The Bilingual Family

An up-to-date, accessible guide for parents of bilingual children.

Does your family or community speak more than one language? Do you wonder how to help your children successfully learn or keep those languages? Do you want your children to have the gift of bilingualism and aren’t sure where to start – or how to keep going? Every multilingual family has unique language needs. Bilingual Families is a guide for you and your family. It combines academic research with practical advice to cover the essential elements in successful bilingual and multilingual development. Use this book to: Learn about language goals – and how to set them Create a 'living' family language plan that develops and grows with your family Learn how to talk about multilingualism with your children and other key people in your children's life, like teachers and relatives Recognise when you might need further support An indispensable guide for your family’s language journey.

This is the second edition of the best-selling book that has provided practical advice to thousands of parents who want their children to grow up bilingual. It still gives parents up-to-date information and advice they need to make informed decisions about what language policy to adopt with their children. This new edition also looks at cases of single-parent families with bilingual children, as well as schooling and bi-literacy issues. The authors help parents identify the factors that will influence their decision to bring up their children as bilinguals. The second part consists of case studies of bilingual families, which illustrate a wide range of different solutions . The third part is an alphabetical reference guide providing answers to the most frequently asked questions about bilingualism. Bringing up bilingual children is a challenge and this book helps parents meet that challenge.

This book looks at how families can support and increase bilingualism through planned strategies. One such strategy is the one person-one language approach, where each parent speaks his or her language. Over a hundred families from around the world were questioned and thirty families were interviewed in-depth about how they pass on their language in bilingual or trilingual families.

This book will show you why YOU are the best language teacher for your child, even if you only speak one language and HOW to start using the target language at home. The best part is that you will be able to implement this method to your daily routine with only 5 minutes per day! Inside you'll find: - Tips on strengthening your relationship with your child because relationships are the foundation for second language acquisition - The stages of your language learning journey Strategies to help your child during each stage Useful *Spanish phrases and vocabulary to use during daily interactions with audio. *Our method and strategies can apply to learning any language - An actionable roadmap for your language learning journey

Do you want your child to grow up bilingual? This is a questions which directly affects parents of potentially bilingual children. The Bilingual Family - identifies the factors that will influence the decision of parents to bring their children up as bilinguals. - presents sixteen case studies of bilingual families which illustrate a wide range of different 'solutions'. - provides an alphabetical reference guide providing answers to the most frequently asked questions about bilingualism. ' ... the material is well-organised and easy to read and the common-sense advice from parents who have been through it all themselves - makes this book recommended reading for bilingual families everywhere.' The Japan Times

Lots of new parents these days have the opportunity to bring up their child with two or more languages because of increasing job mobility and the global community. The benefits of bilingualism and biculturalism such as higher cognitive skills, an awareness of language and sensitivity to other cultures, are being increasingly recognised. However many parents don’t know how to start, what methods to use or where to seek help when facing problems. Now Suzanne Barron-Hauwaert, a mother of three trilingual children, teacher and linguist who has lived and worked all over the world, has written a book which provides an inspiring approach to passing on two or more languages to your children. In Language Strategies for Bilingual Families she considers several methods of bilingualism and focuses on the one-person one-language approach, in which each parent speaks his or her native language and is responsible for passing on his or her culture. Suzanne questioned over a hundred bilingual families about their experiences and she interviewed thirty families in depth. The results of her study are linked to current academic research, but the book is both readable and relevant to non-academics and provides fascinating insights into being a multilingual family. It will prove an exciting and stimulating read for potential and current mixed-language families.