Bilingual Avenue with Marianna Du Bosq

176: What NOT to do when raising a bilingual child Dec 11, 2018

We spend a lot of time talking about the things we should do and should try with our bilingual kids to help them on their language journey. But have you given some thought to the things that you should not do? I am going to share the one thing I NEVER want you to do with your bilingual kids. I never want you to bribe your bilingual kids to speak the target language.

175: Is my Bilingual Child Confused? Dec 04, 2018

No, your bilingual child is not confused! In this episode, we'll cover common misconceptions about bilingualism and "confusion." We'll break down what it means to "code switch" and what it menas to "borrow" from another language. This episode will put your mind at ease, it's a good, tune in!

174: The Benefits of Talking to your Bilingual Children Nov 27, 2018

173: Teaching Bilingual Kids Literacy Nov 20, 2018

On this episode, I share how you can bring literacy in your target language to your home for your kids! We talk about how to plan, how to create routines and how to make time in the day.

172: My Best Games for Bilingual Kids! Nov 13, 2018

On this episode, I share my best and favorite games for teaching bilingual kids vocabulary and grammar. They are fun, engaging and easy to find wherever you are in the world!

171: Creating a Need for a Bilingual Child Oct 30, 2018

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, we talk strategically about how bilingual parents can create a need to use a language. This is part 3 of a series on how to get your kids to speak more of your target language.

170: Increasing Exposure for Bilingual Children Oct 23, 2018

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, we talk about the importance of exposure and how to make sure that you are creating plenty of opportunities for your kids to get exposure in your target language.

169: Getting your bilingual kids to speak! Oct 17, 2018

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, we start a three part series on how to get our kids to grow from passive to active bilinguals. In other words, we do not want them to just listen and understand what we say. We want them to actively speak and engage in the target language.

168: 5 fun & easy ways to celebrate the bilingual journey with your kids! Oct 11, 2018

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I share with you 5 fun and easy ways that can help you celebrate the bilingual journey with your family. Make the commitment and just set some time aside to chat with them about what it means to be bilingual.

167: How to adjust when language conditions change with Bruna Jun 22, 2017

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I host a consulting call with one of our members, Bruna. We address and plan some of the upcoming changes that Bruna's little one will experience at school and even at home with a third language.

166: How to teach Spanish to elementary students Jun 06, 2017

On this episode, I share strategies that you can use when teaching Spanish to elementary students. Listen up to get the scoop on some of my favorite methods to get kids this stage to stay engaged!

165: 10 must listen Bilingual Avenue episodes May 24, 2017

On this episode of the podcast, I tell you about a survey I am doing and share with you top episodes you may have missed and are most certainly worth listening to, not once but twice!

164: Five easy strategies to teach preschoolers Spanish May 11, 2017

On this episode, i share five easy strategies to teach preschoolers Spanish. We also talk about what you can expect during this age group so you know how to maximize your time with your kids.

163: Raising bilingual kids when there are few speakers of your target language May 02, 2017

On the episode, I have a consulting call with one of the members from the Bilingual Avenue Members' Club. We talk what about you can do when there are not many people in the community that speak your target language, discuss resources for teaching reading and writing in Spanish and even talk about other podcasts in Spanish.

162: How to teach your toddler Spanish in a fun way including my favorite toys Apr 25, 2017

On this episode, I discuss my favorite strategies for learning toddlers learn language. i also give some examples of the toys i have used in the past to help with each of the strategies.

161: Music for little language learners with 123 Andrés Apr 20, 2017

On this episode, I interview 123 Andrés and Cristina to chat about the beautiful musical work that they are doing for bilingual kids around the world. Tune in to get inspired and get to know this rockstar for little l language learners.

160: 8 toys to help you teach baby Spanish in a fun way Apr 04, 2017

You can teach baby Spanish by setting a strong development foundation from the early days. A baby’s brain has the ability to grow at an outstanding rate! Babies are amazing! They have so much to learn in that first year of life. I have personally found the first year with each of my little ones to be very challenging while very rewarding at the same time.

There is a lot happening in their little brains. The seeds for language development are already being planted well before they even utter the first word. We as bilingual parents can start helping them develop these skills from the very beginning.

I want to share with you some toys that can help you teach baby Spanish. You can use them for other target languages as well since they all help to work on foundational skills.

159: My personal language story & what I learned from it Mar 28, 2017

On this special episode of Bilingual Avenue, I share with you my personal struggles around language and how my family and I handled our ups and downs. I also share with you my lessons learned and how it led me to create Bilingual Avenue.

158: How to teach your kids Spanish with five easy actions! Mar 21, 2017

Teaching your kids Spanish seems daunting but with a combination of mindset and action you can establish a strong foundation for your kids’ language journey. You can do this whether you are teaching your kids your native language or whether you are choosing to pass on to them one that you learned later in life and may not even speak all that well. Check out this episode to get some easy tips!

157: Bilingual Play Date Activities Mar 09, 2017

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I share activities that you can carry out at a bilingual play date.

Let’s talk a bit about how children of different ages play. This will help you with your planning and to make sure that you are meeting the needs of your participants.

Play date activity tips by age group

0-2 year olds

Kids at this age learn by exploring with their hands and mouth. They absolutely love to bang, throw, drop, shake and put things in their mouth. Now I understand you don’t necessarily want a bunch of toddlers throwing and banging things around your house. But you can include things like sensory bins for them to play. Add some toys that can help you work on target words in the bin to make sure you incorporate some language. Keep in mind that toddlers will generally not play with another child but instead play in parallel.

3 – 5 year olds

Children this age love imaginary play which is great because there is so much you can do here to work on language skills. Create activities that tap into children’s fantasy play and imagination. The best part about this age group is that they are much more likely to interact with other kids. My kids have both loved to interact with play little kitchens which is great because you can incorporate lots of vocabulary around pretend food and pretend cooking. You can also adapt this activity for different ages.

6 – 9 year olds

Little ones at this age are able to create deeper connections with friends. However, with deeper connections also comes conflict. Be aware that while hosting a play date this age there could be some arguing. This is generally because children in this age group are much more competitive and can get very disappointed if they lose.

Therefore, avoid activities that involved winners and losers. In fact, for this stage I recommend having one friend over for a play date. Keep it even smaller than before to reduce the likelihood of arguments. Dress up for example is fun for this age group and there is no competition. It also allows for some very natural ways to introduce vocabulary through articles of clothing.

10 -14 year olds

Older kids can enjoy play dates too. There will likely be a lot less parent guidance for this group and much more free play. Keep in mind that peer pressure has a big influence with kids this age. Silliness comes in super handy with this group so consider that when planning your activities.

So what do you think? Are you up for the challenge? Don’t overthink it and host one. They will only get better with time and you learn what works and what doesn’t.

156: How to host a bilingual play date Feb 28, 2017

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.

155: Music for your bilingual kids & how to find it! Feb 21, 2017

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, it can turn their frown upside down.

Are you sold on why you need to make this front and center on your language journey?

I know what you may be thinking. Finding music in your target language isn’t always easy! I am hoping I can change your mind after reading this post!

We are so lucky to live in such a powerful digital age withe endless possibilities, one of them being the ability to stream music!

On a previous post, Todd shared how he often listens to Disney Princess in Spanish in the car while driving our kids. He uses a playlist from Apple Music to do so.

This service is amazing because it allows you to stream music found in the app. You can even download it to your phone so you can listen to it on the go.

We use Apple Music but there are many other services such as Spotify, Tidal, Pandora to name a few. Now there are some country limitations. For example, when we lived in Germany we did not have access to Pandora, however, we did have access to Spotify. Your choices may or may not be limited depending of your region of the world.

