Kerstin Cable 26/02/2018 Kerstin Cable 26/02/2018

"It's Hard Work But It's So Worth It": Everything You Need To Know For Raising Bilingual Children

Have you ever wondered how bilingual parents do it and what the life of a bilingual family looks like? Are you excited about passing on language skills to your kids, but not sure how?

In this episode of the Fluent Show, you'll get an incredible amount of support.

Marianna du Bosq, bilingual mother in a bilingual family and host of the Bilingual Avenue podcast, talks about how to raise bilingual children. And she knows her stuff.

For a while now, I have wanted to bring you an expert on bilingual parenting on the Fluent Show, and here she is: Marianna du Bosq, host of the awesome Bilingual Avenue podcast, a show for parents who are raising bilingual children.

As a German native speaker who speaks English all day long, I find the prospect of bilingual parenting both daunting and fascinating.

Marianna's incredible energy shines through and she's got SO many tips. I came away with so much more knowledge about what bilingual parenting is really like, and I'm convinced you will too.

In the interview, we'll talk about:

How much work do you have to put in as the "one language" parent of a bilingual kid
What agreements parents should set up with each other when they decide to do this
How to create a more immersive environment for children learning languages
Whether you have to hire nannies and tutors and do all the expensive things to make this work
How to overcome negative attitudes, and how to help a parent who feels left out when they don't understand their child
How to learn a language along with your child
What the school experience is like for Marianna's daughter who is in an English-speaking school
What the most popular and effective bilingual parenting models are..and which ones are not the best ones to try
Which episodes of Bilingual Avenue you should check out next (see below)

And most importantly, why raising a bilingual child is so worth the extra work and planning - Marianna makes a passionate case towards the end of our show so don't miss that.

Step By Step To a Bilingual Family Household

"It's hard work but it's so worth it."

Marianna has worked with many families to support their language plans, and she explains it comes down to six steps.

What I found interesting here is how useful and great these are for adults just as much as children - exposure and need at the heart, and really combing through our routines in detail can uncover new opportunities for speaking another language in the busiest schedules.

1) Start with a vision - how much of a language do you want the child to know, and how do you want family life to look in your family?

2) Assess your surroundings - Where will you and your child be able to get exposure to both languages?

3) Consider what your child's day is like and make notes on where the exposure in each language is coming from

4) Make your kid's interactions with the less dominant language partner fun, interactive, and engaging. They should find themselves entertained and wanting to communicate in that target language.

5) Implement a period of "language time" in the day, when you and your child have fun together and only speak the language you determine. Sometimes you may have to negotiate with them, but around language exposure you're the boss.

6) Stay encouraging and praise your child for speaking the target language, even if they aren't perfect at first. Focus on modelling correct usage rather than pointing out flaws.

I really loved how Marianna emphasized the two most important principles for bilingual life as need and exposure. Just like in adult learning, we won't be able to go far without those two. Need and exposure are the key to a productive language experience, and no matter how old you are you'll benefit from planning those in your life.

"Every time I switch to English, that's a lost opportunity for a word I could have shown, taught and modelled in Spanish."

The Top 3 Models for Bilingual Parenting

Wondering how to get started? Here are the three most popular models of bilingual parenting, and according to Marianna these are the most successful.

"One Person, One Language", a scenario in which each parent (or other person in the child's life, like grandparent or nanny) will choose a language and make that the core of all interactions with the child.
"Minority Language at Home", a scenario in which you make your home language the language that the child isn't exposed to in the wider world. For example, a Korean-speaking family living in Germany would focus on Korean at home but German outside the home.
"Language Time", which means you select pre-determined time periods and switch languages throughout your child's life. For example, as a parent you may want to speak Spanish for 3 weeks followed by 3 weeks in French.

EPISODE SPONSORS

SPEECHLING

Visit our sponsor Speechling, the outstanding speaking platform in over 6 languages, and use the promo code FLUENT for a 10% lifetime discount

CODE: FLUENT

EPISODE LINKS

Are You Planning a Bilingual Family? Got a Bilingual Family Already?

I'd love to hear more about your own experiences of parenting in another language. Leave a comment below or find me on Twitter

Kerstin Cable 19/02/2018 Kerstin Cable 19/02/2018

How To Get Off The Intermediate Plateau in Language Learning

Welcome to Fluent Show episode 76, where I tackle the question:

**"How Can I Get Off The Intermediate Plateau?"**

If you're stuck somewhere in the language weeds, this show will help you untangle them and get those wheels turning again.

Welcome to Fluent Show episode 76, where I tackle the question:

"How Can I Get Off The Intermediate Plateau?"

