Trilingual by Six: The sane way to raise intelligent, talented children

Confessions first -- I have known Len Dippel since we were in college, and was also his classmate in medical school, so I will admit to more than a little bias.Facts second -- I have also known Len to be one of the most insightful people I have ever met.Opinions last --- This is a great introduction to the possibility of raising children who are conversant in more than one language. It's not easy, but by shifting one's focus away from the test-taking, score-making mentality that we Americans have fallen into over the past few decades it is certainly easier than it sounds. My children are in their twenties now, and although they are each bright, capable, and engaging it is clear that they are not likely to become conversant in another language during their adulthood. They are in good company -- neither did I -- but the data presented in this book makes it clear that there are many, many things my wife and I could have done slightly differently to have helped them on their education journey. Read this for the insights offered, the clarity of the facts presented, and the opportunity to perhaps influence your own children or grandchildren!

As someone who has studied eight languages formally and worked often as an ESL tutor and teacher, I've always had a passionate interest in linguistics. I had prided myself on being up to date on the best ways to teach and learn foreign languages for both children and adults, and found myself somewhat skeptical that children can be trilingual before age six. If it can be done, why isn't anyone else doing it? Surely conventional wisdom, and all of formal language training, can't be THAT wrong.Dippel, somehow, turned everything I knew about foreign language acquisition on its head. Reviewing all available scientific linguistic literature with his characteristic modesty and humor, Dippel convinced me that not only did all of formal language training miss the boat, it was never near the right time to board in the first place. If you think about it, how many of us can speak a foreign language fluently from taking classes or listening to audio-visual media? The best we get from that is broken phrases. If you want your children to be natively fluent in multiple languages, you have to capitalize on the time when their brains are deep in the throes of primary language learning: when they are still babies. It makes sense. That's when they are biologically most malleable to language formation.But who has time or resources to teach babies? And what if the parent doesn't speak any other languages? Dippel, again, has the answer--an answer that isn't just conjecture derived from ivory towers, but one that he has successfully implemented himself with his own children: immigrant babysitters.Through surprisingly moving and warm portraits of his family and people he has met, he helps us see immigrant enclaves as untapped language resources. He explains how to make connections with these new global neighbors and form lasting friendships of a lifetime--all while turning your tykes into impressive language whizzes with highly competitive fluency skills.Dippel, a medical doctor of the best kind, manages to bridge theory and practice, and weave a potentially dry prescriptive self-help book into a touching, compassionate, human narrative that changes the way you are going to see both the language and the immigrant world. He will also reinforce the kindest parenting inspiration this side of the Dalai Lama. It's not just about languages; it is bringing out the best in our kids in a gentle and nurturing environment.If you are serious at all about raising children who are multilingual, and you can only buy one book, buy this one. It will blow your mind.

This book is so informative! Dr. Dippel shared his research and knowledge in a very passionate way as a parent and a writer. I would share and recommend this book to friends and to everyone. The author had shared effective strategies, concepts, best resources and outside the box ideas that will help to raise children and students to become multilingual or trilingual.I admire the author's passion for sharing his time, research, and success as a parent by writing this book. I also agree with his views and emphasis on what he called "language babysitters" as a secret weapon and what impact they can have on children's lives. This book is a must to read! Go get your copy!Evangeline and Jonathan

great to read up on, but doesnt provide a game plan or stategies to implement.

What makes this a fantastic resource for parents of young children, educators, and foreign language enthusiasts? It is the combination of the authors' anecdotal failures and successes combined with the critical evaluation of language education research, the resources of the internet and your local community, the practical suggestions for family vacations and passive entertainment, and the gentle encouragement as if he were communicating to you as a personal mentor. Get it, read it, share it, then do it. The phrase, "It's never too late too start" does not apply to language fluency.

I wish my parents had read this! It doesn't have to be difficult or expensive to provide your children with the resources to become more successful.

I never like when the authors are aggressive to introduce a “good idea” this book lost my attention in the first chapter.

Excellent read. The author has not only done his research, but also had personal experience with his own kids.

