bilingual kidlettes?

MelissaMiso

Kids are such knowledge sponges, so I was wondering...

Anyone have a bilingual family? Does the kidlette use one language more than the other? Anyone considering (or already started) learning a second language/teaching LO at the same time?

Hubby and I are both native English speakers, neither or us remember or use our high school second languages (Spanish for me and French for hubby), however I was an interpreter for the deaf for many years so I am teaching Sophia sign language and she loves it. For the most part I have been speaking and signing concurrently but as she is grasping language a grammar more, I am going to start signing ASL with her without voice. So fun to watch her learn.

MelissaMiso

Sorry about the typos. I swear I have a grasp on English. Ha!

bellelamb

My kids are very slow to develop any lanugo like almost in need of early intervention but just miss it, SO extra lanuges aren't are best option but I love that you're teaching ALS! I wish I knew more

littleredfish

DD will be both english (DH) and french (me). She'll go to french immersion school as well. For now we're taking it really slow though because my brother spoke french only and had his wife speak english only with my niece and she has a hard time separating the 2 languages in her head and her sentences are often a confusing mush of the 2 (and she's nearly 3 already). They've been taking it slower with my nephew and he's often easier to understand than she is and he's only 2yo.

For now she knows her numbers to 10, basic body parts and can recite some animal sounds if I say the animal in french, and seems to prefer saying chapeau to hat lol. We don't have general conversation in french yet.

najzomax

MelissaMiso, I am trying to teach DD ASL while learning it myself. I have a book but I'm having a hard time learning then without video. Do you have any resources you can recommend? I have an iPad so I've tried looking for an app but there are too many to know which ones are good. I don't mind spending a little bit but I want to make sure it's worth it.

MelissaMiso

Najzomax If you want to learn ASL grammar, get a copy of the "A Basic Course in American Sign Language" (book)  I know there is an App that some of my friends have used that is good, I will have to find out which one. On YouTube you can find tons of videos. A great kids show (someone had also mentioned in another thread) is called Signing Times.

Zoeygirl if LO is communicating, regardless of the language, they aren't behind. The spoken words will flourish. I had a friend years ago who married a Deaf man and their kid was hearing. The son preferred signing to speaking, too. But as he got older, he spoke more than signed (except with his father of course). I cracked up with LO taking "no" seriously only if you sign it. That's so funny.

GromMom

Lo does baby sign and watches lessons in Mandarin. I try to speak it as much as possible but my vocabulary is small since I don't really speak much more than is on his videos. We are learning together. So far I think the only thing he says in Chinese is cat. He signs a lot though, sometimes I don't even know what he is signing until I watch a video with him and have that aha moment.