Children are curious by nature – about the world, about each other, about everything they encounter. They have this innate sense of wonder and eagerly explore their environments with open minds and enthusiasm. Yet, despite this natural inclination towards discovery, it is often the influence of adults that shapes their perceptions and attitudes towards the unfamiliar. Driven by their own insecurities, prejudices or simply personal preferences, sometimes adults inadvertently instil fear and worry in children, stifling their innate curiosity and limiting their potential for growth. Granted, in m ..read more

Here is to You, the trailblazers—the knowledge-spreaders, the limit-breakers and the future-makers! That’s right, I am talking about You, on this International Day of Multilingualism and every day after. Today, I want to reach out to all our readers with a big, heartfelt shoutout – You’re the ones making the magic happen, using languages to connect, understand and build bridges where there were none. You’re the ones who see languages not just as words to learn, but as worlds to explore, cultures to embrace and stories to share. It’s your everyday efforts that make a difference. A big differen ..read more

We’re in the middle of Neurodiversity Celebration Week and today, we also mark the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. That is why today I want to talk about the beauty of diversity, acceptance and curiosity. I want to talk about the beauty that lies in our differences – not as limitations or obstacles, but as enriching and empowering elements of our collective human experience. I want to talk about seeing these differences as a source of strength and growth rather than points of division or inadequacy; about valuing what makes us unique. This topic is vast and laye ..read more

Did you know that International Mother Language Day, which we celebrate today, is a part of the global effort to not only champion linguistic diversity but also to raise awareness about the importance of sustaining family languages? It offers us a moment to pause and reflect on the integral role our home languages play in shaping our identity, culture and connections. For many of us raising children with more than one language, our home language is the language of our heart-to-heart chats, our bedtime stories, our family jokes that only make sense to those who have lived the nuances of the cul ..read more

Today is one of my favourite days of the year – World Read Aloud Day – and I want to share a story with you. Admittedly, I am a nerd and have been fond of reading aloud since I was around five years old. It all began with my grandfather, who patiently taught me how to read and made reading aloud a daily ritual for us. We spent countless hours reading aloud to each other – sharing stories and discussing them. We read in both Bulgarian (our native language) and Russian (because he was fluent and wanted to teach me) and he always translated for me. Little did I know that these early experiences w ..read more

As you scroll through this post, many of you might be wondering what intentionality has to do with Family Language Planning and why it is so important for families raising children with more than one language. Rightly so, because at a first glance it might not be obvious. So, let’s dive deeper. I often meet parents who feel really overwhelmed by all the decisions they have to make around their family languages. They frequently find themselves navigating external pressures – from extended family expectations and societal norms to educational systems. And these expectations are almost always cou ..read more

I don’t jump on the bandwagon of making random New Year’s resolutions just because it’s a popular practice. It’s easy to get swept away by the hype, no question about that. We all get caught up in the enthusiasm of a fresh start sometimes, setting goals like exercising more, eating healthier or practising mindfulness, simply because it’s become a societal norm as the calendar turns. However, this approach can lead to resolutions that are more about fitting in with the trend rather than being genuinely meaningful or personally relevant. Many of these resolutions rarely stick beyond the first mo ..read more

The holiday season is upon us and, while it brings a lot of joy, it can also bring a lot of anxiety and overwhelm. This time of year offers a unique set of opportunities, but also challenges for multilingual families. We are all super excited to finally be able to reunite with family, unwind, catch up, connect and celebrate in our native language. However, sometimes, reality doesn’t quite align with our expectations. So, today I’d like to explore two common scenarios that multilingual families might encounter during these gathering and provide some strategies to handle them gracefully, ensurin ..read more

This week, I had planned on talking about one of the most important perks of growing up with more than one language – the effect it has on a child’s socio-emotional development. It’s a topic that is very close to my heart as well as one that is being heavily researched and is steadily gaining momentum in our increasingly interconnected world. But, as we all know, life often has a way of re-directing our attention where it’s most needed. Just a couple of days ago, I was faced with a situation that touched me a great deal and inevitably prompted this shift in plans. I found myself in a heartfelt ..read more

Picture this scenario – you are a family raising a child with more than one language. You’ve invested substantial time and effort in crafting a comprehensive Family Language Plan, diligently arranging for increased exposure to your home language(s), collecting materials and preserving cultural heritage. In an ideal world, this plan would harmoniously align with your child’s education, especially their school and teachers. But then reality sets in as your child begins school in the societal language, a language you don’t speak at home. The teacher(s) inform you that they don’t support your lang ..read more