Perhaps the best part about most of these music streaming services is that they offer access to music from artists from all over the world. This makes it so much easier to find music in the language you are working on with your kids.

For some of these services you can create a personalized list of songs based on artists that you enjoy. You could pick a handful of artists that sing in your target language and the services does the rest of the work for you.

This could be hit or miss based on your language. For example, when my first was born about 4.5 years ago there were only a handful of children's songs in Spanish on Pandora and our list was, therefore, fairly limited but it was still better than nothing.

If you are not using a streaming service to get a better variety of music in your target language I strongly encourage you to do so. Especially since for most of these services if you pay the monthly or annual fee you have the ability to download songs to your phone so you can listen to them with your kids any time you want.

I have a mix of kinds songs in Spanish and a few of my favorite artists. I am not one that gets tired of listening to the same song time after time. However, I do need to sometimes get a break from kids’ music. I can pop in an artist like Franco de Vita and know that the kiddos are still listening to Spanish words even if just passively.

How can you use this tool in your home to infuse more exposure to your day?

154: Get the most out of the reading routine with your bilingual kids Feb 17, 2017

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 question is, are you getting the MOST out of your reading routine with your kids?

I am going to share some of my best tips for creating a productive reading routine even if you don’t yet have one!

152: Accountability: A to Z of Raising Bilingual Kids Feb 07, 2017

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. I would ask that you reflect on your own ability to carry through your commitments. If you know that you have a difficult time achieving personal obligations, then you may want to set up systems to strengthen your personal accountability.

It can be as simple as writing yourself a letter that you will revisit when you reach tougher times on your family’s language journey. But it can also be as elaborate as drafting a detailed daily routine that includes all sorts of language exposure for your child.

The key here is to find ways to create personal accountability as a tool to help you stay motivated when raising bilingual kids gets tough!

One great way to find personal accountability is to reflect on WHY you want to raise bilingual kids in the first place. Don’t be afraid to dig into your reasons!

To help you think through how you may leverage accountability for your own family, I am giving you a bit of homework.

List three personal reasons why you have chosen to raise multilingual children that can keep you personally accountable to your family’s language goals.External Accountability Think of external accountability as an individual or a group that helps you achieve your family’s language goals.

This group does not have to be limited to just bilingual individuals. Even your child’s pediatrician can serve as external accountability. Strive to find pediatricians who are supportive of multilingualism. They can help you assess your child’s language development just like they assess other developmental indicators.

As your child gets older, schools can serve as part of your accountability team. When you first start out, you may not know exactly how your external accountability will develop. Give it some time and push yourself to increase this type of accountability overtime.

Just like I gave you homework to dig into your personal accountability, I want you think about your external support network.

List three individuals or groups that will assist in holding you accountable through your family’s language journey.

For more inspiration to raise your bilingual kids, make sure to check out all the other wonderful posts in the A to Z of raising bilingual kids.

153: Valentine's day activities for bilingual kids Feb 07, 2017

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

151: One Parent, One Language as a single parent Jan 24, 2017

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.

150: 2016 recap - What worked and what didn't Jan 17, 2017

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

149: Pitfalls for bilingual families and how to avoid them with Laura & Abner Solano Jan 11, 2017

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.

148: Q&A - 18 easy tips to boost vocabulary and grammar in the target language Dec 22, 2016

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.

147: Parenting Abroad with Jennifer Langkjaer Dec 14, 2016

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

146: How to make your own bilingual audio book Dec 06, 2016

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.

145: How to choose the right school for your bilingual child Nov 29, 2016

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.

144: Q&A - 6 tips to feeling more natural when speaking the target language Nov 29, 2016

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!

143: Learning the parenting lingo as a non-native speaker with Aileen Passariello-McAleer Nov 08, 2016

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!

142: Q&A - How to make a language plan Nov 02, 2016

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.

141: Proactively supporting language learning in the home with Christobel Clark Oct 26, 2016

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.

140: Q&A - Should you drop a language if a child has a speech delay? Oct 18, 2016

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.

139: Imperfect Bilingual Parenting Oct 04, 2016

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.

138: How to raise a bilingual child: The three elements you need for language success Sep 27, 2016

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.

137: Fun & easy strategies to teach complex vocabulary Sep 20, 2016

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.

136: How to raise a bilingual child: Choosing a policy for your family Aug 30, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I pick up on our podcast series for how to raise a bilingual child. We talk about the most popular types of language plans to help you identify one that will work for your family. If you are on the fence about which language policy to use, check out this free resource to help you decide: www.bilingualavenue.com/languagestrategies

128: Q&A - How to introduce chapter books to a bilingual child Aug 30, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I provide six steps on how bilingual parents can introduce chapter books to their children. This is a follow on from a previous episode (episode 127) where I chatted with one of the members from the Bilingual Avenue Members’ Club on reading strategies for her children.

135: Making the most out of the language explosion with Amber Money Aug 23, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I host a consulting call with a member of the Bilingual Avenue club, Amber Money. We chat about how to make the most out of the language explosion, what to do when children mix languages and how to set expectations around language.

134: How to raise a bilingual child: setting a strong foundation Aug 16, 2016

On this episode of the podcast, I start a three part series on how to raise a bilingual child. This first part is ALL about setting a strong foundation in your home. We talk about the importance of increasing exposure, creating a need to use the language and choosing words that are relevant to your child!

133: Baby English with Diana Sampedro Aug 10, 2016

On this episode of the podcast, I speak to Diana Sampedro the author of the book Baby English. Diana is a non-native English speaker raising a bilingual child. She shares her perspective, tips and strategy.

132: Q&A - Six tips for flying with kids while learning new vocabulary! Aug 02, 2016

Is traveling with kids in the near future for you? Do you have enough tricks up your sleeve?

Traveling can be a great time for a family but there's something about that plane ride that can be somewhat stressful for families especially on long flights. Check out these ideas to keep you kids entertained while working on language skills!

131: Preparing for the bilingual language journey from the start with Amy Liermann Jul 26, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I chat with Amy Liermann about her family's language journey with her baby. We chat about how to use motherese in Spanish, sticking to the target language when you are out and about in the community and how to flood her son with Spanish when he come home from daycare.

130: 7 myths about bilingual individuals that may be holding you back! Jul 20, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I read an excerpt from my ebook The Essential Guide to Raising Happy Bilingual Children debunking seven myths about bilingual individuals. Are any of these myths holding you back?

129: Vocabulary and grammar tips for non-native speakers with Kerstin Cable Jul 12, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I chat with Kerstin Cable from Fluent Language. She shares very helpful tactics and strategies for memorizing vocabulary and learning about grammar while having fun.

127: Strategies to improve reading development for bilingual children with Conchi Manresa Jun 29, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I host a consulting call with Conchi Manresa, a member of the Bilingual Avenue Members’ Club! We talk about how to transition to a One Parent, One Language policy, strategies for helping her children's reading development and how to maximize a visit from an English speaking au pair this summer.

126: Q&A - How I play with my bilingual children in the car Jun 21, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I answer a member's question on what kinds of games can be played in the car to infuse language. Tune in to hear 4 games I play in the car and one that I do with my baby as well!

125: Maximize your child's bilingual ability with Adam Beck Jun 14, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Adam Beck, the creator of BilingualMonkeys.com and the Bilingual Zoo. Adam chats with us about his book, Maximize Your Child's Bilingual Ability.

Which language should I speak to my bilingual baby? Jun 07, 2016

On this episode, I answer a future mother who is hesitant about speaking her mother tongue to her child. Spoiler alert: I challenge her to do it! Tune in to find out why!