If you're stuck somewhere in the language weeds, this podcast episode will help you untangle them and get those wheels turning again.

Just like any big goal that leads us to a happier life, language learning for the long haul works best as a habit. It’s possible to reach miraculous short-term results, but if we’re looking for mastery and SUSTAINABLE mastery then there’s no point putting your 6 week boot camp crash challenge attack plan into place.

Note On Progress and Your Sense Of Progress

You’re in this for the long haul. After reaching a level that shows you’ve been studying this language for a long time, your motivation is likely more than fast progress. It doesn’t help to count the time you have spent learning.
It doesn’t help to assume that going to A2 from zero is the same as going to C2 from B1 — it really isn’t like that.

Rewards

The problem with the plateau is how frustrating it feels. You don’t feel the rewards anymore. So let’s talk about rewards and how you can bring back the feeling that your work is paying off.

Strategy 1: Get Fresher Rewards

6 months ago, you got a real kick out of being able to watch the news in your target language without subtitles. 3 months ago, you were still watching the news but it started feeling like a chore. Today, you still understand everything but you’re frustrated in a new arena. Rewards are most rewarding when they come after some really hard work towards a desire, and right now your frustration is rooted in your shortfall.

Ask yourself honestly where you are most frustrated right now. What is missing? What do you feel scared to attempt? Whatever it is, it’s likely not something you can do on your current plateau.

(Example of reading a book in Welsh)

Strategy 2: Intrinsic Rewards

This is about your identity, who you are as a language learner, and what you love the most.

Strategy 3: Extrinsic Rewards

These incluce

Validation from friends
Passing exams
Career advancement

Strategy 4: Change the conversation

Reward yourself for effort, not result. No point in burning yourself out.

So now I’ve convinced you to keep going, there is one question remaining. How do you actually get better? How do you study the right topics?

Do Difficult Things

Yes, I mean working hard. Your learning curve is slowing because you are not doing the difficult things anymore, so this is a good problem to have.

Getting to the C levels without the four core skills, without grammar, is not possible.You will not automatically get to the highest language learning levels by just keeping going. Things do need to develop, and if there’s a corner of grammar or a core skill that you have been neglecting, now is when it catches up with you.

Put That Yardstick In Place

If you feel like you’re not making progress, it’s likely because you have lost something that helps you measure your progress. It's time to get the yardstick back. Yardstick options:

Set consistent path goals and share them with people, then check in every week. Join a learning club or mastermind.
Write down your goals and be accountable to yourself — keep them in front of you
Sign up for a language exam and get yourself tested
Use a guiding resource, something you can really measure
Work with rewards and treats - there is nothing wrong with celebrating where you are right now. You’ve come a long way

Become REALLY Clear On Your Aims

People often remark on the high quality of my English, and this level of English is impossible to reach without an incredible amount of exposure. But this level is NOT C2 - it is in fact higher.

Find a person who will mentor you.

This doesn’t have to be a paid tutor, but could be a patient and dedicated friend or group of friends. They might not even know they're your mentor. This is why people often report success when they travel - they put themselves in a world where language mentors are easily accessible. But just because something is not quite as straightforward, doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

In Conclusion

It’s easy to give up at this stage…but just because it’s difficult, doesn’t mean we give up. Right? Right!

You never have to finish the language. You never will. It will just speak to your soul in new ways.

EPISODE SPONSORS

SPEECHLING

Visit our sponsor Speechling, the outstanding speaking platform in over 6 languages, and use the promo code FLUENT for a 10% lifetime discount

CODE: FLUENT

EPISODE LINKS

Kerstin Cable 05/02/2018 Kerstin Cable 05/02/2018

Accelerate Your Speaking Skills with Speechling: In-Depth 100% Honest Review

Speaking in other languages is harder than it looks at first. You can read books and study flashcards, and still choke when you speak to a real person.

It can be difficult to practice pronunciation and have conversations on a regular basis. Tutors are awesome, but your lesson time is limited. And many apps and bots make us feel detached.

Speechling claims to have cracked that problem. This new app offers speaking skill training, attractive design, and the most convenient access to a real person tutor that I have ever seen. No scheduling, no exchange of Skype names.

Sounds good, but does it work? In this review, let's take a deep dive and find out.

How does Speechling Work?

Speechling's courses use sentence repetition, a premise that you may know from fellow Fluent favourite Glossika. But there is a twist: Speechling includes feedback on everything you record, from an actual human.

After repeating the sentence you see and hear on the screen, you have the choice of listening back to your pronunciation, or to save it for coaching. After you save your recording, you will receive feedback and tips from a Speechling coach.

