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My wife is an intermediary ESL speaker (she didn't take any standardized test, I guess her level is ~B1-B2). She is now interacting with our ~one-year old baby ~90% in mother tongue and ~10% in English.

I am now exploring ways to increase the portion of English use. I am wondering if anyone can recommend some books to teach adults(i.e., my wife) to communicate with kids in English. The book should be about practical language use, not parenting theories. For example, the book should explain (to ESL parents) how to say "we need to change your diaper" / "let's take a nap now" / "Be quiet on a bus"/etc.

Any recommendations?

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    Do you have a particular concern with your child's exposure to your native tongue (which I assume is English?) Are you in an English speaking country? Do you spend time with your wife and child communicating in English? Is your child attending a childcare setting out of the house?
    – R Davies
    Commented Jun 17 at 7:46

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This is a frame challenge, but which language do you use to interact with the child?

The easiest, most common and to my knowledge also most successful approach to bilingualism is to have one language associated to each parent (or other person frequently interacting with the child). So you wife speaks her native language (exclusively when talking to the baby), you speak English to the baby and that's it, you child will grow up to be bilingual without any additional training or further adaptation needed.

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  • yes I am aware of the so-called OPOL model, the problem is, my wife would need to talk to kindergarten/school staff in English. So I am thinking she may also need to practice a bit herself.
    – D.J. Elkind
    Commented Jun 24 at 15:52

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