Language and Learning
Uploaded by tvoparents on Jan 27, 2010
How many languages can a child learn at once? Is there a ‘window’ of opportunity, or can they learn multiple languages at any time? And what are the cognitive benefits of learning more than one language? We speak with research psychologists and a language teacher about how kids acquire second, third or fourth languages and how it helps.
That was very interesting. I get frustrated with friends in North America, who hesitate to put their child in Gov funded French immersion because “they aren’t ready”… they are 5/6.
So I’m curious to know which languages folks on this forum are teaching their child & why.
This is what we are doing;
English - native language for my husband & I
Spanish - we live in a Spanish country
Kuna - indigenous spoken language (I’m learning it to be able to communicate better with my patients, my son is in on the lessons too. He gets a bit more than me though since he’s a novelty & the old ladies like him )
+British Sign Language
This is what I hope to do:
French - it took me a while but I’ve gathered materials to get going in earnest after he turns 2 (next wk!). Why? Well I did French in High School, it doesn’t seem as daunting, my son is part Canadian, it just seems to be the next easiest/ logical choice to introduce. There is a gorgeous Alianza Francesa building about 90 mins away where we could take advantage of their courses etc when he’s older.
Am I disadvantaging my child by not exposing him to an Asian language, specifically, Mandarin? The way the global economy is going, it might be in every child’s best interest although I did read recently that English isn’t going anywhere fast. But I would be totally lost I think, I would be able to provide the materials but it would be mostly self directed on his part:-) Also, time - I don’t think I could fit much else in with him. He’s only 2 & he sleeps 12 hrs at night & has a 2 hr nap during the day (the heat :wub: )… so I only have 10 hours to work with! lol
The second language has been an internal debate for me. Right now we just focus on American and Australian English. James has speech delays and it was pertinent to get him to talk
We did do ASL for a long time but have dropped it as his speech developed.
When he was younger I was thinking about introducing Spanish or Japenese. Spanish is a very common alternative langauge in many parts of the US, and I studied 8 years of Japanese. So it would be nice to pick it back up again. I debated about Chinese because it seems to be a language of the future.
In the end I have decided that in a year or 2 we are just going to do Latin and go from there. I think Latin helps with English and is a gateway to the Romance languages. I honestly wasted 8 years of education on a language that I may never use, and I have not used in 12 years. I just want to make sure James learns something that will be beneficial in the future. He is learning so much now.
While I know there will be plenty of opportunity to use Spanish, I have often debated the purpose of teaching Chinese here in America. Here is why I did eventually commit to it: to bridge the gap of understanding. There is such a negative attitude towards China being developed out there by the government lately (presidential debates) that I fear a xenophobic attitude might develop towards all Asians here in America. (Considering the repeating history of xenophobia in America, I don’t think my fears are unfounded). I don’t want my children to be suffer from this so I choose to expose them to the language as our relationship to China and Chinese people is very important to the harmony of society here and in the rest of the world. The best way to bridge a gap in understanding between two cultures is learning the language and culture. I think it also offers a hand of friendship between people to respect another enough to learn their language and culture.
I choose Spanish for much of the same reasons. Our relationship to the Hispanic culture is very important as well. Harmony and respect for others is ultimately the reason I believe learning a language is important. It is ultimately why it makes a person have a competitive advantage over another in the employers’ eyes. They can bridge the gap in understanding which allows them to collaborate better than others.
We are doing English (my native/our local language) and Russian (his father’s native language) and dabbling in Chinese with a smattering of Japanese. I have focused most of our non-dvd language time on Russian, since I am the only Russian speaker that he has daily contact with (he speaks with his dad on Skype for about an hour a week) and it is my second language so I have to really try to remember to use it!
We started Chinese because we watched a Little Pim trial episode in Chinese and my son fell in love. I acknowledge that Mandarin is the next big thing for languages, but I was a little daunted by the reading aspect so wasn’t seriously considering it until my son became obsessed! We have LR Chinese, which we use semi-regularly and the Wink to Learn/Little Pim Chinese DVDs and watch them whenever my son chooses (which is often multiple times daily for a week and not again for a month or two). I am considering entering him into the local Chinese Saturday school class when he’s 5 (they don’t do preschool lessons) for a weekly lesson.
We have very limited Japanese resources - I wanted to do Japanese because I want to learn :wub: but just couldn’t find the toddler-friendly resources so it is just a few youtube episodes that he demands occasionally. We might pick it up properly in a few years when he’s able to use the ‘kids’ textbooks. I have also told him that he can watch pokemon (bad-influence uncle >:( ) as much as he likes if it is in Japanese
I am definitely planning to add Latin - I really think it is important for understanding the apparently pointless aspects of English grammar (split infinitives, for example) which are rules taken from Latin and applied to English, as well as being a great foundation for the Romance languages (as Koralle4kq mentioned).
My so has (so far) inherited my love of languages, and I expect we will at least dabble in several others eventually :laugh:
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