How I Tested The App

Speechling's six language options gave me the chance to test ot for at different levels:

Advanced (French),
Confident Beginner(Russian)
Absolute Beginner (Chinese).

The Advanced Learner Test: French

In French, my language level is around B2-C1 on the CEFR. I can navigate most conversations without hiccups, and I know for a fact that speaking French is what I need the most.

So for my level, saying a few sentences every day at my own convenience was perfect.

The live feedback here was eye-opening. I have an optimistic blind spot to my own weaknesses in pronunciation and word choice. I always learnt French in academic environments, so I produce great grammar. But in reality, my spoken French sounds textbook and a little uncomfortable. The coach feedback made me more aware of my little mistakes without discouraging me completely. I felt encouraged to try again, to fix what I was saying and carry on.

Describing a picture using Speechling's Freestyle mode

With the freestyle mode, I got to practice free speech instead of repeating pre-written sentences. In the dictation feature, I added listening comprehension at natural speeds.

The Confident Beginner Test: Russian

Russian is a language I studied about two years ago and I was able to have very basic exchanges (“what did you have for breakfast?” - “I had porridge”, that kind of stuff). I pronounce words correctly, and can read Cyrillic. So with this language, I wanted to see

if Speechling can teach me something new and
if my pronunciation is accurate.

The module I chose was “Beginner (A1)”, which was a great entry point after a few years off. With each repetition, I felt like I was learning. The examples were well pronounced, came at a speed that felt like a suitable challenge, and soon I was improving.

I also felt that pronouncing each new word immediately helped me remember it, especially when I added a recording. The accountability of recording and coaching (“someone will actually hear this”) helped me link the phrase with a strong emotion. For more about how emotions amplify memory, check out my interview with Gabriel Wyner from Fluent Forever.

With a language like Russian, you need regular exposure to stay comfortable with the alphabet and pronunciation. Speechling surprised me here because it felt like the perfect tool. There were so many sentences I had never said before, and so many opportunities for me to improve.

Best of all, I was speaking Russian right there and then without any hesitation.

Of course, exposure to lots of sentences won't teach me more than lots of sentences. If I wanted to get back into Russian and start making steady progress, I would definitely use Speechling and I would add a textbook, dictionary, grammar explanations, and lots of input resources.

The Absolute Beginner Test: Chinese

Chinese is the only language out of Speechling’s range that I have never studied, so I decided to go for the “simplified” version. Does that mean easy Chinese? No idea, but it's worth a try. The module I chose was “Beginner (A1)”, as there was no way of picking anything even easier.

With Chinese, Speechling shows the sentences in Hanzi (Chinese characters). There is also the option of viewing the sentence in pinyin. Good job - it was the only way I could even start to guess at repeating the sounds I was hearing.

For a complete beginner like me, the sentences were interesting. I had to repeat the audio input 4-5 times before I dared to repeat the sounds. Surely, any Chinese speaker would be impressed?

Speaking Chinese to a Chinese Native After 5 Minutes

Well, I do know a Chinese speaker so I was ready to shine. Having newly acquired the sentence 今天很温暖 (“it’s warm today”), I asked my co-working buddy to listen to my Chinese and tell me if it’s correct. And he did understand what I was saying, although “impressed” would be stretching the truth a bit.

I also sent my recorded sentence to the Chinese coach, who drew my attention to the specific parts I got wrong.

Learning mass sentences as a complete beginner isn’t ideal. It leaves you without a sense of what each word means (which one out of jin tian hen nuan huo is “warm”, which one is “today”....and what do any of those symbols mean?). Learners don't get to understand what any of the rules of speaking are. But that’s okay, as Speechling not designed for that. This tool is a great confidence builder and accent sharpener. I could imagine it as a fantastic basis for tutoring, sending students away with homework on a topic.

Multilingual Usage

If you have studied more than one of Speechling’s range of languages, you can view translations in any of the six languages. This means you get to practice two languages at once, and it’s one of easiest ways to train your polyglot muscles.

Downsides of Speechling

On several occasions, my recordings were too long to be saved for feedback. This is understandable, but it was frustrating particularly in the freestyle mode. It’s disappointing when you say a complex sentence to send to your coach, and then get a message saying “file too large - cannot save”. It would be great if Speechling could include a guide on how long I can record for.

For languages where I knew nothing at all, I’d also like to see a primer module so I understand what I'm doing. But this is a tiny point, especially since Speechling is not aimed at complete beginners.

In Conclusion: Speechling is Great

All in all, I found Speechling a great addition to my studies. It was challenging and helped me improve my pronunciation and speaking skills in three languages. I was most excited about what Speechling could do for my Russian language skills. I improved both my vocabulary and accent, and the process was efficient and fast.

