Live like a German! An interview with Bettina Kraft (Transcript)

Note: this is the transcript of an audio interview which you can listen to in MP3 format.

Sarah Mueller interviews Bettina Kraft, co-founder of Live Like a German.com about how a unique kind of German vacation can further your family's German.

---

Sarah: Hi, this is Sarah Mueller from Alphabet Garten, and today I’m talking with Bettina Kraft of Live-like-a-German.com. Hi Bettina, thanks for your time this morning.

Bettina: Thanks for your time, Sarah.

Sarah: Can you tell us a little bit about the “Live like a German” concept? Give us some background on what that means.

Bettina: Yes. Well, about two years ago my husband and I were sitting in our apartment in Germany and we were trying to figure out how to rent our apartment there. And at the time, we only used it once or twice a year, and we always had friends who were interested in going to Germany and we would always marvel and rave about what you could do. So we started building up this website. And the only apartment we had was our own, promoting our own apartment on the site. The site was pretty good, and sooner or later, we started having more inquiries through the site and because we only had that one apartment, people starting asking “Well, do you have things in Bavaria?” or in other destinations. So we started building these partnerships with owners in Germany who have apartments and slowly but surely added them onto our site. We’re constantly still growing. Our goal is to cover the entire area of Germany, every village, metropolitan area, or city so we can offer that onto our customers on the site.

Sarah: Oh, that’s so interesting! So you work, actually, directly with the owners of the individual apartments, then?

Bettina: Yes, we do. And we also added quite a few packages to our website that a lot of our owners actually put together for us. So we’re collaborating with a lot of owners on those packages as well.

Sarah: What kind of things belong to a package? How does that work?

Bettina: There are different packages that we offer. It could be a Christmas Market package or a castle tour and what we do is we use the expertise of our apartment owners for the area, and sometimes they do little tour guides, tour trips, they offer all kinds of different things, be it a trip on the Rhine river or something like that. So we use their expertise and put it into a package as well as, of course, their apartment.

Sarah: So people can actually get a personalized tour, or they can get to know the area?

Bettina: Exactly. We have these personalized tours and we have these customized tours so the customized tours are more or less pre-customized – pre-designed for the vacationer, there’s not a lot of give on these tours. But then we also offer these personalized tours that we pretty much put together to the needs of the person traveling to Germany. So we interview them, we ask, “What do you want to get out of this? How much time do you have? What do you want to do?” So I do a lot of those too, where it’s just put together with the customer, we tailor it to exactly their needs.

Sarah: Tell me, what does it mean to live like a German on vacation? How is that different from just going to Germany and I guess, you know, visiting the beer hall in Munich, things like that. How is this different?

Bettina: Well, it is different. First of all, it’s a more personal experience because you are going to live in an apartment that has been set up by a German family. There’s a lot of German culture, German designs in these apartments, German way of living. And we always encourage them to you know, visit the local markets, the local restaurants, the local bakeries, the butcher – you know, the typical things you would do in a village or in a smaller town. And to kind of mingle with the locals. That’s pretty much what that means, to “live like a German”. There are different things throughout the year, and other things you can do in order to get that German feel while you’re on vacation.

Sarah: That sounds like so much fun! That sounds like such a great way to go to Germany and get the whole language exposure and get way more out of it than you would if you were just going to a resort.

Bettina: We definitely encourage that, and there’s a lot of information on the website in regards to how you can do that.

Sarah: How can families who wish to improve their children’s German benefit from this kind of vacation? Do you find that they manage to speak a lot more German, interact with the other people around them?

Bettina: Yes, I mean, if you have kids that know some German or you want them to learn German, this is definitely the way to go. You can always find a play area or go to the city and just enjoy and interact in, I don’t know, an ice cream parlor or something, with local German-speaking families. And then, on top, as I can say from our own experience, we always put our children in German Kindergarten or a German school. It always has worked out so far, especially in the smaller villages where people are willing to help you out, you know, improve your German language skills, especially those of your children. So we’ve done a lot of that. I think that if you’re open to speak the language you can definitely get in touch with people and experience that.

Sarah: So your kids have actually gone to German Kindergarten when you’re over there?

Bettina: Yes.

Sarah: Oh, that’s fantastic! How does that work, is it like a half day thing that they go to in the morning?

Bettina: Well, it depends. So far we’ve had really great experiences with the locals, we’ve had the kids for five to six hours sometimes less, sometimes more, depending on your child of course. But they always had a blast, and it’s so different from your typical Kindergarten here. There are a lot of awesome things they do, different programs, a lot of holistic things and sensory things, and a lot of things that they do that I’ve never seen in American Kindergarten so far. On top of, of course, the language benefits. And then our oldest son has been regularly, every year, been going to school in Germany as well. He actually skips a grade there and goes to the upper grade. Of course, he has a friend there too, but he’s totally able to do that because we kept him on top of his German language skills. Of course, the improvement of the language while in school and in Kindergarten is so immense and within two or three days they speak dialect.

Sarah: Wow!

Bettina: But they do that. I mean, they’re such sponges and they pick up the language so fast again and all the special words the kids use there.

Sarah: That’s amazing! So your son was actually able to attend Grundschule? Is that where he went?

Bettina: Yes, exactly.

Sarah: Wow, and the school just let him attend for a couple of weeks?

Bettina: They did. They were very nice about that and I think that’s the thing. If you build this relationship with the apartment owners, be it in any village or city, they’re so willing to help you out with these kinds of things. We can definitely arrange something like that for your kids.

Sarah: That would be fantastic! That’s like a dream come true, I think, for a lot of people, to be able to completely immerse their children in that environment. That’s something that people try to recreate here a lot – with the German Saturday schools or maybe an immersion school. But to actually go over to Germany and do it, that’s like the real deal.

Bettina: It is, it is. It’s been a really good experience, I’d have to say.

Sarah: Let’s see… are most of your apartments in the smaller areas? What’s the best kind of environment to interact with the locals?

Bettina: That’s a hard one. I just think you have to be open and go out there and talk to people, the markets and festivities are definitely great. Just go and talk to people! I think people are very welcoming to Americans for sure. They just love Americans, and they’re always willing to talk. Just put yourself out there and start talking! There are definitely markets, and you know, I think there are a lot of ways to do that. Go out there and start speaking the language and you’ll see that people want to interact with you.

Sarah: So you find people can go to a big city if that’s what they tend to like, and they can find people to interact with.

Bettina: Absolutely.

Sarah: They can tailor it to their taste and it doesn’t really matter where they go.

Bettina: I think so, yes. There’s always people that like to chat and are interested in foreign people coming, and you know, I know a lot of Americans want to know about history and such things. What better way then to just grab a person who’s local in any area – be it a village or a big city – and just start talking and asking questions.

Sarah: Oh, it sounds like fun. Very cool. Do you have any ideas about what people could do to prepare beforehand to get the most out of this kind of vacation? Other than, of course, if they were going through you, they would arrange things and organize, and plan things out beforehand, but is there anything else that you find people like to do before they go to get ready?

Bettina: Well, I think it definitely helps to know a little bit about, you know, customs. A lot of things that I’ve sent my customers are this is how you tip, this is how you drive the autobahn, just small things like that, and then, on top, of course, just get as much information about the destination you’re going to as you can. Definitely, our site is really good when it comes to that. There are a lot of resources on that. Just start reading up a bit on the customs, and how you can immerse yourself in the best way. Of course, when it comes to flights and such, there’s high season and low season, and there are some good companies that sell cheaper flights to Germany than your typical United.com or any other major airline. There’s definitely some research that can be done in terms of that, too, to stay on a certain budget.

Sarah: Oh, that’s another thing I wanted to mention. Somewhere on your site it says that your apartments actually end up costing quite a bit less than you might pay.

Bettina: They do. We actually calculated that they are 30-40% less than a hotel and you have way more amenities in an apartment. It’s basically, you know, living at home away from home, because you can pretty much do what you want in an apartment when it’s an adequate size. Especially when it comes to families with children, you have so much more freedom in an apartment.

Sarah: Oh, absolutely, instead of being in one little hotel room. So the apartments come with cooking things and sheets and all that kind of good stuff?

Bettina: Yes, most of them do have a full kitchen, some have a smaller kitchenette. That’s something we always add as information on our site, yes.

Sarah: So it’s like a better vacation for a better price, then?

Bettina: I think so. Yes, definitely, definitely a better vacation.

Sarah: Wow, well, we’re going to have to look into this for next year. This sounds like an excellent opportunity. Well, can you just end by telling us maybe some of the great experiences that some of your clients have had when they get back and talk with you?

Bettina: Yes. So far, knock on wood, we only have great, great feedback from our customers that went. I have to say, most of them were really – they loved how people interacted with them and were interested in what they are doing. Above and beyond to make them feel comfortable and explain where to go and what to do, so we have a lot of fun stuff when it comes to that. Most of our customers rave about the quality of our apartments as well. They are all really good quality, really nice places and locations. So we did get a lot of feedback on that. Actually, there are testimonials on our website if anyone wants to look up on that. We’ve had really good feedback.

Sarah: That’s great. And you’re also on Facebook, is that right?

Bettina: We are on Facebook, yes, we are on Facebook. We’re steadily growing on Facebook, which is just absolutely great. It’s an awesome way to stay in touch with all kinds of customers and just Germany followers and fans who crave foods or destinations or just want to chat about all kinds of things. It’s a great way to do that.

