Hoorah..the July Carnival is here.....As always there are loads of great entries, some from bloggers I haven't had the pleasure to read before.
This month's carnival is being hosted by Tamara at non-native bilingualism and you can check it out by clicking HERE.
Sunday, 15 July 2012
Sunday, 1 July 2012
Non-native Bilingualism - My Top Five Tips
Recently, I was asked to share my top tips for those considering non-native bilingualism by the author of an upcoming ebook relating to multilingualism.
This got me thinking what a great blog post that could make and what a wonderful way for me to give a few tips to others whilst thanking those that have done the same for me.
When I first even considered the prospect of speaking French with my children, I did a lot of research (for those of you that know me... this will come as no surprise....oooh how I love research).
I would definitely credit a couple of really kind and helpful people for giving me the courage to get started. Papa of Papa et Piaf, Sarah of Bringing up Baby Bilingual, Corey Heller of Multilingual Living fame..... each of these people, despite never having met me, took the time and effort to respond to my queries, writing helpful encouraging personal emails to me and that is something I will be forever grateful for.
Once I got started, I came accross more and more people out there with shared goals and visions, people who had already begun wandering the same or a similar path, that were only too happy to provide advice, encouragement and personal stories. One person in particular - (Tamara... it's time for you to stand up and be counted - and I do apologise for making you blush since you are, indeed, hosting this month's carnival for which I am penning this very post) - got me through the extreme wobbles that epitomised the first 6 months or so of our journey.
Since then, I have "met" many many more wonderful, inspiring people.
So, onto my tips. I would say that for me, the following things have been invaluable:-
1 Build a support circle of like minded people.
My blog has helped hugely here. Through it I have connected with so many people I otherwise wouldn't had the fortune to connect with.
Also, I have found that utilising resources such as the forum on the Mulitilingual Living website has really helped to find like minded people.
I have also made real efforts to grow my circle of friends to include more french speakers or people interested in language.
2 Avoid people and situations that stunt your language use - at least when you first start out.
If there are situations or certain people that zap your confidence to speak your second language, then my advice is stay clear of them until you no longer feel that way. Seriously, I just always remind myself of the bigger picture and our ultimate goal of having bilingual children and think why should I let naysayers (or my reaction to them) jeopordise that?
Also, I remember just how self conscious I used to be speaking French to my English daughter in England in public. Don't let that stop you. Don't let your own insecurities deprive you and derail you. It is a fair assumption that the very people you think might be laughing at your language ability are actually rather impressed or at least intruiged - and the majority probably don' speak your second language fluently enough to hear any mistakes you might be making anyway.
3 Build your resources.
There are so many great resources out there - things to suit everyones taste and language learning/ language consumption preferences.
There's lots of free stuff online plus of course there are millions of books, DVDs, CDs and bilingual toys etc.
As a non-native, my experience has been that I am often learning niche language alongside my children or just ahead of them and so resources that they enjoy using have often first been devoured by me.
4 Practice practice practice.
At first my language use felt a little artificial. Now, due to having spoken french everyday for upwards of the past 17 months, it has become second nature and I would go as far as saying it feels artificial if I have to speak english with my daughter as I am not used to doing so.
Also, take any opportunity you have to listen to or speak your second language wth others.
5 Remember that language is only one part of your relationship with your children.
It is very easy to get caught up in the whole bilingual enterprise to a degree that you no longer see the wood for the trees. It's good to sit back and take stock now and again. A fun and loving relationship has to come first. If you are lucky enough to be able to throw an extra language into that then great.
If you are interested in looking a little deeper into how things work in our home from a bilingual perspective, you can pop over to Gato et Canard (gatoandcanard.blogspot.co.uk) and read a recent interview I did with its host Annabelle - "Multilingualism in my family (Nichola's Story)".
This got me thinking what a great blog post that could make and what a wonderful way for me to give a few tips to others whilst thanking those that have done the same for me.
When I first even considered the prospect of speaking French with my children, I did a lot of research (for those of you that know me... this will come as no surprise....oooh how I love research).
I would definitely credit a couple of really kind and helpful people for giving me the courage to get started. Papa of Papa et Piaf, Sarah of Bringing up Baby Bilingual, Corey Heller of Multilingual Living fame..... each of these people, despite never having met me, took the time and effort to respond to my queries, writing helpful encouraging personal emails to me and that is something I will be forever grateful for.
