What a fabulous idea.
I honestly can't imagine how happy I would have felt to have found any semblance of a crib sheet when I first started speaking French with Poppette. I would have jumped for joy :-)
So... I have started a new page "Non-Native Crib Sheet" which you can access via the tab at the top of this page. I really hope that it helps a few people... even one person.
The list already runs to over more than 200 words and phrases but so far I have only had the time to upload a few onto the blog. If the crib sheet is of interest to you, I do recommend you keep popping back to have a look for updates.
Belgian Maman came up with a fantastic idea - creating a Non-Native Crib Sheet full of useful words and phrases that we need on an almost daily basis when chatting with our little ones. She also suggested we share this crib sheet on my blog.
What a fabulous idea.
I honestly can't imagine how happy I would have felt to have found any semblance of a crib sheet when I first started speaking French with Poppette. I would have jumped for joy :-)
So... I have started a new page "Non-Native Crib Sheet" which you can access via the tab at the top of this page. I really hope that it helps a few people... even one person.
The list already runs to over more than 200 words and phrases but so far I have only had the time to upload a few onto the blog. If the crib sheet is of interest to you, I do recommend you keep popping back to have a look for updates.
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
A (Mini) Explosion of Words
Happy New Year everyone. I hope you have all had a fabulous time over the festive period.
Christmas at our house this year was unusual in that I had two whole weeks off work. This is absolutely unheard of. Papa also had a week off so we got to spend some great quality time as a family.
Spending such a concentrated amount of time with our daughter was amazing for both of us. We have been bowled over by the progress she makes every day. The new tricks she learns and shares with us. Little life skills and personality traits.
On Poppette's last day in nursery prior to the Christmas break, her nursery nurse told us that she had said 'banana'. I'm not sure why I was dubious (particularly as it is one of her very favourite foods) but I reserved judgement until I heard it for myself. Which I did when Poppette asked for a banana one day when we were sitting in the living room. There was no mistaking it although her pronunciation was more 'nana'. She has since gone on to say it several times.
Not only this, but she now says Daddy and Papa continually ... hundreds of times a day. She also says Mama but not quite as often. I have a sneaking suspicion that its because my littel angel knows she has Papa totally wrapped around her finger and that if she says his name there is no way on God's earth that he will refuse her anything :-)
I am also very excited to say that I have come accross my alter ego. A Belgian woman raising her young son in her non-native English. It's such a boost to meet people that are taking on the same challenges and hopefully we will be able to inspire and support each other on this bilingual journey. This Belgian maman has been kind enough to review the French vocabulary listed on the "Le Langage Enfantin en Français" page listed at the top of my blog so I have updated it accordingly.
Christmas at our house this year was unusual in that I had two whole weeks off work. This is absolutely unheard of. Papa also had a week off so we got to spend some great quality time as a family.
Spending such a concentrated amount of time with our daughter was amazing for both of us. We have been bowled over by the progress she makes every day. The new tricks she learns and shares with us. Little life skills and personality traits.
On Poppette's last day in nursery prior to the Christmas break, her nursery nurse told us that she had said 'banana'. I'm not sure why I was dubious (particularly as it is one of her very favourite foods) but I reserved judgement until I heard it for myself. Which I did when Poppette asked for a banana one day when we were sitting in the living room. There was no mistaking it although her pronunciation was more 'nana'. She has since gone on to say it several times.
Not only this, but she now says Daddy and Papa continually ... hundreds of times a day. She also says Mama but not quite as often. I have a sneaking suspicion that its because my littel angel knows she has Papa totally wrapped around her finger and that if she says his name there is no way on God's earth that he will refuse her anything :-)
I am also very excited to say that I have come accross my alter ego. A Belgian woman raising her young son in her non-native English. It's such a boost to meet people that are taking on the same challenges and hopefully we will be able to inspire and support each other on this bilingual journey. This Belgian maman has been kind enough to review the French vocabulary listed on the "Le Langage Enfantin en Français" page listed at the top of my blog so I have updated it accordingly.
Tuesday, 6 December 2011
Bilingualism Should Equal Fun and Frolics and Not Stress and Hassle
Multilingual Living ran a great article a couple of weeks ago setting out 10 things you should NEVER say to your bilingual child. Corey Heller, the author, is a real inspiration and I have lost count of the times that one of her pearls of wisdoms has given me renewed motivation or food for thought along this multilingual path.