Sarah: Yeah, right. I’ve become one of your fans, and I love to get the updates – even daily, you have some kind of an update about a new recipe or something going on in Germany, so…

Bettina: Yeah, we’re trying to do that. It just constantly keeps the conversations going. There’s so much flow and ideas and we have so many Facebook fans that collaborate with us now – they write articles or just add really interesting information to our site, and we of course value that immensely. Facebook is the way to go; it’s a great resource.

Sarah: Yeah, I really like to get on there. We just started our own page there so we’re starting to build up a fan base.

Bettina: Well, I’m your fan.

Sarah: Well, I appreciate that.

Bettina: Sure. I think you have a great idea there too, with your Alphabet Garten, I have to say, it’s awesome.

Sarah: Thank you, thank you, yes. It’s been a lot of fun, a lot of interesting things going on on our site too. I think that there is a lot of overlap, so I think people will enjoy hearing about your side of things.

Bettina: Absolutely.

Sarah: You know, most people learning German are going to end up in Germany at some point so definitely a lot of synergies there.

Bettina: Yes, I agree.

Sarah: Let’s see, I think that’s all I have for now, but I really want to thank you for taking a little bit of time this morning to speak with me. I know that our listeners are going to be interested in the concept. Oh, and let’s see, once more, the URL for your site is www.live-like-a-german.com, is that right?

Bettina: That’s it, yes.

Sarah: Okay, and you’ve got travel guides and recipes and tons of beautiful pictures and all this vacation planning.

Bettina: Right, to get you ready for your trip. Get you inspired.

Sarah: Right, exactly. Well, and I hope to chat more with you in the future. Maybe we can set up another interview.

Bettina: Yes, that would be great.

Sarah: I think that’s all I have for now.

Bettina: Great! Thank you Sarah!

Sarah: Thanks so much! Talk to you soon!
int

Live like a German! An interview with Bettina Kraft

I'm excited to bring you an audio interview with Bettina Kraft of Live Like a German.com I talk with Bettina about how a unique kind of German vacation can further your family's German.

Happy listening!
Sarah

P.S. if you'd prefer the transcript, you can find it here.

http://www.alphabet-garten.com/mp3s/bettina_kraft.mp3

Note: I'm working on getting this to work as a podcast, but I'm not quite there yet... :)

Toddler triplets are bilingual from the start. An interview with Jessica Gearing

Sarah interviews Jessica Gearing, native German speaker and mom to 2 year old triplet boys.

---

Sarah: You have three little boys, triplets, is that right?

Jessica: I do, three boys, they’ll be two next month.

Sarah: That’s fantastic. It sounds like you have your hands full!

Jessica: Yes, it’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun too. It’s a really great time for them.

Sarah: Yes, I can imagine, they must be getting more independent and moving through the baby stage.

Jessica: Absolutely, changes are really happening quickly and it’s a lot of fun to watch.

Sarah: Can you tell me a little bit about your family?

Jessica: I was born in Berlin, and I came to the States when I was a little girl with my parents and we spoke mostly English in the home. So I forgot a lot of my German for a while. And I picked it back up, and I speak German to the boys, and my mother does. She spends a lot of time with us. And my husband speaks English to the boys. He does understand German and is picking up more and more, but primarily he speaks English and our family language is English. My husband and I speak English together. But I am only speaking German and my mother’s only speaking German.

Sarah: And how are the boys reacting? Are they speaking at all yet, actually? It’s kind of early, I guess.

Jessica: Yes, yes, they are speaking. It seems like every day they speak more and more words. You know, in the beginning, when they started talking, it seems like the words that they picked up first and the words they were the most confident with are words that are the same in English and German. Like “ball” and “baby” and “teddy” and things like that. Those were the words they really took to at first. But now they’re speaking German words to me and English words to my husband. It seems like there are some words that they only say in German and there are some words that they only say in English. And I’m not quite sure why. Like they always say “Baum” instead of “tree” and they always say “turtle” in English – maybe it’s too hard to say it in German, I’m not sure what the connection is, but it’s exciting!

Sarah: So do you find that they are already differentiating between English and German? That they know they should favor English with your husband and German with you? Do you think they make that distinction?
Jessica: Yes, I do.

Sarah: Wow, that’s fantastic!

Jessica: Maybe not to some degree, maybe they’re not, but the early words they picked up. Like the word “no”, they would say “no” to my husband and “nein” to me. They always say “Bauch” to me and “belly” to my husband. I think they know. I really do, I think they know.

Sarah: That’s amazing! That they’ve already differentiated. And do they speak German to each other?

Jessica: You know, I think they have another language going on with each other. (laughs) I’m not quite sure. I have heard them say German to each other but I’ve also heard them talking to each other in English. I’ve heard them say to each other “Don’t touch”; I’ve heard them say “nein” to each other in German. But I still think that they’ve kind of got their own little language going on.

Sarah: Yes, I’ve heard that’s common with multiples. They have that kind of a bond. That must be fun. Tell me why did you want them to learn to speak German?

Jessica: Well, I think there are lots of benefits to being bilingual of course. But I can tell you that for a personal reason, my grandmother died last year and it came very quickly and when she died, I felt like the German inside of me died. I don’t know if that makes sense.

Sarah: Oh, absolutely.

Jessica: When this happened, it became very important to me that I keep our language alive and that I keep the culture alive and I really grabbed a hold of it and made it a very strong priority and that it’s an important part of our family. Of course, my mother was very supportive and my husband too. So I think that’s probably the most important thing. I want to keep that cultural connection there with the heritage.

Sarah: That’s a really nice way to honor your grandmother, too.

Jessica: Thank you.

Sarah: I’m sure your kids will have that understanding as they grow up that it’s a connection they have to the past. It’s beautiful.

Jessica: I hope so. Of course, we still have family and friends there and I would like them to be able to communicate when we travel and be comfortable, but I think it was her death that really made it so important to me.

Sarah: That makes sense. Kind of like the spark for you, I guess.

Jessica: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

Sarah: What have you found to be the biggest challenge in speaking German with your kids so far?

Jessica: I think resources are always a problem. We’re very dependant on your store and wherever else we can get books and things like that. My children don’t watch television, and so we’re really dependant on books and materials like that. Besides my mother, we don’t have anyone nearby that speaks German. And so far it’s not really a challenge but I believe it will be in the future, as they start becoming more of the, being a bigger part of the culture of the United States and the English influences will be pretty strong I’m sure.

Sarah: That’s a recurring theme. Trying to find enough. You struggle to keep up and try to maintain a little bit of a balance, especially when they’re young. You want to give them a good foundation.

Jessica: Right. I think that’s why it’s important that we’ve been speaking German to them since they were born. I hope that I can get the best foundation possible before they start school and keep it at as alive as possible.

Sarah: Absolutely. What were you hoping for them in terms of their future and speaking German? Have you thought about how far you would like to see them come? In terms of their fluency?

Jessica: Well, I hope that they will be very fluent. I hope for complete fluency. I hope that when we travel they will be comfortable and be able to communicate themselves well. Absolutely, yes, I definitely want them to be fluent.

Sarah: Sounds like with your mother there you have a really good support system even though it’s just the two of you, but you at least have her so they know it’s not just you that speaks German.

Jessica: Yes, absolutely. I think that’s very good for them to hear that. She spends so much time with them, speaking and singing and playing with them. I don’t think they’ve ever heard her speak anything except German.

Sarah: I have another customer who does that. She says “I’ve spoken German to my grandchildren from the minute they were born” and they speak German back to her. They totally do. They might know that she speaks English, but it’s certainly not something that they would ever dream of doing with her because that’s just the way it is.

Jessica: And she has such a special and different relationship with them, being a grandparent as opposed to being a parent. Her time with them is all about love and bonding and talking. For us, we are disciplining as well and we’ve got rules that need to be followed all the time. But when she’s there it’s such a warm atmosphere for them. I think that they love that about her.

Sarah: That sounds excellent, that’s so special. Is she close by to you?

Jessica: Yes, she lives nearby. Oh, and listen to this, they were born on her birthday. Isn’t that fantastic?

Sarah: Oh, really? That’s really neat! Lots of connections with their Oma.

Jessica: They call her Omi, but… it’s been great.

Sarah: Oh, that’s very sweet. Let’s see, what else would I like to ask – you mentioned that you’ve shopped before with us. Did you find what you were looking for? Were you pleased with what you found?

Jessica: We’re very pleased with your store. We like the selection. Of course, my sons are very big fans of picture books, they love reading, and the picture books are very important to us right now. We also purchased the flashcards off your website and they are really great flashcards. (Note: the flashcards have gone out of print. We are looking for a replacement.) The pictures are fun and bright and they are very good words you would use often. We’re very pleased with them. We buy all of our books – except for the books that family and friends send to us or that my mother gets when she is in Germany – from you. We buy everything from your store and we’ve always been happy.

Sarah: I’m so glad to hear that. What’s their favorite book or CD?

Jessica: Their favorite books are definitely the Max books. They love Max books. They just think they’re so funny.

Sarah: They are, aren’t they?

Jessica: They just love them! And they just crack up. It’s wonderful.

Sarah: It’s easy to identify with him because he’s a typical two-year-old.

Jessica: Yes, and a two-year-old boy! They love him. My favorite book that we’ve bought from you is actually the Fingerspiele book. I know it’s common to play time and time again and find things to do for different seasons and times of the year. It’s a lot of fun. They love it!

Sarah: So you’ve taught them the Fingerspiele too.

Jessica: Yep.

Sarah: Oh, fun. Excellent. They’re too young for school, so I won’t ask you about that.

Jessica: They will go to Samstagschule when they are three.

Sarah: Oh, really, do you have one nearby?

Jessica: Yes, we do. We have the German school just a few blocks down the road. We’re very fortunate to have that there.