123: Leveraging TV for language learning with Alice Jansen Jun 01, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I host the very first consulting call podcast episode. I chat with Alice Jansen, a member of the Bilingual Avenue Members’ Club! We talk about games for language development, the pros and cons of TV and how to establish a solid foundation for her daughter to learn Spanish!

122: Q&A - How to encourage a reluctant child to use the target language? May 25, 2016

We are a Spanish couple living in a bilingual area where Spanish and Valencian are spoken equally. Our son is 3.5 years old. I have always talked to him in English since he was born. His father has talked Spanish to him. And he has been exposed to Valencian since he was 2 years old, first at nursery school and now at school.

He understands everything I tell him in English but only on rare occasions does he answer me back in English. He says some words in English, but he’s hardly never able to build simple sentences spontaneously. I have used different strategies when he answers me back in Spanish. I usually repeat the sentence in English and then he says “yes”, but he doesn’t repeat them in English.

In the last days I pretended not to understand what he was saying in Spanish to see if I could “force” him to speak English to me. But then he went to talk to his father and asked him the question in Spanish. Sometimes I think he is not getting enough exposure to English. He is at school from 9 to 5 and some days I only see him in the evening for dinner. There the vehicular language is Valencian and he gets two hours per week in English.

My husband is also fluent in English and sometimes he speaks English to him at home. Should he start speaking English to him now regularly? At home or everywhere? Since both of us are Spanish it is a bit weird to speak English with each other. I teach English in a local high school and I feel confident with it, but I’m not sure if my husband could do the same.

Our son has a good attitude towards learning and speaking English. His tales, cartoons and films are always in English and his bedtime stories too. We have planned a summer school in English for him to foster his exposure to English. During the last Easter holidays in which we spent more time together he started to say some short sentences in English such as “I’m ready” or “I don’t know”, etc. but now that he’s back to school he answers me back in Spanish again. Sometimes I feel like quitting speaking English to him, but I’m afraid he’ll lose all that he’s already learned.

What can we do?

121: Bilingual Kids Rock with Olena Centeno May 18, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview fellow podcaster and multilingual mother, Olena Centeno about her language journey and the work she does to support bilingual families worldwide.

120: Q&A - Where can I find resources in the target language? May 09, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I share seven tips for finding resources in the target language.

Question:

Hi there I'm a Venezuelan mother of a three years old boy. I have spoken Spanish to my son from birth, I communicate in English with my husband, and my husband speaks Croatian to my son (he has no problem with the Spanish as he speaks Italian too and understand most of the Spanish words )

My son speaks Spanish and speaks-understand a bit of English and some Croatian!

We actually live in Australia and it is very hard to find materials in Spanish. I would love to know where I can find resources in Spanish and how to keep my son motivated ! My son started preschool three weeks ago and sometimes he asks me questions in English, I always reply in Spanish.

Answer:

Thank you Maria for submitting your question!

This is such a common struggle that multilingual families have. We are working hard to add more exposure to our children and so it often feels like we never ever have enough resources.

You also have the added struggle that depending on your location in the world, you may have an easier time finding resources in one language versus the other.

To help out Maria and those of you following along at home who may be on the same boat, I am going to run through a few resources that you can use to help you add a few more items to your toolkit

The first resource is Eulingual.

We had the creator of Eulingual on the podcast, Joanne Wall. She joined us back on episode 67. She told us all about how Eulingual is her labor of love where she has over 3,000 links for language learning in twenty different languages including: Afrikaans, Arabic, Chinese – Mandarin, Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swahili and at the time she was also adding Romanian to the list!

This is a great collection of resources. You can go on there and dig around for hours and I know you will walk away with some wonderful resources that you can add to your toolkit.

2. The second resource is called Lingowl resources.

She created this website specifically to help parents looking for language resources to help their children. It now offers dictionaries, flash cards, games, bilingual books, etc in a variety of languages including Spanish. Chinese, English, French, German, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Russian and several other languages.

I just love this resource because it was specifically inspired to help other parents so I know you’ll find some great resources to help you.

3. The third resource is Audio Books.

If you are a regular podcast listener, you know I love audio books. Even though I talk about them being a good resource I am not sure that I have shared some of my favorite benefits about audio books with you so I wanted to go ahead and list a few and then share with you where you can get your hands on some.

Children can understand language above their reading level when they listen to a story.
Audio books allow you to bring literacy skills into the more mundane parts of your kid’s routine like car rides.
Poetry can be brought to life for children because a narrator can convey timing, tone and rhythm.

Audio books are great at helping children develop listening skills and quiet concentration.
Children can be exposed to other speakers of your target language while developing fluency!

As you can see, audio books are pretty great. My favorite go to resource for audio books is Audible which is under the Amazon umbrella. If you head over to BilingualAvenueBooks.com you can get your first audio book free when you sign up for a 30 day membership.

This way you can see if this is something that your children find interesting although I can already assure you that they will enjoy it.

BilingualAvenueBooks.com is an affiliate link so if you choose to sign up for the Audible membership through that link I will get a small commission but it is at no cost to you.

4. The fourth resource is a multilingual alphabet.

Since you are in Australia, I just have to share one of my favorite resources for multilingual families which was developed in Australia and that is The Little Linguist Alphabet from LoveYourLingo.com! It’s a multilingual alphabet which has 26 objects that all start with the same letter in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German and Dutch.

Maria, I know you have added Croatian as one of your family languages but this alphabet will come in handy when working in English and Spanish. You mentioned your son is three and so likely letters are a big part or will soon be a big part of his world so an alphabet is certainly going to be handy.

5. The fifth resource is apps.

Our children are digital natives and if we use apps with a purpose we can make sure our little ones are learning language while they are at it.

My two favorite in Spanish is Stories by the folks that created Gus on the Go and then Mundo Lanugo. I’ll include links in the show notes to the episodes where I talked to each of the creators of these two apps.

Interview with Yono from Gus on the Go
Interview with Carla from Mundo Lanugo

6. The sixth resource is to repurpose materials you already have in other languages.

You can, for example, still leverage books you currently have in English and read them to your son in Spanish. Although my hunch is you are probably already doing that.

But how about games? Find one game, if you can a new game, and set the expectations that the game has to be played in Spanish in order to play it. Find a simple game so that your son is not caught up trying to understand the rules of the game and can instead focus on using his Spanish.

In our home we do this with Candy Land and it’s a big hit. We also play memory only in Spanish.

Take a look at everything you currently have and challenge yourself to see how you can infuse some Spanish into it.

Keep in mind that playing is a huge component of how our children learn language. We often overlook this but with you as the Spanish speaker, try to dedicate at least 30 minutes a day where you can spend uninterrupted time just playing with your son in Spanish. It is without a doubt one of the best things you can do for his language development.

7. The seventh resource is to ask around!

Ask on the multilingual Facebook groups, online, friends and family what they are using. I am often surprised when I dig around Twitter and Instagram and see just how many resources there are out there. We just have to dig and that digging process can be overwhelming. If you know anyone else that is working on Spanish, see what is working for them and your children and I am sure you’ll get some great ideas as well from others that are doing the same kind of digging that you are!

Alright Maria, I hope you found these resources helpful and that you get a good start for some ideas.

As the one working on the target language in my home, I know how hard this process can be and I know that you will certainly enjoy those resources to the max when you get your hands on it.

If you have a question that you’d like answered on the show, leave me a message on the Bilingual Avenue contact page.

You can check out the resources to this episode at bilingualavenue.com/episode120

May you have fun travels on your language journey. Hope to see you again on the Avenue.

119: Overcoming challenges when raising bilingual children with Lorraine Ladish May 03, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I chat with Lorraine Ladish about the challenges of raising bilingual children. She shares her particular struggles while also providing great advice and perspective on overcoming common challenges when raising bilingual children.

