Bilingual Kids Rock Podcast: Raising Multilingual Children, Multicultural Living, Growing Up With Multiple Languages.

Yulia Carson is a multicultural trainer and she specializes in working with expat families. She relocated from Moscow, Russia to Chicago, Illinois 14 years ago. She studied History in Cultural Anthropology both in Russia and the USA – this led her to pursue the career.

I get a lot of questions from people who email me – How to do, what to do when a family moves abroad and plan to stay at a different country for years, what languages to use, etc . Basically, Yulia will be answering these questions in this podcast as this is her field of expertise and she works with these families who move in a different country.

00:47 Introduction to Yulia Carson

01:50 Personal bilingual story of Yulia Carson and what led her to pursue a path in a culture language

03:19 What is the difference between expat families and immigrant families?

05:17 What are the options of languages and cultures that expat families face when they move abroad?

08:10 Discussed children adjusting in a completely different environment

10:20 What do parents normally choose (on raising the kids bilingual) when moving to a different country?

11:20 Do kids still acquire the new language even if they’re studying already in the international school?

12:40 What is the most common nationality of families who move to different countries?

15:21 Learning a second language and a common language in a different country

17:50 What can parents do to prepare their children (linguistically and emotionally) when moving abroad? What steps should they take?

21:07 Coping techniques for kids with the intercultural training

23:22 Expats vs Immigrants resources and services

26:29 Who finds it harder to adjust in a new environment? parents or children

30:41 What is Yulia Carson’s advice for parents who wants to keep the culture and save the language for kids in a different country?

32:45 What to do if parents send their children in local schools and they still want to keep the language when they go back home?

35:30 How the action of the parents impact the intercultural training for their children

39:00 Fears of moving to a different country – impact to the children

43:30 “Once you discover a new world, you can’t shrink it back”

46:57 What are the resources they can use to prepare families for the transition?

50:01 Closing remarks

Quotes:

TCK World: The Official Home of Third Culture Kids

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Monica Bravo Granström, (MonicaBG.com) is a Swede living in Germany with her Spanish husband and two multilingual children. Besides of being an academic at the University of Education in Weingarten, she also works voluntary in many ways for multilingualism, e.g. writing for Riksföreningen Sverigekontakt. She is also the Chief Editor of Magasinet SMUL. Monica has written a book, ” I love svenska” (released on the 26th of September 2013). The book helps Swedes living abroad in their effort to pass on the Swedish language to their children.

We discuss her family language portrait, her journey in her career as a language expert, sending her kid to an immersion school, her book and her online magazine.

00:34 Introduction to Bilingual Parents Connect

2:00 Introduction to Monica Bravo Granstrom

4:37 Learning Spanish in high school

5:50 Monica’s family language portrait and what language does she speak to her kids

8:53 Challenges in learning a second language at school

11:45 Discussing research on school concerns

13:03 Monica talks about her book, “I love svenska”

19:43 Discussing the online magazine, “Magasinet SMUL” – Swedish magazine

23:00 Discussing the research and program

24:46 Switching and mixing languages

26:10 Importance of reading and learning another language

30:00 Encouraging kids to learn another language by making it fun

33:00 Language support and play dates

34:55 Importance of internet and technology with communication

35:33 Challenging thing in raising a multilingual

41:23 Advantages of having an academic background in language to raising her kids

43:09 How learning to speak English paved the way for Monica’s career

45:52 Monica’s advice for people to raising kids bilingual

55:56 Closing remarks

Quotes:

“I love Svenska” – Monica’s book (now available at Amazon)

Magasinet SMUL – Swede online magazine founded by Monica and two friends of hers, one in Canada and one in Italy

http://bus.swea.org/ – Organization of Swedish Women abroad

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Amanda Hsiung Blodgett is the founder of Miss Panda Chinese, Miss Panda Chinese helps children everywhere learn Mandarin Chinese in a fun and engaging way by presenting kids songs and stories in Chinese that are easy to learn and fun to listen to. Amanda is a Mandarin Chinese instructor and the mother of two young bilingual children. She is a native Mandarin Chinese speaker and a trained Mandarin Chinese instructor. Amanda has an extensive teaching experience with kids around the world specifically in Taiwan, Morocco, Canada and the United States. 