Sarah: Oh, excellent. That will be perfect for them!

Jessica: We’re looking forward to it. And it will be nice for them to be with other German children as well.

Sarah: Absolutely. How long have you known about Alphabet Garten? How did you discover us?

Jessica: I think we discovered you during my pregnancy on the computer. A few years, I guess.

Sarah: I’m so glad to hear that. Well, do you have anything else that you would like to add? Our interview series has been really popular. I’ve gotten tons of interest, and each time I do an interview, I love talking to people because I get this new perspective. You know, everyone has some of the same things in common but it’s really fun to hear how each particular family is doing this and what their situation is. So I’m wondering if you have any comments for people in a similar situation as you.

Jessica: I think consistency is very important, and trying to keep it fun. I think the boys are just sponges right now, so it’s very easy for them to learn and to repeat words. When I was pregnant, I read a book called The Bilingual Edge and I’ve since passed it on to another family so I’m not sure who wrote it, but it was very encouraging, very supportive. You know, I was very worried about making mistakes, you know, my grammar is poor – it was very supportive and very encouraging. It said not to worry about making mistakes. It gave a list of all the benefits and, you know, pointers. It was great.

Sarah: So that kind of gave you the extra motivation.

Jessica: Absolutely. I think it’s very important to raise children bilingually and I want my children to be compassionate and empathetic and it’s important for them to understand there’s more to the world than just our little area that we live in. We can’t afford to take them all over the world to see it, but I think that language is a good way to do it. You know, so that they can be cultured children as much as possible.

Sarah: Excellent. Sounds wonderful. Sounds like you have a wonderful, fun house. Lots of laughter and love.

Jessica: Thank you! We do! It’s a good time right now. It really is. It’s a lot of fun. They haven’t entered any terrible twos, so…

Sarah: Oh, when that happens you might have a different tune (laughs)

Jessica: (laughs) It’s wonderful, it is. Things are going very well. We’re very fortunate.

Sarah: That’s excellent. Gosh, to hear that from someone who has triplets, that’s saying a lot!

Jessica: Thank you, but you know, I have a great support system, too. My husband is very involved and of course, my mother is a very big part of our lives, so it definitely helps.

Sarah: That helps a lot. I’m sure it must be challenging.

Jessica: Oh, at times, definitely, definitely. But they are happy and healthy and you try to keep that in there. And they’re fun.

Sarah: Fantastic, that’s excellent. That just sounds wonderful.

Jessica: Thank you!

Sarah: You’re welcome. I just really appreciate your time this afternoon. I know that my customers are going to be really interested to hear a little bit about your story.

Jessica: Thank you. I’m definitely honored and flattered that you wanted to talk to me.

Sarah: Maybe we could follow up in a year or so, we could hear what’s going on with the triplets at three.

Jessica: Oh, I would love that! Absolutely. I’m sure they’ll be talking a lot more by then. Oh, and congratulations on your business. It’s really a wonderful store for all of us.

Sarah: Thank you so much!
Jessica: Congratulations and best wishes to you!

Sarah: Thank you, it’s definitely a labor of love. Like I said, after doing all these interviews over the past few months it’s gotten me really excited about just working with people and going a little bit further and seeing, you know, how can we help. How can I help you and what kinds of things can I do to support the work that you’re doing. We’ve got some big plans underway and we’ll see how it goes.

Jessica: That’s great. And it’s great for us to see that we have that support out there. It always seems like you’re – you know, when I visit Alphabet Garten, it’s not just about selling books, there always seems to be tools, and phrases, and the interviews, it’s very exciting. It’s very nice.

Sarah: That’s what we’re trying to accomplish. We’re just parents like you are, so that’s the goal. I’m glad you picked up on that.

Jessica: Absolutely.

Sarah: Well, it was a pleasure chatting with you! I really appreciate it.

Jessica: Thank you.

Deutsch mit Papa (part 2)

This is part 2 of an interview I did with Christoph Oettinger on his experiences raising his children bilingually in English and German. You can read part 1 here.

---

Sarah: So what’s been the biggest challenge for you in speaking German to your kids?

Christoph: The challenge again is it sticks with me. I’m the one with the occasional grandma and aunt visit and such and there’s only one other place that I can think of really where they could get some immersion, and that’s really more of a class. That’s great and wonderful but the kids are learning all the time and to be in a more structured environment isn’t exactly what they want. The challenge for me is finding other opportunities. I had friends that were German-speaking and those that were English-speaking so I picked up those languages and I had to use them more because of that. You know, I had both parents speaking German to me and there was much more conversation. My language at home was German. Done, end of story. Where here, it’s both. And when children realize, “Hey, wait a second, Dadddy speaks it too, so I can answer him,” it’s the path of least resistance. So the challenge is finding more opportunities and some peers of theirs that speak German. And I haven’t found any around here. I find parents that may speak German but they don’t speak it at home, and it’s a little bit of the attitude, well, we’re in the United States now, we’re going to speak English. And I agree with that. My kids speak English and I want them to learn the language but I also believe that multiple languages are a huge advantage and if they do something with it, great. So the challenge is just finding other avenues to keep the language going. And that’s not easy.

Sarah: Absolutely, that’s a definite challenge, especially with German. With a different language, you might have more community resources at your disposal.

Christoph: Absolutely, and around here, Spanish would be obviously a much easier way to go about it. I mean, we have a lot of Hispanic families around and that would be a lot easier. And you don’t even have to go very far in suburban Chicago, you can find some Russian, some Polish, you name it, you find a lot more of those communities. But even the German community in Chicago is nowhere near what it was when we first moved here. The German community has gotten smaller. And that’s really because I think the younger – the importance of tradition and heritage isn’t there with my generation as it were. I think that’s kind of going away and that’s a shame, but I was kind of brought up very old school, to me it is very important.

Sarah: You know that’s like you said earlier, letting your kids know where they came from. That’s a big part of your motivation. What are you hoping for them? What are your goals for them to eventually do in German? Have you thought about that a bit? Where would you like them to be in 10 or 15 years?

Christoph: I do hope that by the time they get to be in those teen years, early college years and so on that they’ll have the ability to not only speak but to read and write. Would I be completely disappointed if that wasn’t there? No, I am very realistic. As long as they can understand me and don’t have the hang-up of gee, I’m going to sound funny so I’m not going to use it, that type of thing, I’ll be happy. In an ideal world, hey, great, go off to Germany or Switzerland or Austria or wherever you’d like where they speak German and you function. You just do and it’s very second nature. I want there just to be a certain amount of pride in being German and a pride in having at least a second language under their belts that just comes very second nature. I didn’t realize what I had until I came back to the States. And that was, gosh, it took me probably about another half a year, and I was a freshman in High School to realize, Wait a second, I’ve got something here. I grew up with my friends and their families at least having two and three languages if not four, five or six. My father spoke eight, so multiple languages as such wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t anything where you go, “Hey, look at me, I speak three languages, four languages.” Where everybody else would be going “Yeah, so do we.” And that didn’t sink in for me until high school. So I’m kind of hoping that the kids realize “Hey, wow, yeah, I’ve got something special here.” That they won’t have the hang up if they do travel to a German-speaking country or someone speaks German to them that they can function. I feel perfectly comfortable traveling and going to a German-speaking or Spanish-speaking country and just functioning. I mean, I can do everything I would need to do – I can read, I can write, I can communicate. And that’s really what I hope for the kids. You know, that they just feel comfortable with it, realize that they have something special and just have an understanding of who they are. Because it is part of who they are.

Sarah: That’s beautiful. Tell me a little bit about their favorite books and CDs and DVDs. I know you’ve ordered from us a couple of times. Tell me about what they like to hear and listen to.

Christoph: Well, it’s changing a little bit. And I need to update a little bit. Where we’ve gone from Meine Sachen – you know the little flipbooks that they get when they’re you know, three months. There’s one my son I think has literally gnawed on. But learning simple words or now moving on to some of my old kids books that my mom when she came over brought with her, which are Du bist sehr lieb Charlie Brown. There’s a connection though because my kids, and my daughter in particular, goes, “Oh, Charlie Brown. I’ve seen the Christmas special, the Easter special.” You know, all those that they see on TV. There’s a connection there to a little bit more of a story now, not just pictures, for my daughter in particular. My son’s still says, “Hey, show me the plane,” but the other one that they seem to like right now at least book-wise is Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten.

Christoph: That’s one of the ones I remember getting from you. I think it’s Meine ersten Märchen or something. My son’s really getting into that, those animals, so that I think has a huge impact for him. We haven’t actually done much with movies and DVDs. We don’t do that much TV anyway, but I’ll be really honest with you – a lot of the dubbed stuff that’s out there that are a little more from US-based movies, I don’t particularly like the dubbing. A lot of the German that’s dubbed – and this sounds so awful, me being German – but German can sound very hoity-toity, almost elitist. The “hoch Deutsch” in particular. And that’s where the dubbing comes from. And I don’t particularly care for it. There are words actually that I don’t use in German because it sounds too funny to me. “Funny” being one of them – “Ach, das ist lustig.” Don’t ask me why, it’s something that’s always been with us, it’s been in our family, but my father never used it and trust me, my father was very old school. There are just – don’t ask me why – some words that we know them, they just don’t enter in our sentences at all. You’ll hear German German German German English word German. So we do a lot with just the books that we’ve got and I’m trying to think of one that we had that was a step above a magazine but it was definitely not a book. It was black and white, and we use it as a coloring book, actually, for both kids now. It’s everything from city to farm to animals to planes, trains, you name it and all the words are there and it’s just in black and white. We’ve used it as a coloring book to kind of, you know, go “Hey, let’s find the cow. What color should the cow be?” Again, you know, my son’s like, “Purple.” And my daughter’s going, “No, it should be black and white.” It’s the age difference. And so the argument ensues of which color we’re going to use. That type of thing works really well for us. And the nighttime stories. That’s kind of quiet time where I have one-on-one with my kids and my wife has her time with them and we kind of do the reading and cuddling and that’s when I take the opportunity to read the German books to them.


