Dual-Language Children Books - The Language Bear

5 Reasons To Study A Foreign Language

LanguageBear — Thu, 17 May 2012 17:55:31 +0000

As if you needed any more reasons, but if you're trying to stay motivated and need a few reminders, here goes:

Meet new friends: Learning a foreign language opens up the door to your getting to know more people and expanding your social network. If you are studying a language such as Spanish, Portuguese, or Chinese that is spoken by a large percentage of the population, you will be literally potentially tapping into a communication network with hundreds of millions of people that was previously off limits to you. If you are studying a less popular language, just think how much more valuable you will be since there are fewer foreign speakers of it.
Become a more globally-viable businessperson: In the world of business, communication is king. It does not matter how well you can program a computer, do accounting, or design new products: if you cannot communicate with other people, you will not find the success you deserve in the business world. Learning to communicate in a foreign language effectively increases your value as a communicator. And, many people who become proficient in a foreign language end up actually improving their skills as a communicator in their native language, as well. Learning a foreign language makes you a better communicator overall, and it therefore makes you a more attractive employee or partner in the world of business.
Expand your mind: Speaking a foreign language with fluency truly means switching channels to another way of thinking. Once you become fluent enough in the foreign language you are studying, you will find your consciousness actually expanding to accommodate your new ability. Each language has its own set of vocabulary, phrases, and concepts that do not directly translate to other languages. The result for multilingual people is that they actually force their neurons to grow and connect in new ways. Effectively, you become a little bit smarter and more mentally flexible.
Become more attractive: Looking to impress your husband, wife, date, or that cute person that you see whenever you go shopping? Becoming conversant in a foreign language is a great way to bring yourself up a notch on the attractiveness scale. People who expand their horizons are almost always perceived as more attractive than those who are always happy with the same-old stuff, year after year.
Understand the world better: The world is getting smaller. Leaders and individuals in different countries are making decisions each day that affect all of us in economic, environmental, and political terms. By studying a foreign language, you equip yourself with an additional lens through which to view the actions, thoughts, and worldviews of other people. This will help you make more balanced decisions about how to act or react when you learn about world events.

Mastering a foreign language can be quite a challenge, but for each new word you memorize, for each new verb you learn to conjugate, you will be making yourself more interesting, more economically viable, and even a bit smarter and more attractive. No, really!!

Baby Sign Language - Communication Before Speech

LanguageBear — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 09:00:29 +0000

Prior to mastering the art of speech, your baby has great difficulty in communicating his needs to you. This can cause frustration for you both - yet there is a solution. Baby sign language is rapidly becoming popular as a means of recognising - and responding to - a young baby's needs. Babies can be taught sign language from any age, but they really begin to take notice of the signs from around six months and may begin using them from as early as seven to eight months of age. As many parents will testify, babies understand an awful lot more than they are able to communicate through speech at this stage. Some parents fear that using baby sign language may hamper their child's speech development later on. Research into this subject, however, shows that children taught baby sign in infancy go on to develop superb language skills. In some cases, they may learn to speak earlier and often have an increased ability to learn a second language. There are other benefits to introducing baby sign language - studies indicate that children who sign often develop a higher than average IQ. The major advantage for parents, of course, is to be able to identify their babies' needs and respond appropriately - easing the frustrations that can lead to tantrums. Once this channel of communication is open, many parents feel that a deeper bond with their child is formed, creating a great sense of harmony.
There are various methods by which you can learn to sign with your child - no prior knowledge is needed, so learning along with your baby is part of the fun! It is important to remember to say the word when introducing any signs to your baby and to use the signs consistently - both in the home and outside it. Also, try to familiarise anyone who cares for your child with the signs they are using. Some people like to invent their own signs to use with their babies, whereas others prefer to use conventional signs based on formal sign language - the advantage of using these is that they are recognised by a wide group of people. There are many books, DVDs and flashcards available, based on formal signing, that make learning this new skill both simple and enjoyable. Taking into account the benefits that this simple communication can bring, it's no wonder that more and more parents are using baby sign language - and achieving a fascinating insight into their babies' minds!

Four Tips to Help You Learn Language Faster

LanguageBear — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 02:34:42 +0000

The truth is that learning a foreign language is a lot easier than most people expect particularly if you follow these tips which I have discovered after a lifetime of helping other people learn everything from Japanese and Arabic to German and French.

1. Make mistakes. The way to learn a new language is by making errors. That‘s right; your success will come from repeatedly failing. Give yourself permission to make mistakes and you will learn more than you ever dreamed possible.