118: Q&A - What is the best language policy? Apr 26, 2016

On this episode, a father wonders what language policy would work best for his family. Should they consider the Minority Language at Home strategy to increase the exposure? Or should they give the One Person, One Language strategy a shot?

I share my thoughts on what is more important quantity or quality of exposure!

117: Getting your toddler to speak with Kimberly Scanlon Apr 19, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I chat with Kimberly Scanlon about some of her favorite strategies to promote language development in toddlers! She shares wonderful ideas to help our children express themselves and have fun with language.

Kimberly chats with us about:

Her professional background and how much she enjoys work with parents of children birth to three year olds;Her book My Toddler Talks all about how to build communication skills in toddlers;How play and language development go hand in hand for children;What parents can take away from observing their child play with their toys;The benefit of creating a predictable routine for children and how they can boost language;The value of doing silly routines with younger children;The benefits of speaking to your child in a sing song manner;How giving your child choices instead of open ended questions can help to get your child talking;How anticipation can get your child to use more of their vocabulary;Some of the mistakes she sees parents make when trying to help their children speak;The importance of asking for help if you have any concerns about your child’s speech and language development;What types of goals parents should make for their children’s language development;Her latest book, “Learning to Read is a Ball”;Her advice to stay hopeful on the language journey!

116: Raising Global Citizen at Home Online Summit Apr 12, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I tell listeners about the Raising Global Citizens at home Online Summit! This is a summit hosted by Multicultural Kids Blog with topics all about what parents can do to help their children understand the world around them! The agenda for the summit is as follow:

Day 1: Why is it important to raise global citizens?

Day 2: How TRAVEL supports global citizenship

Day 3: How FOOD connects us in a global society

Day 4: How ARTS and CRAFTS promote global citizens

Day 5: How PLAY encourageS global citizenship

Day 6: The importance of MEDIA, APPS AND BOOKS

Day 7: The role of LANGUAGE in raising global citizens

115: Getting out of your comfort zone when raising bilingual children with Dolores Dweck Apr 05, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, Dolores shares with us the importance of putting ourselves out there when raising bilingual children. By stepping out of our comfort zone we can connect with other bilingual families and expand our network of support and exposure!

114: Q&A - Using visuals to teach grammar to bilingual kids Mar 29, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I answer a listener’s question and give her tips on how she can teach her son the gender rules associated with grammar.

113: Strategies for teaching reading with Dr. Marnie Ginsberg Mar 22, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I chat with Dr. Marnie Ginsberg, the leader of Reading Simplified. She shares tips on how we can teach our children to read and develop their reading comprehension all while maintaining a love for reading.

112: Q&A - Does it matter which language the nanny speaks to my baby? Mar 15, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I answer a question regarding the impact of having a nanny who s peaks the community language on an infant and give strategies the nanny can use to foster language development for the target language. If you have a little one one or younger, you are sure to get some really helpful tips!!!

111: Non-native bilingual parenting with Elisabeth Alvarado Mar 08, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, Elisabeth Alvarado shares her journey as a non-native bilingual mother. She shares her challenges and her successes and shares wonderful tips for parents raising kids in a language that is not the parent’s mother tongue.

On this podcast, Elisabeth shares with us:

-How she fell in love with Spanish;-How languages are managed in her home with the Minority Language at Home strategy;-How awkward it felt at first to speak a non-native language to her children the first day her son was born;-How she worked through that first fork in the road where she had to chose between English & Spanish;-How the effort paid off and now speaking Spanish is an engrained habit;-How books have been helpful to add vocabulary to her days with her children;-How she is preparing for when her children get to the point where they may prefer to speak Spanish to each other;-Some funny interactions they have had with others when they are all together as a family;-A proud parenting moment with family members in Peru while chatting on Skype;

110: Q&A - 5 Tips to Help Non-Native Speakers Raise Bilingual Children Mar 01, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I share 5 tips (plus a bonus one!) to help non-native speakers help bilingual parents! We cover different strategies to be very intentional on how to add exposure and how to learn more language to keep up with our kids!

109: How do kids really learn to write with Patricia Zaballos Feb 23, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I chat with Patricia Zaballos, author of Workshops Work!: A Parent’s Guide to Facilitating Writer’s workshops for Kids. She shares so much insightful information to help our children become writers from a young age. She breaks down how children really learn to write and lets us know about her very useful blog! Get ready to be inspired and learn how you can get started with writing at home right away!

How can I increase the minority language exposure for a toddler? Feb 16, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I give 5 tips to a family that is looking for ways to provide additional exposure to Portuguese for their son. One option they are strongly considering is switching to speaking Portuguese at certain times of the day. I give her some feedback on that idea and provide a few more strategies.

107: Finding motivation from our bilingual children with Mariana Llanos Feb 09, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview book author and bilingual mama, Mariana Llanos. She discusses her language journey including the challenges she has faced to help her children achieve Spanish fluency. She also chats with us a bit about her books available in English and Spanish.

106: Q&A - 4 Tips to teach bilingual children the past tense Feb 02, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I share with you four fun and easy strategies to get your children to understand and use the past tense in your target language. We focus on leveraging the power of modeling and create simple routines to encourage children to use the correct grammar structures.

105: How to create an appreciation for reading and writing with Kelly Serrano Jan 26, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I chat with Kelly Serrano and discuss strategies for promoting an appreciation for reading and writing. Kelly is full ideas for parents of bilingual children on how to support their development of these literacy skills and get the most out of the language journey!

104: Q&A - Why should I set language goals for my children? Jan 19, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I discuss the importance of setting family language goals. I describe the types of goals you can consider setting. We also chat about The Bilingual Journal and how it can help you on the language journey!

103: Blending language and culture for raising bilingual children Jan 12, 2016

On this episode Bilingual Avenue, I interview Emma from Lingolised.eu to chat about her multilingual family. Her family languages include German, English and Hungarian and Romanian! She discusses with us how her family has been able to infuse culture into their everyday lives and the role it has played for learning languages.

102: Q&A - Language barriers between families Jan 05, 2016

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I answer a question from a mother who feels that a language barrier is forming between her and her daughter. She speaks the minority language with her daughter and she worries that her 3 year old's lack of fluency is creating a distance between them. I share my thoughts on how at the end of the day what our children really need is parenting. Language is just one of the many aspects of parenting.

101: Money saving tips for your next language trip with Lauren Lyons Cole Dec 29, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I chat with Lauren Lyons Cole, a certified financial planner. She shares some of her best tips for bilingual families interested in making a trip to expose their children to their target language. She also has some great insights for listeners on how they can take control of their money by getting organized, spending smarter & earning more.

100: How to make a family language trip a reality with Michele Cherie & Hanna Cheda Dec 22, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I chat with Michele Cherie & Hanna Cheda about family trips they took during the summer of 2015. Michele took her three children to France for three months while Hanna took her two children to England for two weeks. Michele & Hanna shared all the details and logistics of how they made their trips possible.

099: Raising bilingual children to be world citizens with Becky Morales Dec 15, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Becky Morales, the creator of Kid World Citizen, an incredible website offering activities that help young minds go global. Becky shares with us how we can teach our children about world’s culture and how we may be able to even incorporate it into our child’s classroom!

098: Q&A - How to convince partner that bilingualism is good for our child? Dec 08, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I give a mother the tools to have an open and honest conversation with her partner on why she feels that her son should be raised in a bilingual environment. I discuss how the benefits of being bilingual including how it can help support cultural connections and encourage her to dispel any misconceptions her husband may be feeling towards multilingualism.

