Growing up, I began learning French in elementary school; in middle school and high-school I choose to take Spanish. Mind you these were a 1 hour class every few days. I never ended up using much of either language beyond learning it. Today, I would argue that, I remember more random French from elementary school than basic Spanish from middle and high-school. Yet while traveling and being exposed to Spanish, I do feel like it comes back to me faster. Where I am going with this? That familiar saying, “If you don’t use it, you lose it”. I really think that rings true here with language fluency.
It’s challenging to find ways to practice a language you are learning outside of an area that uses the language frequently. We have been lucky enough to find apps, cartoons, websites and a small offering of books to keep the interest at home. I have noticed the lack of a good selection of bilingual English-Chinese books here in the United States. In August, I interviewed a mom who has begun writing and publishing her own bilingual books to help teach her daughter Mandarin. Then I started thinking bigger, there has got to be a wider selection of these bilingual children’s books globally? The search is on...
Here in the US, I do feel like the bilingual selections are improving slowly. I have made it my 2020 goal, to help make available a better selection of bilingual Chinese-English books to our kids here at home. I am excited and looking forward to attending the 2019 Chinese Shanghai International Book Fair and I cannot wait to share my experiences here with you! I am looking forward to meeting writers, publishers and translators, to name a few, from all over the world. Stay tuned to our social media accounts for updates!
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If you have a favorite bilingual book, please share it with us in the comment section below!