After a challenging year of homeschooling, it is very encouraging that children have returned to the classrooms. There is nothing to compare with interacting with others of different backgrounds and cultures to stretch children’s imaginations.

In this spirit of community, I will explore the subject of languages. Why do we gravitate towards one language as opposed to another? What role do parents play in their children’s acquisition of languages? Are Caregivers of children a factor in their learning different languages?

I grew up in Jamaica, where the official language was English and the local dialect, Patois. My grandmother did not approve of my sister and me speaking Patois, although it was her preferred language.

I was personally drawn to Patois (the forbidden fruit as it were) while my sister preferred English. Interestingly, as we grew older, I stopped speaking Patois while my sister consistently reverted to it.

Where learning a foreign is concerned, I have always had an affinity for French. My first high school foreign language was Spanish, and while I liked the language well enough, I disliked my Teacher, so I never learned Spanish.  For many years I was very passionate about learning French, so I had no idea that I could like another language.

I took my first German class when I was in graduate school. I was surprised to discover how much I liked the language.  This discovery was the impetus for my first book, “Counting Beans With Dag and Scout: A Multilingual Counting Book for Children. " I wanted give children the opportunity to explore seven different languages in one medium, and parents a cost-effective way for their children to explore and discover which languages they find interesting and fun.

In keeping with the topic of languages, we will interview native speakers of the seven languages included in “Counting Beans With Dag and Scout: A Multilingual Counting Book for Children." The languages are: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Mandarin.

The goal is to learn if the Interviewees speak any foreign language, and if so, do their children speak the languages they do.