What's it Like to Request a HaBilNet Consultation?
Topics, Consultants & Feedback
To Bilingual Families
There are many reasons to be speaking several languages in your family. And there are many difficulties or just questions that might arise from your individual situation. Like other families who have requested consultations with us, you…
- may want help in planning ahead and thinking about how to start a bilingual family;
- may want to discuss how things are going in your family language planning to find reassurance and peace of mind;
- are concerned because your child isn't communicating the way you would like or expect and you want to understand why;
- are looking for more ideas on how to strengthen your family's minority language.
No matter what the issue is, let's try and talk about it.
Consultations
Our team offers consultations in English, German, French, Dutch, Japanese and Spanish – please let us know your preference. Depending on the questions you have and your language preference, we will forward your request to one of our consultants. They will then get in touch with you directly. So far, HaBilNet consultations are free of charge.
If you are part of a bilingual family and have any questions or doubts about your situation, please feel free to request a consultation here.
Feedback we received (shortened)
"I found it to be really helpful. […] the consultant's continued emphasis on creating a need to use the target language was very helpful. I had spent a lot of time focusing on exposure, assuming that it would bring about a need to use the language, but the consultant emphasized the need to create that need."
"[…] a very fruitful discussion. The consultant helped to look at my kids' linguistic issues from a broader perspective. I really enjoyed our conversation.
Thank you and your colleagues for your work!"
"[…] ジェニスさんのお子さんと、私の子どもの年もあまり変わらないということで、助言を聞きやすかったように思います。
また、子どもに課題を押し付けがちでしたが、自分自身でもいろいろと勉強していくことや変えていく点が見えました。
スイスの継承後教育はまだまだ発展途上だと私は思っていますので、その点について自分がトライできそうなことの助言ももらえました。
[…] まずは、自分で行動してみる。
新たなスタートを切ることができそうです。
日本語で相談サービスを受けることができたのはとてもよかったです。
ありがとうございました。"
"[ The consultant ] gave me tactical things/ideas to implement with my child. Also, the consultant helped me understand the larger trajectory of the bilingual journey and really see all the potential I currently have in ways I can help my child grow in his Hindi development.
I'm so grateful to your organization and to your consultant for this service. I didn't even know something like this existed and could be of such tremendous help to me. But now I've experienced the benefit of learning from someone else's bilingual journey. And that is truly invaluable."
"It was an incredibly valuable hour, where the conversation allowed me to reframe our situation. My mindset was changed from seeing [ a bilingual upbringing ] as a personal and daunting challenge to one that can be enjoyed by the whole family. It was simply no less than very welcome therapy for me and hugely helpful. I would pay for further consultations."
"I am fully bilingual in German and English, having grown up in Germany with an OPOL [ note: one person, one language ] environment. I now reside in the United States and am a freelance writer in English. Being bilingual has always felt like an enormous gift to me, and I know how hard my parents – particularly my mother – worked to make it possible for me to learn two languages to this degree. But still I wasn't prepared for how difficult it would feel to pass on this same gift to my own children. I am so grateful to have been able to troubleshoot with the consultant. […] Most importantly, the consultant provided some outside acknowledgement for my hard work and successes, which gave me a much-needed boost."
"Thanks to HabilNet I could talk to an expert directly and ask about our particular issues. […] The greatest outcome of the interview: although I received plenty of entirely new information, the greatest benefit was the discovery that the knowledge I already had started to make sense and now I see a certain logic in it. I checked our family language patterns and got inspired in many ways. […] I received great support about raising a bilingual child with speech problems. It helps me face the doubts and inappropriate opinions with more ease."
"I really enjoyed this opportunity to discuss my doubts and frustrations about this bilingual journey with my family. The consultant was very professional and very helpful, suggesting different modifications to my family routine, resources and a shift to evolve from bilingual children to bilingual family, reshaping our context and reality. I am infinitely grateful for the consultant's time."
Thank You!
HaBilNet would like to thank its consultants for offering a great service, its team for making all this possible and of course all of you who requested a consultation and gave permission to share your feedback.