Blog
Thoughts on multilingualism, language development, identity and everything in between. Written for families, individuals, educators and businesses — and anyone who’s ever felt like they live between languages.
-
A multilingualism consultant reflects on her own rocky start in the German school system, and the teachers who made all the difference. I was ten years old when my family moved to Germany. My parents had done what they could: they’d organised a private tutor, and I’d had four months of German lessons before we
-
What Seasonal Celebrations Do for Multilingual Children That Flashcards Can’t This time of year, something quietly extraordinary happens in households across the world. Eggs are hidden in gardens. Pasos float through cobblestone streets under a canopy of incense smoke. A flame passes from candle to candle in a darkened church until the whole building is
-
Eight countries. Five languages. Three officiants. One very carefully considered decision about where in the world to get married. That’s a snapshot of our wedding, and behind every one of those numbers is a choice we had to make with care, sometimes against the grain of what felt easiest or most expected. This is the
-
Why Language Belongs at the Heart of Your Inclusion Strategy Walk into almost any mid-sized company today and you’ll find a quietly multilingual workforce. Someone doing mental arithmetic in Polish before answering in German. A team meeting where three people are working hard to follow a fast-paced conversation in a language that isn’t their first.
-
Many multilingual families begin with the same piece of advice: one parent, one language. It sounds simple. One parent speaks one language, the other parent speaks another, and the child grows up bilingual. But after a while, many parents notice something they didn’t expect. Their child starts answering mostly in one language, often the language
-
How History, Terminology, and Women’s Roles Shaped the Languages We Carry Today Every year, three observances appear close together on the calendar: International Mother Language Day on the 21st of February, International Women’s Day on the 8th of March, and in the UK, Mother’s Day, which also falls in March most years. At first glance,
-
Most of the time, language stays in the background of our daily work. Meetings happen, mails are written, ideas are exchanged, and we rarely think about the mechanics behind communication. That changes quickly when we start working in a language that isn’t our strongest one. This often happens during professional transitions: joining an international company,
-
Many adults quietly carry the feeling that learning another language is something they should’ve done earlier in life, something that belongs to childhood, school years, or a different phase that has already passed. Over the years of living between languages and working in multilingual environments, I’ve heard this concern again and again. People often tell
-
Every year on the 21st of February, International Mother Language Day is observed around the world as an initiative of UNESCO to promote linguistic diversity and multilingual education. On the surface, it may appear as one more awareness day among many, but for millions of people, it touches something far more intimate: the languages that
-
On intimacy, language, and the quiet work of understanding Falling in love across languages is a curious blend of magic and challenge. Sometimes it looks like laughter over a word neither of you can quite pronounce. Sometimes it looks like silence, searching for the right one. Sometimes it’s shared understanding, and sometimes it’s one misunderstanding
-
In many international teams, communication problems rarely feel dramatic. There are no obvious conflicts, no open arguments, no clear mistakes. Instead, there’s low-level friction: small misunderstandings, repeated clarifications, decisions that seem clear in theory but blurry in practice. In multilingual teams, this friction is often blamed on language. Yet language itself is rarely the root
-
Growing up with multiple languages is often a source of fascination for people around bilingual children. Yet, the questions they’re asked tend to be surprisingly predictable and, at times, unintentionally limiting. Many bilingual individuals will recognise at least some of the following questions I heard repeatedly while growing up: Which language do you like most?Which
-
Every year, people set intentions about who they want to become. Resolutions are written down, goals are set, and intentions often centre on self-improvement: becoming more confident, communicating more clearly, learning something new. Learning a new language often appears somewhere on that list. Many people associate personal growth with clear goals and visible progress. What’s
-
For a long time, speaking more than one language was treated as a nice extra. Something that looked good on a CV, something that might give you a small edge, but rarely something that was seen as essential. That way of thinking is quietly falling apart and being replaced with a more multilingual-focused approach. In
-
On the evening of the 5th of January, shoes are carefully lined up in hallways, on balconies, terraces or by windows. They’re checked once, then twice. Some are placed neatly side by side, others slightly crooked, but all with the same quiet hope: that the Three Wise Men will know exactly where to leave the
-
There’s something about New Year’s Eve that always makes me pause, even when I’m not quite sure how I want to step into the year ahead. It’s not only the fireworks or the countdown, but the feeling of a shared moment that stretches across languages, cultures, and time zones. My Many New Year’s Eves Some
-
There’s something in the air during the holiday season. The festive lights, the cheerful messages, the gift-shopping, the reunions, the joy of togetherness all feel like the world is gently (or not so gently) nudging you to feel a specific way. For many multilinguals, this time of year comes with more than just busyness and
-
This December feels strange in a way I didn’t expect. I’ve been back to Spain many times over the last few years and this year particularly often. I was here in Spring, and Summer, and Autumn. But somehow, winter feels different. I haven’t spent Christmas here for so long that I’d forgotten how the humid
-
As we near the end of the year, many Western companies invite their employees to what is traditionally called a Christmas Party. These events are a lovely opportunity to acknowledge everyone’s hard work and celebrate achievements made throughout the year. They’re also a chance to spend time together, an increasingly rare moment of in-person connection
-
December has a way of amplifying everything in multilingual families. The joy feels bigger. The nostalgia feels sharper. And the tensions? They quietly grow in the spaces between airports, traditions, and languages. As I pack my suitcase to fly home for Christmas, I can’t help thinking about how many songs are built around the same
-
Welcome to Multi Lingua Consulting It is with great joy, and also, if I’m honest, a bit of fear, that I hit publish on this post and officially launch my very own business: Multi Lingua Consulting. It’s been at least a year in the making, and what a rollercoaster the last year has been! Businesses,
