Multilingual training

nicklesb · October 2016

I'm a FTM and I speak 4 languages, hoping to teach my kid 3 of them. I wanted to know if anyone had any good resources on raising multilingual kids? I'm on a Facebook group for this and found one decent book, but I'd like to read up on different teaching theories.

mrsyimster · October 2016

Oh yes i speak 4 languages as well. I have no idea which one to speak to them once they get here......

nicklesb · October 2016

@mrsymister I'm thinking of not teaching French as a 4th because Spanish is so close to it, it'd be easy to pick up later?

Here's a few books I found that were recommended: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692587713/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=218PN32YS2FBW&coliid=I2TRHMGIWA5ZQK

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692587713/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=218PN32YS2FBW&coliid=I2TRHMGIWA5ZQK

Spartanrd4 · October 2016

DH speaks German and Russian but we decided he will speak primarily German to the baby immediately from birth. We think it's important she speak another language, especially so she can communicate with my ILs who don't speak English and it will help me to learn too I hope!

direwolfmini · October 2016

@Spartanrd4 same for me, except Polish. I'm really hoping to learn more Polish as they get bigger!

mrsyimster · October 2016

nicklesb said:

@mrsymister I'm thinking of not teaching French as a 4th because Spanish is so close to it, it'd be easy to pick up later?

Here's a few books I found that were recommended: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692587713/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=218PN32YS2FBW&coliid=I2TRHMGIWA5ZQK

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692587713/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=218PN32YS2FBW&coliid=I2TRHMGIWA5ZQK

those are the same book? i added it to my amazon list.

sunshine507 · October 2016

My in laws have one parent speak English to the kids and the other speak only his native language to them. No idea if it's based in research but the kids have been bilingual since they could talk.

nicklesb · October 2016

@mrsymister Sorry, here's the other one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1783091142/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=218PN32YS2FBW&coliid=I1EEB3RTMJSW2B

bubbybear15 · October 2016

sunshine507 said:

My in laws have one parent speak English to the kids and the other speak only his native language to them. No idea if it's based in research but the kids have been bilingual since they could talk.

This. I speak French, and my husband speaks English. I've been reading up on how to raise a bilingual child, and the rule of thumb (from what I've read) is to have one parent speak to the child exclusively in one language.

Also, note that bilingual children sometimes hit speech milestones a little later than their monolingual peers. Don't let this deter or scare you, though, when it happens. They just have more to process and one day will launch into both!

I registered for a bunch of French children's books on my Amazon registry, and funny enough, they're the first things people bought. I also bought a French children's nursery rhyme CD to play in the car, at home, etc. Anyone else have other methods they're planning on using?

bubbybear15 · October 2016

nicklesb said:

I'm a FTM and I speak 4 languages, hoping to teach my kid 3 of them. I wanted to know if anyone had any good resources on raising multilingual kids? I'm on a Facebook group for this and found one decent book, but I'd like to read up on different teaching theories.

Here are some blogs I visit to learn about raising multilingual kids. It's French focused, but a lot of them have additional resources regarding raising a bilingual family in general.

https://www.multilingualliving.com/2011/02/09/family-friends-francais-introduction/

https://www.bonjourmama.com/

https://babybilingual.blogspot.com/

https://non-nativebilingualadventure.blogspot.com/

nicklesb · October 2016

Merci pour les links chère @bubbybear15 !

nicklesb · October 2016

I found this video of a little Russian girl speaking in 5-6 different languages with amazing accents: https://www.facebook.com/Chofimafi/videos/vb.278032192246499/1104140462968997/?type=2&theater

peony2418 · October 2016

you ladies are SMART. I'm so impressed (and jealous) with everyone who speaks multiple languages!

mtmama2 · October 2016

I was just going to say the same thing! I thought learning one other language was impressive but being fluent in 4 languages? Damn!

RunBooRun · October 2016

bubbybear15 said:

sunshine507 said:

My in laws have one parent speak English to the kids and the other speak only his native language to them. No idea if it's based in research but the kids have been bilingual since they could talk.

