Have you ever wondered what happens in the moment right after understanding becomes difficult?In my article From ‘Zoning Out’ to Understanding: Rethinking Communication Across Accents, I explored what occurs when listeners ‘zone out’ while hearing an unfamiliar accent. This moment is often described as a problem of comprehension. But it rarely ends there. When understanding […]
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Language, Shame, Guilt and Anxiety: When Speaking Hurts
When we make a language mistake, we may feel uncomfortable. This discomfort can be productive. It can lead to reflection, correction and even growth. But sometimes what emerges is not discomfort, it is shame. And sometimes it is anxiety or guilt. These experiences are related, but they are not the same. Language Guilt and Language […]
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Why Names Matter: Accurate Pronunciation Signals Inclusion and Respect
Practical strategies for educators, multilingual families, and policymakers to honor identity through name pronunciation.
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Why Reading Skills Don’t Automatically Transfer Across Languages
A persistent belief in literacy education is that “once a child can read, they can read any language”. Decades of cross-linguistic research show that this assumption is misleading (e.g. Seymour, Aro & Erskine, 2003; Share, 2008). The way we learn to read is deeply shaped by the architecture of writing systems. Alphabetic scripts like English, […]
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Multilingual Teens and Literacy: Embracing Asynchronous Growth
Multiliteracy is a tremendous asset for our children – but the path to becoming literate in more than one language is rarely straightforward. For teenagers especially, literacy development is shaped by motivation, school requirements, and the unique characteristics of each language
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