It's a good thing for us all to remember that bilingualism is a fabulous thing but only if it does not come at the expense of relationships and harmony within ones family unit.
To this end (keeping things light and fun) our home at the moment is filled with music and stories. Poppette is really loving listening to music right now and always points at the stereo insistently whenever it isn't on. We have been stocking up on fabulous music CD's, story CD's and books. Some of the most recent and highly recommended ones are:-
50 Histoires à lire en turbulette a great set of stories and rhymes for young children with gorgeous illustrations.
Contemimes a CD with music and short songs for young children. The music here is really lively and so so different from any other CD we own. Very original and a wealth of great vocab for young ones to learn whilst having fun. This CD comes with a book with the song lyrics in and suggested hand mimes to do along to the songs.
Coco et les bulles de savon a short story book with illustrations accompanied by a CD with a spoken version of the story set to music and real sounds (such as the bath running at the appropriate point in the story). Coco is a cheeky little monkey who gets himself into all sorts of scrapes. There is a whole series of Coco CD/book combos available and we will definitely be increasing our collection.
If anyone has any suggestions of other fun books or CD's do let me know.
Ooh that reminds me - Maria over at Busy as a bee in Paris posted a link to another blog (The Inspiration Thief) which also took me to another blog (Oopsey Daisy) with a great idea for Christmas Book Advent Calendars. It’s a little late for me to sort for this year but it will be at the top of my 'To Do List' for next Christmas. The idea is that you get 24 Christmas themed books (or maybe mix it up with an activity or a project) and wrap them up for your little one(s) to open each day until Christmas... the opportunities this would open up for having fun in the minority language seem limitless.... Joyeux Noël everyone.
It's a good thing for us all to remember that bilingualism is a fabulous thing but only if it does not come at the expense of relationships and harmony within ones family unit.
To this end (keeping things light and fun) our home at the moment is filled with music and stories. Poppette is really loving listening to music right now and always points at the stereo insistently whenever it isn't on. We have been stocking up on fabulous music CD's, story CD's and books. Some of the most recent and highly recommended ones are:-
50 Histoires à lire en turbulette a great set of stories and rhymes for young children with gorgeous illustrations.
Contemimes a CD with music and short songs for young children. The music here is really lively and so so different from any other CD we own. Very original and a wealth of great vocab for young ones to learn whilst having fun. This CD comes with a book with the song lyrics in and suggested hand mimes to do along to the songs.
Coco et les bulles de savon a short story book with illustrations accompanied by a CD with a spoken version of the story set to music and real sounds (such as the bath running at the appropriate point in the story). Coco is a cheeky little monkey who gets himself into all sorts of scrapes. There is a whole series of Coco CD/book combos available and we will definitely be increasing our collection.
If anyone has any suggestions of other fun books or CD's do let me know.
Ooh that reminds me - Maria over at Busy as a bee in Paris posted a link to another blog (The Inspiration Thief) which also took me to another blog (Oopsey Daisy) with a great idea for Christmas Book Advent Calendars. It’s a little late for me to sort for this year but it will be at the top of my 'To Do List' for next Christmas. The idea is that you get 24 Christmas themed books (or maybe mix it up with an activity or a project) and wrap them up for your little one(s) to open each day until Christmas... the opportunities this would open up for having fun in the minority language seem limitless.... Joyeux Noël everyone.
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
A short update and details of a useful little website
It's all been very quiet on the language development front since I last posted. In fact, I would go as far as to say Poppette has seemingly stopped using the word 'Ouais' (yeah) for now and the only word she is using at the moment is 'ta'. I have read that it is quite common in the early language development of children that they stop and start with the words they use.
Although she is not currently saying much (although she does chatter away in her own little Poppette langauge quite merrily), she understands and reacts to more and more every day, showing us that she is soaking up the language around her.
By way of an aside, I have found what promises to be a useful website called 0-5.com http://www.0-5ans.com/menu_Accueil.html - it has a wealth of interesting games, recipes, nursery ryhme words and much, much more in French for the 0-5 age group.
Although she is not currently saying much (although she does chatter away in her own little Poppette langauge quite merrily), she understands and reacts to more and more every day, showing us that she is soaking up the language around her.
By way of an aside, I have found what promises to be a useful website called 0-5.com http://www.0-5ans.com/menu_Accueil.html - it has a wealth of interesting games, recipes, nursery ryhme words and much, much more in French for the 0-5 age group.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)