These beliefs are the foundation of Multilingual Mums!
Motherhood is an ever-changing journey.
Our needs, challenges and dreams evolve
as we and our children grow
and as we navigate changes in our circumstances.
Multilingual Mums helps us
to remember who we were in past stages of our lives
(which can be easy to forget),
to find who we are now
(since it is too easy to overlook ourselves in day-to-day life),
and to look at ourselves in a new light
(or even reinvent ourselves in the future).
We will all go through changes in our lifetime.
Some periods may be lonely and others more full of connection.
There are times for independence
and others where we might need to lean on others,
times where we forge our own path
and times where we follow someone else’s lead.
Where do we look for those people?
We all need connection.
There is a purpose for all kinds of connection:
inner connection with ourselves when we need time alone,
a quick, energizing daily interaction with a stranger,
an instant connection with an acquaintance,
a re-connection with a friend from long ago,
a deep conversation with a close friend,
and many types of interactions with family.
There are ways to make these into conversations worth having.
We can find inspiring common ground
when we share our diverse stories.
We all come to Multilingual Mums with different stories.
Perhaps you can identify with one of these profiles -
or maybe not… and that’s ok.
· you learned your languages at a young age or later in life?
· you have a heritage language that you or your children may or may not speak?
· you and your partner have different languages that you use with your children?
· you moved to a new place and are learning the language with your children?
· you are afraid of losing a language?
· you are trying to forget a language?
· you’re introducing a speaker of a new language into the family?
· your child is learning a language at school and you are making space?
But now you’re wondering…
how can we all come together from such different places?
We share many of the same challenges, fears, desires and emotions.
It comes down to questions of purpose, identity and belonging.
We all go through changes in circumstances and
don’t want to feel we have to completely begin again.
We can use a familiar and supportive space that will be there for us
no matter what direction life take us.
You can read Anna’s story to see the variety of multilingual populations
she has encountered over the years as a teacher, researcher, traveler and mother.
Using our languages is a lifetime practice.
And Multilingual Mums is a space where
we can get comfortable in our languages in a practical and meaningful way,
we choose to come because we belong,
and we don’t need to begin by apologizing for what we feel self-conscious about
(lack of grammar, accent and pronunciation, gaps in vocabulary, writing or speaking skills).
There are many reasons you may want to practice your languages:
Are you moving to a new place and looking for opportunities to practice the new language?
Are you feeling out of practice in a language that is dear to you?
Are you looking for the familiar comfort of being connected to other speakers of your language?
Are you trying to keep a language alive for your children, hoping to find ways to engage them?
Are you looking to let go of expectations of what you thought languages would look like in your life?
We need a space
to let our true selves shine
among others who see and know us.
We can be courageous and put ourselves out there even if it feels scary.
Once we take those first steps, it gets easier.
This is a place to share our struggles and our wins!
A place to find women who are in the same phase of life or who have been through it before.
A place to come for encouragement, ideas, advice, language practice, or just a listening ear.
Let’s put our trust in each other and let ourselves be vulnerable in a safe support system.
Then we can feel we really belong
and know that we are supported.
We can help each other be our authentic selves
as we pursue our potential, whatever that may look like.
We can take inspiration from each other’s experiences.
It’s when we are truly able to share our purpose and listen to each other
that we can really flourish!
