I get excited about non-native bilingual parenting. Our family's bilingualism has had such a positive impact on everything that we do. If you ask any of my kids, they will all tell you that they are super happy that we taught them German. And because of this, I get excited about encouraging others to do the same. There are so many people that speak a foreign language who haven't even considered the possibility of teaching their children that language. And there are many other people who have considered it a possibility but who lack the confidence to actually try it. This is the very reason why I started my blog (and my website). I just wanted to let others know that it can be done...and done successfully.
I was super excited when I was interviewed by Sue Bergin, one of the editors of BYU Magazine, a magazine published by Brigham Young University with a readership of over 200,000. How fun to share the idea of non-native bilingual parenting with even more people! Sue did a great job on the article. She also interviewed Cindy Brewer, who is also a non-native bilingual parent. Cindy and I were graduate students at the same time. My college-aged daughter, Kiana, currently happens to be taking German from Cindy. Kiana, who can speak fairly fluently already, is finally getting a good grasp on her German grammar. It's fun to see just how much she is learning.
Anyways, here is the link to a great article about Non-Native Bilingual Parenting.
I want to THANK YOU for your article and for your blog! My husband and I are both non-native Portuguese speakers. We have had the desire to teach or children, but have never had the courage to dive in. It wasn't until reading your article that we realized we could teach the way a native parent would-through immersion (vs school language style)! And it is motivating me to diligently relearn. Thank you for motivating, inspiring, and teaching me and so many others!
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