Category
Bilingual
-
06.25.08Naturally BilingualI stopped this morning to talk to two older neighbors who started a conversation with me about the weather. It wasn't long before one of the men took the opportunity to tell me that I should speak French with my children and not English. His reasoning is that because my children are French I should speak in French with them. He went on to explain that it is, also, important for me to speak me in French so that my French will continue to improve. It surprises me that there are still people that don't understand and are ...
-
04.18.08My husband, the French...was not happy that the French will sing a mostly English song in the next Eurovision. It is the first time that France will sing a song in another language other than French since the Eurovision began over fifty years ago. Read about it here on BBC NEWS. My French husband did what would have driven me, his American wife, nuts in the past. However, I have since grown to respect his daring nature and use of humour to protest things he is not happy about. On the Wikipedia page for Sébastien Tellier the entry regarding the Eurovision currently looks like ...
-
04.02.08Quoiat?Sweet Bear looked up at me with her big blue eyes. She had her eyebrows all squished together in concentration trying to figure out what I had just told her. She had been tuning me out up until she heard ice cream. "Quoiat?", she implored with urgency. Luckily, I have become an expert in Franglais and immediately understood 'quoiat' she meant to ask was what. quoi + what = quoiat *Quoi is what in French. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Quoiat?", url: "http://myfrenchwindow.com/quoiat/" });
-
04.02.08Quoiat?Sweet Bear looked up at me with her big blue eyes. She had her eyebrows all squished together in concentration trying to figure out what I had just told her. She had been tuning me out up until she heard ice cream. "Quoiat?", she implored with urgency. Luckily, I have become an expert in Franglais and immediately understood 'quoiat' she meant to ask was what. quoi + what = quoiat *Quoi is what in French. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Quoiat?", url: "http://myfrenchwindow.com/quoiat/" });
-
03.13.08American culture that warms my expat heartI am not going mad. It is 1:30 p.m. in the French speaking part of Switzerland. My children are watching Cartoon Network France. Tom and Jerry to be exact. In English. Just like my brother and I did as little kids. It must be some sort of conspiracy to teach little French speaking kids English. ********I love hearing the cartoon characters from my childhood talking in the voices I know so well. Now, if they will just show Scooby-Doo (Scoubidou) in English I can prove once and for all that Sammy is not Sammy but Shaggy. If I am really lucky I can skip Les Super Nanas and watch ...
-
03.07.08Wait a second…I am still in Switzerland, right?I just turned on Cartoon Network for the kids. I heard, "You jerk!", coming from a characters mouth. Immediately, I had a sense that something wasn't right. It took me a couple seconds to realize it was because the cartoon was in English and not translated into French. It is the first time after living in Europe for four years that I have seen that. It must be a mistake. My four year old daughter, Petite Clown, caught it right off. She asked me, "Why are they talking like us?" It can't be a mistake because as I am typing this we ...
-
02.27.08Counting with your fingers in English vs. in FrenchIn English, you start counting on your fingers with your index finger while in French you start with your thumb. I taught my bilingual children to count in English and French starting with the correct finger depending on the language. When they count in each language they switch their starting finger without thinking about it. Kids are so cool. I have made a video to demonstrate this. French speakers...please, excuse my accent. SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Counting with your fingers in English vs. in French", url: "http://myfrenchwindow.com/counting-with-your-fingers-in-english-vs-in-french/" });
-
11.05.07Language learning with MamaBack in August I made a post about my bilingual children and language learning. I wanted to make the follow up post sooner but kept putting it off due to lack of time due to laziness. Now, I am making myself sit down and do it. While in college, during one of my social psychology courses, I learned that a mother naturally talks to her children in a sing song high pitched voice. A mother is more likely to repeat words and sentences over and over than a father is. I assumed that is where the term 'mother ...
-
08.30.07Language learning with bilingual childrenI was thinking the other day about how our children are completely bilingual. I am not including Angel in this post because she isn't near to being bilingual. She knows some French words but hasn't had enough time in a French speaking environment to become fluent. The girls are able to effortlessly switch between French and English. They speak together mostly in French but I have heard them speaking together in English more lately. I don't know why since they are playing every day with other French speaking children. Maybe, they are using it as a ...
-
01.20.07Boy Blue talks…in English"I ove yu" when he is giving me baby love. "Hi!" in greeting to all. "Tank yu" as he hands me his plate after eating.E "Uh-oh" each time he or anyone else drops something. "Yeah" instead of "yes". Hey, he is American after all. :) His only words have been in english so far whereas Sweet Bear and Petite Clown were speaking more French at his age. He does understand French, but he hasn't said a word in French, yet. Today in the car, I was trying to get him to say, "Salut" instead of "Hi". He smiled his shy smile and hide his face. When I ...
recent posts
- Summer Break
- Bonnie Blue bonnet
- My baby boy is three years old
- Swiss School girl
- Morges, Switzerland
- I thought I was a modern woman!
- Naturally Bilingual
-
-
The Pinky Show - gently poking your brain with a stick
My flickr
-
Ad
Are you looking for a Paris hotel? Try this site called EasyToBook.com
-
Grandma's Girl Etsy Shop
Quality Handmade Goods Everyone Can Afford.
This ad is provided as a FREE service to this shop owner.