Joanna, Mom to be in France

Joanna, welcome! And a big CONGRATULATIONS to you and your husband on the upcoming arrival of your first child! If you haven't already seen it, this page at Bilingual Monkeys might be of special interest...

Posts for New Parents

It sounds like you're in a good position to experience a lot of success on your bilingual journey...but I agree that you'll need to revamp your use of the two languages so that you create an environment which effectively fulfills the two "core conditions" for language acquisition: ample exposure to the target language and an organic need to use it. So it's important that you move to emphasize English within your family while "de-emphasizing" your use of French. If you use French too openly, too liberally, around the child, the "danger" is not only that this may undercut the child's exposure to English, it could undermine your little one's need to speak English with you.

When my own children were born, I consciously switched from using Japanese with my wife to using only English. In my case, making this change wasn't so difficult, but it's also true that using English with my wife (while she uses Japanese with me) is a less effective way for us to communicate than when we spoke mostly Japanese together. Still, for the sake of my children's language development, this was our best option and we've stuck by it ever since.

To effect a new pattern of language use with your husband (he can continue to speak French while you shift into using English), I would recommend that you do whatever you must in terms of creating reminders to establish this habit: signs around the house, a bracelet with the admonition to speak English, regular prompts from your cell phone, your husband (playfully) refuses to communicate with you if you use French, etc.

At the same time, I encourage you to start speaking to the baby in English now, before the birth, and read aloud each day, too. The more you can remind yourself to use English, and the more you actually do, the easier it will gradually become. And once the baby is born, I suspect that you'll very naturally feel an even deeper impulse to communicate with the child in your mother tongue.

Joanna, I send best wishes from Japan and I look forward to following your bilingual journey!