Post by karinothing on Nov 15, 2012 8:21:00 GMT -5
At what age would you start? There is a company that has parent/toddler class from 1-3 out here and then kid specific classes after age 3. I was thinking of signing DS up for Spanish. DH speaks spanish, but it isn't his first language and doesn't really seem comfortable speaking it enough for DS.
I Think it could be a fun activity for us, plus I would learn something too (hopefully!) but am I crazy to have my kid in language classes at age 1?
If you think it would be a fun activity for the two of you, go for it!
My husband is fluent in German and speaks it around the kids. My 2 year old will answer her dad in German and me in English, it's amazing how much their little brains soak up! We're thinking of starting language classes next year when she's three.
our preschool does spanish and our nannies speak spanish to the kids. The mandarin teacher starts at 4. Mandarin is slow going they've been taking lessons for 3 years now and know a lot but I doubt they could have even a simple conversation.
our preschool does spanish and our nannies speak spanish to the kids. The mandarin teacher starts at 4. Mandarin is slow going they've been taking lessons for 3 years now and know a lot but I doubt they could have even a simple conversation.
Yeah, this place offers Mandarin too, but I figure with Spanish at least DS could practice with DH at home. Well, whenever he starts to talk anyway.
With language an early start makes the learning easier. I'd definitely sign up, have fun!
Ds will be starting in a French daycare when I go back to work. He's already in a bilingual environment at home, but the more French exposure the better.
We just started with DS at 2 and a quarter based on our neighbor's recommendation. I wonder if you're looking at the same place.
It's a lot of fun. But DS really didn't say much until 20 months apart from momma and dadda, so I'm happy that he started at this age when he is repeating everything we say.
We're doing French. I speak French (I used to be mostly fluent not so much anymore) and DH is interested in learning. We go together and it's been great since we both know the songs. We like to sing them at home and I find DS repeats a lot more french words at home than in class.
We just started with DS at 2 and a quarter based on our neighbor's recommendation. I wonder if you're looking at the same place.
It's a lot of fun. But DS really didn't say much until 20 months apart from momma and dadda, so I'm happy that he started at this age when he is repeating everything we say.
We're doing French. I speak French (I used to be mostly fluent not so much anymore) and DH is interested in learning. We go together and it's been great since we both know the songs. We like to sing them at home and I find DS repeats a lot more french words at home than in class.
I am betting we are looking at the same place. I am going to send you a quick PM. I am interested in cost, but it doesn't say the cost on their website.
DS isn't speaking yet so obviously he wouldn't be repeating words, but I think it will encourage DH to speak to him in Spanish more.
Post by dragonfly08 on Nov 15, 2012 9:53:20 GMT -5
I don't think there's a right answer to this. I'd guess a lot has to do with your motivation and your kid.
DD #2 took a Spanish class at preschool, so she was 4. It was fun but none of it stuck other than singing some of the cute songs. She has no idea now (she's 6) what they mean, though.
My nephew was raised with the hope that he'd be bilingual (English and Greek). As an infant/toddler, my ILs spoke nothing but Greek with him and his mom used a lot of it at home, too. They believe (but, I admit, have no solid proof) that it contributed to developmental delays in language. He was well behind his peers and didn't use more than a handful of words until he was three. But they weren't doing it "for fun" at all, it wasn't music and games and I'm thinking there was extra pressure. If you kept it light and just added it into your every day life, it would probably be a lot more successful.
I do know that my 4th grader just started Spanish as part of a new integrated program at her school, and while she's doing fine it is a struggle. Being at least somewhat familiar with the language prior to this point would absolutely have helped.
Post by karinothing on Nov 15, 2012 9:57:15 GMT -5
dragonfly - I think studies have been done that show that bilingual kids take a bit longer to start speaking in both languages. I am not sure if it is considered developmental delays though.
dragonfly - I think studies have been done that show that bilingual kids take a bit longer to start speaking in both languages. I am not sure if it is considered developmental delays though.
Some interseting points though.
Yup, it's quite common for them to speak later than their peers, and to mix up the languages for quite some time. Consistency is key as far as who speaks what language, when and how often.
They normally catch up by school age though and (if academically inclined) often surpass their peers in language skills.
Post by Shreddingbetty on Nov 15, 2012 10:31:52 GMT -5
DD is 2.5 and we started French Music Lingua classes at 2. Unfortunately where I live there is zero interest in French. Most of the high schools don't even offer it. There is a lady here that teaches both French and Spanish Music Lingua but she has not had any takers for the French class (other than myself). So we drive an hour each way out of town.DD likes the classes even though she won't really answer questions while in class (she is very shy). She loves the music though and at home will sing a lot of the songs.
