Maximize Your Child's Bilingual Ability: Ideas and inspiration for even greater success and joy raising bilingual kids

Absolutely wonderful book!Prior to this book I read the "Raising a Bilingual Child" by Barbara Zurer Pearson which I got from a friend.While Pearson talks a lot about the research regarding bilingual children, Adam Beck actually talks about WHAT TO DO to make your child become bilingual.The book is written in a very light and interesting way, and the love of Adam Beck to his two kids and also to his students is felt deeply throughout the entire book.For me - it was the exact case needed: A dad (not mother) raising two kids, with the main caregiver (the mother) speaking only the majority language and the kids attending majority language school. Which represent pretty much the hardest available conditions to raise a bilingual child.Of course the book refers to all sorts of different conditions, but this being the hardest one was very important to me.The book includes lots of great ideas on how to engage in minority language activities with your kids, the importance of seizing opportunities to develop the minority language and also some general good parenting tips.When I saw full 5 star review by more than 30 people, I knew I had to try this book, but I was a bit skeptical about the full 5 stars.Now after reading this book - I can genuinely agree it deserves it's full satisfaction 5 star grade!!Thank you very much Adam Beck!!

It takes work and commitment to help your child become bilingual. My son is half Russian and half English, and I am hopeful that I would be able to share the knowledge of Russian language with him. I loved this book because it showed me the importance of strategy AND flexibility AND everyday efforts. Because of this book iI realized that little decisions that I make every day will either propel my son towards my goal of him being bilingual or the other way around. What I also understood is that ultimately a lot will depend on my son.. so first and foremost I need to create motivation for him to want to speak the minority language (in my case Russian) by raising him with respect and interest about the culture, by creating an attractive circle of Russian speaking friends for him etc.. I am thankful to the author for being so passionate about the cause, and for all the useful tools he shared generously in his book.

I'm a Chinese-American mom raising trilingual kids while learning Chinese with them. When we first began this multilingual journey, I wasn't sure what to do and if we had a chance at succeeding. Now my oldest child is 6 years old and speaks/reads 2 of her 3 languages fluently and able to write in all 3. This is hands-down one of the best guides for raising multilingual kids. The author gives practical, effective tips in a way that's very easy to read. Highly recommend for any family thinking about raising multilingual kids!

Both my husband and I are Chinese and live in the U.S. Over the years, I have seen many first generation immigrant households where parents speak Chinese while kids speak English. Those kids' passive usage of Chinese does not seem to bother their parents. But it made me realize that I need to be strict with them when I have kids one day and insist they speak Chinese at home and when they converse with people that are speaking Chinese to them.When I found out I was pregnant last year, I knew I needed to know more than just "being strict". I came across this book on Amazon and decided to give it a try after reading some of the reviews. It's well worth the money. It's an easy read and full of practical tips. I read one chapter every night to my belly baby. I intend to use it as a reference book later on should I need ideas or encouragement. Adam's admirable dedication to teaching his kids minority language is contagious.

This book is amazing. Very easy to understand , it's like a chat between parents , Adam give you tools that I never even tought about it amd I am a teacher . He tell stories about his kids and show you that is possible to success even if you are the o Lucas resource of minority language. This books has thought me so much , and I've read a lot of books in this subject and this is the best one. You are not going to retreat reading this book and not only for bilingual parents , all parents should read it , he talks about that quality of timeYou spend with your child , every day is an oportunity to teach them something. He is a very successful parent of 2 bilingual kids , and you can be too, just follow his book and you will be able to succeed. It really change the way I was looking at my bilingual journey.

This book would do well to have a good editor with a liberal red pen. The author repeats himself over and over again just wording things slightly differently. It has some good information, but it's buried in long-winded repetition. The first half of the book is particularly painful—I would recommend just reading the Quick Takeaway at the end of each chapter and skipping the rest. The second half of the book has some good info, but you can get everything you need from it with a quick speed read.

I am a German married to an American and we are expecting our first child together. I have always known that I want my children to be fluent in German, so I can speak it with them and they can communicate with my parents and German family. I hope this will make it easier to raise my child bilingually.

All in all, I would say it's a book worth your time if you are aiming to raise bilingual kids. It offers enough practical tips and ideas for you to work out a new language learning routine straight after reading.The first half of the book is about adjusting your mindset and attitudes towards the task, which is necessary but probably one touch too lengthy and repetitive. The second half is where the author offers solid ideas and advice - the part that really earned the stars for the book in my case. The author is very hard on the idea of training your kids from birth as that was what he did, which was distressing for me as i have already missed the crucial first years but still hoping that I would find some answers from this book. I did find them, through personal emails to the author, and if I look past what was said about teaching from birth, I can say most of his ideas are actually all applicable for bilingual teaching from later years too.Adam was amazingly helpful and encouraging at a personal level. He replied to all my emails extremely promptly and I can't say all author can be that easily accessible or available. He makes a reader feel very welcome and included and probably will be one of those pioneers that you'd want to hold on to during the lonely years of bilingual battles.

I was very pleased with the book. It provides an overview of the different approaches multilingual families can take and also gives a lot of practical tools that parents can do to improve their child's multilingual skills. It has helped our family massively to raise our daughter speaking three languages.

I loved Adam's book. It confirmed my view that raising bilingual children is possible if you put in the work day in day out - and does not require dual language schooling. Lots of ideas and ways to implement a language rich environment even if you're the main source of your children's minority language and you work full time like the author. It's given me lots of ideas to work on. Thanks!

Very useful insight and tips for teaching languages to your child. I found the book easy to read and resourceful for my bilingual journey with my son. Essential reading for someone committed to the challenge of ‘Maximising your child’s bilingual ability’!There are some repetitions through the book; however, I believe these are important to make sure the reader understands and absorbs key steps of the journey. This book will give anyone the motivation and useful guidance for raising a bilingual child. Recommended!

I got this book when my daughter was almost two. I wish I had gotten it sooner. It has been really useful in my family's bilingual journey and I'm now getting his new books.