Multiple Languages with Young Children

[Mandy in TN]

For those of you doing multiple languages with a child prior to 3rd grade-
After the primary language spoken in the home what language did you teach and why? At what age did you begin this second language?
When did you add the third, fourth, ... language?
What materials do you use? Do you recommend this product? Why or why not?
Thanks-
Mandy

[stripe]

My kids are bilingual (parents' heritage language, one of which is English; we live in an English speaking environment), but their other language is not the most common here so their exposure is more difficult. I buy all the books I can, but it's really not enough. I think the trick is their NEEDING to use the language; otherwise it's a bit of a farce. So I think regular immersion in an environment where they must use the other language helps a lot, as well as constant exposure to boost their vocabulary (my husband's comments tend to be along the "sit down, eat your dinner, hold this, brush your teeth" variety that, dare I say, is a bit too sparse!). I am planning to introduce another language (for reading, but also spoken) in the next few years, before they are in 3rd grade level. One has expressed an interest in another language as well, just for fun; it is a language I studied but no longer remember much of. Not sure how I will work that in, but sounds fun!

I recommend the online magazine Multilingual Living; you can get a sample for free at their website: http://www.biculturalfamily.org/ -- if nothing else, it will inspire you and make you feel not alone. I have recently read the book Raising a Bilingual Child (Living Language Series) (http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Bilingual-Child-Living-Language/dp/1400023343/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230483642&sr=8-1) by Barbara Zurer Pearson and recommend it.

[lovelearnandlive]

We are just now adding Mandarin Chinese. My dd is 4.5. I decided to start it now because after doing some research I've learned that it is much easier for children to master correct pronunciation, accents, etc. when they are young. And Chinese is so different from English - they have some different consonant and vowel sounds that have to be learned, as well as the different tones, etc. so I figure the earlier she is exposed to these sounds the easier it will be for her to master them.

We decided on Mandarin first because dd2 is adopted from Taiwan, and second because Mandarin is widely spoken worldwide and seems to be growing in importance. Next we are planning on adding Latin; I am going to wait at least a year, maybe two before we introduce it. I chose Latin based on TWTM recommendations, and also because later we want to study Spanish and Italian. So studying Latin should give us a good base for these languages as well as help with English.

As for curriculum, I am just using flashcards right now but next month we will start using the Better Chinese curriculum, they have a nice curriculum for preschool and elementary aged kids. For Latin I haven't completely decided yet, but I'm leaning toward Song School Latin right now. I can't give either of these curricula a solid recommendation because I haven't used them yet :tongue_smilie: but I have heard good things about both.

[stripe]

So you're teaching a language you yourself don't know -- are you planning to have them speak with native speakers? How would one go about finding native speakers to speak with one's child, out of curiosity....as I may be in this situation myself. (By the way, I read your blog a while ago -- thanks for the review of Deconstructing Penguins!)

[Mandy in TN]

My dh is Persian. However, he is not a teacher. 6yo ds will begin Persian with RS as soon as it arrives. As soon as we can say something, we have a whole Persian community to speak with.:D

Mandy

[matroyshka]

Even though I am fluent in the two main languages I'm having my kids learn, I still made sure we had a community to speak with - the other poster saying the key is having to speak it is right on. Also, knowing that this is a real language that crazy mom didn't make up is really helpful (even though you can tell them there are whole countries out there that speak it, I think if kids don't hear it spoken by others they remain skeptical :tongue_smilie:).

When they were little I attended a large German playgroup a distance from us, and started a smaller one near us. When they were school age, I enrolled them in the Sat. school, where they have a large community of native speakers. They now have friends their own age they can speak with.

Spanish has been, ironically, a bit harder. They had small group class with a native tutor, but the other kids in the class were also English-speakers. But I still thought it was useful for them to have friends learning with them, so that eventually they could speak with each other. I do now have a friend who's raising her dc bilingual and started a Spanish playgroup similar to the German one I had, but her kids are much younger than mine. :( As they get older I'm hoping the age gap won't seem so big. Also, once they can start putting sentences together, I'm thinking of bringing my kids along to my evening Spanish conversation group.

They've just dabbled in Chinese, but if they ever get good enough to start speaking, they already have a ton of friends who speak Mandarin - in my dd's ballet school you're as likely to hear Mandarin in the hallway as English. That's the one I don't speak - but I'm secretly hoping I'll pick up a bunch along with them. I find Chinese fascinating.

[matroyshka]

My dh is Persian. However, he is not a teacher. 6yo ds will begin Persian with RS as soon as it arrives. As soon as we can say something, we have a whole Persian community to speak with.

