language

How do you explore languages and cultural differences in your classroom? It's often through looking at cultures we perceive as "different" that we discover things we all have in common. This week we look at the northern lights in mythology, but you can also take the time to talk about what causes the northern lights with your class from a scientific perspective. 

Raising bilingual children can be challenging, especially if you want them to speak fluently in two (or more) languages.

If you live in an English-speaking country, the English language will always be dominant for your children, regardless of what language you speak to them at home.
 
It is easier when they are small, but once they start to go to school and be exposed to the English language for 6 hours a day, that is when things usually change. Even if they haven’t before, your children suddenly start to speak to you in English.
 

Have you ever wondered how reading benefits your children?
The study by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in State Government Victoria shows that there is an important role for parents in the development and educational performance of their children.
 

A simple greeting from us, as 2020 draws to a close.

 

When we think of “being bilingual” we often think of spoken language – but someone can also be bilingual in, say, their mother tongue and Braille; or their mother tongue and British Sign Language (or American Sign Language); or English and Makaton. And in our modern world we have flexible, supportive technology that can help us, such as the PENfriend family and various apps. Did you ever wonder, however, about the origins of some of the languages used in SEN settings?

Language isn’t just about the words we speak. It can also be about how we carry ourselves, how we make contact with others, tone of voice. Sometimes it's even about what we wear. If you’re off to a formal meeting, for example, you’d probably wear a very different outfit from what you’d wear for weeding the garden or spring cleaning your house.

All of this sends out a message, though, just as body language does - so we thought we'd have a peek at how a few different gestures can sometimes be interpreted in different ways around the world.

To be brought up bilingual is a rare gift, but like most gifts in life, it isn’t always plain sailing. And when it comes to reading, it’s double the trouble, and double the fun, but also, sometimes, double the work.
You may find that your bilingual child or pupil has a preference for one language over the other; you may find that they often mix the two. You may find that the learner speaks one language with one caregiver, and a different language with another.