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Read how Da Silva Valim experiences multilingualism

2 September 2024

It was always easy' and very 'normal' to learn a new language. I have only positive memories of it. As a child, I learnt languages very quickly and easily.

What languages did you speak at home?

Always Portuguese (Brazil)

What languages do you speak at home?

At home, we speak English, Portuguese and Dutch.

How did you experience it?

It was always easy' and very 'normal' to learn a new language. I have only positive memories of it. As a child, I learned languages very quickly and easily. When I came to live in the Netherlands at the age of 22, I learnt Dutch very quickly because I already knew German and English. I watched a lot of children's programmes and Dutch films with subtitles. Within six months, I was fluent in Dutch.

What do you see as the biggest advantages?

That I am very social, get along with many people easily / make good, trusted connections quickly. I have a good understanding of different cultures. I can also switch between languages effortlessly.

What languages do you all speak?

Portuguese, English, Dutch, Spanish, French, Italian and German

Would you also raise your own child(ren) multilingually?

I already do, they are raised trilingual: English, Portuguese and Dutch.

Do you have a funny anecdote you want to share?

During a conference in Cannes, a German colleague was robbed. He needed to report this and had been to the police station, tried to communicate with them in English, but everyone there had just shrugged and said they only spoke French. So he asked me to help him. I went back to the police station with him - my colleague told me things in a mix of German and English, and I told the police officer everything in French, and so on. At the end, when everything was settled, the policeman stood up and said to us, "thank you very much, I'll go and print out the report" - in perfect English!

Are there any other things you would like to share with us about multilingual parenting?

Growing up with multiple languages helped me tremendously as an adult: it's how I got my first job, because "the only thing" I had on my CV was my languages. It is always extremely valued at work. My social circles are quite large and varied, and it makes travelling easy.

About Camila

I have lived in nine countries (from birth to now - 44 years) and I speak seven languages. Been in different schools: International, British, American, French, German schools.

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Amber

About me

Hey, I'm Amber and co-founder of Jungle the Bungle. I spent over six years in the media worked as an (online) marketer and campaign manager. That's how I met Carolina and how my dream of being an entrepreneur came true. I currently freelance for various companies that want to make impact and be more conscious of business. I also bring this knowledge to the impact strategy of Jungle the Bungle.

What I love about this concept is that we are going for equity for all children. Voor every product sold, we also donate one to another child. Children are no longer dependent on what languages parents speak, but can learn a language themselves in a fun way through the app.

By the way, it offers so many opportunities to be able to speak multiple languages. The younger you are, the easier it is. I have always had a passion for travelling and different cultures and therefore also with languages. Besides, I find children such a fun target group because they are full of imagination and have a big world of experiences. We are planning a lot of great expansions that will be even more fun for young children. So keep a close eye on the website!

Carolina

About me

Hi, I am Carolina and the creator of Jungle the Bungle. Because of my Spanish mother and Dutch father, I was raised bilingual. This allowed me to experience for myself how special it is to speak a second language. The idea for Jungle the Bungle came about because young children learn languages effortlessly. As a mother of young twins at the time, I saw that there were few fun and easy ways to teach young children a new language. So the idea of developing something myself was born. There are now many studies showing that young children learn a new language incredibly easily. Until the age of 10, the part in your brain with which you learn languages is super active, after that it declines somewhat. After age 15, it is just as 'difficult' to learn a new language as for an adult. Am super proud that so many parents and children are made happy by Jungle the Bungle and that we can contribute to the positive development of young children.