Once I got started, I came accross more and more people out there with shared goals and visions, people who had already begun wandering the same or a similar path, that were only too happy to provide advice, encouragement and personal stories. One person in particular - (Tamara... it's time for you to stand up and be counted - and I do apologise for making you blush since you are, indeed, hosting this month's carnival for which I am penning this very post) - got me through the extreme wobbles that epitomised the first 6 months or so of our journey.
Since then, I have "met" many many more wonderful, inspiring people.
So, onto my tips. I would say that for me, the following things have been invaluable:-
1 Build a support circle of like minded people.
My blog has helped hugely here. Through it I have connected with so many people I otherwise wouldn't had the fortune to connect with.
Also, I have found that utilising resources such as the forum on the Mulitilingual Living website has really helped to find like minded people.
I have also made real efforts to grow my circle of friends to include more french speakers or people interested in language.
2 Avoid people and situations that stunt your language use - at least when you first start out.
If there are situations or certain people that zap your confidence to speak your second language, then my advice is stay clear of them until you no longer feel that way. Seriously, I just always remind myself of the bigger picture and our ultimate goal of having bilingual children and think why should I let naysayers (or my reaction to them) jeopordise that?
Also, I remember just how self conscious I used to be speaking French to my English daughter in England in public. Don't let that stop you. Don't let your own insecurities deprive you and derail you. It is a fair assumption that the very people you think might be laughing at your language ability are actually rather impressed or at least intruiged - and the majority probably don' speak your second language fluently enough to hear any mistakes you might be making anyway.
3 Build your resources.
There are so many great resources out there - things to suit everyones taste and language learning/ language consumption preferences.
There's lots of free stuff online plus of course there are millions of books, DVDs, CDs and bilingual toys etc.
As a non-native, my experience has been that I am often learning niche language alongside my children or just ahead of them and so resources that they enjoy using have often first been devoured by me.
4 Practice practice practice.
At first my language use felt a little artificial. Now, due to having spoken french everyday for upwards of the past 17 months, it has become second nature and I would go as far as saying it feels artificial if I have to speak english with my daughter as I am not used to doing so.
Also, take any opportunity you have to listen to or speak your second language wth others.
5 Remember that language is only one part of your relationship with your children.
It is very easy to get caught up in the whole bilingual enterprise to a degree that you no longer see the wood for the trees. It's good to sit back and take stock now and again. A fun and loving relationship has to come first. If you are lucky enough to be able to throw an extra language into that then great.
If you are interested in looking a little deeper into how things work in our home from a bilingual perspective, you can pop over to Gato et Canard (gatoandcanard.blogspot.co.uk) and read a recent interview I did with its host Annabelle - "Multilingualism in my family (Nichola's Story)".
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
Tête, Nez, Bouche (Head, Nose, Mouth)
Oh how the language of a child can make you smile :D
Poppette has recently come out with another self made classic. ''Tête, Nez, Bouche'' (Head, Nose, Mouth). She says this whenever there's a chance she might fall and hurt herself.
It's brilliant. It encapsulates all the advice I have given her about being careful and all the slips, trips and falls she has had of late into one neat little phrase.
This cute little phrase came about through Poppette's love to climb. She's a fearless little girl. I find myself always saying ''Fais attention à ta tête'' (watch out for your head) because she is always banging it on something. So she had begun to say, in advance of attempting any one of her heroic climbs, ''Tête'' to let me know that she knew that she needed to be careful.
Then last week, she fell off the bed and banged her nose.
''Tête'' became ''Tête, Nez'' (Head, Nose). That was cute enough.
But then she fell again and... you guessed it, she banged her mouth.
So... ''Tête, Nez, Bouche'' it is.
Poppette has recently come out with another self made classic. ''Tête, Nez, Bouche'' (Head, Nose, Mouth). She says this whenever there's a chance she might fall and hurt herself.
It's brilliant. It encapsulates all the advice I have given her about being careful and all the slips, trips and falls she has had of late into one neat little phrase.
