photo by celesteh

I am American and I live in France with my French husband and our three children. We are raising our children bilingually- they speak both French and English as native speakers. How do we do it? And why? Those are good questions.

I speak exclusively English with my children. Not only can I not imagine not speaking English with them, we also follow the one parent, one language theory of raising children in multilingual homes. I speak English to them, my husband speaks French. Our kids speak English to me and to each other, French to their father. Together, my husband and I speak both languages.

We read a lot of books in both languages. Every evening my kids choose their bedtime stories and we read the stories from our language. They also listen to kids CDs in both languages. On the other hand, they watch TV and DVDs almost exclusively in English. We get the BBC by satellite, so they watch English kids’ shows. I hate dubbed movies, so any movies they watch are in the original version, which is mostly English.

They attend lots of extra activities in English as well. Special reading readiness classes run by a local American Montessori teacher, or children’s groups through the local English-language association. I believe that it is important to put a lot of emphasis on the minority language (the non native language of the country in which we live) and this approach is working.

Why do I think it’s important to raise children bilingually? There are the obvious answers of increased job opportunities and awareness of other cultures. I think both these reasons are very valid and important. But beyond these reasons is the simple fact that I can’t imagine speaking to my kids in another language than the one that I was raised in, that I think in, that I dream and feel in. And my husband feels the same. Given that those are two different languages, well, our kids are growing up bilingual!

Merci, et bonne journée!

Kelly is a blogger, mom and graduate student. She lives in France with her three kids, four cats and handsome French frog of a husband. You can find her at Almost Frugal and Almost Frugal Food.

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Congratulations to our winner of the First Spanish Words giveaway!

Karen!

Thanks to everyone who entered!

In other language news, there was a funny translation mishap in Wales, Foreign Language Fun has some Spanish Thanksgiving activities, and Biligual Fun is giving away a CD along with some great tips on teaching your kids Spanish.

NaNoWriMo Update

Well, last weekend I started strongly, very strongly, and then, let’s just say it’s been good that I had such a large cushion because the last few days I’ve slacked a little. I’m still ahead of the game, but I need to press on if I want to stay that way for much longer. I’ve been really enjoying the process though. I experienced one scene where the words just seemed to flow out freely, almost supernaturally, and even just today, a new character and small subplot crept in out of nowhere.

I’m pressing on!

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There was a long period in my life where the only thing I wrote was assigned by a teacher. Looking back, the joy and pride I felt when I found the perfect words to explain the workings of the heart should have been some clue that my future was in front of a computer rather than in a doctor’s office. As the Universe would have it, it took me four years of college in a pre-medical program and five years working in the field of behavioral psychology before I would admit to myself that writing was something I wanted to pursue.

Once I figured it out, I couldn’t imagine how I’d missed it for so long. There were so many clues, so many reasons why writing was the perfect profession for me. Here are a few of the things that clued me into (and keep me pursuing) my passion for writing.

1. Writing gives me an excuse to keep learning. I work as a technical writer, a job where I have to ask a lot of questions and learn a lot of new information so that I can write manuals or documentation, or train others how to complete a task or use a product. I also love to write how-to and informational articles about topics that are new to me. This means I’m always learning something new and learning makes me happy.

2. Writing opens my eyes to the world around me. Because I write, I’m always looking at the world from the perspective of a writer. This means I see the beauty in things that other people might pass by without a second glance. It means I look for the story behind the obvious façades of people and places. I try to see things from other perspectives. Writing helps me see past the obvious.

3. When I write, I feel alive. It’s cliché, yes. But writing excites me. When I turn off the TV and turn on my laptop, I get giddy with anticipation. What will flow out of my imagination today? Whose story can I tell? What experience will I share? Sometimes that blank page is intimidating, but most of the time, it’s exactly what I need to energize and inspire me.

4. My words reach people. One of my favorite things to do is write letters. I don’t do it nearly enough these days, but writing a letter to a friend, someone I haven’t seen in ages, or the editor of the local newspaper is a powerful act. The message can be one of love, sadness, longing or anger, but when I write a letter (or an article, story or essay) I know my words will be taken to heart. I’m careful with my words; I write and rewrite until they say exactly what I mean. And when I let them go, I know that I have expressed myself to the best of my ability.

