Bao & Bun's Bilingual Journey

The twins have reading homework from their bilingual school. Little Bao has Chinese reading homework, and Little Bun has English. Since Bao needs more English reading practice, I purposely chose a book with both Chinese and English. For homework, he reads the Chinese version, and then I have him read the English one for extra practice at home.

Lately, both kids have been using more English when talking to us. We usually respond with, “What’s ____?”—asking them to think of the Chinese word or phrase. Sometimes they don’t know, so I’ll tell them.

I’ve noticed this verbal back-and-forth shows up in their reading too. As kids get older, their Chinese vocabulary seems to drop quickly. This kind of reading and speaking practice has been helpful for all of us—not just the kids, but even for me as a parent—not to forget how to say everyday things in Chinese. Just this morning, I wanted to say aluminum foil and had to pause a second to recall 錫箔紙 in Chinese.

We’re all still working on keeping that Chinese brain active.