Kids with Two Languages

[magicvw]

Your little girl is doing really well Curiosa! Yep, Poppy's behaviour has also improved tonnes since the op. We moved house just over a week ago, and we haven't even had to pick a spot for time-outs yet, whereas previously she was in there most days!

 

[curiosa]

great to hear Poppy's behaviour is also improving!
How is little Eddie doing? Can you see a difference in the development of his language compared to Poppy's, due to her hearing problem? I guess it might be a bit early to see a difference, as kids also develop at different times, but I cna imgine it will be interesting for you to spot the differences.

wtt - good on you!
I always think it's great if parents can teach their children languages, but kids can also learn languages from school and the outside world. So we just do the best we can - and two languages is already a great start in life compared to most kids!

 

[wtt :)]

wtt - good on you!
I always think it's great if parents can teach their children languages, but kids can also learn languages from school and the outside world. So we just do the best we can - and two languages is already a great start in life compared to most kids!

That is true. Especially here in the USA, many kids grow up with English only, even if the parents speak more than one language! It's such a pity. I grew up bilingually and absolutely love it!

 

[curiosa]

An interesting article on the BBC website about bilingualism/multilingualism (and audiointerview)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11534481

 

[wtt :)]

An interesting article on the BBC website about bilingualism/multilingualism (and audiointerview)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11534481

wow thanks for sharing! Very interesting and fascinating that this guy knows 12 languages! I'm struggling to keep up my third one LOL

 

[kim051]

Hi everyone, I'm doing my best to bring my son up to be bilingual! I'm french and english and fluent in both languages but only became fluent in english when i was 18/19 and using it everyday as we moved to ebgland and french was spoken at home.
my db is english and we live in england so I speak french to my ds as much as possible!Fingers crossed it will be enouh....

 

[magicvw]

Hey ladies - thought you might be interested in this vid just posted on TED:

https://www.ted.com/talks/patricia_kuhl_the_linguistic_genius_of_babies.html

 

[wtt :)]

thanks for sharing! I already knew a lot of what the lady said but i enjoyed watching the learning babies

 

[magicvw]

Yeah me too!

 

[curiosa]

very interesting link, thanx

 

[PetiteMoi]

Hi everyone

Can I join here? I'm Swedish and my DH is English and we live in England (although planning on moving to Sweden within 1-2 years). Our little daughter is 6.5 months old. I'm trying to speak to her in Swedish as much as possible but when we're around other people I speak English to her. Do you think that will confuse her, as I've read that each parent should only speak their native language with the baby?

I've started to teach her words for different things, for example when I give her food I ask her if she wants 'more' (in Swedish) and when she grabs hold of a toy I tell her what it is in Swedish. Since I'm the one who spends most time with her (on maternity leave still) should I be teaching her the English words for things as well, or should I still leave that to her dad and grandparents?? They don't see her as much as I do though. When I feed her I try to vary the word for 'more' in English and Swedish but that might just confuse her!?

Thankful for advice

 

[curiosa]

PetiteMoi, welcome! I think you're doing a great job. I think if you keep speaking Swedish to her at home as much as you can, that is the best policy. It is normal that you speak to her in English around other people - it is kind of rude to speak a foreign language right in front of other people (unless you're with friends who are ok with it), and it won't be confusing for your daughter. She will learn that English is spoken outside the home. She will learn English from the outside world and your husband/grandparents. It doens't matter that she sees them less.

I will tell you what I've been doing. I am Italian/Japanese and I live in the UK with an Italian husband. My mother is Japanese but it is not my best language, but I'm the only one she can learn it from. I have been trying to speak Japanese to my daughter as much as I can -but I also speak both Italian and English to her in the home, dependingonthe situation (like if husband is there, we speak Italian/English). It is a right mix of languages. My husband has been trying to speak mostly Italian to her, although he also uses English in some situations. Alice sees a childminder 3 times a week (since she was around 7/8 months old), and there she is exposed to English from the childminder and her friends.
She started to speak at the normal age, and was already using over 50 words by 15 months - over half of those words were in English while she used some words in the other two languages. Now, at just under 20 months I cannot even count the number of words she uses. She can say plenty of words in all three languages and it is quite clear she understands them all and can speak them all if need be (with a preference for English, which she is exposed to most). She can make 2/3 word sentences and does not seem in the least bit confused as to which words belong to which language. She might mix languages, but that doesn't mean she is confused.

I hope this help. Children have an incredible ability to learn and they understand and know much more than we realise!

 

[PetiteMoi]

Ah thanks curiosa!! It's interesting to hear about your situation with three languages and well done for teaching your little girl all three of them! What a gift that is for her. It sounds reassuring that you think we're doing the right thing. I just need to make an effort to speak Swedish to her more - when hubby is home I tend to switch to English although that might be ok too judging by what you've been doing. Your daughter sounds so clever, well done

 

[qpaulina42]

thought I might join in. we are raising Alisa trilingual and following the one parent one language method. I speak only Russian to her, husband only Portuguese and we speak English to each other. She is only 3 months old now so wish us luck!

 

[wtt :)]

thought I might join in. we are raising Alisa trilingual and following the one parent one language method. I speak only Russian to her, husband only Portuguese and we speak English to each other. She is only 3 months old now so wish us luck!

Good luck! DH will be speaking English and i will be speaking only German with our son. We will see how that goes i am determined to teach him German as it's such a hard language to learn later on in life!

 

[Amygdala]

Ooh wwt, not long to go now! We're doing the same with our little one, DH speaks English, I speak German. She's only two months so obviously I don't know yet how well it's working. It's harder than I thought though, as I tend to slip into English when there are other English speakers around. I'm working on it though and am hoping to get myself sorted before I confuse her too much.

Mummies who are speaking a secondary language (not the one native to your location): Do you have contacts who share your language locally, like an expat playgroup or something? I'm lucky in that my sister lives close but am still looking to meet some other German speaking mums and babies around here.

Paulina, welcome and good luck! You're doing an awesome thing for your LO! Is English the local language too? Love your avatar btw!

 

[wtt :)]

Ooh wwt, not long to go now! We're doing the same with our little one, DH speaks English, I speak German. She's only two months so obviously I don't know yet how well it's working. It's harder than I thought though, as I tend to slip into English when there are other English speakers around. I'm working on it though and am hoping to get myself sorted before I confuse her too much.

Mummies who are speaking a secondary language (not the one native to your location): Do you have contacts who share your language locally, like an expat playgroup or something? I'm lucky in that my sister lives close but am still looking to meet some other German speaking mums and babies around here.

i know! We're so excited!! i already try to speak German with my bump DH is also trying to learn German as we don't plan to stay in the USA forever I'm sure i will slip up once in a while too since everyone around here speaks English. I do have a couple German speaking friends though and am part of a German group in the area. I guess once our son is born i should attend more often again.

I am sure you can find some type of group of German speakers in your area Google should help

 

[wtt :)]

Also, my mom recorded herself telling stories in German and is sending us the books so we will burn the stories onto a DVD and our son will be able to watch them here. I think it's such a cute idea! That way he not only gets to know his grandma's voice but also some German

 

[qpaulina42]

Ich liebe Deutsch! Eine wunderbare Sprache! Hab ich das richtig gesagt? Ich habe schon alles vergessen.

Es gibt ein Paar Russische Leute here (spelling?) aber meine Familie wohnt sehr weit (far?) von uns. Aber wir haben Skype.

 

[wtt :)]

sehr gut! Alles richtig! spelling of "here" = hier