I am giving this book four stars because it's a good read, it's written in a way that flows nicely and it's interesting and entertaining. In terms of usefulness it really ranges from 3 stars to 5 depending on your situation, so I went middle-ground.The author does a really good job at giving as sound advice as possible based on the existing evidence, which, as stated by the author, is still scarce and incomplete, coupled with his experience and observations. As I said, it's a good read, especially if you are a little academically minded and/or you have any interest in education, especially early-years education or migration; however, it still remains a good and easy ready even if you are not versed in any of those. The fact that it is mostly coming from an American context does not make any difference as the advice given is applicable to any context and personally, I found it interesting to get an insight into the American - and a few other countries - system.Honestly, the writer sometimes totally diverts from the subject; he seems to enjoy writing up anecdotes about migrants he's met which, while interesting, have no relevance to you purposes. He also sometimes goes into a 'greater purpose to all this' mode, which I don't mind, but some people might and is again, slightly irrelevant if you are looking for practical advice.5-star usefulness: if you are a monolingual or bilingual family; if you are considering raising your child as trilingual, but haven't quite made up your mind (especially if you are an American parent); if you do not know what languages to choose for your children; if you are unsure of the benefits and are worried it might have an impact on your child's school performance; if you do not know how to go about raising a multilingual child and are unfamiliar with the resources available and have no contacts with migrant communities, then this is definitely useful and I believe and hope it will convince you to undertake a multilingual journey for your children and give you all the basic skills to start off an continue in this process.3-start usefulness: if you are a trilingual family (especially if you are a European family); if you have already decided to raise your child as trilingual by choice or necessity; if you have already chosen the languages for whatever reason, but most likely because they are your families' and community's languages; if you already have contact with various resources and migrant communities, etc, then this is a lot less useful.The part that are useful to all ultimately come down to the section about the amount of exposure needed, how/how much to use human and electronic resources, how to check on progress and how to face bumps in the road.What I would suggest the author for a new edition is to perhaps include a chapter dedicated to multilingual families who might not need many external resources, but might need advice on how to manage exposure, time spent on each language, how to deal with children reverting to one or another language etc. Also, and I am sure that there is little evidence out there, how to deal with more complex multilingual situations. Excuse us Europeans, but I am aware of many nowadays whose parents have two different native language, they speak a third language between them (usually English), but the community language is a fourth one. How to deal with these, go for all language or restrict to three? I am also considering inserting a fourth language in my child's journey as two out of our three are not very widespread, but I do feel uneasy about it. To be fair to the author, the title is 'Trilingual by Six' not 'Multilingual by Six', but maybe he'd be able to provide some advice in the future. Looking forward to a second book about literacy after the age of 6!

The main benefit I gained from this book is to boost my confidence in being able to pass my two languages to my dauther (and she needs to acquire the third one from her daddy). It is a nice read, I have learned some immigration facts:) But genuine advice on trilingual development is scarce. I appreciate the main idea of hiring nannies as language tutors, but it is not my cup of tea. However, I was going to use native speakers for other languages later, so this book confirmed my general opinion about language acqusition. I gave four stars, because the author has done an enormous job to put all those facts together and his enthusiasm is fortunately infectious:)

What an excellent book! As a practically monolingual speaker trying to raise multilingual children, it was exactly what I was looking for. It provides lots of good tips and advice in a clear way to help you get started on your family's multilingual journey. I particularly like the mathematical calculations (and I don't normally like maths) which are very interesting and well thought out. It is particularly interesting to read snippets of the authors own experiences of raising multilingual children. As a Speech and Language Therapist specialising in bilingualism, I would recommend this book to anyone, whether they are part of a multilingual family or not, as there are so many advantages to being multilingual. This book really gave me the motivation I needed to try harder with my attempt to raise multilingual children.

Great book! It shows how learaning languages can be fun, easy and convenient. It's a great guide for parents, monolingual or not, who'd like their children to speak other languages.

The book started really good...but halfway thru it I gave up. It's very US centric, and spends most of the time explaining how to find babysitters or how to find native Spanish speakers by going to several different Mexican restaurants...