World Language Network

I am a researcher of foreign language education, a foreign language teacher for over 13 years, and a mother raising two children to speak my second language. I have interviewed and “play-dated” with over 80 families raising children to speak a language that is not their first language. Before they begin, and even en route to exposing their children to a second language,parents come to me looking for support.



Often I hear parents say, “I’m not good enough at thelanguage and I won’t be myself in another language.” I assuage their anxietywith, “You are learning the language with your children. Throw out the‘perfectly fluent native speaker’ model of a language teacher.Communicate—listen to music, sing, watch videos, and read read read in thesecond language.”