Mandy, even though your dh isn't a teacher, have you thought about just having him speak only in Persian to your dd? This is a well-recognized method of raising a bilingual child - One Person, One Language (OPOL). He doesn't have to "teach" her to speak Persian any more than you had to teach her to speak English - a child that young will just pick it up if spoken to consistently, just like they do with their first language. If you have him read her stories or point to things in a picture dictionary or sing her children's songs or rhymes if he knows any, (just like you did when she was learning English) that would be tons more effective than any computer program would ever be.

[momof165]

Even though more than 5 languages are spoken fluently in our house, my ds 9 is only fluent in German as of right now. We have added Latin this summer and will add Spanish next year. The next language added will be Russian. I guess, that will keep him busy for a while! :D

Unfortunately, we don't have anyone close by who speaks German or Russian. Therefore, my son spends about 3 months each year in Europe, sometimes 6 months. He as attended a German kindergarten, as well as a German Montessori School during the summer/winter. It has helped him tremendously with his understanding and pronunciation. It's just better to hear it from more than one person!

The only two American foreign language programs used in our house right now are Song School Latin and La Clase Divertida. The rest is imported from Europe.:001_smile:

It is possible to teach a child more than one foreign language at a time, but it (at times) can be confusing for the little ones. But it is getting easier with time.

Sonja
_______________________________________
Homeschooling JUST ONE - ds 9

[Mandy in TN]

Mandy, even though your dh isn't a teacher, have you thought about just having him speak only in Persian to your dd? This is a well-recognized method of raising a bilingual child - One Person, One Language (OPOL). He doesn't have to "teach" her to speak Persian any more than you had to teach her to speak English - a child that young will just pick it up if spoken to consistently, just like they do with their first language. If you have him read her stories or point to things in a picture dictionary or sing her children's songs or rhymes if he knows any, (just like you did when she was learning English) that would be tons more effective than any computer program would ever be.

I've tried to convince dh to speak in Farsi, but he just says that it is too much trouble.:confused:

RS is the only Persian program that I have seen. We did the free trial the second week of Dec and now have it ordered. While we were doing the trial, dh would hang out and talk along and ad-lib with the program. He liked it enough to order it, so I have high hopes that we can do it at night and dh will participate.

Mandy

[lovelearnandlive]

So you're teaching a language you yourself don't know -- are you planning to have them speak with native speakers? How would one go about finding native speakers to speak with one's child, out of curiosity....as I may be in this situation myself. (By the way, I read your blog a while ago -- thanks for the review of Deconstructing Penguins!)

Oh, you're welcome! I feel awful because I haven't blogged anything lately. I don't know how people keep up with theirs over the holidays!

Anyway, about the language....I took a Mandarin class at a community school here in my area a couple years ago, so I at least know basic pronunciation and tonality and have some vocabulary to start with. There is also a Chinese school here that meets on Saturday mornings for a couple hours that I'll enroll the girls in. Dd4 is going to a "preschool" class there on Saturday mornings right now and the class is taught in Chinese. So far she's learned some songs, poems, and vocab for colors and numbers, and a Chinese dance. :001_smile: I've become friends with a few of the moms in the class and they have been helping me as well. It's a good community with some native speakers and some with no prior exposure to the language.

I'm hoping that the Saturday classes and an hour or two a week at home with me will be enough for them to pick things up. If not, I'll probably hire a tutor at some point. And I plan on continuing my studies as well, hopefully I can stay ahead of them a bit! Dd4 is picking things up awfully fast....

As far as finding native speakers, I would see if there are any classes in your community - at a jr. college or community center, or any types of language or culture clubs or associations, and go from there. What language are you interested in?

[stripe]

I've tried to convince dh to speak in Farsi, but he just says that it is too much trouble.:confused:
Yeah. I've heard that before! This is the trouble with one parent, one language -- it assumes that the child speaks to only one parent at a time, and that there are never any family conversations. Also, it's hard, I think, to have a father trying to teach a language without support because, in general, men just don't talk as much as we do! I told my husband -- you have to just talk constantly, non-stop, about everything! -- but I guess easy for me to say. We know a few other families whose parents speak the same language, but their kids only know English.

I would love for my kids to learn Chinese, but I think I have about two other languages to get to first, but it's definitely on the list!

[stripe]

Here's a neat website; it has digitized children's books in all sorts of languages, not just French and Spanish:

http://www.childrenslibrary.org/

[Mandy in TN]

Here's a neat website; it has digitized children's books in all sorts of languages, not just French and Spanish:

http://www.childrenslibrary.org/

Wow, what a cool resource! It went directly into my favorites.
Thanks-
Mandy