This cute little phrase came about through Poppette's love to climb. She's a fearless little girl. I find myself always saying ''Fais attention à ta tête'' (watch out for your head) because she is always banging it on something. So she had begun to say, in advance of attempting any one of her heroic climbs, ''Tête'' to let me know that she knew that she needed to be careful.
Then last week, she fell off the bed and banged her nose.
''Tête'' became ''Tête, Nez'' (Head, Nose). That was cute enough.
But then she fell again and... you guessed it, she banged her mouth.
So... ''Tête, Nez, Bouche'' it is.
Tuesday, 12 June 2012
Sensory Play
This week I have been exploring colour and texture with Poppette. There are so many ways to stimulate the mind and imagination of a curious toddler whilst at the same time providing a great opportunity for language enrichment. I find many of my ideas on Pinterest (you can take a peek at my boards here) and on some great activity blogs which I follow. I have provided links to my sources below so do have a look if you're interested.
By far our favourite activity so far (and, when I say this, I mean the one that Poppette responded to the best in terms of enjoyment and time spent exlporing/ playing) was the mess free finger painting (idea from Hippie Housewife). It's soooo simple. I used the idea to introduce Poppette to the colour red. I simply gave her the paint board, showed her how to make a mark with her hand and a couple of other objects and then sat back and watched.... at first she squished the paint with her hands and we discussed how it felt (or rather, should I say, I spoke to her about how it might possibly feel to her), then I gave her a selection of red toys/ objects and she experimented with the effect that they had when she used them on the paint board e.g. she drove her red car over it and we looked at the tracks it made, she scraped a red fork over it, she stamped red shapes on it... she even walked and danced on it!!! So there was plenty to discuss whilst she amused herself.
We have also had fun with discovery bottles (idea from Pink Pistachio). I filled a bottle with water, pom poms and buttons in primary colours (and a couple of googly eyes just for extra fun). This gave us fabulous scope for discussing colours, things that float and sink, about bubbles which appear when you shake the bottle, about the sounds that you hear when you roll, shake or tip the bottle upside down and that's just for starters. As with anything, the trick is to be lucky enough to pick contents that will hold your child's attention. Poppette is quick to leave to one side items that she deems to be of little interest (despite the time and effort her poor maman has put into their creation :D )
Finally, I made up a treasure basket (idea from Counting Coconuts). This is the first one I have ever attempted and I have to say I don't think it was a grand success. I looked around the apartment for things that Poppette hadn't come accross before that I thought she might like to touch, smell or look at. Inevitably, a few of these things were subjected to the taste test so I made sure I stayed by her side to supervise accordingly :D They key here is, again,to pick objects that will intrigue your child. I failed miserably. Poppette enjoyed scrunching the bubble wrap and playing with the bottle and jar lids and measuring cups but the rest of the contents just sat there looking...well, on reflection, I guess they looked BORING!!!
I have also come across some great ideas for texture cards (here at Engaging Toddler Activities and here at My Delicious Ambiguity) which I plan to adapt so that we can continue to play, learn and explore.
If you have any ideas for fun learning activities that you would like to share, I would love to hear them.
By far our favourite activity so far (and, when I say this, I mean the one that Poppette responded to the best in terms of enjoyment and time spent exlporing/ playing) was the mess free finger painting (idea from Hippie Housewife). It's soooo simple. I used the idea to introduce Poppette to the colour red. I simply gave her the paint board, showed her how to make a mark with her hand and a couple of other objects and then sat back and watched.... at first she squished the paint with her hands and we discussed how it felt (or rather, should I say, I spoke to her about how it might possibly feel to her), then I gave her a selection of red toys/ objects and she experimented with the effect that they had when she used them on the paint board e.g. she drove her red car over it and we looked at the tracks it made, she scraped a red fork over it, she stamped red shapes on it... she even walked and danced on it!!! So there was plenty to discuss whilst she amused herself.
