Since having children, my background culture has slipped to the forefront of my existence. My parents were both immigrants from Germany who met and fell in love with each other in Ontario. Two children later, they decided to try living in Germany, but missed the child-friendly outdoor places of Canada. After five months, they moved to the west coast, living in Burnaby where my sister was born, then Surrey, and even California. Our family eventually settled in Kitsilano in 1996, where my parents still live today.

We were all given the opportunity to attend the Surrey German School in the nine years that we lived in the area. The principal, Ruth Berndt, a well-educated woman with two children of her own, worked hard to build up the reputation of her school, until it was the biggest & the best in BC. There was a "German as a Second Language Branch", and a "German as a Mother-Tongue", where we learned grammar, vocabulary, geography and the history of Germany. In 1985, we even visited Hannover on a two-month student exchange.

Now all three of us have married Canadians from other cultures. My brother, the oldest, has found it challenging to pass on his German heritage successfully to his four children, since he spends most of his time away from home. My sister and I have it far easier, as we are the ones staying home with our children. We are both determined to raise completely bilingual children.

My biggest advantage was moving to Australia, where I got a job at the "Johannes Gutenberg German School". I spent three years as Authorised Supervisor to a small Preschool Program. It was our job to teach Preschool children enough German so they could successfully enter the German Kindergarten. The children were either directly from Germany, from Australia or a combination of German/Australian. Not everyone who attended the Preschool for two years went on to the German School. This unique combination of children gave me a good opportunity to test several language learning theories.

These days, I have the perfect opportunity to test my theories with a live subject - my three-year-old daughter. Here some ideas to help you:

a. Start young - I used to read children's books to my newborn infant daughter by "singing" the words to her. Children start learning a language by being exposed to the sounds. I sang German songs during and after pregnancy, as well as the German Alphabet.

b. Find a group - I met a German friend with a baby close in age that was excited to meet up weekly. After two years, we offered a German Playgroup at the local community center. Now we are slowly discovering a large variety of German groups in the lower mainland. These groups generally fill up fast and therefore often don't advertise or see the need for websites. You have to hear about them through word of mouth.

c. Stay connected - Whatever connection you had to Germany, whether you once lived there or still have relatives there, keep up the connection. Also try to visit a German Church, Restaurant, Shop, Bakery or local event every couple of months.

d. Visit Germany - with your children and your non-German speaking spouse. Let the whole family know what Germany is really like. It is more than World War II and Dirndl' dresses.

e. Use multimedia - DVD's, Videos, CD's, cassettes etc. My father even had our old children's records transferred to CD. I also find it important, to let them hear some modern singers and entertainers. Fun music, such as "Kinderhitparade", which basically plays familiar rock 'n roll songs with German words, which children sing. Some of it is just hilarious to listen to.

f. Read - your children need to hear German children's books appropriate for their age group, and to see you reading German books as an adult. It is also nice to keep some books about Germany at home, which have lots of pictures to show your child.

g. Keep family traditions - we always opened our presents on Christmas Eve, put out our shoes for Nikolaus Day (December 6th) and ate a hot lunch on Sunday afternoons. On Sunday nights, we had our "Evening Bread" or "Abendbrot". We also had dinner pancakes with applesauce, dark rye bread and Nutella in our home. At the Johannes Gutenberg German School, we also celebrated Fasching (usually held in February, just before Lent), Lantern Festival (usually November 11th), Easter with branches decorated with blown-out eggs, and St. Nicholas Day with the children.

h. Use music - you can play music in the background while your child is playing or sing your child to sleep with German songs. My father would bring his harmonica into our bedroom and play a few songs every night. We sang together as a family, and I still sing daily with my daughter. I know some action songs, some goodnight songs, some traditional songs and some modern peppy verses that we have fun singing together.

i. Use the Internet - there are so many places to find German songs, games, arts and crafts, stories, ideas, history; even children's websites for DAF - deutsch als Fremdsprache or German as a Second Language. Use Google or Alta Vista (or your favourite search engine) and you can literally find millions of websites that will benefit you and your child. Even places you can order VHS tapes, books, and Cd's...

j. Find a German penpal - again, thanks to the Internet, this is quite simple to organize. You can simply go to any number of websites and find someone for your child to correspond with. If you have relatives, that is also a good place to start, although it is important to find someone with the same age and interests of your child. When they are older, you could perhaps arrange a visit, or even a student exchange. Immersing themselves in the other culture for a full year would definitely help motivate them to learn the language.

k. Get a German au pair girl - if you don't have time or the skills to teach the German language to your children, you can invite someone to live with you that can. The children need to feel comfortable and happy with this person, so that should be the first priority. But after that, just by spending time with a fluent native German speaker will be an invaluable aid in learning the language. They say it is important for the children to hear all of the unique sounds of a language by age six.

l. Never give up - it is tempting to just throw in the towel and tell yourself that keeping up your German language isn't important, but here are a few reasons why you shouldn't do that. Number 1: Learning a second language is definitely a big help in general brain development. Children can learn a concept much better if they hear it in two languages; Number 2: In Vancouver, at least, you need a second language to enter University and not every child can easily learn French; Number 3: So many works of literature and art are done in the German language and your child will benefit from being able to read the original.

For some children, though, learning two languages can be overwhelming. Some children may refuse, since they don't want to be different from their peers. Some children just find it too challenging, since their strengths may lie in different areas. Each of these obstacles can be overcome, although they each present their own challenge. Find a support group; a club, or other people with the same issues to face. Just keep your long-term goal in mind. It is definitely worth it.

Keep it up!

For any questions/comments, you can write to Elke at popcompany@hotmail.com