Le temps de pénitence: Remembering the Swiftness of Time

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As a young teacher I once invited members of a pétanque club to teach my students how to play their sport (a bowling game similar to bocce). One of the two members who came was an elderly Swiss man who gave me an envelope containing two poems he'd typed. We never met again before his death, but I cherish his gift. When I think of the importance of intentional living, I remember this poem written by René Seghetini:

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Getting Bilingual Children to Speak: Family Language Goals This Year

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When I think about my family's bilingual progress over the past few years, I realize that I've gotten too comfortable with our path. I've been consistent in speaking only French with my children, and we read many books and magazines in the target language, but that's all of our minority language input. Living in America, this adds up to children who understand French but reply only in English. So my language goals for this year are largely focused on encouraging my children to speak French rather than simply comprehending it. Here's how I hope to do this:

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Raising Bilingual Children: Realities and Responses

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This last weekend I was able to attend a seminar at the Alliance Francaise de Portland entitled Bilingualism for Children: Benefits and Expectations. Jane Fabulet-Roberts, head of the Alliance's Children's Program, spoke from her experience both as a bilingual educator and as a parent. I found the seminar very encouraging. Here are five points from the seminar that I found the most informative:

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Non-Native Language Mistakes: Should You Be Worried?

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As a non-native French speaker, I find that my lack of language knowledge is the most worrisome part of speaking French with my children. What if I ignorantly teach them to use the wrong words? What if my sentences are grammatically garbled (as they often are)? Will they one day be embarrassed by the language errors I have mistakenly passed on to them?

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The Best French English Dictionary App

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Though I majored in French and English in college, I somehow made it through my studies with only a pocket-size French English Dictionary from the early 1980s. I had no idea how impressive a dictionary could be until I began teaching and purchased a two-and-a-half-inch thick, five pound French Unabridged Dictionary from Collins Robert for classroom use. When a translation question arose that I couldn't answer, the student who volunteered to be the daily fée du dictionnaire (dictionary fairy, with optional wand, ID tag, and tiara) would find the answer in that massive dictionary. But ever since I downloaded the Collins-Robert Concise French Dictionary App as a stay-at-home mama, I've been amazed at how useful a dictionary app can be.

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