097: Raising Bilingual Children with Maritere Rodriguez Bellas Dec 01, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Maritere Rodriguez Bellas. Maritere is a bilingual and bicultural, free-lance writer, blogger and author. She just recently wrote her first book, Raising Bilingual Children and has a second book about to be released soon called Arroz con Pollo and Apple Pie: Raising Bicultural Children. She is now working on her third! To enter to win Maritere’s book, head over to bilingualavenue.com/newsletter

096: Q&A - How can I teach my child to write in the home language? Nov 24, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I give a mother advice on how to introduce writing for her children. She is looking for tips to teach writing in the home language which will be different from the one her children are learning in school. She is also looking for advice on what language to use at home and how to help her children with their homework.

095: Creating a language program in your child’s school with Amanda Shong-Blahdgett Nov 17, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Amanda Shong-Blahdgett also known as Miss Panda. She is raising her two children to be bilingual in Mandarin Chinese and English. Miss Panda is also the creator of the Let’s Learn Mandarin Chinese with Miss Panda album geared towards young children.

094: Q&A – How strict should I be with my child about answering in the target language? Nov 10, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I answer a question from a father who is wondering if he should be stricter with his daughter since she is refusing to engage with him in the target language. I give him seven different strategies that he can implement at home. I also share with him the strategy we use in my family and which one the research has shown to provide the best results for boosting vocabulary.

093: 15 helpful tools to help you and your child learn a language with Lindsay Dow Nov 03, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Lindsay Dow, a private language tutor and the founder of Lindsay Does Languages. Lindsay believes in inspiring others to teach themselves languages. Whether that be in a face-to-face lesson with her, or through one of her Skype classes, or one of her blog posts or even one of her videos, she wants you to know that it is possible for you to learn a language! Lindsay shares 25 different tools to help you and your children learn a language!

092: Q&A - How to teach two languages at once and strategies to promote language development Oct 27, 2015

On this episode of the Bilingual Avenue podcast, I share strategies with a listener who is interested in teaching her child two languages, English and Russian. I explain to her who the One Parent, One Language strategy works as well as the Language Time approach. I also walk her through a series of strategies that she can implement to promote language development for her little one from the early months all the way to the when her child starts making two word sentences.

091: Instilling a love for culture from an early age with Carla Curiel Oct 20, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Carla Curiel the founder of Mundo Lanugo. Lanugo is a Miami-based lifestyle and entertainment brand for preschoolers inspiring Latin at heart confidence and cultural pride. Carla shares with us how she has instilled a love for her culture in her daughters from an early age and has tips for parents who are looking to do the same.

090: Q&A - Is it too late to teach my older children a second language? Oct 13, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I provide advice to a mother who is concerned that she may have waited too long to teach her children Italian. Her children are 6 and 11 and although they are showing interest in learning the language, she is looking for suggestions on how to pass on the language to them. I give her some tips on how to motivate older children and find age appropriate content for them.

089: Tips and tricks to foster language development from birth to four years old with Nicola Lathey Oct 06, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Nicola Lathey, one of the top speech and language therapists in the United Kingdom. She is the author of the prize‐winning and best-selling book, Small Talk. We talk about how parents can promote language development with their children from birth to four years old. Nicola shares excellent strategies that parents can implement right away in their daily interactions with their children.

088: Q&A - Will my child fall behind academically if he attends a language school? Sep 29, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I check in with a mother who is concerned that her son may fall behind in Kindergarten if he attends a Spanish only preschool. I describe the different concepts that her child will likely be exposed to in preschool and assure her that many of them will be skills that he can transfer regardless of what language is being used for the instruction. For the skills that are language specific, I give her ideas on how she can incorporate them at home. I also share some ideas on how she can partner up with her child’s teacher to make sure she is able to help her son with the transition.

087: Learning language from our kids with Brynn Barineau Sep 22, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Brynn Barineau. Brynn is originally from Atlanta and has a BA and MA in International Communication from American University in Washington DC. It was while finishing her Masters that she met her Brazilian husband. Brynn eventually joined her then fiance in Rio de Janeiro and began teaching. After moving to Vitoria, she taught economics and American literature at Escola Leonardo Da Vinci. Brynn is currently working on building a career as a writer and publishing her first novel. She blogs at BrynninBrazil.com She has a four-year old daughter that she and her husband are raising bilingual in English and Portuguese.

086: Q&A - Will my child be confuse if we change our language strategy? Sep 15, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I give advice to a mother who is worried that changing her language strategy with her daughter will confuse her. Currently, they are speaking English at home while her child picks up the community language, Spanish in school. They will be moving to the United States and the target language and community language will be swapped. She is concerned that their relationship will be impacted because her daughter feels much more comfortable conversing with family members in English. I assure her that although it may be difficult at first, her daughter will eventually sort out the shift in language strategy.

085: Four family languages and the researcher who brings them all together with Annabelle Humanes Sep 08, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Annabelle Humanes, a former researcher in language acquisition and language teacher in a previous decade. She shares with you her tips for getting your hands on children's language development research and shares her personal family language journey which includes four languages!

084: Q&A – Language schools models and will my child be able to learn the community language? Sep 01, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I describe the different types of language school models available to parents including two way immersion, submersion and transitional programs. I also answer a mother’s concern of whether her child will be able to learn the community language and give her strategies to ensure that he has plenty of exposure in that language.

083: Living a multilingual, pluralistic & interdependent global lifestyle with Alice Jungclaus Aug 25, 2015

This episode is sponsored by Gus on the Go, an great language app for the little ones at home! Visit www.gusonthego.com/bilingualavenue and get access to a special free printable exclusively for Bilingual Avenue listeners.

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, Alice Junglaus, a parent coach, chats with us about her cross-cultural family and how they have followed their dream of living a multilingual, pluralistic and interdependent global lifestyle. Alice also chats with us about global parenting including what it means and how it can help you and your family!

082: Q&A - How to adapt the family language strategy when a new language is introduced? Aug 18, 2015

On this episode of the podcast, I answer a listener’s question who is concerned that although her family has moved to Taiwan her children may have limited exposure to Mandarin. She wants to help them to learn Mandarin, however, she already has her hands full supporting her children’s learning of Spanish. I share my advice on how she can still encourage them to learn Mandarin while maintaining a focus on Spanish.

081: Learning another language after childhood with Sonia Gil Aug 11, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I chat with Sonia Gil, an entrepreneur, language geek, and passionate traveler! Sonia is on a mission to show the world how travel can enrich your life without emptying your bank account. She is the founder of the digital language learning company Fluenz and she is also the host of Sonia's Travels, a two time award-winning web original series about Sonia's unique take on the places she visits. Sonia is also the lead behind the non-profit Fluenz.org which we will discuss throughout our interview today.

080: Q&A: Which language should I speak to my child while he transitions to the community language? Aug 04, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I answer a listener’s question who is navigating her son’s transition to the community language. She is concerned that he will need more exposure to English to make things easier for him when he starts school. However, she is concerned that if she herself speaks to him in both languages, he may be confused. I assure her that he will be able to tell difference but encourage her to consider what languages she will want to use when her son has more exposure to the community language.

079: One dad's adventure raising a trilingual son with Yono Mittlefehldt Jul 28, 2015

Yono Mittlefehldt was born in Israel but grew up in the United States. Yono currently lives in Germany with his wife and his 2.5 year old son who is being raised trilingual with English, German and Hebrew. He co-created Gus on the Go with Alice Zhao, an app with 10 interactive lessons and 89 words that allow kids to explore vocabulary in a new language. On the podcast, we talk about Yono’s journey raising a trilingual son and how he is managing to personally pass on two heritage languages at the same time.

