Dr. Marsha,
Here is the question: Are we really going to be able to teach our children 3 languages? Is the attempt worth it? BECAUSE NONE OF US ARE NATIVE HERE AND SO IT'S A BIT CHALLENGING!!!
This is what Dan and I have recently tried to do.
-When Dan is away at work, I speak SPANISH to Elena
-When Dan is home from work, WE speak RUSSIAN to Elena and eachother
-When Elena is asleep Dan and I take a break.
-and by experience, on the weekends we give up...
ARE WE NUTS? Are we going to mess up Elena's development because we are trying to teach Elena languages that we are not native in?
To be honest, I would prefer to do ONE LANGUAGE, just because I think I'd give up too easily if I had to do two. So I'm asking your opinion. Which one?
On the one hand, it would seem like Russian is the way to go because Dan and I both speak it.
On the other hand, it would seem like Spanish is the way to go because there are more Spanish speaking opportunities than Russian speaking opportunites in America.
OR... should I just discipline myself and do both?
What do you think?
--Sleepless in Seattle ;)
13 comments:
all of the above. but you need to stop doing it all on your own. go get some cartoons in Russian and Spanish and just let her watch it. I learned two languages easily ... minus the time I almost had to go to ESL because my English sucked(second language) but still worth it!
I want our kids to speak Spanish too, but I had an experience in nursery that made me re-think doing it at an early age. Two of the kids in my class were bilingual, each of them had about 1/2 English and 1/2 Spanish spoken to them. Both of them struggled to fit in with the other kids in nursery and had a hard time. They were behind a little in English, spoke to each other i a mix of the languages, and both ended up getting frustrated VERY easily and having disciplinary issues (and this is all ages 2-4!). So I decided not to push Spanish, except in small doses, on our kids until they are a little older. Maybe after they read/write/speak English well then they can master another. But it's up to you how you do it with your kids!
I have friend growing up listening 2 languages at home(Father spoke to her only German and Mother spoke to her only English.
Also she thought that, every American home speaks bi-language(German and English just like her home).
Now she laughs saying Oh, Well!
at least now I speak two languages!
All three. The language portion of the brain is only one area. So you are helping it develop more completely. It also keeps your language skills up. This will help her to develop other skills easier later on - like music, or dance. Anything to stimulate the brain is good!
Good luck! You guys are awesome! :)
ТОЛЬКО русский! Зачем вашим детям английский и испанский? Мой выбор - русский. :Р
Если серьезно, до 3 лет у детей в голове закладывается база языка, грамматика. Поэтому мне кажется, что до 3 лет лучше говорить на родном языке, а потом начинать изучать другие, иначе ребенок будет путать языки.
Genny, as a special ed and ESL/ELL certified teacher, I believe that children who are living in a country where the dominant language is different from their first language (or their parent's first/native language), should be taught to speak, read and write in their first language, if possible, and their playground/ social language as well as their school /academic ( reading and writing)language experiences will be more easily acquired. The dominant language (in this case, English, their second language) will come much faster for them as a result of this foundation for language acquisition that is set up in their brains. I'm not sure that I would attempt to teach Elena three languages. Sometimes, when kids get too much, they don't really get any, and they end up without the ability to really acquire language. That basic foundation of one language, often times determines a lot of a child's ability to acquire academic language ( school speaking vocabulary, reading and writing). Whether you are aware of it or not, Elena has already got a huge receptive vocabulary of English and is building an expressive vocabulary, or approximations of language, in English. If you and Dan naturally share some Russian on occasion, at the dinner table, or you use Spanish with friends or in conversations, or try to catch a Spanish language radio station or TV show once in a while, or Russian for that matter, I think that is fine for her to hear and be interested in and aware of. It's wonderful if you enjoy it and let her know that you love speaking and understanding a different language and culture. Have those cultural experiences that are available to you and share them with her. ( My father always sang Silent Night in German that he learned in the war and it always sounded beautful to me and encouraged me to learn languages. The libraries and book stores have a lot of Spanish and English/ versions of children's books (Dora, etc) and that might not be a bad idea. But personally, I would make it an enriching experience, not a survival experience. Think long and hard.
One more thing. When I was in second grade, my teacher asked our parents if they wanted us to have an experience with Spanish ( this was in Utah). My parents were thrilled and so was I. I loved it. We just learned a few words- how to count, say hello, good morning, mother, father, baby, etc. We said the words, wrote them in a little notebook ( I still have it) and read them, and we sang a little. Then we moved to California in sixth grade. We had Spanish in class. I learned a lot more and it came easily to me. I loved it. I had it in 7th and 8th grade too then switched to French. When I visited France, 25 years later, it came back to me- and the understanding of pronunciation of Spanish helped me see the connections between the two languages. I understand Spanish and speak it in a rudimentary way, too.
I'm with Mindy, wait a little- then go for it!
Well, speaking from my own experience, it's a tough enough call to try to raise your child bilingual, let alone adding another language to the mix. My son is now over 3 years old and I've been speaking mostly Russian to him which is not too hard for me since i'm native. My husband speaks Russian to him on and off, and everyone else around us speaks only English to him. His language development is delayed, i'm not goning to lie, but the long term benifits are a lot greater and I know eventually he'll catch up. Although I see that he can understand both languages, it is almost always more natural for him to say more stuff back to me in English (it's an easier language with a very simple grammar structure comparing to Russian and kids tend to choose what's easiest). So, I wouldn't say he's "confused, " but rather a little slower in his speach overall and often mixes two laguages. So, I would recommend setting a realistic goal: like speaking Russian at home and only English when you go out...and sticking to it. Otherwise, it's easy to overload your own brain (I wouldn't worry about Elena's at this point) always trying to think - okay, it's 3 in the afternoon- remind me what language do i speak to my child now? And does she know it's 3 o'clock to be answering to you in Spanish :)?
I do feel a little queasy about three, especially because I am not native in them and those languages need some improvement. What if I spoke english to Elena during the day and at night when Dan comes home (for 2-3 hours?) spoke in Russian?
Now, that's a realistic goal :) Try that, and if it's too hard (you're more tired at night and it will be harder to speak in another non-native language), switch. Russian- during the day, and English at night! Good luck, it's quite an adventure!
All nice comments!
Ha,ha, Ask Elena first, which method is best!
People have differents opinions about it. They keep telling me to wait until my kids are at least four to introduce spanish to them. Connor understands a lot of it and when my mom comes he is a fluent spanish speaker after a week. Mia tries but only uses small words in spanish.
However we have friends from Japan that have two kids. They speask Japanish, English and Russian to their kids. He served his mission in Rusia. He said that it was a mess in the beggining and the kids were speaking the three languages at the same time and in the same sentences sometimes but one day it just click and by the time the oldest kid turned 5 he was fluent in all three languages. Japanese with mom, Rusian with dad and english in school and church.
In my opinion whatever works without being stressfull for you or Elena.
lol, forget my grammar, I was writing fast :0
Post a Comment