Hiroshima-based blogger Adam Beck has recently launched an exciting new blog called “Bilingual Monkeys” to help mixed-heritage families raise their children in a bilingual context.Who is Bilingual Monkeys for?
Although Bilingual Monkeys is based on Adam’s experience in an English/Japanese household living in Japan, the blog is aimed at “any parent anywhere aiming to boost the language ability of a bilingual child.”
That includes:
- English-speaking parents living in non-English-speaking countries.
- Parents of other languages nurturing the English ability of their kids.
- Parents promoting second languages other than English.
The blog is very welcoming and user-friendly place to hang out on and you can immediately see that Adam has put his heart and soul into this project. There are a lot of tips and articles about how to help children attain fluency in their second language in a bilingual context. My favourite tip is Adam’s story about how he “cloned himself” and used the idea of “Daddy TV” to keep his kids up to speed. Full story here.
Since the blog is based around Adam’s own experiences with his children, there is a “my family” section where the stories are more closely based on personal experience and we can learn by following Adam’s example as he deals with the bilingual development of his own children.
There is also a “My Materials” page where you can purchase Adam’s “Captive Reading” books and resources. Are you wondering what “captive reading” is about? Adam describes it as “the ‘captive audience’ approach to language development” – click here to find out more about “captive reading.”
You can get regular updates from Bilingual Updates via the free subscription form on the blog. Subscribers get a free PDF file of the “22 Tip-Top Tongue Twisters” in English.
The blog is still relatively new, but Bilingual Monkeys looks set to become a very useful resource for parents of mixed-heritage or bilingual families.
About Adam
Adam Beck has lived in Hiroshima since 1996 and has long had an interest in children’s welfare and education. Adam has collaborated with ANT Hiroshima in several projects over the last decade or so, most notably in setting up the Art Party project, an annual exhibition of art created by children in need, from orphanages, shelters, and other children’s facilities in various countries in Asia and Latin America.
Adam got married in 1999. His wife is Japanese, and they now have two children, “Lulu,” aged eight, and “Roy,” aged five(those are their names on the “Bilingual Monkeys” blog).
ANT-Hiroshima