Christoph: That’s really kind of where we go with it. It’s the everyday. It’s just everyday conversation and even the English language books that we read to them, I’ll just translate them. The sentences – it’s not like I’m reading War and Peace – so we’re talking Curious George or anything like that where we don’t have it in German, I’ll just translate it. Being fluent in the language makes it obviously much easier than perhaps if you’ve learned and you really have to think about it. For me, it’s not a conscious thought process. For me it comes very naturally. And that’s just an advantage of having learned languages young. It sounds kind of funny to me but it’s not a thought process. My daughter right now loves Fancy Nancy. So I’ll just take the Fancy Nancy book and just read it, I may have to think about, give me another word for this that or the other you know, fuchsia. Fuchsia’s pink. And that’s just stuff that comes from being a guy. I’m not going to differentiate between pink one, two and three. It’s pink, okay. Things like that, there I have to think but other than that, the English language books that my children are reading, they’re so simple for me to kind of just go along and translate as I’m reading is not hard and it does make it easier access. Because they get gifts, and most people won’t think to get a German-language book because again, they’re not as easy to get.

You’re one of the few resources and it takes some Google searches to find somebody that has them. German isn’t the top ten, you know what I mean? So that’s kind of what we do. We have some of the books that we’ve gotten from you and then some of my kid books and my sister has hers so when they go visit her, she has some books there that she can read to them. But a lot of what we do also is the English ones and we just kind of have to translate as we go.

Sarah: I love it. It’s just everyday life and you just go with the flow and you’re just ready whenever the opportunity strikes to have an extra chat in German or to mention a color but it’s all just very natural.

Christoph: You nailed it. As an opportunity presents itself you just have to be aware and say, “you know, I could do that” and that’s it. I’m sure when you’ve been talking with the other parents that you’ve come across this. You know, you just take your opportunities where they are. It’s not like I do anything different than what most parents do in English to teach their children. With them, I’m lucky that I don’t have to split between English and German I just do it in German because that’s the way it is. My wife will do it in English. So why would I be doing it any different than any other parent would, I just have to do it in German.

Sarah: Mm hmm, great. I love that, that’s such a great outlook. Frank and straightforward – I guess if you don’t get enough of it today you don’t worry about it and start over again tomorrow.

Christoph: I’m not going to stress out about it. “Gee, I didn’t get my requirement of German in – gotta read two German books today” because they weren’t interested in them that day. That to me would be counterproductive to teaching them. You know, I want them to just kind of go with it, not “Oh, criminy, here’s Dad, he wants to read to me that book again. Ugh, this is so old, I don’t want to do this anymore.” It would be so counterproductive. Kids are the way they are and when it seems like a task, they’re not going to want to do it. “Oh, okay, that’s not the book I want, it doesn’t sound like when Mommy reads it, oh well, I get what he’s saying, he’s saying the same stuff Mommy does, okay.” That’s the nice part. If you start fretting over it, are the kids getting enough of it, the kids will pick up on that.

Sarah: So just be.

Christoph: Yeah, that’s kind of my philosophy “just be” (laughs).

Sarah: I love it! Well, I just have one more question for you. I was just wondering if you have any other comments. I think you touched upon some really exciting ideas. I know my customers are going to love to read everything that you’ve said.

Christoph: That or they’ll never come back to you again. (laughs)

Sarah: (laughs) No, no, this is fantastic stuff! Like I said, your perspective as a dad is so important. Moms can’t do it all themselves. A lot of moms can’t do it at all because they don’t have that level of fluency, so it’s really cool to hear these ideas from you.

Christoph: The other thing is I’m also a very different dad. My wife owns her own company; she’s the primary breadwinner in our house. I’ve kind of switched roles. I’d like to say I retired from the corporate world. I used to be the international sales and marketing guy. The last company I was with, I got to my senior level. I loved the international aspect of it. That’s been my life. I love it but I realized the corporate world just isn’t for me. Maybe it was just the companies I’d been with but the priority that they always put on international wasn’t there to the way I thought it ought to be. It doesn’t mean it’s right or wrong, it’s just the way they ran their business. I was just very fed up one day and my wife looked at me and said, “So why don’t you just leave?” I looked at her with this very strange look and she said, “Look, it’s not worth being miserable. It’s just not. You’ve not got to the company that has put the priority on international. Since this last company you’ve seen your entire budget go down to zero dollars and the expectations increased, it’s not an environment you want to be in. Quit. Figure out what you want to do.”

Sarah: Really?.

Christoph: I kind of looked at her like “But what else do I do?” You know, international business has always been my focus. It took a little while. I taught for a short period. Then I realized I kind of liked the kids. And I kind of want to be home. I’ve turned out to be the house-husband. I grew up with a very German mother so I don’t mind keeping house. It allows us to be together as a family a lot more. I mean I do everything from cook, clean, do laundry, pay the bills, and keep our life organized. My wife, owning her own company, has the flexibility so late afternoons and evenings are ours because the stuff is done. She’s worked, and so to speak, she’s brought in the money. The house is in order. The kids come home from school and “Huh, what do you want to do?” “I want to play.” “Okay, let’s go play.” There’s no laundry that needs to be done, no last minute bills to be paid, don’t have to sit at the computer and think,” Oh, I’ve got to do the laundry.” Because it’s already done. And so our evenings and weekends are truly family time, which is the way I grew up. It was my mom doing what I’m doing. The family thing is to me a very traditional thing. And this way the children always have a parent picking them up, a parent is always home, rather than having to rely on a babysitter. Or, “Oh, okay, gotta ask Grandma to come and do something again.” It’s usually Dad, but Mom or Dad, always a parent there. And that’s something I grew up with, I was lucky enough to be able to grow up with, and we’re able to give that to our kids. And it gives me a little bit more to them, and keeps more of the German going. So that’s the other side of things. I’ve, gosh, for almost 20 years, I did the traveling. I had more miles than I knew what to do with and so I did that. I loved it, I enjoyed it to a certain extent, but our household is just a little bit different. That contributes to the way the kids are growing up too. And you were saying, what other comments and such, it’s just kind of nice to see through your site and that interview you did, I think the first one that I guess I paid enough attention to go, “Oh, huh, it’s nice to know that there are others doing it.” But as you see there’s a common thread to the story. One parent is a German. The importance of having that aspect of the life there is what that common thread is. It sounds so silly, but it’s nice to know there are others out there. And I think we all face the same challenges, especially with a language that isn’t so, you know, so forefront for people. It’s not the sexy language; it’s not the language that’s the second strongest language in this country. It’s kind of a language you need a reason to be speaking. You need a reason for it to be important in your life. That’s usually because one parent if not both, are German. I wanted to just say, keep doing what you’re doing please. Keep providing the resources. Because that’s what it is, at least to me, it is truly a resource that you may not tap all of the time, but for me it’s kind of in stages. And I don’t know how many stages it’s going to be. We’ve found the books that we could read to them when they were young. Three months old, six months old. Now we’re kind of progressing on. It’s nice to know that there’s a resource out there. I’m thrilled that you’re just able to keep it going.

Sarah: Well, thank you. You know, it’s been really, really fun for me to do these interviews. I think you’re number seven or actually eight now. Every time I talk to someone I think, okay, there’s so much more we can do here. You know, people are out there and they need help and we can help bring you guys together and give you support and give you inspiration. Just a simple half an hour call, with you spending a little of your time with me, again, I think this was fantastic. I can’t wait to listen to the call again and I can’t wait to get it out there for all the other people who are interested. I just really appreciate your time.

Christoph: I appreciate you doing what you’re doing and more than happy to do it. Like I said, I like to talk and I like to talk about what I’m doing, and if somewhere in there there’s something good that comes out of it, I think that’s great. I’m just glad there’s a resource for me, to be selfish about it, where I can go and find the occasional book or movie eventually or things like that. That will help me do what I want to be doing, which is teach my kids German. I think it’s great and seeing that there are other people out there is just very encouraging too.

Sarah: Absolutely. Good stuff.

Christoph: If there’s ever anything else that I can help you with, or honestly, just please, don’t hesitate to shoot me an email or let me know somehow and I’ll be more than happy to help out if I can.

Sarah: That would be fantastic! I will definitely keep in touch. I want to hear how things progress with your kids. Sounds like they are off to a fantastic start. Thank you again; I really appreciate it!

Deutsch mit Papa (part 1)

Sarah interviews Christoph Oettinger about his experience raising 4 year old daughter and 2 and-a-half year old son bilingually in German and English.

This post contains part 1 of 2 of this interview.
=======================================================

Sarah: I’m so excited to talk to you! I appreciate your time this morning!

Christoph: No worries; glad to do it!

Sarah: Where are you located?

Christoph: I’m just outside of Chicago.

Sarah: And you are the German speaker in your family? You grew up speaking German with your parents?

Christoph: I am, I’m the German one in the bunch as it were. German parents, grew up speaking German at home, and still speak it with my mom and my sister.

Sarah: Did you grow up in the United States or was it abroad in Germany?

