On episode 36 of the My American Meltingpot podcast, we’re talking all about what it takes to raise our children to be bilingual. What’s the best approach to take? When is the right time to start? Do parents have to be bilingual in order to raise children who speak more than one language? What are the challenges and benefits involved? To help answer these questions and more, Manuel Malia joins me on the show.
Manuel is a Spanish Lecturer at Princeton University and has over 20 years of experience teaching in colleges, high schools and elementary schools. A native of Spain, he is also pursuing his doctorate in Spanish linguistics with a focus on second-language acquisition at Temple University. The father of three bilingual children, Manuel is also my husband. In addition to Manuel, I’ve asked three different moms to share their unique experiences raising their children with more than one language. So, during the show, you’ll also get to hear how different people approach this bilingual journey in French, Chinese and Spanish.
This is a really inspirational and informative episode and I hope people listen and get encouraged to bring a second language into their home.
Episode 36 of the podcast is sponsored by Booklandiabox.com. Booklandia is a monthly subscription service that delivers Spanish and bilingual children’s books to your door. Find them on social media @Booklandiabox and online at Booklandiabox.com. Be sure to listen to the episode to hear how you can get a special discount when you order from Booklandia.
Resources for Raising a Bilingual Child
Background on the challenges and benefits of raising a bilingual child from the New York Times.
Guest Virginia Duan offers many resources for parents trying to teach their child Mandarin Chinese. Visit her website, Mandarin Mama for links to all of her resources. Also, check out her ebook, So You Want Your Kid to Learn Chinese on Amazon.
Manuel and my favorite app for fun language practice is DuoLingo. It’s free and easy to use. Plus they have multilingual podcasts.
Two websites that Manuel recommends for Spanish vocabulary and grammar lessons are StudySpanish.com and SpanishDict.com.
When social distancing isn’t our new normal, you can consider sending your children to a language immersion camp like Concordia Language Villages where Manuel worked more than 20 years ago!
Just remember to get creative and have fun! Here are some ideas to consider while we are still living a lockdown lifestyle.
Thank you for listening and supporting the show. We just hit the 10,000 downloads mark! If you want another way to show your love, please take one minute to leave a rating or write a short review on Apple podcasts so more people can find the show. #grateful
Comments
6 responses to “MAMP Podcast Ep#36: How to Raise a Bilingual Child”
Overjoyed that I FINALLY got around to listening to this! Manuel’s passion for encouraging language learning is so inspirational. I know his time at Concordia Language Village was some time ago, but I’m wondering what he thinks of their “absolutely NO English” policy. It may be different now. But I remember it being an interesting rule when I worked at the Japanese language camp!
Hi Errol,
I’m so glad you enjoyed the episode! And this is Manuel’s passion. For real. He may even start coaching parents who want to raise their kids bilingually and need help. And per your question, Manuel thinks that a No English policy is what you need to do to create a real “immersion environment,” but that policy should never come before health or safety of a child.
Thank you for this episode! – I loved the idea that there are different goals and levels of bilingualism!! A lot of times people think it’s an all-or-nothing game. And it was great to hear other people’s experiences. I personally struggled with how to teach my kids’ my mother-tongue (Arabic) as a non-native speaker. I’d love to share my website with your listeners. It’s full of tools, activities, songs, bilingual books and videos to help parents who are hoping to teach their kids some of the Arabic language (colloquial Levantine). http://www.arabishway.com
Thanks, Laila! And I’m so glad you enjoyed the episode. It definitely helps to have a community and resources to turn to when you’re stuck.
That was such an interesting podcast, Lori! And I loved to hear the different ways parents have raised bilingual children. As you know, my grandchildren are bilingual, and I love it! I was fascinated to learn that your boys didn’t realize their father spoke English until they were 8 or 9 – even though they heard him speak English to you!
Barbara,
I’m so glad you enjoyed the episode! It was so much fun to record with Manuel!