I have a new idea.
Well, actually it isn’t a new idea. It’s been in the back of my mind for several years, but that’s where it might have remained…if I hadn’t recently decided to stop thinking about it and start taking some action.
So it may not be new, but it’s now my next idea and I’m happy to say that I’ve just completed the first, big step toward its realization.
This post will share the idea, and that first step, while adding a giveaway, too. (It’s been a long while since I held a giveaway at this blog!)
First, though, let me quickly recap the highlights of my work over the past decade to support the success of parents raising bilingual and multilingual children…
*The Bilingual Monkeys blog, founded in 2012
*The Bilingual Zoo forum, founded in 2014
*The book Maximize Your Child’s Bilingual Ability, published in 2016
*The book I WANT TO BE BILINGUAL!, published in 2019
*The book Bilingual Success Stories Around the World, published in 2021
*The premium coaching program Bilingual SuperKids!, launched in January 2023
I hope you’ve found some of these offerings (along with my other efforts in this field) to be helpful to your bilingual or multilingual aim. My activities have been wide-ranging, but at the heart of each one is the same basic intention: my bottom-line goal is to help you maximize your child’s language ability over the life of your bilingual or multilingual journey through a practical, proactive mindset and engaging, effective methods.
Between a book and a coach
To be honest, after launching my new coaching program in January, I thought this would probably be my last major offering. But, maybe fatefully, soon after this launch I met several parents who told me that they were interested in a form of support that lies between a book and a coach: they were interested in a course.
And, actually, this was the idea that had been lingering in the back of my mind: a high-quality video course that provides comprehensive guidance—including strategic ways to effectively address the widespread problem of passive ability in the minority language—so that families can experience greater success and joy on their bilingual or multilingual journey together.
In fact, I’ve had a YouTube channel for Bilingual Monkeys for a long time, but I never posted many videos to it, and I haven’t posted anything there in recent years. The main issue for me—setting aside the obvious demands of the time and energy required to maintain an active YouTube channel—was always related to space and equipment. The house we lived in at the time was so small, it just wasn’t possible to dedicate space for a fixed set-up, and the equipment I owned back then wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t very good, either. So the idea of maintaining an active YouTube channel—let alone producing a high-quality video course—wasn’t realistic.
Fast forward to 2023, and a different house, and this issue of space and equipment is now more manageable. Our house is still small, but my office has a bit more space and I can now keep the bulky equipment (the camera on a tripod and the lights on stands) standing to one side of the room. While I wish I could just leave them permanently in place for filming—like a real studio of sorts—shifting them into the proper position isn’t hard. And the new camera I purchased recently (a Sony ZV-E10, if you’re curious) produces beautiful-looking images so now it’s “just” a matter of actually creating the content!
My first video (+ the GIVEAWAY)
I can’t say how long it will take me to create this course—it’s a big project and I really want to offer the very best course I can—but I took the first step the other day by making a test video with this new camera…and it turned out pretty well.
To watch my first video, just click on the image below. (It’s less than 3 minutes.)
And if you’d like to enter the giveaway—the lucky winner can choose a free copy of any of my books—just follow these simple steps…
1. Watch the video. Behind me there’s a tank of some kind and inside that tank is a reddish creature. What type of creature is that?
2. After watching the video, return right to this post and make a comment below, responding to these 3 questions…
1. What is your first name and where do you live?
2. What were your impressions of my first video?
3. What is the name of the type of creature behind me in the tank?
The deadline for entries is Sunday, June 18. On Monday, June 19, all correct entries (naming the creature correctly in English) will go into a hat for a random drawing. The winner will then be contacted directly to arrange delivery of the prize and this post will be updated with the winner’s name as well as the name of the creature.
Thank you for watching my first video! I’d love to hear your impressions!
