I’m a complete nerd (or is it a geek?) about keeping things organised. I love, love, love lists. So I suppose it’s only natural that, when I started looking into resources about multilingualism, I was fighting the urge to organise the multiple sources in a nice, easy to overview manner. And then I realised: why bother fighting? A list of multilingualism resources would not only be a great way for me to keep track of the multitude of materials, it might also be useful for some of you, my readers.
This list is a work in progress and I will continue adding resources and, possibly, even categories.
Currently the multilingualism resources are split in three sections:
- Books & literature: some of the books that I’ve come across and found to be useful. The books with a short description are ones I’ve read (or had a closer look at), ones without description are still on the “to read” list.
- Web resources: websites that offer a variety of materials about managing several languages and cultures.
- Multilingualism bloggers: my favorite blogs that deal with raising children in a multilingual and multicultural environment. I must admit that at times the distinction between web resources and blogs is a little arbitrary as many of these blogs offer wonderful resources.
Books & literature
“A Parents’ and Teachers’ Guide to Bilingualism” by Colin Baker – written in a Q&A format this book is a great reference guide that answers the most frequently asked questions about bilingual upbringing
Publisher | Goodreads | Google Books
“Growing Up With Three Languages: Birth to Eleven” by Xiao-lei Wang – this very enjoyable book comprises a personal account of the trilingualism journey and is packed with research and practical advice that can help on the way.
Publisher | Goodreads | Google Books | My review
“Be Bilingual: Practical Ideas for Multilingual Families” by Annika Bourgogne – a great and fun to read resource for ideas and tips that can help to successfully raise children with more than on language.
Author| Goodreads | Google Books | My review
“Bringing up a Bilingual Child” by Rita Rosenback – a wonderful resource for parents that highlights flexibility and creativity alongside consistency and provides a lot of applicable ideas
Author | Goodreads | Google Books | My review
“Maximize Your Child’s Bilingual Ability” by Adam Beck
Author | Goodreads | My review (coming up)
“Bilingual: Life and Reality” by Francois Grosjean
Author | Goodreads | Google Books
“Language Strategies for Trilingual Families: Parents’ Perspectives” by Andreas Braun and Tony Cline
Publisher | Goodreads | Google Books
“Living Languages: Multilingualism across the Lifespan” by Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa
Author| Goodreads | Google Books
Web resources
Multilingual Parenting – started as a blog, this site has grown into a rich resource for parents raising multilingual children: it has a weekly newsletter, a Q&A section where readers can send in their questions, and there are several levels of membership that include access to videos, webinars, podcasts, as well as a range of other resources.
InCultureParent – an online magazine dedicated to raising “little global citizens” that comprises an impressive collection of articles about parenting across the world. The themes include culture, tradition, and language, and you can also find materials about global holidays, recipes, and book reviews.
Multilingual Living – is home to the Multilingual Living Magazine and, although the magazine itself is not free of charge, the site offers plenty of interesting and valuable articles about raising kids with multiple languages.
Bilingual Kidspot – a site with lots of articles on raising bilingual kids, covering everything from motivation to persevere to useful advice from experts and stories about other multilingual families.
Bilingual Avenue – a fun podcast about everything to do with raising bilingual children, complete with a blog, newsletter and a (paid) member community.
Bilingual Kids Rock – another great resource comprising articles, a podcast, and, if you sign up for a weekly newsletter, you can get a checklist for creating a bilingual environment.
Multilingualism bloggers
Adam at http://bilingualmonkeys.com/ (Japan | English, Japanese)
Olga at http://www.europeanmama.com/ (Netherlands | Polish, German, Dutch)
Annabelle at http://www.thepiripirilexicon.com/ (Germany | French, English, Portuguese, German)
Liene at https://femmeaufoyer2011.blogspot.de/ (USA | Latvian, English)
Maria at http://www.trilingualmama.com/ (France | English, Spanish, French)
Galina at http://www.trilingualchildren.com/ (Italy | Russian, English, Italian)
Ute at http://expatsincebirth.com/ (Netherlands | Italian, Swiss German, Dutch)
Mariam at http://andthenwemovedto.com/ (UAE, German, Urdu, Italian, English)
Tamania at https://urdumom.com/ (Canada | English, Urdu)
Orana at www.crazylittlefamilyadventure.com (Sri Lanka | English, Spanish)
Weronika at http://www.multiculturalmotherhood.com/ (UK | English, Turkish)
Leanna at http://alldonemonkey.com/ (USA | English, Spanish)
Frances at http://www.discoveringtheworldthroughmysonseyes.com (USA | English, Spanish)
Johana at https://www.mamatortuga.org/ (USA | English, Spanish)
Christa at http://www.puravidamoms.com/ (USA | English, Spanish)
Linda at http://hispanicmama.com/ (USA | English, Spanish)
Bethany at https://www.biracialbookworms.com/ (USA | English, Spanish, French)
On the site Multicultural Kid Blogs you can find many more bloggers from all around the world.
Please leave a comment if you know other good resources that should be added to this list!
If you’re interested in resources in the Latvian language, check this post for the best webpages, apps, books, and more.