Speechling is free from robot voices and works with male and female voices (native speakers, of course). Its interface looks great and it gets you into the action immediately.

I love the record-feedback cycle, because it prompts you to re-record a better version of what you said. You get feedback, and you improve pronunciation, confidence, and speed.

The coaches were great for all the languages I tried. They recorded speedy corrections. At the very early levels, feedback is not rich, because they are native speakers and they use their native languages. But even so, it was clear where exactly I was supposed to change something. The more you learn, the more you will get out of these coaches.

If you work with a tutor that you don’t see every day, definitely try adding Speechling to your language routine. You will be speaking your target language more, you'll build a better accent. And best of all, pronouncing all the new words will help you remember them faster.

How to Get Started (+ Speechling Discount)

Create a free account and start speaking at Speechling.com, or by download the app from the App Store or Google Play Store.

Speechling is currently available in six languages: French, German, Spanish, English, Russian, and two types of Chinese.

It’s a freemium app, and you get 15-20 minutes of feedback for free every month. I would recommend checking out the paid plan (see below for 10% off) if you want to

get a speaking boost, especially when there’s a deadline
learn more than one language at once
keep track of your progress with the audio journal.

The unlimited plan is open to Fluent readers at a 10% Lifetime discount: Make sure you use the code FLUENT when you sign up.

Good to know: Speechling is a non-profit company and also has a classroom version called Speechling for Education. I have an existing relationship with Speechling as they are a sponsor of my podcast. This only influenced the amount of attention the product received, not the verdict. It is a cool app.

Have You Tried Speechling?

Are you a pronunciation master now? How did you like the coach feedback? Leave a comment below and share your story.

hello from the future!!

Since my original review of Speechling in February 2018, these folks have been hard at work and have just emailed me to share the following new developments.

1. A new module called "Speechling Foundations", which will teach newbies from the very beginning. This start from zero module covers teaches the most essential words in context.

2. New listening options: Speechling now offers listening comprehension, multiple choice, fill in the blank, and flashcards. It's all available for free without login. All of this works on mobile too.

3. More language! They've more than tripled our content collection.

4. Offline mode!! Premium users can download a huge chunk of Speechling’s sentence collection (~10k sentences) and even audio books and Anki decks .

And added in March 2020

1. Speechling now includes Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Portuguese.

2. The recording time has been upgraded to 15s as Standard! It’s quadrupled to 30s for paid users.

3. There are now over 10k recordings (male + female combined) for each language, from words to complex sentences.

4. Speechling now includes word hints where you can mouse over words and get pronunciation tips and definitions.

I love it when an app listens to its users, this alone makes it worth checking out!

Click here to try Speechling for free, as long as you want.

Kerstin Cable 29/01/2018 Kerstin Cable 29/01/2018

Robo-Tutors and Translating Megaphones: It's the Future of Language Learning

What does the future hold for language learners?

When a device translates what you say directly into another language, is there even a need to learn languages anymore?

In this podcast, we've got everything you need to know about

Gadgets and stuff that translates our language into other languages
How AI has made language learning apps a lot more useful
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality as learning aids

Welcome, weary language learner. Your brain might be tired after reviewing vocab lists for hours. Your voice is straining to pronounce strange foreign sounds. Your mind longs for a miracle.

Behold, we have uncovered the future of language learning. In today's podcast, it's all about technology, brain power, and everything that you need to know to stay ahead of the curve.

Listen in and don't forget to leave us a rating and a review on your iTunes-enabled futurephone.

The Future of Language Learning

When a device translates what you say directly into another language, is there even a need to learn languages anymore?

We discuss

Gadgets and stuff that translates our language into other languages
How AI has made language learning apps a lot more useful
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality as learning aids

Gadgets That Translate

Think the dream of the universal translator, like in Star Trek.

Some gadgets still look like very early things in the making (the megaphone and the pixel buds) - will they ever be able to get over the hurdles of being in the way of human interaction and spoken nuances?

Question for you, listener: Would you want Siri to dub all your movies? Would you want it to dub your world?

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

This is where it gets interesting!

Artificial Intelligence (AI):

Things like the new Glossika bring reactive learning to what used to be a book, adapt to how quickly you say you learn something. SRS is an old system that also aided our learning on paper, but assisted beautifully by technology

Our verdict on AI is that it's useful, here to stay, and more utility than fun.

Augmented Reality (AR):

AR can add interest and fun, can enhance your learning experience and do what we often dream of: make the language more RELEVANT

You can have a lot of fun with the Flashsticks & Memrise apps
Wearables are coming, though they’re not quite here yet.
My paranoid self is worried that I’m 3 years away from having a chip implanted into my brain.

