At a certain point, your bilingual child will be ready to advance beyond the methods that you can provide. At that time, you may want him to find penpals in his minority language.

Yes, he can also write to penpals in his local language, but they should only supplement those in the secondary language. The reasoning is the same - he will learn the local language anyway, and the purpose of the penpal is to help with the language that he does not hear every day.

The penpals provide current slang, and they will make cultural issues come alive. Children love to discuss issues with others, and penpals make each other feel important by knowing the language and the culture, despite the distance that separates them.

Penpals may take on different twists. Children can be encouraged to write to relatives using snail mail. This may be a new experience for them, and it will offer them the opportunity to learn how to write a traditional, standard letter.

They may also join a supervised, moderated on-line discussion forum for children, such as Jewish Boys or Jewish Girls. Be sure to supervise your child's use of the Internet.

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