The Bilingual Edge: Why, When, and How to Teach Your Child a Second Language by Kendall King and Alison Mackey, two Georgetown University professors, was an incredible introduction to raising a bilingual child. This thorough book offers resources and recommendations while dispelling popular myths about bilingual children. I imagine that I will be re-reading this book as our child grows.
After learning Italian in college and spending four years in Florence, Italy, as well as having Italian ancestry, it is important to me to share the language and culture with our child. While my husband has been learning some words and phrases, he doesn't speak the language. It has been daunting to think about being 100% responsible for the child's second language acquisition, especially since I'd heard that bilingual children start speaking later and experience other kinds of delays.
The Bilingual Edge put me at peace as the authors explained that bilingual children do not experience speaking or other cognitive delays and, in fact, gain additional skills for life. The book also makes recommendations regarding ways that the non-second-language parent can participate in sharing the language with the infant and many resources available for and outside the home.
If you speak Italian and/or are interested in the language, culture or cuisine, you might be interested in my blog, Fare La Scarpetta. I recently blogged about an Italian lullaby and vocabulary words related to babies.
Browse inside the book through the publisher's website. Help support this blog and purchase your copy through our Amazon store today.
No comments:
Post a Comment