I speak a fair amount of French (although lost a lot of it after living in the Us for 20 years) and my accent is pretty good. I have been exposing DD to French since she was little. Initially just with music (we play French kids music any time we are in the car) then we added books. We read a lot of French books. She has picked up quite a bit and unspderstands a lot and will even say a fair number of things. We just got back from Europe and my French aunt and uncle were impressed with what she knew. It is sort of funny be ause she will mix French and English together. She knows when people don't understand French. She was telling me she was "couping" something but when someone else asked her 2 minutes later what she was doing she said "I'm cutting something".
They are little sponges at this age so why not take advantage of it. Unfortunately I'm not fluent enough to make my DD fluent (although I've really started working on my French as well) but I figure any exposure will help her and if she continues to be interested in French she will have a head start when she can actually study it. We just throw in a lot of Fench throughout the day and she loves her books.
As far as the language delay. I think sometimes a true language delay is masked when someone is exposed to two languages and it gets blamed on the second language. My DD happens to very verbal and is ahead of most of her classmates. She also knows a fair amount of French. My friend is Peruvian and her kid is exposed to both Spanish and English (and is a month older than DD). She is also very verbal in both languages. I think sometimes kids maybe express themselves a little later in the minority language and they mix languages a bit but they are still soaking up the language. It has been proven that being exposed to multiple languages does not cause a true language delay. This links aren't scientific but it has some good articles and references: www.multilingualliving.com/2010/05/31/does-bilingualism-multilingualism-cause-language-delay/#comment-132421 and www.multilingualchildren.org/
As far as Music Lingua, I pay $140 for 10 sessions. This includes a music cd, a little stuffed animal and a small story book with cd. It is cheaper than Kindermusic. DD liked Kindermusic too but I couldn't justify paying for both classes.
I tend to agree with sucredee regarding the developmental delay might just mask a language delay in general thoughts. Every child is so different. My DD is ridiculously verbal. Full sentences in both languages, knows her ABCs and dances around babbling pretty much all day. I have a running documentary of my day lol. But she didn't crawl till she was 11 months, and didn't walk till almost 15 months. Not out of the range of normal, but both kids have been a bit behind on gross motor skills. It all balances out.
Also, little ones don't learn language the way that an adult would. K doesn't think to herself, hmm lila is German for purple. She just knows that there are a few ways to describe something as that color. Just like someone might use lavender and someone else might use eggplant to describe the same thing speaking English.
My husband works for a German company, and one of his German coworker's wife is Peruvian and they've been living here for a few years. Their girls speak Spanish at home, English at school and German with their dad. It's amazing!
We're exposing our kids to as much as possible because it can't do anything but help later on. I think if there are play groups or classes available, why not?
The earlier, the better. At that age, just make sure the class is developmentally-appropriate. DD took a Spanish music class as a toddler. It was the same curriculum as other toddler music classes, but with traditional Spanish songs/nursery rhymes taught by native Spanish speakers. So, basically, she was doing the same fun stuff her peers were doing in English-language music classes. We had a mix of non-native speaking parents in the class and everyone seemed to have fun.
I'm not going to go into the second-language exposure stuff & delays some people have touched on because I am no expert. All I can say is that I know many, many people who were raised bilingual to no detriment and that I've never met an adult who regrets having been exposed to a second or even a third language as a child. I also have a couple of friends who have done academic work on bilingualism and join me in being incensed whenever a stranger has commented to me that I should focus on one language only with DD.
DD was fully bilingual by the time she started pre-school at age 2.5 and had a relatively easy time adding a third language when we moved to France at age 3.5. After just ten months here, she is fairly fluent in French already and regardless of whether she remembers it or not as an adult, I think being trilingual gives her a very interesting way of looking at the world and expressing herself that will likely last for a long time.
Post by karinothing on Nov 15, 2012 14:59:07 GMT -5
Anna - that is really cool that your daughter picks up language so quickly. I really want DS to be bilingual not only becuase it will help him in the world but becuase I think it is an important part of his hertitage. We are going to a free class the first weekend of Dec to check things out.
It seems like the class is play based (songs/games in spanish) and it gets such amazing reviews.
dragonfly - I think studies have been done that show that bilingual kids take a bit longer to start speaking in both languages. I am not sure if it is considered developmental delays though.
Some interseting points though.
I do think, though, that it went beyond any "expected" delays from being exposed to both languages. His mom (my SIL) is a nurse and is pretty up on this stuff, yet was concerned enough that she was thinking of having him assessed when he finally started talking. He wasn't mixing up the languages...he wasn't talking at all, in either of them.
He's 13 now and, unfortunately, never did become bilingual. He knows more than his fair share of Greek but I'm pretty sure he can't converse in the language. But his English is solid! :-)