How to Create a Heritage Language Playgroup
When you raise your children away from your homeland, you quickly realize that the task is not only to keep a language alive. For many of us, it is about passing on a whole world of feelings and identity.
Category: Speech & Language Development
Why parents should avoid mixing their languages with their babies and toddlers
For multilingual families it is natural for adults to blend words or phrases from multiple languages. This “mixing the languages”, or code-mixing, is very normal in multilingual communication. However, it is not advisable to use it consistently when speaking to and with young children, i.e. babies and toddlers in one-on-one situations.
Yes, Neurodivergent Children Can Be Multilingual!
Neurodivergence is a widely discussed topic today, and efforts are underway to adapt social and educational environments – traditionally designed for neurotypical children – to be more inclusive. One of the key goals of inclusive education is to adjust tasks and activities so that neurodivergent children can fully participate. However, embracing neurodiversity goes beyond accommodation; it means accepting, celebrating, and supporting neurodivergent children as they are. Their differences are part of natural human variation and do not need to be fixed or changed.
Repeat, expand, recast – three discourse strategies to boost our children’s language skills
Raising multilingual children is a rewarding yet complex journey. Parents play a pivotal role in shaping their children’s linguistic development, and one of the most effective ways to support this process is through parental discourse strategies (read also our post about 4 parental discourse strategies). Techniques such as repetition, expansion, and recasting create a rich
TinyEYE online speech therapy from your home or school
In my practice as Language Consultant I sometimes work as mediator between parents and schools when there are some misunderstandings concerning the speech and language development of the child. Speech therapists usually help the child either during school hours or after school with the school language. They usually work closely with the teachers in order
When a bilingual child turns quiet
This is an extended version of an answer I gave to parents who asked me for advice about their 7 yo boy turning silent. One or the biggest myths about bilingual children is that they are all like sponges and that they become fluent in no time… Fact is, that during language acquisition, children go