078: Q&A - Will mixing languages have a negative impact on young learners? Jul 21, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, a grandmother is worried that she will have a negative impact on her grandchildren by mixing English and Spanish.

077: Managing the presence of multiple languages in a single mind with Dr. Giuli Dussias Jul 14, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Dr. Paola Giuli Dussias, a Professor and the Head of the Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese at Penn State University. Dr. Dussias describes to us how the brain is capable of managing multiple languages and dispels the misconception that adding a second or third language can complicate our language system.

076: Q&A - How can split bilingual families maximize exposure to the target language? Jul 07, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I answer a question from a listener who is concerned about her husband’s daughter getting enough exposure in Spanish. I share ideas on how to get the most out of their time together as well as maximizing the time when they are not together.

075: Preparing for your multilingual child from birth through the early years with Diana Limongi Jun 30, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I chat with Diana Limongi who shares all about her language journey including how she prepared for the arrival of her multilingual child.

074: Q&A - How do you increase exposure to the target language for your family? Jun 27, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I share the five top things that I do to increase exposure in Spanish in the home specifically: having a consistent reading routine, chat with family members over Skype, narrate what I do to my toddler, elongating my toddler’s sentences and playing!

073: Be Bilingual – Practical Ideas for Multilingual Families with Annika Bourgogne Jun 23, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview book author and multilingual mom Annika Bourgogne. Annika provides advice for parents whose children are struggling to engage with them in the target language. She also shares tips for parents whose children are pushing back on learning to read in their home language along with inspiration for anyone on the language journey.

072: Q&A - What should I ask during a parent/teacher conference about my multilingual child? Jun 18, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I answer a mother’s question who has a parent/teacher conference coming up at her son is school and wants to maximize her time with her son’s teacher. I include ten different themes to consider when meeting with her child’s teacher.

071: A Third Culture Kid shares her best tips and resources with Esther Brumme Jun 16, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Esther Brumme. She shares her personal journey as a Third Culture Kid and the many resources she uses at home to support her children’s language journey. You can learn more about Esther on her blog, thirdculturemama.com

070: Q&A - Am I putting too much pressure on my multilingual child? Jun 11, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I address a listener’s concern regarding his bilingual son. He worries that having to speak a different language to each parent may be too much pressure! I assure him that his son is just showing his multilingual abilities.

069: The adaptability of the multilingual brain with Dr. Arturo Hernandez Jun 09, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Dr. Arturo Hernandez. Dr. Hernandez is the Director of Developmental Psychology and the Neural Bases of Bilingualism Laboratory Director at the University of Houston. He discusses the potential bilingual advantage that speaking more than one language can provide. We also discuss how the multilingual brain can adapt for language acquisition.

068:Q&A - How to create a book exchange with friends Jun 04, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I walk through my recommendations on how to establish a book exchange with friends. I suggest a set of norms that should be established, how to manage the actual exchange of the books and how to create celebrations to get the participating kids excited about the activity.

067: An Irish mother’s labor of love to provide language resources to other multilingual families with Joanne Wall Jun 02, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Joanne Wall, an Irish mother who together with her family moved to France so that her children could learn another language and reap the benefits of bilingualism. She is the founder of Eulingual.com and Lingowl.com, two websites full of language resources! Make sure to check out this episode's sponsor, FluentU.

066: Q&A - Should I abandon one of our home languages? May 28, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I take a question from a listener who is concerned about her son’s language development. She feels that he is not performing at the same rate as his monolingual peers. I give her some advice to encourage her to keep going. I also introduce our first sponsor FluentU!

065: Insights into what it takes to teach your multilingual child with Berenice Pernalete May 26, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Berenice Pernalete, a biliteracy instructional guide, at Mundo Verde Public Charter School in Washington, DC. We chat about bilingual language models, the challenges language teachers face and the amazing rewards the teaching profession can provide. Berenice has over nine years of extensive experience in areas such as children’s performance management, children’s program development, and many others.

064: Q&A - What books do you use at home to supplement English, Spanish and German? May 21, 2015

On this episode of the podcast, I share my family’s favorites for English, Spanish and German books. I share favorites from every member of the family including our little one!

062: Q&A - Is it too late for our family to become multilingual? May 14, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I answer a listener’s concern regarding the languages that are spoken in the home. They currently speak mostly English but would like to also add Chinese and Spanish. She also wonders if it is too late to get started since her son is over a year old.

061: Language learning without the flashcards with Ana Lomba May 12, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Ana Lomba, a Parents’ Choice Award-winning author and creator of several language learning products that encourage conversation amongst family members. Ana discusses with us the strategies that she has seen work best for different age groups and how she has incorporated them into her books.

060: Q&A - How can I make language learning more fun for school age children? May 07, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I provide a listener who is working on Japanese with her niece and nephew make the experience more amusing and interesting for them. I also give her some ideas on how to incorporate a natural progression for their language acquisition process.

059: The importance of keeping older children engaged in their heritage language with Jeannette Kaplun May 05, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, Jeannette Kaplun, an award-winning bilingual journalist and TV personality. Jeannete shares with us her personal language journey with her children and focuses specifically on the challenges parent face as their children get older. She shares how she is able to engage her children on their language journey by finding ways to say connected to their heritage language. Jeannette is the founder of HispanaGlobal, a bilingual platform for Hisapnic women. She was born in El Paso, Texas and raised in Chile.

058: Q&A - How to promote language development using books? Apr 30, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I share six principles that foster language development and how books can help parents of multilingual children achieve these principles.

057: Helpful parenting tips with Dr. Laura Markham Apr 28, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Dr. Laura Markham. Dr. Laura discusses with us how to create more connected relationships with our children, how to foster our children’s creativity, how to encourage reading and more great advice!

056: Q&A - How can I find books in my target language? Apr 23, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I answer a listener’s question regarding books. I share eight ideas on how to find books in the target language for parents that are having difficulty finding books.

055: A professional translator shares her family’s trilingual journey with Hanna Cheda Apr 21, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Hanna Cheda. Hanna is a corporate translator, interpreter and a writer. She currently lives in Poland with her family and is raising her children, together with her husband, with Polish, Spanish and English. Hanna shares how she’s incorporating all three languages into her household.

054: Q&A - How can I establish a support network? Apr 16, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I answer a question from a listener who is wondering if she should try to establish a support network for her language journey. I talk about my thoughts on the value of building a network with other parents and provide some ideas on how parents may be able to find other multilingual families.

053: Using visual aids as a tool on your family’s language journey with Jenny Kung Apr 14, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Jenny Kung, the creator of the English Student. Jenny is a firm believer in the power of clear, simple and colorful visual aids in promoting effective learning which lead her to the creation of her website the English Student. Her website now offers a collection of free visuals to learn English and so we’ll be chatting today about the power of visuals for learning any language and how you may be able to leverage this great tool!

052: Q&A - Will I ever feel completely comfortable speaking a language other than the community language to my kids in public? Apr 09, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I answer a question from a mother who often feels awkward speaking to her daughter in a language other than the community language. She asked for my personal experience and wondered if she will ever feel comfortable talking to her daughter in Russian in public. I share my experience and encourage her to keep trying it for a few months before giving up.

051: A second generation mom’s quest to pass on her heritage language to her children with Betty Galvan Apr 07, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, Betty Galvan, a former teacher turned stay-at-home-mom, turned blogger and freelance writer raising three bilingual sons. Betty describes some of the challenges she faces as a second generation Mexican American raising bilingual children while also sharing her proud parenting moments.

