When I visited Paris with my husband and parents in 2001, I was designated official communicator. And even though I read, spoke, and comprehended the language better than my traveling companions - well enough, in fact, to crack a joke en francais that made our cab driver laugh - it would be truly laughable if I claimed to be fluent. Because in spite of my surprising retention of high school French, I simply don’t interact on a regular basis in any language but English.

Interaction has been the watchword that our parent bloggers have taken away from their reading of The Bilingual Edge, and it has been the most convincing argument against the expectation that “edutainment” alone will lead to language acquisition:

• “Muzzy in Chinese or Dora the Explorer in Spanish may be fun, but they may not be as helpful for acquiring language unless we, as parents, are actively involved in watching and repeating the words with them.”
• “True proficiency comes from interacting with people who are using the language. Language DVDs and toys can certainly assist in reinforcement and in making the process fun, but one must interact in the language in order to learn the language.”
• “…human interaction is the key. So if you are comfortable reading a bedtime story in the target language, that is much better than pressing play on the DVD player for a cartoon character to recite the same story.”

With edutainment out of the way, the bloggers were able to focus on the advantages of bilingualism. One blogger in particular was surprised by all of the pros associated with true proficiency: “I never thought about the benefits of learning a second language, other than the ability to converse, of course, but the authors mention cognitive advantages, benefits in terms of cultural understanding, and possibly connecting with an important part of his heritage. I didn’t realize that simply learning a language made such a difference to a person.” Another blogger “found it fascinating to learn about how different languages emphasize different parts of speech, and thus, how this hierarchy relates to abilities. From The Bilingual Edge, pg. 11: Korean toddlers are better at certain verb-related tasks involving tools. But English-speaking children perform better on noun-related tasks like categorizing objects.”

But even though the advantages are known (or assumed, at the very least), parents often aren’t sure whether the course of action they’re pursuing is the right one:

• “So far, her education in Spanish has consisted of me reading to her in Spanish, listening to Spanish and Latin-American music with her, and - not least - using the services of a part-time Spanish-speaking nanny.”
• “Something very easy we may start doing is going to the Spanish language service at church and having [our daughter] in the nursery where they are speaking exclusively Spanish.”
• “…for the past few years, she has attended a Chinese language and culture school on the weekends but, I’m sad to say, there hasn’t been much Chinese language acquisition…[my daughter], who actually takes French at her school, knows more French after less time - because she’s exposed to it more frequently.”

Additionally, the choice of language is not always clear. The Bilingual Edge includes a “section on assessing the language resources in your community (classes/activities/neighbors/babysitters) that might affect your choice of language.” A blogger who hails from south Florida noted that: “For example, I might think Russian would be unique and cool, but we live in Miami and so might want to focus more on the predominant language spoken here (Spanish) so we have access to more resources.” Another blogger agreed: “One other exercise in the book that is immensely helpful is the section on Assessing Your Family’s Own Language Profile - how to determine which second language would most benefit your child.”

One blogger, who has a linguistics background herself, commented that “I felt a bit that the authors, both of whom have a PhD in linguistics make it all sound a bit too easy. Teaching a child a second language is a huge commitment and it seems the authors gloss over that somewhat.” It seemed that the other bloggers agreed that “to create a meaningful and successful learning environment, the family commitment must be there, regardless of whether the parents themselves speak the target language,” but also that “the learning process should not be regimented or filled with pressure. If the exposure to the language is in some ways incidental (even if the parents have planned it precisely,) it is a more comfortable environment for the child to learn.”

That said, the guidance in The Bilingual Edge was reassuring to many bloggers. One summed it up in these words: “The most comforting bits advice for me? It’s never too late to start and I don’t have to curse myself for not paying better attention in class 16 years ago.” And another noted that “it aims to help and encourage parents who are confused by the whole issue of language learning, parents for whom such training is desirable but not straightforward,” and went on to conclude that “learning second languages needn’t be, nor should be, stressful or challenging. Just welcome that language into your home, and enjoy it.”

Sing a song, read a story, and order another glass of wine. Just make sure you know where the restrooms are.

For more information about The Bilingual Edge, please visit the book’s website. And to purchase your own copy, click here!

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We’re excited to let you know that we’re collaborating with Baby Loves Disco (and their partner Stride Rite — yes SHOES) to put on “Make a MOVE On Me” — a blog blast set for this Friday, August 31 to assist them in promoting their Best Little Dancer in America Contest.

I mean, is there anything better than a dancing kid? Free shoes, maybe?

1) Simply post a pic (or pics) OR video of your kid (any age — babies can dance, I swear!) on your blog anytime on Friday, August 31 (until Midnight PST).  These can be past pictures in case you don’t have your camera ready, or better, you kid doesn’t feel like dancing on Friday!

2) Title it with the fictional or real dance name of the dance move and tell us how it’s done, where it came from, or anything else you want to say.

3) Make sure you link www.babylovesdisco.com/bldusa somewhere in your post. Be creative but the link has to be there somewhere in order for you to be entered. Feel free to link the Parent Bloggers Blog (blog.parentbloggers.com) if you want to encourage your readers to join in on the fun.

4) Send us the permalink to your post (parentbloggers@gmail.com) by Midnight PST on Friday and we’ll enter you to win…

Two Grand Prizes of 4 pairs of Stride Rite Shoes. Plus, four runners up will received one pair each. Winners picked at random from all posts received on Friday.

YAY FOR FREE SHOES!

We can’t wait to see pics and/or video of your kids shaking your groove thang. And if you’re not in the 12 cities where the contest is being held, you can still participate. But if you do live there, check out your local BLD party to enter in the contest (ages 0-3 and 4-7).

And best of all, a portion of the proceeds from the dance contest go to Alex’s Lemonade Stand, a fantastic charity.

Hope you’ll join us on Friday! See ya at the Disco…