Foundations

As a multifaceted research field, bilingualism and multilingualism touch on neuronal and psychological issues, questions about family upbringing and school education, areas of linguistic methodology and didactics, questions of curriculum and school programme design, all the way to issues of linguistic politics, linguistic rights and economics.

 

On the one hand, my principles and methods are based on the latest research literature on multilingual language acquisition. I am driven to research the latest scientific findings – whether on the subject of neurolinguistics, psycholinguistics or language education – and to incorporate this into the advice I give. 

 

On the other hand, the approach I take with my advice is based on Maria Montessori's method for promoting language, for the furtherance of children's linguistic abilities was a matter particularly close to her heart. With me, the child always comes first – along with all his or her needs and interests, and his or her development. It is not a question of imposing something on the child, but of recognising the child's strengths and motivating him or her to learn languages with curiosity and interest, and on his or her own initiative. The stages of language development follow a similar order in many children, but the point in time at which a child is particularly interested and is receptive to certain aspects of language learning varies. I try to discern the time frames of spontaneous expressions and spontaneous interest on the part of the child. 

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And last but not least, my attitude is based on mutual respect and the conviction that all people are equal in all their facets.