Christoph: The short answer is yes… I grew up a little bit all over. I’m actually US born because my father was with the German Foreign Office and we were stationed in New Orleans when I was born. And shortly after that, it was back to Germany for about a year and a half, then to New York with the UN, then off to Argentina, then to Brazil, then to Chicago, and my father retired in ’91 with a mandatory return to Germany – well, not really mandatory – but at the time, with the exchange rate, that’s really the only thing that made sense. So my parents moved back to Germany, and my sister and I stayed in the United States.

Sarah: So you’ve been all over the place!

Christoph: Yes, I’ve kind of been all over the place. Lived overseas quite a bit and then my professional career kind of took me the rest of the way.

Sarah: That’s really interesting – you really have an international perspective to bring to your kids and to your life.

Christoph: Yes.

Sarah: So how old are your kids?

Christoph: My oldest, my daughter, just turned four and my son is two and a half.

Sarah: And are they speaking German back to you?

Christoph: Hit or miss, actually. I mean, it’s pretty normal, they get so much English, you know, outside of the home and they know that my wife and I speak English so most of the replies I get are in English but when I speak to them it’s exclusively in German and my son is using more of it, but both of them understand everything that I say and on the rare occasions where there’s a word they haven’t heard before, both of them will look at me and go, “Now what does that mean?” They know to ask if there’s something they haven’t heard, and my son, like I said, is using it a little bit more. He’s proud of himself when he uses something. I think, as they get a little bit older, they will begin to use it, because they know that their grandmother and their aunt also speak it. Again, they don’t see them every day, and I think I mentioned in the email to you that the opportunity for immersion is difficult. The opportunities are few and far between. So I’m not all too worried that I’m not getting a whole lot of conversation with them in German, I’m thrilled that they understand what I say to them.

Sarah: Well, yeah, I like how you have set it up so naturally. I’m wondering, if that was hard for you to develop that habit or did it just come naturally?

Christoph: It’s come pretty naturally.

Sarah: That’s one of the greatest challenges that I have.

Christoph: It did come pretty naturally. Again, I grew up speaking German at home. That was just the way my life was. And I’m grateful I have a very supportive wife who as such doesn’t speak it, although I think she suffers more from what most adults do – if they don’t do something very well, they’d rather just not do it. My wife was learning German before she ever met me, and she was learning it from Berlitz which was still using statements like “Gee, Mrs. Mueller, you have a nice skirt on today. Would you get me my cup of coffee now?” which made me cringe, but it’s easy from the standpoint that one, I don’t have to worry that the kids will ever use it to try to pull one over on mom because mom understands as much as they do if not more.

And as they’re learning, so does she. She knows that that’s what’s coming at her, and if there’s ever anything she doesn’t know, she knows that she can ask. So it’s easy from the standpoint that my wife is supportive of it, I grew up speaking German at home, and it is just ridiculously important to me. Unfortunately, I no longer have family in Germany, my mom immigrated to the US two years ago almost, and my father passed away so we have no one left in Germany and for me, it’s just important that my kids learn that part of who they are. It’s kind of who I am, so, as you can tell, languages come easy and I have very little accent in either one. It’s kind of just English-German, flip a coin, it works both ways for me. Having support from my wife to do it was kind of really never even a question.

Sarah: So you feel she’s kind of picking it up along with the kids, even though she’s not speaking it.

Christoph: Oh, yes. She’s picking it up as quickly as the kids. And again, like I said, she was on her own, before we even met, for some reason she was studying German through tapes and classes whenever she could. There was an understanding. We’d traveled to Germany when my parents were still there. Despite what my father always thought, “Go with her, go with her, she needs help,” she could handle herself in a grocery store, the usual type of thing you pick up on so you can get by. She would do just fine. It’s again, we as adults, rather than sound funny or make a mistake, we hesitate to use something but her comprehension is very, very good.

Sarah: Right. Well, that would really hold you back if you were worried about or thinking about something like, which case is this in? Which gender is that noun again? Instead of not worrying too much about it and just chatting, you get a lot further ahead. But it’s hard to do that sometimes, especially if you learn it as an adult.

Christoph: Right, and kids don’t have that, “Oh, boy, I’m going to sound funny” or “Boy, that’s going to be wrong so I’m just not going to say anything.” Kids, for the most part, they don’t even know to think that way. Even as kids start learning English as their first language or their only language. I see it with my kids, I know I did it, and I see it with my kids’ friends. They make mistakes – which are perfectly normal – they correct themselves as they hear it more often or get corrected in school, they learn it. And that’s kind of just the way it is. But they just “Oh, that’s just the way it is” and they toodle on about their business, and we as adults are the ones that have this “Oh, gee, I’m going to sound funny when I say that”, or “Ooh, that’s going to be wrong, someone’s going to make fun of me.” We’re the ones with the hang-ups. Kids don’t have them. So that is another reason it’s easy – you just talk at them, they don’t know that they’re learning a second language while they’re learning a first to begin with, it’s just that’s the way it is.

Sarah: So for your kids, it’s “This is what we do. The words that Daddy uses when he talks to me.”

Christoph: You got it. And that’s exactly it. My son right now is kind of going, “That Papa guy, he uses Deutsch” and “Is that Deutsch, Papa or is that English?” It happened last night. We had my brother-in-law and my sister-in-law and my nieces over. And my nieces look at me like I have two heads. It’s like, “Wait a second, he just spoke English to me and now there’s this strange gobbley-gook stuff coming from him.” And my brother-in-law is like, “What is Uncle Christoph saying? Is that English? That’s not English, is it? Do you notice that Ellen and Copeland are understanding him? Oh, isn’t that amazing, they speak two languages.” And Cope’s looking at them like, “Oh, yeah, I guess I am.” It just is, you know.

My biggest fear, and this is the only thing my wife and I talked about. I said, “I need to know that you’re comfortable with that happening because I’ll be damned if they start using it against you.” You know, as they get older, to try and get away with something or say something to her that they probably shouldn’t and she doesn’t understand it. And she’s says, “No, that won’t be a problem. I know enough to be dangerous.” And she does. It’s just the fact that boy, they may use it against their cousins or some of their friends to talk about them or who knows what else. As long as it doesn’t happen here in the home, I’m okay.

Sarah: Right. If they’re going to do that, they’ll have plenty of opportunities to do it, whether or not they know German.

Christoph: You got it. (laughs)

Sarah: Kids can be mean in all kinds of languages.

Christoph: I’m sure they’ll be saying stuff to each other that I won’t understand.

Sarah: That could be (laughs). That’s when the real trouble comes in, right?

Christoph: Wait for the teenage years.

Sarah: You’ve got a while.

Christoph: Thank goodness. I’m not ready for them yet.

Sarah: Although I guess it will be here before you know it, right?

Christoph: That’s what everybody tells me.

Sarah: I have a son who just turned 9 and -

Christoph: You’re wondering where the time went?

Sarah: Yeah, I can’t believe it. I was thinking the other day about the first set of books that I bought even before I had the business, I was thinking, gosh, we still have them around, you know, the kleine Ich bin ich and a couple different ones. He was a baby, and now he’s nine.

Christoph: As a matter of fact, we’re going to be having a garage sale here in a couple of weeks from our little neighborhood and starting to pull the books and I’m going, “Wow, I actually read this to you?” It’s like, you’ve outgrown that one. Okay, that one I guess gets to go to the garage sale. It blows me away, how much they’re capable of and again, they just learn so much faster than we do. Their brains are just taking it all in. It’s just a non-issue and they just kind of go with it. It’s not like, “Oh, gosh, what’s this? And now I’ve got to learn that.” It’s just “Oh, okay, let’s just go with it.” It’s an amazing thing to watch happen.

Sarah: Even at age two-and-a-half you see amazing things going on, right?

Christoph: Oh, it’s mind-boggling. It’s totally mind-boggling what they’re doing at two-and-a-half. I have to remind myself that he’s actually that young, because so much of what he does, to me, seems so much beyond but it seems perfectly normal at that age. They tell me, “Oh, no, that’s to be expected now.” And I’m think, really? Are you sure? I’d have trouble with this right about now. But their brains are just so amazing. So absolutely amazing.

Sarah: Just the leaps, right? From age one to age two? The leap in comprehension and what they can produce, it’s just substantial.

Christoph: It’s mind-boggling. It truly is completely mind-boggling. It’s like, “Wow, you can do that, now, huh?” From a language standpoint, we talk to them and the words they all of sudden pick up, in German or English and even Spanish, for that matter. They have it in school just one hour one day a week. All of a sudden they’ll be standing there counting in Spanish. I’ll say, “What? What are you doing?” “What, it’s Spanish, Papa.” “I know it’s Spanish, but you’re working on English and German, what’s this Spanish?” “Oh, yeah, Spanish too, Papa.” I’m all for it. You go right ahead, just keep picking up the languages. Whatever.

Sarah: Absolutely. It’s only going to be an advantage.

Christoph: It really will be. I don’t care what they ever do with their lives, I really don’t, my thing is, as long as they’re happy, but I know that over the years I was so glad.

Christoph: I just think that it’s such a huge gift that I can give them. You know, I’m fortunate enough to have multiple languages under my belt. Given that my father, who was a wealth of information, is no longer alive, and can’t share so much of what he knew with them, it’s the little thing that I can do to keep that German bit going and hopefully it will go on with my kids and their kids, but at least, I’ve done my part to share that with them. That was just very, very important to me.

I didn’t spend a lot of time in Germany and I don’t think I grew up German as such, I grew up very internationally – from my circle of friends, and we’re not traditional German in the sense people always ask me, “Do you eat German food?” Well, yeah, but it’s not like I have my Bratwurst every day and a Schnitzel as well. Yeah, I eat it because I like it, but it’s not what I make every day. And my mom never did either. For me it’s just let’s kind of keep a little bit of who I am, and who we are, going. Understand where you came from and if you do something with it, great, and if not, I hope it just gave you a little bit of insight into where you come from.