050: My father’s personal experience raising bilingual children and his lessons learned Apr 02, 2015

On this episode of the Bilingual Avenue podcast, I interview my father, José Hennig! We talk about his own language journey, our transition to our new community in the United States and his lessons learned from his experience raising three bilingual children. It’s an emotional interview for me while full of great advice for other parents facing a transition.

049: Supporting Dual Language Learners in the Classroom with Dr. Lisa Lopez Mar 31, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Dr. Lisa Lopez, an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of South Florida. Her research agenda involves furthering our understanding of, and improving upon, the educational and environmental opportunities of Latino children in the United States. Dr. Lopez shares with the audience the strategies that work best to support the learning needs of dual language students in the classroom including what instruction models work best.

048: Q&A - How can our family maximize a trip to a location that speaks our target language? Mar 26, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I share with a listener my thoughts on how to leverage a family trip to Puerto Rico to increase exposure for his kids in Spanish, their family target language.

047: Celebrating your child’s little lexicon with Ryan Cole Mar 24, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Ryan Cole. Ryan is an America father living in the Czech Republic where he is raising two bilingual boys together with his Czech wife. He is also the creator of a website application called a Little Lexicon which lets you translate and share your bilingual toddler’s vocabulary with friends and friends.

046: Q&A - Will I confuse my child if I read books in more than one language? Mar 19, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I answer a mother’s question regarding whether she will confuse her child if she reads books in more than one language. I share with her the pros and cons and how to go about making a distinction between the two languages when reading. I share my thoughts on how reading in both languages can demonstrate to your child the abilities you gain as a multilingual.

045: The Power of music for language learning with Susanna Zaraysky Mar 17, 2015

On this episode interview Susanna Zarayski! Susanna has studied eleven languages, and speaks eight of them. She is the author of the books, Language is Music also available in Spanish, Portuguese Russian and English. Her goal is to empower people to use music and media to learn foreign languages. We chat about how music can help you and your child learn a language.

044: Q&A - Should I be concerned that my children switch languages when talking to each other? Mar 12, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I address a mother’s concern about her daughters switching between English and French when speaking to each other. I describe code switching and language borrowing and whether or not they should be of concern.

043: Learning the Language of a Mother with Audrey Kratovil Mar 10, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Audrey Kratovil who grew up in a monolingual English-speaking home yet her love Spanish led her on a path where she now speaks exclusively to her daughter in her second language. Audrey shares great insights from her language journey.

042: Q&A - How do you manage family time when one parent is monolingual? Mar 05, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I share how my family spends family time even when we are not all speaking the same language! I specifically share how we manage dinner time and play time!

041: Strategies to help you navigate multicultural and multiethnic family relationships with Harriet Cannon Mar 03, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Harriet Cannon, a licensed marriage and family therapist with over 25 years of experience and co-author of the book titled Mixed Blessings: A Guide to Multicultural and Multiethnic Relationships. Harriet shares the joys and challenges that a couple may experience when raising multilingual children and strategies to navigate these relationships.

040: Q&A - Tips to help your child transition to the community language Feb 26, 2015

On this episode, I expand on a question I provided on a Google Hangout on International Mother Language Day. I give the listener some tips on how to help his children transition to the community language. We also discuss ideas on how to increase exposure without having the exposure come from the parents.

039: Achieving a family’s language goals by listening to mom’s advice with Joyce Giraud Feb 24, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview actress, producer, philanthropist and mother, Joyce Giraud. She shares with us her family’s bilingual journey and how her mother’s advice to be patient and persevere gave her the motivation to stay committed to her sons’ language learning.

038: Q&A – Which third language should I introduce to my children? Feb 19, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I share my thoughts with a listener on which language she should introduce to her children. She is deciding between French which is spoken by a larger percentage of the population and Italian which she is very passionate about. Tune in to hear my recommendation.

037: Addressing common misconceptions about multilinguals with Madalena Cruz-Ferreira Feb 17, 2015

On this episode, Madalena Cruz-Ferreira talks bout some common misconceptions about multilinguals. Specifically, we discuss the following myths: Multilinguals can learn languages easily, but only in childhood; Multilinguals don’t have many languages, they have many half-languages; Mulitlingualism should be encouraged but only in languages that matter; Multilinguals are multilinguals because they are gifted for languages.

036: Q&A – Should I communicate with my child in a non-native language if I am not fluent? Feb 12, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I share my thoughts with a listener who is proficient in English but not completely fluent. I give her some words of encouragement while suggesting some ideas to support and infuse more English into her interactions with her son.

035: Adding a little mandarin to your multilingual routine with Toni Wang Feb 10, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Toni Wang a mother to three trilingual children and the artist behind “A Little Mandarin,” a collection of Chinese Children’s classics which she has given a new life with a contemporary sound and voice.

034: How should I address my family’s concerns about our bilingual parenting choices? Feb 05, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I give a listener strategies on how to address her families hesitations about bringing up her son in a bilingual household. I chat about the importance of declaring your intentions, addressing any misconceptions her family members may have about bilingualism and suggest sharing the benefits of bilingualism to persuade the skepticism.

033: 4 common phenomena that children may experience when learning a second language with Dr. Alejandro Brice Feb 03, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Dr. Alejandro Brice, a bilingual speech-language pathology researcher and a Professor at the University of South Florida. Dr. Brice discusses with us four common phenomena that children may experience when learning a second language including interference, the silent period, code switching, and language loss.

032: Q&A – Should I worry about my child picking up my non-native accent? Jan 29, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I answer a listener’s question who is concerned that his son will pick up his Russian accent when speaking English. I discuss the linguistic behavior of children when it comes to accents as their speech develops.

031: MAMI Talks about her bilingual parenting journey in San Diego with Dariela Cruz Jan 27, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I chat with Dariela Cruz, the blogger behind MamiTalks. Dariela discusses her bilingual parenting journey including the struggles she had prior to establishing a language plan and the pride she now feels when she realizes how well her son has internalized his bilingual identity.

030: Aesop Fables for All Jan 22, 2015

On this episode of the podcast, I share a project Bilingual Avenue is putting together in support of multilingualism and multiculturalism called Aesop Fables for All. Aesop Fables for All is a collective effort to translate and record a number of Aesop and other select fables, currently found in the open domain, in as many languages as possible. This project was inspired in part by International Mother Language Day which is celebrated on February 21, 2015.

029: Bringing up a bilingual child with Rita Rosenback Jan 20, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Rita Rosenback, a mother to two multilingual daughters and the author of Bringing up a Bilingual Child. Rita discusses the 7 C’s parents need to navigate their multilingual children: Communication, Confidence, Commitment, Consistency, Creativity, Culture and Celebration.

028: Q&A - Synthesizing to Enhance Reading Comprehension Jan 15, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I conclude the reading comprehension multiple part series discussing reading comprehension strategies. I introduce the last strategy, synthesizing and do a quick summary of all six strategies including making connections, visualizing, questioning, inferring and determining importance.

027: One family, three languages: A twist on the One Parent, One Language approach with Maria Babin Jan 13, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Maria Babin. Maria is originally from Southern California where she was raised bilingual by her Peruvian father and Mexican mother. She developed an affinity for all things French from a very young age. She followed that love to Brigham Young University where she studied French literature and early childhood language acquisition! She currently lives in France with her French husband and four trilingual children. You can follow Maria’s multilingual journey on her blog atTrilingualmama.com.

026: Q&A - Determining Importance to Enhance Reading Comprehension Jan 08, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I continue the reading comprehension multiple part series discussing reading comprehension strategies. This week we focus on determining importance to understand the big idea for both fiction and non-fiction texts.

025: A look at an American international school overseas with Bonnie McAuley Jan 07, 2015

On this episode of the Bilingual Avenue, I interview Bonnie McAuley an elementary school teacher at an American international school and a bilingual mother. Bonnie shares her personal language journey with her son and describes for listeners her school's philosophy and approach to teaching multilingual students.

