Language as habit in the pursuit of bilingualism
Randomness rules my life. And as luck would have it, a long time ago I was forced, contrary to my will, to make a move from an English-speaking country to a Spanish-speaking country. Before the move my two daughters and myself used Spanish amongst ourselves. I wanted them to be bilingual. We spoke it all the time, not only at home. When we made the move, keeping up Spanish at home was pointless and unnecessary: they could practice all the time everywhere. So, one day I had a serious talk with them. They listened attentively and agreed. I said: "As of today, we are going to speak English!" And we have been speaking English to this day, in whatever country we are. A lot of water has gone under the bridge and two newcomers were added to the family who had to abide by the rule: English at all times. I have never crossed a word in Spanish with them: we write, WhatsApp, email, speak to one another in English, always. My eldest remarked one day that if we spoke Spanish it woul...