---

Part 2 of this interview is here.

---

Bilingual Families Wanted!

We are always looking for new families to interview! Even if you are not a native speaker of German and don't consider yourself to be bilingual, we'd still love to chat. It's quick, painless, and lots of fun! Plus, we'll send you a free book for participating.

If you'd like to be interviewed on our blog, please send an e-mail to thea (at) alphabet-garten.com

Non-native German with Hugo

Sarah interviews Laura Hoyer who is speaking non-native German with her two-year old son, Hugo.

---

Sarah: Hi Laura, thanks for taking the time to do an interview with me. So you have a two-year-old, right?
Laura: Yes, he just turned two in March. Hugo.
Sarah: Same age as my Jack pretty much…
Laura: Well, I have to say, I love your website! I don’t know what I would do without it.
Sarah: Really? Oh, fantastic!
Laura: Yeah, because before it, I guess you’d have to order it somewhere else, right? But yet you have it all there, it’s so organized, I love it.
Sarah: Oh, thank you! That’s fantastic. How long have you been a customer?
Laura: For two years. My mom found you actually. I don’t know how – she lives in New Jersey also and I think it was something to do with a New Jersey link or maybe you were in the paper… I don’t know what it was, but she found it, and she did the first order, and then I’ve been addicted ever since.
Sarah: Oh, wow, that’s so cool! Yeah, it’s undergone a lot of changes and we’re working really hard to kind of take it to the next level and really serve, especially people like you who are not native German speakers. I think that’s where we try to bring a lot of value – just to help you make things easy to find books that are going to be great and exciting, and you don’t have to wait for the stuff to come from Germany.
Laura: Exactly. And you give a good description, too, so it’s just easy. Easy shopping.
Sarah: Wow, that’s great to hear.
Laura: Yeah, I love it.
Sarah: That’s what I’m going for.
Laura: You’re doing everything right, so don’t worry.
Sarah: Oh, wow, well thank you. There’s always room for improvement, but thanks! So you said that you speak some German, your mom’s from Germany, is that right?
Laura: Right, so she watches him two or three days a week, and she speaks almost all exclusively German.
Sarah: Oh, that’s fantastic!
Laura: Yeah, so then I do half and half. You know, when I’m tired, I just give up. But my husband, he doesn’t speak any German at all. But I have to say he’s learning so much just from hearing me speak to him, having to read the books to him and everything. So it’s funny – he’s picking up a lot.
Sarah: Wow, that’s cool. So did your mom speak German to you growing up, or like half and half?
Laura: Not really. A little bit, and then, I have a younger brother, and when he came along, she didn’t do anything anymore really. I don’t know why, but yes, she didn’t, so she’s definitely making up with it with Hugo.
Sarah: Well, so how did you learn German then?
Laura: I guess it started with my mom a little bit, and then, in school. And then, even after school, then I joined like a little speaking group and reading group. It was small, there were only about four or five other people in there, so it was great. And I did that all the way up until Hugo was born. So that was the way I got my German exposure. And now that I don’t have that anymore I really notice. It takes a while to learn it, but then it goes away so quick.
Sarah: Right, definitely. Was that like a weekly thing or monthly thing?
Laura: Yeah, once a week. Once a week after work. Yeah, it was really fun. We’d have a bottle of wine, and we’d talk about – it was pretty much a reading group, you know, like a book club, let’s say, but in German.
Sarah: So you tried to conduct the whole thing in German, and you had a book that went along with it.
Laura: Yes. The leader of the group was from Germany. You know, she taught it pretty much as a class, too. She’d correct us during our conversation. I’d like to get back to it again one of these days, but I just don’t have the time now.
Sarah: Right, you’re working a couple of days a week?
Laura: Yes, I try to keep it part time.
Sarah: So how does Hugo respond? Does he answer in German?
Laura: Yes, he does mostly in German, but also in English too. But you can tell he understands it all, even when he answers in English. He definitely understands.
Sarah: Wow, that’s fantastic. What was his first German word?
Laura: “Nein”, of course! (laughing)
Sarah: (laughing) “Nein”
Laura: And it’s still a favorite word …
Sarah: Jack’s favorite word right now is “Wow.” He does that all the time – “Wow” – I guess I must say that a lot.
Laura: Maybe he’s easily impressed. That’s good.
Sarah: Yeah, I guess so. Maybe I’m kind of animated I guess when I’m looking at stuff, little kids are like, I might say that a lot.
Laura: You don’t realize that until they repeat it back to you, right?
Sarah: I definitely heard myself there. It’s all over his speech, it’s so funny.
Laura: They’re little parrots, right? They just repeat everything.
Sarah: One thing that I had done with the older kids too, but I hadn’t done it so much with Jack… If they said something in English, I’d just ask them to repeat it in German.
Laura: Oh, that’s a good idea!
Sarah: If he says, “Look at this!” Then I’ll say, “Ja, sag’ mal – ‘Schaul mal, Mommy’ ” – and then he says it right back to me. He’s in this really receptive parrot stage, so that’s really cool to hear him use the German words and then sometimes he tries to use them again.
Laura: I’ve noticed that too. With Hugo.
Sarah: So why did you want him to speak German? What are your goals, what are you hoping for?
Laura: Well, I really just wanted him to be familiar with another language. Because I feel that then down the road it will be easier for him to learn another language. Plus, I figured it would be nice if he understands and can communicate when we visit our relatives in Germany, you know. And I figure, it’s the best time to get started when they’re young.
Sarah: Absolutely. It’s so much harder when you wait.
Laura: Yes, and it’s really working out.
Sarah: Really?
Laura: I wasn’t sure if it was going to work but I started from the very beginning from when he was a baby and I’d read books to him in German, so I don’t know, so far, so good.
Sarah: So do you speak German with your mom, then, when the three of you are together?
Laura: We try to. So then he hears that too. But it is kind of difficult sometimes, because my German is not so great, I stumble a lot, and I make too many mistakes. And then, like you said, he’s a parrot, he’ll repeat the mistake. Then my mom will come over and say, oh, no, that’s not right.
Sarah: You kind of have to back up a little bit.
Laura: That’s definitely the challenging part, but I’m trying to keep with it, you know.
Sarah: So that’s been your biggest challenge?
Laura: Yes, definitely my biggest challenge.
Sarah: Getting to the same level that you want to be at.
Laura: And then, I’m a little worried – what’s going to happen, you know, in the future, but we shall see.
Sarah: Yeah, well, and if you have your mom, too, then she can keep you on track. He’ll hear from her, too. I’ve heard that if kids have one model of a good accent and proper grammar, then they’ll pick out the mistakes. He might start correcting you in a couple of years.
Laura: I’m sure he will. A little blow to the ego, right? (laughs)
Sarah: Exactly. (laughs) Keeps you humble.
Laura: What about your kids too, are they all at the same level? For their age?
Sarah: Well, we’ve found that as they got older, more and more English is sneaking in.
Laura: I’ve heard that from a lot of people, that it’s hard, because of school.
Sarah: We’re homeschooling too, so I don’t know if that’s helping in some ways, but in other ways, it’s a hindrance. I have to talk to them in English when I’m talking about math, or our curriculum is in English so … I’m actually working to try and find ways that we can start to do more formal German because we’re really lacking in that area right now. We haven’t talked about grammar or spelling or anything like that.
Laura: So you haven’t found a good book for that? For their age group?