024: Q&A - Inferring to Enhance Reading Comprehension Jan 01, 2015

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I continue the reading comprehension multiple part series discussing reading comprehension strategies. This week we focus on how to introduce and implement inferences to predict information that is not included or implied in the text. Inferring can lead to higher order thinking skills.

023: From Monolingual to Trilingual: A family’s move to Morocco and their language journey with Amanda Mouttaki Dec 30, 2014

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, Amanda Mouttaki shares how her family moved from the United States to her husband’s home country, Morocco, in order for her children to become fluent in French and Arabic. Amanda, a blogger at MarocMama.com, explains the obstacles, the proud moments and the funny anecdotes they have all shared along the way.

022: Q&A - Questioning to Enhance Reading Comprehension Dec 27, 2014

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I continue the reading comprehension multiple part series discussing reading comprehension strategies. This week we focus on how to leverage asking questions about the text being read to enhance and improve your child’s reading comprehension.

021: Inspiration from Florida’s Teacher of the Year with Dorina Sackman Dec 23, 2014

On this episode of the Bilingual Avenue podcast, I interview Dorina Sackman, Florida’s 2014 Teacher of the Year. Dorina shares with our listeners her own family journey and her advice for bilingual families.

020: Q&A - Visualizing to Enhance Reading Comprehension Dec 18, 2014

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I continue the reading comprehension multiple part series discussing reading comprehension strategies. This week we focus on how to introduce visualization when reading literature.

019: A joint language learning journey: a father and his daughter learn Chinese together with Nick Jaworski Dec 16, 2014

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Nick Jaworski an American blogger, international traveler and education enthusiast living in Chicago with his wife and daughter. Nick speaks exclusively in Chinese with his 2-year old daughter although he is not a native speaker and is learning along with her! In addition, she’s learning Turkish from her mother, English from the community and Spanish at a weekly language class.

018: Q&A - Making Connections to Enhance Reading Comprehension Dec 11, 2014

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I answer a listener’s question on how to improve his son’s reading comprehension. I describe how making connections can enhance his understanding of text. This will be the first of a multiple part series discussing reading comprehension strategies.

017: Actionable Tips & Strategies to Enhance Language Development with Susanne Dopke Dec 09, 2014

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Susan Dopke, a speech pathologist specializing in language acquisition, bilingualism and cross-cultural communication. Susanne shares many useful strategies to support language at home and lists specific tips that you can implement right away!

016: Q&A - Can you describe some of the more academic terms that have been used on the podcast? Dec 04, 2014

On this episode of the Bilingual Avenue podcast, I describe some of the less commonly known terms that have been used on the podcast including One Parent, One Language; Minority Language at Home; L1 and L2; Minority vs Majority Language.

015: A language immersion journey in Bordeaux with Jennifer Poe-Faugere Dec 02, 2014

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Jennifer Poe-Faugere a mother of three bilingual girls, blogger, wife and regional tour guide in Bordeaux, France. Jennifer walks us through her family’s language journey including their move from the US to France and how each of her three daughters have adapted to the transition.

014: Q&A – How can I support my child if I do not speak the language(s) used by the school? Nov 27, 2014

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I answer a listener’s question with some ideas to support language needs at home. Many parents with children in multilingual schools do not necessarily speak every language their child is learning. I encourage parents to focus on promoting literacy skills, increasing exposure and staying connected with the school staff.

013: A look at a Spanish-English dual language school and how it incorporates Mandarin with Liza Sánchez Nov 25, 2014

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Liza Sánchez, mother to four multilingual daughters and founder of Escuela Bilingüe Internacional (EBI), the first independent school in California to offer Spanish-English dual language programs. EBI is a pre-kinder through 8th grade dual language school with classes in Mandarin starting in the 3rd grade.

012: Q&A – How to motivate children to continue to speak in their heritage language when they prefer the community language? Nov 20, 2014

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I answer a listener’s question to help him get his children speaking in their heritage language, Spanish. Since they entered pre-school and they are getting more exposure in English they engage with him in English. I talk about how to create opportunities where his children will feel the need to communicate in Spanish and also provide some tips and strategies on how to increase exposure to their heritage language.

011: Now “D” is always for Dinosaur with Úna McCarthy-Fakhry Nov 18, 2014

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Úna McCarthy-Fakhry, a mother of two bilingual girls who saw an obstacle and took matters into her own hands. Tune in to learn how Úna developed a multilingual alphabet to help her daughters and little linguists all over the world!

010: Q&A – How to introduce a third language when the parent is proficient yet not fluent in the language? Nov 13, 2014

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I answer a listener’s question regarding how to introduce a third language when the parent is proficient yet not fluent in the language.

009: Connecting with language and culture through music with Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou Nov 11, 2014

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Daria Marmaluk-Hajioannou, a recording artists, folksinger, winner of multiple parenting awards, world traveler and mom to multilingual children. Daria discusses how languages can help create conversations from the heart and how music can help aid the language learning experience.

008: Q&A – How do you address parenting issues when only one parent speaks the minority language? Nov 07, 2014

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I answer a listener’s question regarding how to address parenting issues when only one parent speaks the minority language.

007: How one bilingual family is introducing a third language with Adriana Zoder Nov 04, 2014

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Adriana Zoder, a homeschooling mom, author, blogger and newspaper columnist! Adriana discusses how she is introducing a third language to her bilingual children, the challenges she has faced raising her children speaking English & Romanian and some wonderful proud parenting moments.

006: Hallmarks of a good language program & more with Dr. Ingrid Piller Oct 30, 2014

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Dr. Ingrid Piller, a Professor of Applied Linguistics at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. Dr. Piller describes the hallmarks of a good language program, the linguistic environment in Australia, the many benefits of bilingualism and much more.

005: A father’s will to preserve his language with Andrey Kneller Oct 28, 2014

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Andrey Kneller, a Russian-born poet, translator and math teacher. Andrey opens up and shares his resolve to preserve his Russian after his family’s move to the US. He discusses how together with his wife they have raised their bilingual daughter and how speaking and maintaining Russian has allowed their family to have meaningful relationships.

004: Bilingual Benefits, Myths & Developmental Milestones with Dr. Brenda Gorman Oct 23, 2014

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Dr. Brenda Gorman, Associate Professor at the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Elmhurst College. Dr. Gorman walks in detail through the many benefits of bilingualism, common myths and what parents should expect at each developmental milestones for language and speech.

003: How one Intentional Mama is raising bilingual children despite being a non-native French Speaker with Michele Cherie Oct 14, 2014

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Michele Cherie, a former French and English teacher with a passion for French, intercultural education, and purposeful parenting. She lives in Oregon, USA with her husband, preschool-age daughter, and toddler son where as a non-native French speaker; she is raising her children in French. You can follow Michele on her blog at Intentional Mama.com where she writes about making purposeful choices for a culturally-rich, perfectly paced family life--with a French twist.

002: Tools to help support your heritage language in the classroom with Karen Nemeth Oct 13, 2014

On this episode of Bilingual Avenue, I interview Karen Nemeth, the founder and CEO of Language Castle. She is the author of several books aimed at enhancing the literacy and learning experience of young dual language learners. These books are all fantastic resources for parents and teachers with topics that range from language activities you can do with your toddler to how to appropriately incorporate technology into a child’s learning experience.

001: Welcome to Bilingual Avenue Oct 07, 2014

My name is Marianna Du Bosq and on this first episode I wanted to take some time to tell you about my journey as a bilingual learner, bilingual educator and bilingual parent.

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