At my kitchen table conversation– session I held at the 20th FIGT conference this year in The Hague I focused on the languages we collect during our life, and how we can keep them alive while living abroad, in different countries. Why kitchen table conversation? Because that’s where all began 20 years ago at Ruth van […]
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Myths about Bilingualism/Multilingualism
This is a short (!) overview of some common myths about bilingualism/multilingualism – I will be updating this list in May/June 2024, so, if you came across any myths you want me to include, please let me know in the comments. They are all assumptions based on old theories about bilingualism and bilinguals (and multilingualism), […]
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Language Assessments for Bilingual and Multilingual Children
Parents of multilingual children worry the most if their children will be able to keep up with all the languages and have a sufficient knowledge, proficiency, academically speaking, once they go to school. Schools do regular language and literacy assessments and even international schools tend to assess the school language only or at least also the dominant language – […]
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Can SEN children become bilingual?
One of the biggest myths when it comes to bilingualism is that it causes language delay in children. I understand that if a child is a “late speaker” or has some speech issues, teachers and parents often think that the reason for this is because the child is overwhelmed by all the languages. The first thought is, […]
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When you end up talking another language with your child…
Many internationals end up talking another language with their child than the one they chose at the beginning. There are different reasons for this: – They live in a country where their mother tongue is not recognized as an important (= prestigious enough…) language, i.e. it is not supported by the school and society, and […]
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