We discuss how her career in language started, raising her kids bilingual, growing up in Taiwan and living in Turkmenistan, and the importance of leaning another language for her.

00:36 Introduction to Bilingual Parents Connect

2:13 Introduction to Amanda, founder of Miss Panda Chinese

4:30 Amanda’s journey to her language career

6:41 Learning English in Taiwan as a child

8:36 Growing up in Taiwan and the languages/dialects in the country

11:10 Amanda’s reasons why she raise her kids bilingual

12:45 Does her husband speak Chinese?

13:30 Living in Turkmenistan

14:45 Switching languages in the family

17:27 Minority language has a stronger lead in her fmaily

19:00 How learning another language changed when her kids started going to school

21:20 Adding another language in the school’s curriculum

27:17 Teaching kids how to speak Chinese

30:00 Learning also about the culture and adding it in the curriculum

34:00 Importance of learning another language to a parent

36:21 Is Chinese the hardest language to learn and what is Amanda’s thoughts on it?

44:10 Having fun when learning another language

45:05 How important is traveling for Amanda

49:43 Best way to teach children is to lead an example

51:08 “It’s so contagious, it’s like happiness” – having fun when teaching another language

56:51 Where to find Amanda – Ms. Panda and for people who are interested in learning Chinese

57:46 Closing remarks

Should parents push children to learn minority language?

How to foster children’s pride in their minority language and culture?

Code switching vs. Borrowing in bilingual children

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 Leanna Guillen Mora is the founder of Multicultural Kid Blogs and Baha’i Mom Blogs. She also blogs about embracing the madness of motherhood at All Done Monkey. She is a stay at home mom to her 4 year old son and his baby brother. She and her husband, who is from Costa Rica, are raising their kids to be bilingual and to be “world citizens”.

We talk about the Baha’i Faith, her choice of language learning system for her kids, learning Spanish while residing in Bolivia, switching languages when speaking to adults and a whole lot more.

00:38 Introduction to guest, Leanna Guillen Mora – founder of All Done Monkey, co-founder of Baha i Mom Blogs and Multicultural Kids Blogs

1:47 Discussing Baha’i Faith and its relation to raising children, difference to the other religions

7:10 Leanna’s family language portrait and language system

11:00 Learning Spanish and living in Bolivia

13:32 Discussing “Not every moment has to be teachable, sometimes it’s just cuddling”

16:15 Does Leanna change her personality when speaking another language?

18:30 How she teaches her son another language?

19:10 Leanna’s take on language support and community in her area

21:15 How about Spanish immersion schools?

22:00 Discussing bilingual educational group

26:22 Leanna’s trip to Costa Rica and her experiences in immersion traveling

30:38 Fostering the minority language by traveling to home country

32:43 Discussing the book: Quiet – the power of introvert by Susan Cain

35:15 Switching languages when speaking to adults

36:35 Leanna’s advice on parents who are looking/planning to raise multilingual children

39:52 Closing Remarks

Quiet – The Power of Introverts by Susan Cain

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We talk about Brett’s bilingual story, cultural differences, taking Polish classes so he can teach his daughter, discussing Polish and Russian differences, how his career as a cross cultural coach and trainer happened and the challenges of moving in another country.

00:30 Introduction to bilingual parents connect

2:10 Introduction to Brett Parry – host of the podcast Down Under and Beyond

3:05 Brett’s family bilingual story

4:39 Learning more about Poland and European history

6:26 Reasons for Brett to raise his daughter bilingual

10:10 Taking Polish classes for bilingual parenting

13:26 Knowledge of learning how to speak Polish and when does Brett uses it

16:30 Teaching his daughter how to speak Polish

17:40 Non-native language speaker teaching his kid

25:00 Discussing Polish and Russian differences

26:46 Understanding jokes and sense of humor of different languages

27:47 How his career as  a cross cultural coach and trainer happened

32:00 Discussing traveling and how it changes your view of the world

33:51 Challenges of moving in another country

35:31 Advantages of traveling for your family and being proud of your country

38:11 Learning more about the social side of Poland

40:19 Experiencing being homesick – and the traditions you are used to

43:16 Brett’s advice for parents who are looking/planning to raise a multicultural family

46:54 Closing remarks and where you can contact Brett

Bilingual Parents Connect

Down Under and Beyond iTunes channel

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Jonathan Ervine – is the creator of Dad’s the way I like it – a website on what it means to be a dad and how dads are represented in the society. He resides in North West Wales with his wife, son and pet chicken. He is also a lecturer of French at Bangor University. He can speak English, Welsh and French, though he is not a native Welsh speaker.