2. Look for words your native tongue has in common with the new language you want to learn. For example, the word for American is Americano in Spanish, Américain in French and Americano in Italian and Portuguese. Interesting is interesante in Spanish, Italian and Portuguese and interessant in French. The words for chocolate and café also fit this pattern. Recognizing words that are familiar to you will help you build your new vocabulary faster.

3. Take chances. When you attempt to speak a foreign language you run the risk of not being understood but this is a risk worth taking. After all, it is better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing perfectly! And when you visit another country you will find that the native speakers will appreciate your attempts to communicate in their language--even if you make a mistake or two.

4. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Practice makes perfect. Like any new skill you want to hone the more time you spend cultivating it the quicker the skill becomes part of you. Use your time commuting to work or relaxing at home to work on new material or reinforce the old.

I hope you are successful in your language learning endeavors, and I know that it will pay off no matter how hard you have to work to get there. As with anything it's going to be more or less difficult depending on how you learn and which methods you choose. Good luck!

The Most Successful Methods for Raising Bilingual Children

LanguageBear — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:30:00 +0000

As the saying goes, there are many ways to skin a cat, and so there are a multitude of strategies for raising bilingual children. Among all these choices, one thing remains constant -- a children’s love for predictability.

Have you ever noticed how poorly many children handle change and how they thrive when on familiar turf? When you’ve read that same story every night for two months, you’ll know what I mean. Certainly, kids learn languages under the most chaotic conditions -- just look at the average dinner table scene -- but some predictability within the chaos spells safety and security, which in turn promotes learning.

Most multilingual families have discovered that a fixed language system in the home greatly reduces the tendency for children to mix the languages -- or worse, the flat-out refusal to speak the second language. One parent expressed it perfectly; “I’ve noticed that when Anna gets overwhelmed by something, she just tunes out. I guess that it is the toddler safety mechanism against information overload.” Kees van der Laan continued, “But I really don’t want her to tune out my Dutch, so my wife and I agreed on a language combination that we can both live by, while keeping it simple for Anna. I feel that the consistency is ultimately more important than which kind of system we use.” In choosing your system, you’ll absolutely need to consider what will work best for your family, but here are the two most popular methods:

1) One Person, One Language (OPOL) is the most common family language system in use. For instance, Kees speaks his native Dutch, while his wife speaks English. Each parent or caregiver consistently speaks only one language to the child. Sometimes OPOL requires extra "language supplements,” such as playgroups, visits from family, a trip to the country, or a native speaking nanny or au-pair. It helps tremendously for your child to hear that his parent isn’t the only one who speaks this language. Kids are savvy little creatures who are quite capable of reasoning that they don’t really need to know a language if it is only spoken by one other person.

2) A second option, slightly less common but tremendously successful is Minority Language at Home (ML@H). It simply means that everyone speaks the minority language at home, even if this language is not the native language of both parents. It is probably the most reliable method for raising truly native speaking children since it ensures consistent interaction from birth until the child leaves home.

However, the ML@H parent has to be able to quell doubts and stay the course unwaveringly. When your child isn’t speaking the community language on the same level as his or her monolingual peers (generally the ML@H child doesn’t reach parity with them until around 5 years of age), it’s difficult not to worry. The McColloughs in Germany remember “We were watching other children jabbering away in complete German sentences, while Patrick seemed incapable of getting out two or three connected words.” Within months after starting preschool, however, he had transformed completely. “Now he can’t stop talking in either language.” Even when you know that your child is going to catch up, it can be daunting to watch him struggle. Some parents fear that he will never learn the primary language, even though this really only occurs when children are isolated from the primary language within a minority speaking community.

3) Frankly, any pattern that works for your family and provides enough interaction in the second language is fine. Examples of such variations are: (1) one language is spoken every day, the other on extended vacations to another country; (2) one language is spoken in a certain location (e.g. if the children attend an immersion program), the other at home.

As you can see, the raising of multilingual children is a flexible and highly personal process, so just adapt the basic language systems to something that fits your lifestyle. Even the most highly-trained athlete couldn’t finish a marathon in ill-fitting shoes, and all your training won’t help if you aren’t settled comfortably for the long haul. Remember, it isn’t all on you; you can find an immersion program, call upon grandparents, organize playgroups and schedule frequent visits to your country -- good for junior’s language, but just as helpful and fun for you.

4 Tips For Learning Any Foreign Language Faster

LanguageBear — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:52:27 +0000

For many people, the idea of learning a foreign language is both exciting and intimidating, especially if the thought brings back memories of learning a second language in middle school or high school.

The truth is that learning a foreign language is a lot easier than most people expect particularly if you follow these tips which I have discovered after a lifetime of helping other people learn everything from Japanese and Arabic to German and French.

1. Make mistakes. The way to learn a new language is by making errors. That‘s right; your success will come from repeatedly failing. Give yourself permission to make mistakes and you will learn more than you ever dreamed possible.

2. Look for words your native tongue has in common with the new language you want to learn. For example, the word for American is Americano in Spanish, Américain in French and Americano in Italian and Portuguese. Interesting is interesante in Spanish, Italian and Portuguese and interessant in French. The words for chocolate and café also fit this pattern. Recognizing words that are familiar to you will help you build your new vocabulary faster.

3. Take chances. When you attempt to speak a foreign language you run the risk of not being understood but this is a risk worth taking. After all, it is better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing perfectly! And when you visit another country you will find that the native speakers will appreciate your attempts to communicate in their language--even if you make a mistake or two.

4. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Practice makes perfect. Like any new skill you want to hone the more time you spend cultivating it the quicker the skill becomes part of you. Use your time commuting to work or relaxing at home to work on new material or reinforce the old.

I wish you every success as you master the language of your choice and begin enjoying the many benefits of being multilingual in today’s increasingly global world.

Mark Frobose, founder of Language Dynamics Inc., is a well-known keynote speaker fluent in four languages. He has recorded and published more than 50 foreign language works, including the Amazon.com bestsellers Behind the Wheel Spanish and Conversational Spanish in Nothing Flat.

Bosley Sees the World is a Success! Will be published soon!

LanguageBear — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:09:07 +0000

Thanks to all of the Language Bear's friends, Bosley's first book "Bosley Sees the World" will be professionally published and made available worldwide! There are currently 7 translations for this dual language children's book which were all made possible by individual supporters of the Language Bear, like you. This is the first book in the "Adventures of Bosley Bear" series and is written to encourage children to understand the world around them, to explore and learn new things and to challenge themselves everyday. As a teacher, the author, Tim Johnson understands the power and beauty of youth and works to help children grow with confidence and ultimately realize their full potential. And as a lifelong martial artist, he knows that one's potential is truly limitless. Also an engineer by trade, Tim focuses his teaching efforts on the fundamental skill of learning on order to allow each child to express their own creative and individual learning process.

Future publications of the "Adventures of Bosley Bear" will include all sorts of fun and exciting adventures like:

Bosley Goes to the Moon

Bosley and the Stars

Bosley goes to the South Pole

Bosley goes to Paris

Bosley goes to Japan

and more.

Keep your eye out for more adventures coming soon!

Tips to Help Your Kids Celebrate Reading

LanguageBear — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:32:18 +0000

It's been proven that children who read achieve. They boast higher test scores and recognize letters and numbers more often than their peers who read less often. But getting children to crack open a book sometimes can be the tricky part for parents and teachers.

Nine years ago, the National Education Association launched the "Read Across America" program to encourage, excite and energize children to do just that.

Originally created as a one-day event to celebrate the joy of reading on March 2, the birthday of Dr. Seuss, NEA's Read Across America has grown into a nationwide initiative that promotes reading every day with more than 45 million participating annually.

"As teachers and parents, we know that kids who read - and are read to - do better in school and in life," said NEA President Reg Weaver.

NEA, the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing 2.7 million teachers and education support professionals, offers the following tips for parents on how they can promote reading year-round:

* Provide encouragement. Parents play a crucial role in their children's education. Children who report that their parents encourage them to read are more likely to read a higher volume of books than those who say that their parents leave it up to them.

* Have books available to your children. Access to books is fundamental to reading success. Increasing access to print material is the most successful way to improve the reading achievement of low-income children.

* Make it fun. Children who read frequently are better readers and better students. Studies and research show that students who read for fun have better reading scores.

"NEA's Read Across America provides a unique opportunity to encourage parent and child interaction to foster literacy on a large scale," Weaver said. "We remind parents, teachers, children and the community that reading is indeed fun because you're never too old, too wacky, too wild to pick up a book and read with a child."

The Language Bear "Bosley" needs your help to publish his first book!!

LanguageBear — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:59:36 +0000

TheLanguageBear.com has been selling dual language books for almost 5 years now! Can you believe it? But Bosley himself ("The Language Bear") wanted to get in on the action and have a book written about him! Now you can join Bosley on his escapades with this great new book. This is the story of a small Bosley Bear who is excited to see and experience everything around him. It encourages children to take on new challenges and helps to build confidence when experiencing new things.

The Adventures of Bosley Bear will be a series of dual language books, each of them will be written in English as well as Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and so on. Certain corresponding words are highlighted in both languages to help give a better understanding. And there's a list of vocabulary words in the back to help you and your child learn.

Watch this Video to learn more:

Help Tim Publish this Book!