5. I’m a better writer than I am a speaker. I’ve never been one for speaking in public. Place me in front of even just one person and I often find myself tongue-tied and useless. But give me a piece of paper and a pencil, and I can create the perfect speech for a wedding. I can write out arguments for or against any issue I feel strongly about. I can tell you exactly how I feel about you and why. With writing, I can reorganize my thoughts and restructure my sentences until I’ve gotten them just right. Conversation is so immediate. Once it’s spoken it’s gone, and there’s no adjusting or rewriting.

These are just a few of the reasons why I find myself writing, both for a living and for fun. Why do you write?

Ami writes about her attempts to stay healthy, live a local and green life and write that Great American Novel (or something like it) at Writing: My Life. You can also find her at Write Out Loud, a blog for writers who want to free the stories inside them.

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In honor of the grand project I started this weekend, today’s word is:

Escribir

[es-kri-BEER]

which in English means to write.

Here’s how it’s conjugated in the present:

Yo escribo [es-KRI-bo] (I write)
Tú escribes (you write)
Él/ella/usted escribe (he/she/you write)
Nosotros escribimos (we write)
Ellos/ellas/ustedes escriben (they write)

Here’s a fun idiomatic expression related to the word escribir:

Estaba escrito.

[es-TAH-bah es-KRI-to]

which literally means It was written, but figuratively means It was fate, It was meant to be, or It was written in the stars.

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As the NaNoWriMo Blog mentioned this week, 2008 loves novelists!

And I wanted to post this for any other participants out there: a fellow Denver NaNo shared this cool Word Count Calendar that will make keeping track of progress easier!

Rather than just using Word, I’m trying out a program called Scrivener. It has a 30-day trial, which would work perfect for NaNo! But I’m sure I’ll end up purchasing it because I really like it so far. There’s a great video tutorial on the site.

So, I woke up early this morning… I actually felt like a little kid trying to sleep on Christmas Eve. And Chiquita slept in until almost 9 am (!!), so I was able to crank out a little over 1,000 words. It felt good, but I’m still feeling a little doubtful that I can do this (prayers accepted!). But I’m going for it!

Remember you can click the blue NaNoWriMo button in my sidebar to go to my Auther Profile on the NaNo website. I hope to update my word count there as much as possible.

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*DEADLINE EXTENDED until midnight (MT) tonight, 11/6! Since my giveaway was mentioned on the Wishpot Baby Blog yesterday, I decided to extend the deadline an extra day! ¡Buena suerte a todos!*

I was privileged to have been contacted by Oxford University Press to review the children’s picture book, First Spanish Words, illustrated by David Melling and compiled by Neil Morris. For those of you who are teaching your children other languages, there is also a French and a German edition in the series. According to the press release,

each volume takes the reader on a picture-book journey through a child’s typical day. There is a bird’s eye view of an early morning at home, the journey to school, inside the classroom, at a birthday party and even a trip to the museum and the beach. Aside from the useful everyday items, these books also incorporate many children’s favorite things: airplanes, dinosaurs, and even fairy tale characters. Over 400 foreign words and their English translations are given on the side of each ilustrated page. These books also include supplementary material– a picture/word matching game, a learning to count page, indentifying shapes, opposites, the weather, time, and a comprehensive index.

I love the Where’s Waldo?-esque feeling to this book; on each page spread there are vocabulary words with small pictures of the items going down the sides, and then the items can be found in the large illustration that spans both pages. The book is colorful and the illustrations are full of life and energy. {I will insert here the only thing I found odd which is a strange dinosaur-like animal that appears randomly in the scenes throughout the book. I couldn’t quite figure out what it was or why it was in there, but hey, I’m sure little kids will like it just fine. :)}

From a language learning stance, I love that the vocabulary words are taught in context, within the child’s daily activities, and found within a picture of a somewhat familiar scene. Probably my favorite part about the book is the supplementary material in the back; that is what sets apart this book from your average children’s Spanish vocabulary book, in my opinion.

As the press release states, you’ll find a wide range and large amount of words to be learned in this book, which makes it pack a lot of punch for a fun picture book. I highly recommend First Spanish Words!

Now comes the fun part! Oxford University Press was generous enough to give me a second copy of the book to give away to one of you lucky readers!! I think this is the perfect first giveaway for Gidget Loves Language!