Sarah: Um, there are lots of good books, I just haven’t really started using them. I like to just really read real books. Look for whatever we’re interested in, we’re really into nature right now, so we’ve got lots of bug books, bird books, stuff like that. We try to read those kinds of things and pick up that kind of vocabulary.
Laura: And then you hope the grammar follows.
Sarah: Right, exactly. And I think we will probably do formal stuff, maybe starting next year. My eight-year-old will be nine by then.
Laura: That’s probably a good year to start.
Sarah: We’re just trying to formalize it a little bit more. Right now, it’s a little bit less structured than I think I want. Actually we have some new things we’re working on with Alphabet Garten to have more lessons, but with a theme, so kids can learn more. Our next topic is going to be a trip to Germany, so we’re going to have lots of things surrounding that – you know, what would you do if you took a trip to Germany, and looking at maps, and talking about the culture and the customs.
Laura: Oh, that’s really good. That’s also a nice on-going project, too.
Sarah: Right.
Laura: Yeah, that is exciting. I love how you’re doing outdoor stuff because spring is in the air, right?
Sarah: We’re outside all the time, it’s so fun. So, you know, there’s always room for improvement, right?
Laura: True.
Sarah: They do understand quite a bit, and they speak to the two-year-old in German, which is nice. They know that’s what he understands better. So if they really want him to respond, then they’ll say, “Nein, mach das nicht!” I’ve also heard some people, they’ll tell their older kid, when the baby is born, “The baby does not understand English, so you have to speak German to this baby.”
Laura: Oh, I like that!
Sarah: Yeah, then they grow up speaking only German, especially if they have a really strong base, they grow up only speaking German amongst each other. So that’s a useful trick to do.
Laura: I can imagine. There is a little girl in our class who only speaks German. And she hasn’t even really heard much English yet. So she’s really lucky in that way. Because you hear that once they start school or they join activities, then the English comes naturally.
Sarah: Right. Well, you want it to come eventually but you want to postpone it as long as possible
Laura: Yeah, definitely.
Sarah: To get the German a chance to take hold, really.
Laura: I have to say, those books have been so useful. Hugo loves books so I only buy books in German. He gets gifts that are in English, but when I buy them, I only buy in German. And so he relates to characters and he repeats what was read to him, so it helps him, and it actually helps me, too. I mean, it’s improved my vocabulary. For words that I would never even think about using before.
Sarah: Which are his favorite books? What kinds of books do you read?
Laura: Oh, his favorites. He has so many favorites. Recently, I just bought Eins, zwei, drei, Tier – do you remember that one? He loves it, he has it memorized, that’s how much he liked it. So in the car, we go through it, you know, so it’s kind of fun. You know the very first one, Erste Bilder, Erste Wörter book? Right from the beginning, and he still loves it. Because he likes to compare the pictures in the book to real life. And the Mini Lesemaus series – he loves those. Also the Max series, we have a few of those.
Sarah: Let’s see – Max und der Schnuller. Yeah, those are so cute.
Laura: Yeah, they’re very cute. Oh, what’s the one with Jakob?
Sarah: Schlaf gut, Jakob.
Laura: That’s also a favorite. There’s so many, but that’s definitely the top hits.
Sarah: Excellent. So you guys just read those over and over again? Pick up the words from there.
Laura: Yes, it’s just amazing how quick he picks it up. I don’t know, just how he relates to it in real life. But you know what, I haven’t tried the DVDs yet because he just recently pays attention to TV – he never had any interest in it at all. So that’s going to be next on my list, I think. Getting a few DVDs.
Sarah: Now do you have a multi-region DVD player?
Laura: No, but I saw that you did, so I’m thinking I might as well get that one.
Sarah: It’s nice because if they’re going to watch TV eventually anyways, then they might as well watch in German, right?
Laura: Yeah, exactly. Oh, and also, speaking of DVDs, we recently discovered Sesame Street. I got those little Sesame Pixi books that you have.
Sarah: Aren’t they great?
Laura: Yes, those are really good. And he loves them. So yeah, any more Sesame Street, that would be great.
Sarah: There’s like a new Big Bird movie which I’m going to get. There have been some other Sesame Street ones but they went out of print. But there is a full length Big Bird movie. So that one should be coming. [Note: the German Big Bird DVD is now available.] There are a lot of Sesame Street fans out there.
Laura: They’re completely clued in to the kids. The first time he saw it, he was into it.
Sarah: You said that when you were shopping, you love the website. Did you have any hesitations initially about ordering?
Laura: Oh, no, I didn’t at all. But then again, like I said, my mom ordered first. And she passed it on to me.
Laura: When I placed my first order, no, I didn’t. And like I said, it was really easy to find, I went right to the board books, and the age group. And it was easy to scroll through.
Sarah: Did you have a hard time deciding which ones to buy?
Laura: I guess, at first. But now I’m so familiar with it, but it was a little overwhelming at first. And also, what’s really good for a baby? But now that he’s older, it’s definitely easier. But sometimes I glance at the other categories to see what’s ahead.
Sarah: Right, lots of good stuff coming up. Let’s see, now, you said he’s going to German school too, right?
Laura: Yes, on Saturdays. He loves it; they sing, do little dances, and they do crafts. He has a great time. That is also good for me as well. All the other mothers or grandmothers, fathers that are there, most of them are native speakers, so that is great for me to learn too.
Sarah: So you’re getting to use your German there too.
Laura: I think we’re lucky that we have this German school so close.
Sarah: Here’s a good question - do you have any advice for someone starting out – maybe again not a native speaker, a little hesitant about whether or not they can do this with their child – do you have any words of advice?
Laura: I just feel that when they’re so young they’re so receptive, and I feel that even if you don’t have a huge vocabulary or your grammar is not so great that anything you do know you can teach them and they will pick it up. And even if you aren’t, I see with my husband, he reads the books, and he picks things up. So even if you aren’t a native speaker or you’re not that fluent, there are still things for kids to learn.
Sarah: Absolutely. Well, is there anything that we could offer – anything that would be useful to you in terms of helping to either learn more German?
Laura: One thing that’s been good already is the list you put of what to do when you’re disciplining them, that was really good. I picked up some things in there. Anything like that. And I also love the flashcards, just keep on adding to that.
Sarah: Okay, absolutely.
Laura: That was really helpful. Or anything you find that you say a lot during the day.
Sarah: Yes, I like the lists, I need to do more lists.
Laura: The lists are great. Oh, and I told you the Mini Lesemaus is the favorite around here. Have you gotten feedback from anyone else on that series?
Sarah: Yes, everybody loves that one. It’s a total hit. It’s probably one of the favorites, because it’s so sturdy, and you have the words isolated.
Laura: It’s just the right length for their attention span.
Sarah: I think the size of the books is pretty good too.
Laura: Yeah, that’s true. You know, the Sesame Street Pixis, they’re almost too small.
Sarah: Yeah, the Pixis are paperback, a little more destructible. So what about CDs? Have you guys listened to any CDs?
Laura: No, we haven’t actually. You know, I should look on your site and see what you have.
Sarah: Those are so fun, and so easy, because all you have to do is listen. And then you have it on in the car and you listen to it, you know, ten times, and it just sinks into your head.
Laura: That’s great. Well, I hope I gave you enough information.
Sarah: Absolutely. Like I said, I’m so glad you like the site!
Laura: Yes, it’s great.
Sarah: Thank you for your time.