We talk about his family language portrait, how he became bilingual and speaking Welsh. We also talk about raising his son bilingual, what system of bilingual learning do they use and the challenges of speaking a non-native language to their son.

00:30 Introduction to bilingual parents connect

2:13 Introduction to Jonathan Ervine – founder of Dad’s the way I like it

2:58 Discussing Welsh and Scottish language

3:57 Jonathan’s bilingual story and career

5:09 Reasons to raise his kids bilingual (particularly in Welsh)

6:34 Difference between the north and south Welsh language

7:40 Who speaks the Welsh and English to their kid? The system they use to raise their kid

8:58 Ways on learning a non-native language and speaking it to your child

12:00 Discussing the durability of speaking Welsh

16:19 Signs of understanding for both languages for Jonathan’s son

17:49 Challenge of speaking Welsh to his son

20:39 Minority Language: Welsh or English?

22:53 Literacy in Welsh language and schools

26:00 Exposing his son to speaking French

26:43 Living in France

28:52 Challenges of raising a bilingual child

30:17 Football or Soccer – and its relation to podcast

32:00 Running a podcast in Welsh

33:01 Advice for parents looking to raise a bilingual child

39:37 Closing remarks

Bilingual Parents Connect

Being a parent in Wales

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Anna Vinogradova is the founder of  Multicultural Kitchen ( A blog about food, cultures and languages – the connecting point between Anna and her husband as they love to cook and eat a lot). She is a Russian mom, her husband is Spanish and they raising  their California-born daughter together. Anna is using  One Parent, One Language (OPOL) system.

We talk about how she became a bilingual (learning English at a young age) and her family language portrait. What are her reasons for raising her daughter bilingual, why do they use food as a way to expose their daughter to the different cultures, the challenging thing about raising a bilingual kid and where does she get the support for minority language.

00:30 Introduction to bilingual parents connect

2:10 Intro to Anna Vinogradova – founder of multicultural kitchen

2:47 Learning about Anna’s bilingual story

5:45 Family language portrait – what language does she speak to her husband

7:25 Anna’s personal reasons for raising her daughter bilingual

9:39 Passing the culture to her daughter through food

12:05 Exposing her daughter to Spanish culture and dancing

14:15 What other cultural features she plans to pass on her daughter

16:10 How strong is her minority language support and community

18:00 Most challenging thing about raising a trilingual child

21:00 Benefits of knowing how to speak several more languages

23:50 Anna’s advice on parents who are looking or already raising a bilingual child

26:17 Closing remarks

Bilingual Parents Connect

Becky Morales is the creator of Kid World Citizen  – offering activities that help young minds go global. She is an ESL teacher with a passion for multi-language education and traveling around the world. Becky and her husband, Antonio are the proud parents of  four kids – two by adoption (Chinese and Ethiopian descent). Her work has been featured on Scholastic, The US Department of Education, MSN and many more. She loves connecting with like-minded educators, institutions and parents.

We talk about Becky’s family language portrait, how she manage the cultural differences in their multilingual household, how she speaks to her kids with a non-native language, what cuisine she serves in their multicultural home, does she celebrate all the holidays with her kids and learning language as an adult – is it too late to learn a second one or should it still be pursued at an older age?

00:30 Introduction to bilingual parents connect

2:10 Introduction to Becky Morales, founder of Kid World Citizen

3:14 Becky’s family language portrait – what language do they speak to their children

5:45 Minority language at home

8:20 Learning Mandarin Chinese, Spanish and English – How does Becky balance language learning between her kids

10:40 Celebrating holidays with her family

13:30 Visiting Ethiopia

13:52 Learn more about adoption policies and nationalities

19:01 Adoption programs in Ukraine

19:56 How Becky started her website – “Kid World Citizen”

23:25 Teaching Spanish to her kids – the challenges of speaking a non-native language to them

25:44 Speaking to babies in native language

27:35 Cultural food in Chinese, Ethiopian and Spanish

30:47 How does Becky’s kids associate themselves? American? Chinese? Ethiopian?

