Are grammatical errors ok when speaking a second language to a child?
Are we doing more harm than good if our grammar is weak in a second language that we are speaking to our infant?
View ArticleIs bilingualism hurting my niece’s language skills in both Spanish and...
Dear Dr. Gupta, I am not sure what to do about my niece’s English and Spanish. She has grown up in a bilingual environment. Her Mom speaks to her only in Spanish and her Dad in a mix of English and...
View ArticleIs it useful to start teaching my children my native language when they are 4...
My children are 4 and 7 years old and we live in Australia. My first language was Russian, though I was born and raised in Australia and I remember being sent to kindergarten and school not knowing...
View ArticleHow to go about Japanese-English bilingualism in the U.S.? I don’t want my...
How do you suggest a parent work with, while protecting, her children from the strong pressures to conform to making English dominant in one’s head, in the context of the U.S. and Japan? U.S....
View ArticleRaising my son bilingual in non-native Spanish is exhausting me–should I...
I am an adoptive parent raising my son, Oakley, in non-native Spanish. Increasingly, I have moments where I feel like I can't keep on speaking to Oakley in Spanish. I'm exhausted.
View ArticleWhich method is best for raising bilingual kids when the main bilingual...
I am a native English speaker who married a native Spanish speaker. We want our kids to be bilingual, but we are very torn on which method to use.
View ArticleWe speak Mandarin to our daughter but should I switch to Italian?
We speak Mandarin at home in the U.S. but I am of Italian origin and would like my daughter to speak some Italian. Should I change languages, even though I like speaking Mandarin and it feels awkward...
View ArticleWhen Trilingual is Not Necessarily Better than Bilingual
This couple is trying to decide on a bilingual or trilingual approach to parenting. Read why Dr. Gupta advises them to choose bilingual.
View ArticleIs it Too Late to Teach My Kids My Native Language?
I am Italian and unfortunately my two kids, who are nine and 13, don't speak Italian. I understand they will never be fluent and will always have an accent, but I wonder if it is too late to start...
View ArticleIs TV in Mandarin helpful or overkill for my trilingual Cantonese-speaking...
We are an OPOL family, speaking Italian (father), Cantonese Chinese (mother) and English (between the parents) at home. For Christmas I bought myself a device to stream TV from China but find that it...
View ArticleEnglish is starting to replace Portuguese. What can I do?
Dear Dr. Gupta, my three-year-old child speaks English everywhere and with my husband at home, and Portuguese with me. I recently noticed that she is adding more and more English words in her...
View ArticleMy 3-Year-Old Understands Spanish but Only Speaks English. Help!
We want to raise our daughters bilingual so I speak Spanish and my husband speaks English. The reality is my three-year-old understands Spanish but only speaks English. We want her to speak Spanish. Help!
View ArticleDo I teach my child my native language even though I am not fluent?
Is it worthwhile to speak to my baby in my native Cantonese with the hope that he will acquire some of the language even though I only have rudimentary fluency (grade school level)?
View ArticleMy child has a language delay. Should she learn another language?
Should we pick a kindergarten that offers language or skip language for now because of my daughter's expressive speech delay?
View ArticleHow Should We Teach Reading to a Bilingual Child?
My bilingual five-year-old daughter was learning to read in English and then my husband started teaching her to read in French. She lost all interest in reading in either language now. Is there an...
View ArticleHow Many Languages Are Too Many for a Child?
I have a burning question. How many languages is too many? I ask because we are a trilingual family English/French/Spanish. We have decided on homeschooling this September with our two girls, in part...
View ArticleShould I Improve My Own Language Skills to Teach My Daughter?
Is it worth picking a language I know and teaching my daughter words and phrases alongside her native English or would this just be confusing?
View ArticleWhy is My Bilingual Child’s Vocabulary Below Her Peers?
The oldest just turned six, she is in Kindergarten and just received her IOWA test of basic skills results. She did very well overall but her vocabulary skills were well below all of her other skills....
View ArticleIs Mixing Languages OK in Bilingual Children?
We live in Spain and while at home, we typically only speak English, recently my toddler started mixing English and Spanish. Is that ok?
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