We have also had fun with discovery bottles (idea from Pink Pistachio). I filled a bottle with water, pom poms and buttons in primary colours (and a couple of googly eyes just for extra fun). This gave us fabulous scope for discussing colours, things that float and sink, about bubbles which appear when you shake the bottle, about the sounds that you hear when you roll, shake or tip the bottle upside down and that's just for starters. As with anything, the trick is to be lucky enough to pick contents that will hold your child's attention. Poppette is quick to leave to one side items that she deems to be of little interest (despite the time and effort her poor maman has put into their creation :D )
Finally, I made up a treasure basket (idea from Counting Coconuts). This is the first one I have ever attempted and I have to say I don't think it was a grand success. I looked around the apartment for things that Poppette hadn't come accross before that I thought she might like to touch, smell or look at. Inevitably, a few of these things were subjected to the taste test so I made sure I stayed by her side to supervise accordingly :D They key here is, again,to pick objects that will intrigue your child. I failed miserably. Poppette enjoyed scrunching the bubble wrap and playing with the bottle and jar lids and measuring cups but the rest of the contents just sat there looking...well, on reflection, I guess they looked BORING!!!
I have also come across some great ideas for texture cards (here at Engaging Toddler Activities and here at My Delicious Ambiguity) which I plan to adapt so that we can continue to play, learn and explore.
If you have any ideas for fun learning activities that you would like to share, I would love to hear them.
Friday, 8 June 2012
And the winner is......
ME!!!!!
Yes, you heard correctly and, believe me, I am as suprised as you are. Little old me that never wins a thing (well, apart from the toothbrush and toothpaste kit I vaguely remember winning courtesy of Colgate when I was a child).
I am a fan of Barefoot Books In France on Facebook and entered a competiton one day without even a slight flicker of a thought that I might win. So when Nicole (the host) contacted me to say I was the lucky winner of 25 Euros worth of Barefoot's books (of my choice), I was gobsmacked.
For those of you that do not yet know about Barefoot Books, it was the brain child of "two mothers who wanted their children to have books that would feed the imagination, while instilling a respect for diversity and a love of the planet." Today, they "are a world-wide community of writers, artists, storytellers, musicians, and others who are committed to providing timeless stories and captivating art that can help children become happy, engaged members of a global society." They have a wonderful selection of beautifully told stories with fabulous illustrations.
The icing on the cake, for me, was the fact that Barefoot carry a small number of French (and Spanish) bilingual books and I was able to pick four fabulous English/ French books that Poppette and Little Man will love.
I chose :-
Bear in Sunshine/ L'ours au soleil
Bear in a Square/ L'ours dans un carré
Bear at home/ L'ours à la maison
Bear in town/ L'ours dans la ville
These books are really simple. They have one short sentence per page which will help with vocab building around the theme of the book. The gorgeous illustrations then provide a great base for open ended discussion ... so far Poppette and I have been reading 'Bear in Sunshine' as I am, little by little, teaching her about the weather.
Whilst on the topic of weather.... Poppette astounded me when she woke up this morning .. as Papa carried her into the lounge, she pointed to the window and said (for the first time ever) 'pleut' i.e. il pleut (it's raining) and boy was it... the UK is practically submerged under water right now :D
Yes, you heard correctly and, believe me, I am as suprised as you are. Little old me that never wins a thing (well, apart from the toothbrush and toothpaste kit I vaguely remember winning courtesy of Colgate when I was a child).
I am a fan of Barefoot Books In France on Facebook and entered a competiton one day without even a slight flicker of a thought that I might win. So when Nicole (the host) contacted me to say I was the lucky winner of 25 Euros worth of Barefoot's books (of my choice), I was gobsmacked.
For those of you that do not yet know about Barefoot Books, it was the brain child of "two mothers who wanted their children to have books that would feed the imagination, while instilling a respect for diversity and a love of the planet." Today, they "are a world-wide community of writers, artists, storytellers, musicians, and others who are committed to providing timeless stories and captivating art that can help children become happy, engaged members of a global society." They have a wonderful selection of beautifully told stories with fabulous illustrations.
The icing on the cake, for me, was the fact that Barefoot carry a small number of French (and Spanish) bilingual books and I was able to pick four fabulous English/ French books that Poppette and Little Man will love.
I chose :-
Bear in Sunshine/ L'ours au soleil
Bear in a Square/ L'ours dans un carré
Bear at home/ L'ours à la maison
Bear in town/ L'ours dans la ville
These books are really simple. They have one short sentence per page which will help with vocab building around the theme of the book. The gorgeous illustrations then provide a great base for open ended discussion ... so far Poppette and I have been reading 'Bear in Sunshine' as I am, little by little, teaching her about the weather.