34:53 How to manage all the cultural differences in your multicultural household

40:30 Experience in immersion traveling and future travel plans

42:10 How does she plan to teach her kids literacy: writing and reading

47:23 Learning language as an adult

49:30 Becky’s advice on parents who are looking or already raising a multilingual child

51:12 Hosting an exchange student in your home – exchange dinners and cultures

55:49 Closing remarks

http://offbeatmarriage.com/american-mexican-intercultural-marriage-raising-a-multicultural-family/

http://kidworldcitizen.org/page/5/

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Olga Mecking  is the founder of European Mama – a blog that focuses on expat life and raising trilingual children. Olga blogs about her experiences on her site and sometimes contribute articles to other websites as well. She is a Polish mother living in the Netherlands with her German husband and three children. She also works as a  translator and communicator in intercultural communication.

We talk about how she was raised as a bilingual by her parents, their family language portrait, and how she raises her trilingual kids. She also shares with us what system she uses on her kids when it comes to language learning. We also talk about the importance of quality time and giving more input when it comes to teaching your kids another language.

00:21 Introduction Olga Mecking – founder of European Mama

2:00 Olga’s family language portrait – how she was raised as a bilingual

4:10 Switching languages – was it hard to speak Polish and German?

6:00 Olga on learning how to speak English

9:15 Learning more languages like Hebrew and Dutch.

11:56 Her family language portrait now – her kids on trilingual learning

13:00 Olga on miscommunications of language speaking and translating between her and her husband

15:00 Polish community and immersion schools

17:50 Difference between Polish and Ukrainian language

19:00 Quality time and input with language learning

22:36 Multilingual learning plan isn’t working?

25:20 Discussing the one parent, one language system

26:39 Tracking the time a child spends on listening and learning the language

30:19 What language does her children speak to each other?

34:00 Keeping the heritage language and translations

35:17 Culture differences in living in different countries

37:41 Multicultural cooking with Olga

42:45 Challenges of raising multilingual kids

46:20 Olga’s advice on raising a multilingual child

The multilingual parenting dilemma

Always speak your mother tongue with your child

The importance of quality time in multilingual families – and my struggles with it

Who can be bi- or multilingual?

How does it feel like to raise multilingual children

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In this episode of Bilingual Kids Rock Podcast, we talk with Maria Babin. She is the founder of Trilingual Mama. She has four trilingual kids with her French husband and they are residing in France. She graduated from Brigham Young University in Provo Utah, in 2000 with a Bachelor’s degree in French. Maria completed an undergraduate coursework early childhood language acquisition and graduated  coursework in French literature.

We talk about passive bilingual learning, how her parents raised her as a bilingual and her love for the culture of France that lead to her living there. She also shared her family language portrait, the system that she uses to teach her kids how to speak Spanish, English and French.

00:35 Introduction to Maria Babin – founder of  Trilingual Mama.

2:45 How Maria turned active bilingual from passive bilingual

4:45 Maria on being passive bilingual and why is it important

5:20 Serving a mission for her Mormon church – learning Spanish again

8:13 How her parents raised her as a bilingual

10:30 Discussing her love for France – the attraction to the French culture and language

13:58 How she came to Paris and met her French husband

17:53 They have two weeks of English and then two weeks of French.

23:59 Research and early learning language acquisition

26:30 One parent, one language system

27:47 Language confusion vs. inter-language transfer

29:24 How different kids learn differently

33:10 Choosing to speak different languages

36:44 What does she sacrifice to be able to travel to the heritage country

44:52 Having international pen pals and creating a pen pal kit

49:39 Advice on bilingualism for parents

Encouraging multilingual children to write in their minority language(s)

Creating a pen pal kit

Raising multilingual children using an adaptation of one parent, one language system

Nurturing language and culture when raising a multilingual family