Latest Thoughts

Flash Card Giveaway at Heather & Avery

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 00:44:00 GMT

Heather at Heather & Avery has reviewed the BLINGuals flash cards and will be giving away a pack. Thank you!

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Tags: review,giveaway

Flash Card Giveaway at Mommy's Blessings

Mon, 27 Sep 2010 00:32:00 GMT

Holly at Mommy's Blessings is giving away a BLINGuals flash card pack. Take a look before October 7th. Good luck!

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Tags: review,giveaway

Bilinguals acquire proficiency in a third language more easily

Wed, 15 Sep 2010 16:31:00 GMT

In their book, The Bilingual Edge, King and Mackey describe some recent research findings on the language acquisition skills of several hundred high school students. The conclusion: Bilinguals acquire proficiency in a third language more easily than monolinguals acquire a second language.

If you’re curious about this topic, The Bilingual Edge is a treasure trove , available for free at your public library or for $10 on Amazon. There's also a primer on our web site.

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Tags: research

You CAN teach your child a second language even if you’re not a native speaker!

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 22:18:00 GMT

I spent some time recently with a couple of friends who didn’t have a baby yet, but were already thinking about which languages they would communicate with him/her. The husband is fluent in English, Latin and proficient in German, and his wife is fluent in English and French (albeit a little rusty.)

The discussion revolved specifically around French. The wife lamented that it’s been a while since she lived in France and practiced French, and as a result her grammar wasn’t all that great. She was concerned that communicating with her child as a non-native French speaker will instill some bad habits early on. Her concern is quite valid, but given that she spent years in France and is conversationally fluent, it would be a shame to squander such a learning opportunity for her unborn child.

Fortunately, other people have struggled with similar predicaments, and there’s now professional advice and definitive supporting research (The Bilingual Edge, By King, Mackey) on this topic. Here’s the gist of it: in early stages of your child’s language skills (years 0-3), fluency and perfect grammar are secondary to consistent interaction and exposure. But in later stages, as your child begins to construct more complex sentences, it’s time to up your game with some learning aids: language-centric play groups, educational videos and books. For deeper pocketed parents, you may want to consider: language immersion day care and school, foreign au-pair, or a bilingual nanny / babysitter.

Is it worth the trouble? Absolutely! On average, polyglots make better students, earn a higher income, are more socially and culturally comfortable.

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Tags: Advice

Great bilingual game ideas

Sun, 12 Sep 2010 03:20:00 GMT

Diane at Foreign Language Fun is a certified K-12 French teacher and homeschooling Mom. She has some great ideas for bilingual games. Thanks for sharing!!

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Tags: review

Flash Card Giveaway at Babywise Mom

Wed, 08 Sep 2010 12:14:00 GMT

Valerie at Babywise Mom has posted a review and is giving away a BLINGuals flash card pack. Ends on Friday September 10. Good luck!

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Tags: giveaway,review

Learning Spanish Together

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 01:05:00 GMT

Thank you Carolina for the wonderful review of the BLINGuals flash cards on Learning Spanish Together and the great game ideas that you and your daughter thought of:

Fly Swatter
What's Missing
Jumping Game
Magic Box
Little Translator
Storytellers

Please be sure to check out her web site for additional teaching resources and workshops for bilingual teachers.

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Tags: review

Does Your Language Shape How You Think?

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:55:00 GMT

A really great article from the NY Times about how knowledge in different languages shape how we think. Lots of great examples and some commonly held beliefs are thoroughly refuted. Enjoy!

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Tags: Articles

Mama to 3 Blessings

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 15:01:00 GMT

Thank you for the kind review at Mama to 3 Blessings. I see some of Nicole's readers are now following BLINGuals on Twitter, which means I should get up to speed on that. Is there a handy Twitter for Dummies guide?? :)

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My Bilingual Boys Review

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 01:37:00 GMT

Thanks so much My Bilingual Boys for the kind review of the BLINGuals flash cards. Glad your children enjoyed them!

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