Whilst on the topic of weather.... Poppette astounded me when she woke up this morning .. as Papa carried her into the lounge, she pointed to the window and said (for the first time ever) 'pleut' i.e. il pleut (it's raining) and boy was it... the UK is practically submerged under water right now :D
Saturday, 26 May 2012
Poppette the Wordsmith
Poppette has recently created a new word.... 'Mapa'... (an amalgamation of the words Maman and Papa) which she uses when she is not sure which one of us will give her the answer or reaction she is looking for...
'Mapa'... She says whilst looking expectantly at the treat cupboard
'Mapa' ... She says whilst pointing towards the bed she wishes to bounce on
'Mapa' 'Mapa' 'Mapa'
Ingenious. She is simply too cute for words.
'Mapa'... She says whilst looking expectantly at the treat cupboard
'Mapa' ... She says whilst pointing towards the bed she wishes to bounce on
'Mapa' 'Mapa' 'Mapa'
Ingenious. She is simply too cute for words.
Monday, 21 May 2012
Word Count
At 19 months old, Poppette has a spoken vocabulary of 67 words (this doesn't include the words she says when copying others - of which there are many). Of these 67 words, 25 are French and 42 English. Here's the list for anyone who is interested.
Interestingly, so far she seems to have mostly chosen only one word per object and I cannot work out how she makes the choice of which language to take these words from. It doesn't seem to relate the difficulty of pronunciation, as she says things like chaussures rather than shoes. Likewise, it doesn't seem to be based on groups of sounds as she says bateau rather than boat but cake rather than gâteau....
As Papa rightly says, it makes no difference to Poppette which word she chooses - at least not when she is at home, as she will be understood either way and to her there is no diffrence as she doesn't yet realise she speaks two separate languages. I would be interested to know whether if, when she fails to be understood at nursery using a French word, she switches to the English equivalent or not.
I have heard many parents who are raising bilingual children say that when they speak the minority langage to their child, the child responds in the majority language. I can understand why this happens and this, for the time being at least, is exactly what is happening in our house. Whenever I ask Poppette a question, although I will have spoken to her in French, she will either reply 'Yes' in English, or simply shake her head. I am eager to know whether this will change over the next few months as she will be spending more time with me and thus, more time surrounded by the French langauge.
I recently read a fellow blogger's post about not taking your children's bilingualism too personally. I have to say... for me this is not easy. I feel I have so much invested in this. I have to keep reminding myself that this is just one aspect of our life, our family and who we are and that realistically it is just a small part of who my children are. Surely, it's much easier not to take it too personally once you know you have suceeded in your goal.....We are certainly on the right track and I am proud of us for making this choice and sticking to it.
Interestingly, so far she seems to have mostly chosen only one word per object and I cannot work out how she makes the choice of which language to take these words from. It doesn't seem to relate the difficulty of pronunciation, as she says things like chaussures rather than shoes. Likewise, it doesn't seem to be based on groups of sounds as she says bateau rather than boat but cake rather than gâteau....
As Papa rightly says, it makes no difference to Poppette which word she chooses - at least not when she is at home, as she will be understood either way and to her there is no diffrence as she doesn't yet realise she speaks two separate languages. I would be interested to know whether if, when she fails to be understood at nursery using a French word, she switches to the English equivalent or not.
I have heard many parents who are raising bilingual children say that when they speak the minority langage to their child, the child responds in the majority language. I can understand why this happens and this, for the time being at least, is exactly what is happening in our house. Whenever I ask Poppette a question, although I will have spoken to her in French, she will either reply 'Yes' in English, or simply shake her head. I am eager to know whether this will change over the next few months as she will be spending more time with me and thus, more time surrounded by the French langauge.
I recently read a fellow blogger's post about not taking your children's bilingualism too personally. I have to say... for me this is not easy. I feel I have so much invested in this. I have to keep reminding myself that this is just one aspect of our life, our family and who we are and that realistically it is just a small part of who my children are. Surely, it's much easier not to take it too personally once you know you have suceeded in your goal.....We are certainly on the right track and I am proud of us for making this choice and sticking to it.
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