Daddy Doesn't Speak French: How He (Still) Supports Our Bilingual Children

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My husband grew up speaking Thai at home, but he's most comfortable speaking English because he was raised in the U.S. (This comfort factor is why he chose to speak English to our children.) His French knowledge is limited to what he's learned in hearing me speak it with our kids, and yet he still manages to support our children's French acquisition in ways I truly appreciate. Here are five awesome ways he supports our children's bilingual development:

 

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Child-Friendly French Events in the Pacific Northwest, Summer 2014:

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C'est l'été (it's nearly summer, anyway)! Here's a list of child-friendly French events in the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S. taking place this summer:

World Cup / Tour de France Airing at St. Honoré Boulangerie (June/July):

St. Honoré Boulangerie has such delightful French ambiance and authentic pastries (at any of their three locations around Portland) that it's always a treat to visit, but this month you'll have the excuse of enjoying a pain au chocolat with your child while watching the World Cup soccer games on a surreptitious flat-screen télé. Return again in July during the Tour de France programming to enjoy another perfect pastry.

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Summer Children's Activities for Practicing French at Home

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Does it feel like summer to you yet? It's so close here--we have friends visiting from out-of-state, and this is my husband's last week of teaching before his summer break. I've been thinking of simple summer activities that we can do to keep French integral to our days since my family will be spending more time together and we will be conversing more in English (my husband doesn't speak French). Here are my suggestions for simple children's activities for summer fun in French (and most of them can be used to practice another language as well):

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Our Family's Bilingual Journey: Regrets & Current Successes

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Since she was two years old, my daughter has generally spoken English to me. Before then, she spoke a fair amount of French words, but it seemed that as soon as she learned an English word from Daddy or an extended family member, she'd stop using the equivalent French word. She did continue to use some French nouns, but the predominance of English as her main language happened rapidly.

Lately I've wondered if pretending not to understand English would have prompted my infant daughter to speak French with me. I've heard this can be a successful technique--but my children always seemed to grasp that I understand English perfectly well since I speak it with my husband and everyone else.

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5 Ways to Learn French (or Another Language) Without Taking A Class

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When I was a high school French teacher, I told my students that high school was the last time in their lives when they could take a foreign language class for free. Now that I'm raising my children in French, however, I see that my statement wasn't entirely accurate. Here are five ways to learn French or improve your knowledge of the language for free without enrolling in a class:

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Multilingual Family Profile № 1: Nicole & Ihab

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A few months ago I shared that I would be launching a series of posts featuring interviews with bilingual (or multilingual) families, and today I am delighted to share the first one! The "S" family lives here in Oregon and speaks native French and German with their two young daughters. But their linguistic background is broader than that: Nicole grew up in Mexico, and Ihab grew up in Egypt. Here's their story, shared by Nicole:

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Family-Friendly French (& Spanish) Music for Children: Recent Finds

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We normally listen to French children's music in the car, but a few months ago my five-year-old daughter started pleading for English music. I temporary complied, trading Petit Ours Brun for Raffi, but pondered why the French music no longer appealed to her. I theorized that it wasn't the language that mattered, but the music itself. The English music she likes had more complicated lyrics and melodies than the French comptines we'd heard over and over.

My theory was right: Since then, I've found more age-appropriate French children's music, and she hasn't asked for English music since. I'm thrilled to return to French music immersion!

Here's what we're listening to:

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