My Journey
Growing up, I was fortunate enough to learn several languages. When my children were born, I wanted them to be multilingual. I understood the value of the gift of multilingualism and thus began my journey of raising multilingual kids. I now have 20+ years of experience in language learning, tutoring, and helping others raise multilingual kids.
I discovered Baby Sign Language (BSL) to enhance language and communication skills with hearing children before they can speak. Studies have shown that BSL has many language and cognitive benefits. However, many parents and educators abandon BSL once the child becomes verbal.
Based on the work of Dr. Stephen Krashen, a world-renowned linguist, I realized that BSL can be used as a bridge to other languages. His idea was that the best and natural way to acquire languages was through Comprehensible Input. BSL can be used as a Comprehensible Input tool, thereby becoming a bridge to other languages.
A language-rich environment provides a strong foundation in language skills and is associated with positive, long-term academic and social outcomes. This approach is the foundation of many early childhood education pedagogies.
I have created a unique method, the Pancha Method, that combines a Language Rich approach with Baby Sign Language and Bilingualism. The first three years of a child's life are the most crucial years of brain development. These three language methods combined will supercharge the child's brain during this Golden Window of language learning.
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