This. I speak French, and my husband speaks English. I've been reading up on how to raise a bilingual child, and the rule of thumb (from what I've read) is to have one parent speak to the child exclusively in one language.

Also, note that bilingual children sometimes hit speech milestones a little later than their monolingual peers. Don't let this deter or scare you, though, when it happens. They just have more to process and one day will launch into both!

I registered for a bunch of French children's books on my Amazon registry, and funny enough, they're the first things people bought. I also bought a French children's nursery rhyme CD to play in the car, at home, etc. Anyone else have other methods they're planning on using?

My niece's dad is Mexican and has been speaking a mix of spanish and english to her since birth. We have noticed that she is less verbal than others her age, but I think it will be worth it in the long run. It probably would be better if he only spoke Spanish though.

M&Max · October 2016

**Lurker from April** With DS we wanted to teach him more than one language since DH speaks 4 languages fluently. From what we read/were told, we each only speak one language to him all the time. I only ever speak English and DH only speaks Spanish. In addition, my family only speaks English to him and DH's family only speaks Spanish to DS. The biggest thing that our pediatrician stressed was to be consistent in what you do. A lot of speech issues come from confusion and the child doesn't understand how to process what is being told to them. The theory being that consistency will help minimize the confusion.

I think it was crucial that we taught baby sign language (just the basics) as well so it helped to resolve some of his frustration before he was truly talking. DS also has been at a daycare that has involved Spanish very early on and one of his teachers speaks fluently to him. The more they can hear each language the better!

Good luck with it though! It's been amazing to see in DS how much he really knows in both languages at age 2. On the bright side, I'm slowly (very slowly...) learning spanish as well.

**Back to lurking**

lilies5/28/06 · October 2016

bubbybear15 said:

sunshine507 said:

My in laws have one parent speak English to the kids and the other speak only his native language to them. No idea if it's based in research but the kids have been bilingual since they could talk.

This. I speak French, and my husband speaks English. I've been reading up on how to raise a bilingual child, and the rule of thumb (from what I've read) is to have one parent speak to the child exclusively in one language.

Also, note that bilingual children sometimes hit speech milestones a little later than their monolingual peers. Don't let this deter or scare you, though, when it happens. They just have more to process and one day will launch into both!

I registered for a bunch of French children's books on my Amazon registry, and funny enough, they're the first things people bought. I also bought a French children's nursery rhyme CD to play in the car, at home, etc. Anyone else have other methods they're planning on using?

@bubbybear15 for this tidbit, along with everyone else
I'm PuertoRican my hubby is American and with my first two I started speaking Spanish with them but found it hard to keep up since my parents at the time who are fluent in both english and Spanish weren't around as much so I got tired of being the only one speaking Spanish and then also got scared when my oldest was delayed in his speech and just stopped.
i know that this is entirely my fault and I got lazy I will say I didn't do my research and didn't know that it's best to have one parent speak one language and the other speak the second . I will try to incorporate this with all the kids now especially my the baby. Granted my mother lives with me now so she is only speaking to the kids in Spanish so that helps.

MamaD233 · October 2016

Thanks for this discussion. Where I live, almost everyone speaks 3 or 4 local languages plus English. I am struggling to pick up the one that is dominant in our part of the country.

So I am really curious to watch my baby navigate language, hearing so much diverse vocabulary. I think the idea of each of us speaking only our mother tongues to the LO is good, although I was kind of hoping to learn along with the baby lol.

I have a friend who put her kids in Chinese immersion school and she commented on the awkwardness of your kids being able to communicate in a language you can't understand. I'd like to avoid that lol but its probably inevitable.

sunshine507 · October 2016

MamaD233 said:
I have a friend who put her kids in Chinese immersion school and she commented on the awkwardness of your kids being able to communicate in a language you can't understand. I'd like to avoid that lol but its probably inevitable.

Yep, heard this is no fun but if you make an effort you can pick up vocabulary along with the kids to at least have a baseline of what they're saying.

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