RAISING
A BILINGUAL
CHILD
This page has fun graphics and posters and a link to “scholarly downloads (like a link to the book’s footnotes, etc.)
Posters
Twelve Steps
Hover on squares in bottom row to see each posters from Table 2 in the unabridged book; Graphics contributed by an anonymous reader, “Mindful Madre”
Twelve Myths
Graphic of Myths and Misconceptions. Use arrow at right to go to the second page to correct the misconceptions
Widgets
Learning Language from the Top Down
In Chapter 2, Learning a First Language, I talk about building the language tower from the bottom up–as most of us do. But I also mention that some children focus first on the melody of language. They go right to the top and learn the paragraphs and sentences.
In the book, I mention that my son is one such child, but I also lament that when he was a babbler, I didn’t have a tape recorder, so I missed have a record of it. Luckily, though, his son Eli did the same thing. At 18-months, he “talked” a lot, but had only a few words, as far as we could tell. By then, I had more equipment–and I’m thrilled that I got it on tape.
Here is 30-seconds of Eli at the train exhibit in a local museum. There are older children there, and he is running toward them, telling them something. Doesn’t he sound like he’s talking?! Do you hear a question in there? But what is he asking?
This is a short clip of Eli at a slightly earlier age saying “Where’s the ball?”–with musical intonation. It’s easier to hear the words in it; however, although it sounds like he wants you to help find the ball, he didn’t use it as a question, but as a conversation starter. When talking paused, he would pipe up with this: