It is not every day that I get to speak with someone in the bilingual world that I have admired and respected for years and though we have never met in person, I consider him a friend. Adam Beck is a prominent person in the field of bilingualism as an educator, parent, and author. He has written a number of books including Maximize Your Child’s Bilingual Ability, praised worldwide by parents and by leaders in the field of child bilingualism; I WANT TO BE BILINGUAL!, a picture book for adults; 28 Bilingual English-Spanish Fairy Tales and Fables, a language learning resource for all ages; and Bearded Dragon Daydreams, a coloring book that he created with his son.
Adam is also the founder of the influential blog Bilingual Monkeys and the lively parenting forum, The Bilingual Zoo, and has spent the last decade helping busy parents raise bilingual children. At his website and through his social media platforms, he offers practical ideas and inspiration for parents raising bilingual and multilingual children.
I invite you to watch our IGTV!
Adam is the father of two teenagers that he and his Japanese wife have raised bilingual English/Japanese and they are also learning Spanish.
Here are Adam’s 6 P’s to raising bilingual children successfully:
- Priority – make your bilingual aim the highest priority you can in your family’s lifestyle
- Proactive – make the most of each day with mindful and proactive efforts
- Playful – be serious about this but also be very playful in order to engage your children in the target language
- Persistent – be persistent in your support for the minority language, day after day
- Patience – the bilingual journey is a marathon, not a sprint, and progress will be gradual
- Perseverance – there is always a payoff to perseverance
For more about Adam, follow him on Instagram @BilingualAdventures and visit his website.
Thank you, Adam!
