Bilingual Avenue With Marianna Du Bosq

A language play date is a great way to add more exposure and create a need for your kids to use the target language! There is something just magical about bilingual kids seeing their peers actively engaging in the same target language. Personally it has been very useful for our language journey. It is a great way to show my kids the value of communicating in Spanish. But often times, if we want to get a language play date started, we have to create it ourselves. The planning process can seem daunting and you may be wondering if it’s worth the hassle! It must certainly is but let me share with you some ideas on how to make it manageable for you and productive for the kids.

Music is one my favorite tools to integrate into the language learning process for little kids.  Songs provide a simple, fun and interactive way for children to interact with language and with culture. There are also many benefits to incorporating music into your language journey. Read through this list and see if you can avoid humming a few of your favorite tunes! Nursery rhymes provide the opportunity for lots of repetition which in turn builds on your child’s memory skills.  Memory skills are critical for language learning since our little ones have to remember all the new words they are learning throughout their day. Songs can also help preserve culture through generations!  These tunes get passed down from grandparents to parents to kids creating a connection that travels across decades. Music is just fun! There is also something highly satisfying about indulging in the auditory sense. You will often find me break into song when my kiddos are not having the best of their days. Almost always, like magic,

A reading routine is essential in any home and arguably even more so in a bilingual household! Reading aloud to your kids is the most effective and perhaps simplest technique you can use to support your children’s language and literacy skills. Research has found that the number of words that a child knows by the time they enter Kindergarten is a predictor of his or her success. Reading lets you work on your child’s vocabulary better than any other activity. As bilingual parents, we are always looking for ways to address A solid and consistent reading routine can help you instill a love for books from an early age. It also allows you to set an example to show your kids that reading can be a pleasurable activity. As if that wasn’t enough, reading can help your children develop lots of other skills such as phonics, comprehension, storytelling, and even familiarity with printed words. You probably already knew that setting up a reading routine was time well spent and an investment in your kid’s future. But my que

Have you ever thought about how accountability can help you on the bilingual journey? This month, bloggers from around the world are coming together to write about the fascinating world of raising bilingual kids with topics from A to Z. Bilingual Avenue is kicking things off with accountability! It is not uncommon to lack the motivation needed to achieve the goals we have set for ourselves. Some days we are full of energy and ready to take on the world. Then on other days those same goals seem simply impossible! As busy parents, we sometimes let everyday life get in the way of achieving our goals. This is one of the reasons why I believe it is so important to find ways to stay accountable to your family’s language objectives. There are two main types of accountability, personal and external. Personal Accountability Leveraging personal accountability essentially means that you are accountable to yourself. You could, in other words, consider this your will power. Some of us have stronger will powers than others

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I help you take action on your language journey by sharing 3 activities you can do with your kids around valentine's day! Each of these three activities can be adapted for any time of year. The key is to show your kids the power of love, relationships and friendships while working on the target language. Get your hands on the free printable for two out of the three activities at www.bilingualavenue.com/episode153

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I chat with Aimee Helfand, the creator of BabyLeague and Famileague on her approach to raising a bilingual child as a single mom. 

On this episode, Todd and I give you a recap of our year as a bilingual family. 

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I chat with Laura and Abner Solano about their language journey.  We discuss podcasts, learning targets for bilingual kids and how to avoid the most common pitfalls for bilingual families. 

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I share 18 tips from the Bilingual Avenue Advent Calendar.  These are quick, fun and easy tips that you can easily implement at home any time of the year.

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I chat with Jennifer Langkjaer from Parenting Abroad about her parenting experience with multilingual children in  Switzerland. 

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I walk you step by step through how to make your very own audio book.  This is specially a great resource if you have a hard time finding books in your own target language. 

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I host a consulting call with a Bilingual Avenue Member.  We talk about school choices for bilingual families, accents and who involved we should be in supporting the community language. 

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I share 6 tips specifically for parents who sometimes feel awkward when speaking the target language.  These are great ideas to get you going and feeling more confident! 

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I chat with the creator of Mama Lingua about her personal experience raising bilingual kids in a non-native language.  We also talk about the wonderful app  that she has developed for other non-native parents!

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I talk about language plans and what you need to have in yours!  Don't delay, get started on a plan and give yourself some direction as to what to do next to help your kids on their language journey. 

On this episode of the podcast, I host a consulting call with a Bilingual Avenue member.  We discuss a wide set of activities that parents can implement at home with their kids to add rigor to their children's language learning experience. 

In this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I chat about speech and language delays.  Should you worry that speaking more than one language will impact your child's speech and language development?  If you are have any concerns at all, you'll want to tune into this episode.

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Nicole Schwarz from Imperfect Families about some of the struggles we have as parents when trying to do the right thing for our children and getting overwhelmed in the process.  Nicole also shares excellent tips for setting personal and parenting goals. 

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, we talk about the three must have elements for success on the language journey!  Through my time working with bilingual families I have noticed that those families that are achieving greater success on the journey have 1) set goals, 2) designed a language plan and 3) are surrounded with a supportive community. 

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I host a consulting call with Angelica Engelmann.  We chat about how to teach grammar, support the learning process of the community language and fun vocabulary instruction.