---

Bilingual Families Wanted!

We are always looking for new families to interview! Even if you are not a native speaker of German and don't consider yourself to be bilingual, we'd still love to chat. It's quick, painless, and lots of fun! Plus, we'll send you a free book for participating.

If you'd like to be interviewed on our blog, please send an e-mail to thea (at) alphabet-garten.com .

Daddy spricht Deutsch. An interview with Barbara Jean Astarita.

Sarah interviews Barbara Jean Astarita, whose husband speaks German to their 18 month old daughter, Greta.

---

Sarah: Thank you again for taking the time out to chat with me today. I’m really excited to talk to you! Let’s see… first of all, you have one daughter, right?
Barbara: Yeah, I have one daughter and that’s another thing – she’s only 18½ months so we’re in the process of teaching her. We’re kind of not sure how she’s getting along because her words, both English and German, are not clear yet. But we’re trying to teach her both.
Sarah: So sometimes I guess you might not even know if she’s speaking English or German to you. Does that happen?
Barbara: Yes, well, I don’t speak any – my German is really bad; I’m trying to learn it. But my husband speaks to her in German, and if he says something to her in German she’ll understand it. But sometimes I don’t know if she understands it, what he’s saying or she understands the tone of it. For example, when we play games with her, we’ll say “Where’s Greta?” and she’ll right away hide or close her eyes and then if we say it in German - “Wo ist Greta?” – she does the same thing. So we don’t know if it’s our tone that she understands or that she actually understands both of what we’re saying to her.
Sarah: That makes sense. Probably a little bit of each. I mean, that’s how kids pick stuff up, right? They pay attention to what’s going on, and that’s how they pick it all up. So your husband speaks German to her and then you’re speaking a little bit of German or you’re mostly speaking English with her? How does that work?
Barbara: She’s in daycare three times a week and of course, everyone around her speaks English, my family speaks English, so I think her predominant language is English. I try to speak whatever I know just to help her along. When my husband and I speak together we both speak English, so she’s hearing much more English than German. Whenever I know German, which is not really a lot, I try to teach her as well. Even just the basics. For “thank you” we’ll always say “danke” – we never say “thank you” to her. Or simple things like “no” we always say “nein” to her. Little things like that that we know she can pick up quite easily. Like we don’t say “please” we always say “bitte.” Words like that we both stick at it. But as far as teaching to her, only my husband can really do it really fluently. So I don’t know how well she’s picking it up because three days a week she’s in a daycare with English-speaking people and then the two days that I’m off I’m predominantly speaking English. So we’re hoping that maybe the videotapes and audiocassettes we get will help her along.
Sarah: Right, absolutely. I know a lot of people who do find some level of success with that, even if it’s only very part-time – evenings and weekends that they get from the dad. They still do come away with an understanding and they can comprehend it. They may not be as strong speaking it and later on reading and writing they might have to take some classes, but she’s definitely picking it up, I would say.
Barbara: Yeah, she definitely understands it… We both feel like we want her to because her family is there, we’ll be visiting a lot, she has cousins there… I don’t want to go there and have everyone have to accommodate her with speaking English. I’d rather her accommodate them and at least speak my husband’s language. Also for her, it’s better she learn both at a young age. And I did look for schools – we don’t know if we’re staying in the area but I found one she can go to that they’ll take her at 3 or 4, so she’s a little too young for even that.
Sarah: Has she said anything in German yet that you know?
Barbara: Mostly the words that she’s says are, you know, like English, they’re only one word, they’re not clear. Two words that she does say – for “no” she always says “nein.” If we say, “Greta, don’t do that,” we’ll wave our finger she’ll know “nein” and if she wants something we’ll hand it to her and we’ll say “What do you say?” and she’ll say “bitte.” She has a grasp on little words like that. But I think much more, she understands English a lot more. Which is natural.
Sarah: Surely if she’s getting that much English, it will be balanced that way. I think you just answered my next question which is why do you want your child to speak German? Your husband, did he come over from Germany or does he have relatives there?
Barbara: Yeah, he’s been here for ten years, but all his family is back there, his parents and his brother and all his relatives.
Sarah: That’s just like my husband; he’s been here for ten years.
Barbara: Oh, really, that’s so funny – you’re American though?
Sarah: Yes, I’m American. I learned German studying in college and then I met him in Germany – we were in the same dorm.
Barbara: Oh, that’s so funny!
Sarah: Oh, yes, it’s actually about 14 years for him, but very similar. Well, how did you meet your husband?
Barbara: Through a friend. We’d actually known each other for a much longer time before we got together. We’d known each other for at least eight years before we started to date. Through a mutual friend. And then one day we started to hang out together and then we just got together – that’s how it happened.
Sarah: But he was over here before you got married then?
Barbara: Oh, yes. We’ve been married for two years almost. And he’s been here for ten years. And maybe in the future we might want to move there for a few years if Greta ever wants to go to school there or we just want her to at least know the language.
Sarah: Right, right. Well, how did you learn to speak German then? Did you pick it up from your husband? The little bit that you know?
Barbara: The little bit that I know it’s just through him and then I have all these tapes that I listen to on my iPod, just to pick it up. Because I feel like also when I go over there I would like to speak to his family. They speak English, but just to learn it and speak it and I also think it’s always a good opportunity in case we do decide to go over there at any point, at least I would know it. So the tapes have helped, listening to him helps, we’ve spent some time over there, that helps, but I think in the long run I would eventually like to take classes. So I could pick it up more.
Sarah: So what has been the biggest challenge so far in speaking German with her or having your husband speak German with her? What have you found or what do you anticipate to be the biggest stumbling block?
Barbara: I’d have to say the biggest would be the fact that I don’t speak it. So I think she gets in the habit of hearing us speak all the time in English and I think sometimes he gets in the habit of speaking in English because it’s probably easier. Sometimes he does speak English to her and I keep trying to tell him, you know, just try to speak only in German to her, but I think sometimes he speaks for convenience. He also turns off and speaks English to her.
Sarah: It’s really hard to get out of that habit if you’re used to speaking one or if you hear everyone speaking English then it’s really hard to switch over to German.
Barbara: It’s hard to say, too, because her words really aren’t clear, so I don’t know how much she’s picking up. It’s hard to judge.
Sarah: My youngest is two years and two months. All of a sudden he’s had this explosion of language – he wasn’t really a big talker but now all of a sudden he’s saying all these words and we’re thinking, wow, where did that come from? Unfortunately not as many German words as I would like, he’s definitely biased towards English as well. But it’s so funny because he didn’t talk much when he was 18 months and even when he was two. But now all of a sudden, wow, all these words are coming out of his mouth.
Barbara: That’s like her, too, she says all of these words but they all sound alike. I think I’m the only one that can distinguish what she’s saying. So I’m waiting for the time when her words are a little bit more clear. Yes, she’s kind of talking, but now it’s only things like “bitte.” Does your husband speak in German?
Sarah: He’s kind of both. He’s kind of a mix. Maybe 50 percent German, 50 percent English with my youngest and with the older kids, there’s more and more English that creeps in. Unfortunately, it’s the same with us, it’s the habit. For me, I just don’t have the vocabulary, the technical vocabulary they’re talking about – astronauts or bumblebees or whatever – I don’t have that vocab and I have to search it out, find books, pick it up that way. We have to study it together.
Barbara: But with all your books don’t you have like a lot of materials?
Sarah: Oh, absolutely. We have lots to pick from. That’s the good thing; we can just go right to the bookshelf and say, we need to talk about technical questions about electricity – my kids are really into science stuff – so we have to find the “How Stuff Works” books. I can’t even explain it in English. It is a challenge. I have some vocabulary, but it’s a constant process to try and build that up.
Barbara: You know, what I like even more than the DVDs are the CDs. I think those are really good. Because I put them on in the car and I feel like those are actually more effective because she really listens in the car. Sometimes with the TV she doesn’t stay focused, she’s bored and wants to do other things. The CDs in German are working really well. I’m actually now picking up stuff from it, too. Just with my husband speaking it, and then the tapes in the car, I pick up more and more words myself, so I think it’s helped.
Sarah: Which ones do you like the best? Which ones have you been listening to in the car?
Barbara: Die Reisemaus and then we have another one, but with me I usually bring one in the car and then I get kind of stuck on it. We listen to music – I’d purchased a, I don’t know if I purchased it from you – music that is half-English, half-German. They’ll say a verse in English and then the next verse is in German and they’re all kids songs. We’ve been listening to that for a while, but then I started now with the CD, just strictly the CD. But the music was good for a while too and I found that even in the car just driving to my parents and stuff it’s helping me as well.
Sarah: Yes, I think also the repetition, like you forget to switch it out so you listen to the same thing ten times or twenty times and by then, it’s really kind of gotten into your head. Way more than just listening to it once or twice would be.
Barbara: I agree.
Sarah: And like you said you’re kind of a captive audience. You can’t be running around and your kids aren’t really playing with anything, so maybe they’re paying a little bit more attention to the audio than they would if they were at home.
Barbara: Yeah, I really feel like the audio in the car is working really well.
Sarah: I wanted to ask if you found any of the books and DVDs and music on our website useful. Did you find what you were looking for?
Barbara: Yeah, I did find them really useful. I think my husband is the one who found you. I think he ordered three of the first DVDs we got from you, the caterpillar and Die Maus and there was some other one that he ordered and then I ordered after he told me about you. I ordered the audio tapes and I think there’s some other stuff we ordered from you as well, but yeah I find them really useful. I actually ordered some flashcards from you too I think. Do you have flashcards?
Sarah: Oh, yes, we do.
Barbara: Yeah, I think I ordered those from you too.
Sarah: Yeah those are cute. I really like those. What’s your daughter’s favorite book or CD or DVD?
Barbara: You know, it’s hard with her, because I think I emailed you about this, her favorite show of all is Sesame Street, so everything else, like the caterpillar and die Maus, she watches it, but her attention is not as focused as Sesame Street, which is why we were really trying hard to find a German Sesame Street. [NOTE: we now have a new Sesamstrasse DVD on the website.] But honestly I’d have to say I think the music she likes and then the audiotapes she likes best. I think it’s hard with the DVDs, I don’t think she has enough attention span yet to sit down and watch an entire one. It’s sort of hard; I’m hoping that when she gets a little older, maybe when she’s two, she’ll be able to sit down a little bit longer for those. But the music is great, she loves the audio.
Sarah: Excellent. Well, I was going to ask if you have access to a Saturday school or anything like that, but I’m guessing no, since she’s so young.
Barbara: Like I said, there’s one that I researched and I think they start them at three. They have Saturday school like Mommy & Me and it’s singing songs in German. But it’s on a Saturday, and it’s very early in the morning, and my husband and I, we don’t really like to get up that early on a Saturday. And I figure for the hour, if that’s all they’re going to do is sing, I have all her tapes here so I don’t know how beneficial it would be… If it was a playgroup perhaps for an hour, to get her on track with kids who spoke German I think it’d be helpful. So I haven’t really moved her on that. I think when she gets a little older. If they have German lessons or something, then I’ll definitely enroll her in that.
Sarah: That typically starts around three or four, where you’ll actually see like a playgroup. I mean, they do have them for younger kids, too, but at that point, they’re not really going to be talking to each other that much anyway, so it’s more for the parents I think. You won’t be missing out on that much with a toddler. I guess I wanted to know if you have any other comments or any suggestions or advice for other people in your situation. I mean, with you not speaking German it’s a pretty big commitment for you to work towards raising her bilingually. Any advice for other people in the same situation?
Barbara: You know, it’s hard to say because she’s so young. I mean, I don’t really know how she’s coming along. If she was a little older and I could tell how she’s doing, I think I’d be able to say more, but I think, honestly, if I spoke it fluently, I think she’d probably be better off. Because I would make sure that I always speak to her that way. But with my husband, it’s hard to keep telling him over and over, I mean, he does, he does a lot, But yeah, when she gets a little older and she understands more, even when she’s two, he’s going to have to teach her a little bit more. I would say to be really persistent, with speaking one language only from the parent who speaks the German.
Sarah: That’s a huge help. Well, great! I think that covers it for me, again I really appreciate your time.
Barbara: Yeah, and you can check back, you know, in six months or something and I can tell you how she’s doing if you want to do that.
Sarah: I would love to do that! That would be great! Are you guys planning a trip to Germany soon?
Barbara: We were there in January; we’re going to try to go back in the summer time.
Sarah: Well, that should be good. And you can really see if she’s understanding what other people are saying to her, and she’ll be a little bit older.
Barbara: Yeah, so maybe a follow up, a study, what’s working and what we’re doing wrong, what we can do better…
Sarah: What you’re going to change… Yeah, let me know if you come up with any tips to keep consistent. That’s a very common challenge. That’s one of our biggest challenges. To not forget and slip into English. Well, I will definitely put it in my calendar to check in with you in six months; that sounds great! Thank you so much for your time!

---

Bilingual Families Wanted!

We are always looking for new families to interview! Even if you are not a native speaker of German and don't consider yourself to be bilingual, we'd still love to chat. It's quick, painless, and lots of fun! Plus, we'll send you a free book for participating.

Here's what Barbara Jean said after our interview:

Hi Sarah,

I really enjoyed our interview. I was never interviewed before, so it was a first for me, and great fun. Since I work three days a week and then busy with the little one, I never really had the chance to explore your site other than browsing through the book selections. However, I realize that there is so much more information that you offer, and your website is filled with interesting articles, interviews, etc.

I particularly like the German phrases for the kids, which I find very useful. I am looking forward to our follow up interview when Greta is a bit older and starting to speak.

Alles Gute,
Barbara Jean

If you'd like to be interviewed on our blog, please send an e-mail to thea (at) alphabet-garten.com .