Here’s how to win:

Winner will be chosen randomly; you get 1 entry for each of these things you do with a total of 4 possible entries per person. Make sure you leave a comment for each of your entries (i.e. 1 telling me you subscribed, 1 with the link to your blog, etc.). Giveaway will end midnight, mountain time on Thursday, November 6, 2008.

1. Leave a comment telling me why you’d like to win this book.
2. Leave a comment telling me you subscribed to my blog via RSS or via email (if you already subscribe you can post a comment telling me that).
3. Leave a comment with a link to your blog, where you mention this giveaway.
4. Leave a comment saying you Stumbled or gave a thumbs up to any page at language.gidgetgoeshome.com via StumbleUpon (post a link to your SU profile in the comment to verify your thumbs up).

¡Buena suerte!

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Here are my current books… not too many as I’m getting geared up for NaNoWriMo which starts in just a few days (!!).

1. Praying God’s Word Day By Day by Beth Moore~ I’ve been reading this daily devotional since the beginning of 2008 and I really like it.
2. No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty~ I’ve returned to this book to use as a guideline for some basic outlining for my WriMo novel. I like Baty’s suggestions for getting prepped for the month of writing a lot.
3. I heart bloomberg by Melody Carlisle~ I’m about halfway through this one and it’s pretty cute (and I love that it’s the 1st of a series). I wanted to read a couple more Christian chick lit novels to get me fired up for WriMo.
4. Love Starts with Elle by Rachel Hauck~ I’m super excited about this one; I hope to read it, too, before starting my novel. I loved the prequel to this, Sweet Caroline~I borrowed it from my friend Ashley and she said she liked Elle’s story even better so I can’t wait! Oh, and thanks to Amy @ Litfuse I won a free copy, too!

This post is part of 5 Minutes For Books‘ monthly carnival; be sure to check out the other links by clicking the button below!

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Here are a few fun language links from around the blogosphere lately! I’m not sure if I’ll do this every week, or maybe just when I’ve collected some good articles/resources to share. In other Gidget Loves Language news, I’m really excited that next month I’ll have a few guest posts to share with you!

Spanish

• Download free Halloween Spanish worksheets & a coloring page at Foreign Language Fun.
• Teaching and Learning Spanish directs to some free Spanish curriculum online.
• Check out these 3 online resources for Spanish Teachers at Voices en Español.

Language Learning

• Also from Foreign Language Fun is a reference to a good reason why learning a foreign language is beneficial.

Writing

• Ami @ Write Out Loud has a fun exercise on mind mapping called “Webbing Words.”
• This is from a while ago, but I love this post by Writer Dad about when his wife bought him his MacBook. It’s a sweet testimony to supporting and following dreams.

And now for a bit about my writing dreams…

In one week I will attempt to make one of my dreams a reality. I will embark on what I described to a friend as a “month-long journey to insanity.” I’ve mentioned before how crazy I feel doing this, but I also feel like I have to do it.

I have a few friends joining me for the ride, and I’m super excited to see what we come up with. I’ve started brainstorming this week and feel like I have at least a little direction. I’m not too worried about that since I read on the website today that NaNoWriMo’s founder said he’s “still without a plot or characters and feeling pretty good about it.”

I’m going to try to write weekly updates throughout the month on this blog about my progress with WriMo. But hey, no guarantees– I’ll be writing a 50,000 word novel, packing a house, moving halfway across country, chasing a crazy 18-month old, oh yeah, and eating and sleeping, maybe, too.

You’ll notice a little blue NaNoWriMo badge in my sidebar… feel free to click on over to my “Author Page” at WriMo and see how my “writing buddies” and I are progressing there. And it’s not too late to sign up! I’d love more buddies, aka partners in insanity! It’s going to be fun!

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The best way to maintain and improve foreign language speaking skills is to use them.

Here’s a great tech idea for teachers, students, or anyone who wants to improve upon or keep up their language skills. An article in the National Capital Language Resource Center points out that Skype, when used with a database called the Mixxer, can be very useful for finding and talking with a language exchange partner.

We use Skype often to talk with family and friends– it’s a free instant messenger program with chatting, internet phone calls, and video chatting. It’s easy to use and all you need is a webcam and a microphone.

1. Read the article.
2. Download Skype (free!) if you don’t already have it.
3. Check out the Mixxer.

I set up a profile on the Mixxer, specifying that I was interested in talking to other moms (native Spanish speakers) and I’ve since had the privilege to chat with two different women (one in Spain, one in Chile). Very cool!

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