To help with the cost of publishing, we're offering to let people pre-order the book now. The book is available for $13 (including shipping) or as low as $9 if you want a bunch for your kid's school or birthday presents. There are also some other rewards and giveaways that you can earn for helping me out. So take a look at the video, and if you have any questions, let me know. Thank you so much! I appreciate any help you can provide.

Designed to Teach Language

The Language Bear’s dual-language books are self-directed learning tools and are specifically designed to help young children better understand foreign words and phrases. The non-invasive teaching methods used in this book allow children to learn at their own pace and enjoy the learning process. These methods include:

Repeat words
Simple phrases
Opposites
Highlighted vocab words
Contextual learning
Corresponding imagery

A Preview of the Book

Books are 20 full color pages, 8.5" x 8.5" on 80lb paper. Cover is 12pt card stock with glossy LayFlat laminate for protection.

Thank you so much for supporting this Kickstarter campaign, I'm so excited to get this book published for you! And don't forget to share this webpage with your friends, family and co-workers to ensure this is a success!

Bilingualism Sharpens the Mind - An Article from the New York Times

LanguageBear — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 02:57:59 +0000

Below is an article from the New York Times about bilingualism and the affect on cognitive capabilities as we age, and how being bilingual actually acts to sharpen your mind! It's a great article in the form of an interview with Dr. Ellen Bialystok.

The Bilingual Advantage

By CLAUDIA DREIFUS

Published: May 30, 2011

A cognitive neuroscientist, Ellen Bialystok has spent almost 40 years learning about how bilingualism sharpens the mind. Her good news: Among other benefits, the regular use of two languages appears to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms. Dr. Bialystok, 62, a distinguished research professor of psychology at York University in Toronto, was awarded a $100,000 Killam Prize last year for her contributions to social science. We spoke for two hours in a Washington hotel room in February and again, more recently, by telephone. An edited version of the two conversations follows.

Q. How did you begin studying bilingualism?

A. You know, I didn’t start trying to find out whether bilingualism was bad or good. I did my doctorate in psychology: on how children acquire language. When I finished graduate school, in 1976, there was a job shortage in Canada for Ph.D.’s. The only position I found was with a research project studying second language acquisition in school children. It wasn’t my area. But it was close enough.

As a psychologist, I brought neuroscience questions to the study, like “How does the acquisition of a second language change thought?” It was these types of questions that naturally led to the bilingualism research. The way research works is, it takes you down a road. You then follow that road.

Q. So what exactly did you find on this unexpected road?

A. As we did our research, you could see there was a big difference in the way monolingual and bilingual children processed language. We found that if you gave 5- and 6-year-olds language problems to solve, monolingual and bilingual children knew, pretty much, the same amount of language.

But on one question, there was a difference. We asked all the children if a certain illogical sentence was grammatically correct: “Apples grow on noses.” The monolingual children couldn’t answer. They’d say, “That’s silly” and they’d stall. But the bilingual children would say, in their own words, “It’s silly, but it’s grammatically correct.” The bilinguals, we found, manifested a cognitive system with the ability to attend to important information and ignore the less important.

Q. How does this work — do you understand it?

A. Yes. There’s a system in your brain, the executive control system. It’s a general manager. Its job is to keep you focused on what is relevant, while ignoring distractions. It’s what makes it possible for you to hold two different things in your mind at one time and switch between them.

If you have two languages and you use them regularly, the way the brain’s networks work is that every time you speak, both languages pop up and the executive control system has to sort through everything and attend to what’s relevant in the moment. Therefore the bilinguals use that system more, and it’s that regular use that makes that system more efficient.

Bosley's Christmas Giveaway! - Win the very FIRST copy of the Language Bear's new book!

LanguageBear — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 11:00:43 +0000

Have you heard about the Language Bear's Christmas giveaway? Sign up for the mailing list and you'll get a free PDF download of the Language Bear's very first publication! PDF versions of the book are now available in Spanish and Italian!

Not only that, but one lucky winner will receive a free hard-copy of Bosley Sees the World, the 20-page full-color dual language book in Spanish. This is the story of a small bear who is excited to see and experience everything around him.

This story encourages children to take on new challenges and helps to build confidence when experiencing new things. The Adventures of Bosley Bear will be a series of dual language books, each of them will be written in English as well as Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, and so on. Certain corresponding words are highlighted in both languages to help give a better understanding. And there's a list of vocabulary words in the back to help you and your child learn.

Designed to Teach

Repeat words
Simple phrases
Opposites
Highlighted vocab words
Contextual learning
Corresponding imagery

And reading with your child is a great way to learn new words yourself!

This book is still undergoing publication now, but I hope you enjoy your free PDF version and the winner of the giveaway will be announced on facebook on Dec 15th!