Virtual Reality (VR):

This is where you wear a headset (often a curiously named "Oculus Rift") that can give you immersive experiences in a digital world. Language company Mondly is working on a VR app for language learners. We weren't 100% convinced.

A few more points to think about..

Communities

How does the online world influence us when it comes to learning languages? Are people boasting on YouTube motivating, is online community a new type of community?

People have always met and connected based on their interests, but isolation has been reduced by the internet.

How will social media look in the future?

Many Questions Remain..

On the show we concluded by answering the most important one...will it ever be possible to learn a language in 3 weeks?

Are you a futurist? What do you think the future of language learning looks like? Give us a shout in the comments below and share your vision.

Kerstin Cable 15/01/2018 Kerstin Cable 15/01/2018

Language Learning Advice From a Polyglot Veteran (Bilingual Interview with Judith Meyer)

In this interview with passionate polyglot Judith Meyer, she shares how she learnt over 14 languages, how you can get over the intermediate plateau, and why learning any other language than English takes a little passion.

We talked about

what excites Judith about leaving the textbook behind
how to get over the intermediate plateau
why using your language is the key to making progress
what language learners can get out of events like the Polyglot Gathering

Oh...and we did it in two languages! Listen in to find out more.

Judith Meyer is well-known in the language learning world for co-founding the Polyglot Gathering event and writing several language books and courses. She's consulted by many and freely shares her own tips and experiences from learning over 14 languages.

Listen to my interview with her on the Creative Language Learning Podcast:

We covered a lot of ground in this interview, and as a language learner you will be delighted to hear her excellent advice.

One Thing You Need to Know About This Episode

This is a bilingual podcast.

If you are not an experienced German learner, there will be some parts of the podcast that you don’t understand. But like all language learners, you’re not alone in that feeling. Try to stay with us, trust that we will come back to English again and again, and challenge yourself to become comfortable with not understanding everything.

German Learners: Click this link to view a full transcript (bilingual) of our conversation, so you can listen and read along at the same time.

The Learning is The Goal

Some people learn for practical reasons like travel or employment. to me is how both Judith and I come from monolingual households. There was no focus on languages, we both started at age 10, and yet this "late start" did not mean that it was impossible to do.

She says she used to try and invent her own writing system as a child because she found Chinese so fascinating.

Use Your Language Early

Judith says that it's important to do something that is NOT studying all the time. She says

I get easily demotivated if it's just studying a textbook

Judith books early lessons with tutors and uses her language in all kinds of ways so she can stay interested.

The Importance of Goals and Tracking

Even though Judith doesn't struggle with the general motivation to learn a language, she does keep track of her progress.

She's kept a spreadsheet on her computer for many years, and maintains a goal of doing a little more each year.

I absolutely agree with her on this, and found myself doing more with my language in the same amount of time when I started tracking. If you're interested in how learning languages works with my system, check out the Language Habit Toolkit.

How to Get Over an Intermediate Plateau

As someone who can hold a confident conversation in over five languages, Judith knows what it takes to go from a plateau to a much higher language level.

The trick is this: Your language level adapts to what you're doing in that language - in other words, you will grow with your challenges. You have to start trying to do something you cannot do.

The hard part is to start before you are ready. Judith describes how new Chinese challenges like presenting and debating tasks helped her get off the intermediate plateau.

But as Judith puts it:

If your lifestyle is such that you don't use C1 German, then good luck learning it.

You might get there for a short while, but to truly stay there you have to keep using your language.

Why Your Reason to Learn a Language Won't Be Enough

Finally, we chatted about the big reasons for learning languages. As a card-carrying member of "the tribe of those who learn a language because it's awesome", Judith has remarkable thoughts on why learning languages is important.

I don't need a reason to learn a language. I need an excuse.

By this she means that if you're looking for a reason, unless you're learning English there's often not a deep seated REASON that will keep you going for long enough to become fluent. Instead, make use of the good excuses out there, like learning for travel or for work.

But if you're just starting a language because you're fascinated, that is perfect.

After all, why would anyone learn so many languages if not for the love of them?

Understanding Germany

As the German part of a German-American couple, Judith knows that understanding other languages is a key part of learning other cultures.

She writes the blog "Understanding Germany", where she offers insights into what the Germans are like, how they think, and what's shaping the German mindset right now.

Click here to access all links and resources mentioned in this podcast

I look forward to hearing your feedback. Did you enjoy this bilingual podcast episode? Did you understand anything...and how did you feel if you did not?

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