<p>When the older kids are learning languages, they do watch movies and cartoons. Finding something appropriate will be the trick.</p>
<p>The best book that I know of on this subject is “Growing up with two languages: A practical guide” by Una Cunningham-Andersson and Staffan Anderson</p>
<p>Lots of good practical advice for parents who are dealing with different living and language situations, including suggestions for dealing with teachers who aren’t ready for multilingual students.</p>
<p>The one-parent-one-language model is very effective. But as others have pointed out, once the child is in school in one or the other (or even a possibly third or fourth language), there will be a shift in the child’s use of each language, and in their relative fluency in each of the languages. The parents will need to continue to find ways to reinforce each of the languages, and to help develop literacy skills in each of the languages. Here in the DC metro area, lots of us have sent our kids to Saturday schools so that they can become literate in their other language(s).</p>
<p>Hello~</p>
<p>I am a new CC user, browsing around the forum topic when I saw this! I was super surprised! ^|^</p>
<p>I am multi-lingual myself and I hope I can help (somewhat, if any!) </p>
<p>I was born and raised in South Korea, so given–my native language is Korean. At a very very young age my parents exposed my brothers and sisters to different languages. My father and mother both speak Mandarin because of their jobs and they taught it to us as well. As funny as this may sound–they set up our days (they wrote it down on a chalkboard) and made us speak one day Korean, another Mandarin. When we began schooling, we could speak both Mandarin and Korean very well. In school we would speak Korean (obvious!) and at home we would speak Mandarin, it worked out very well! They would buy us manga (if you know what that is) in Mandarin and work on our kanji writing. </p>
<p>As we continued our education in Korea, we were also being taught elementary English (it is required in Korea now). I admit English was very difficult (it still is!) but our teachers put on cartoons in English, gave us different activities to do in English. </p>
<p>When I came to America six years ago, of course, I had to learn English (fluently!) At the same time, I became very interested in the Japanese culture! Many of my Korean friends back home were Japanese, and whenever they spoke to their parents, I wanted to understand! I bought many self-study books, and my friends helped out too! They would speak in Japanese to me whenever I was around, I am very fortunate for that! </p>
<p>Back in America, my parents continued the daily language concept, this time adding more English. They also were taking English classes in a nearby elementary school (for adults of course!) So we were all learning! In high school, they did not offer Japanese as I wished, so I took Spanish! Because I was also learning Japanese, Spanish was not as difficult as I thought it would be! They have almost similar sounds in their pronunciation so it was much easier to learn! I have a lot of Hispanic friends who speak Spanish to me, and I hope that when I start my schooling at UCLA this fall, I will meet more! </p>
<p>So…overall, I would have to say: exposure is key! Always, always switch it up. If my parents did not enforce the daily language rule in my house, I think I would be at lost with my Mandarin. Also, try to involve yourself in the different cultures! I have many Chinese friends who loveee speaking in their native tongue, so it is not difficult to find people who can expose you to the language. Same with Japanese, Spanish and Korean! </p>
<p>Best of luck! It is so nice that parents do so much for their children, especially such a life-long ability! </p>
<p>I am now learning Cantonese! Wish me luck! </p>
<p>Oh and I am sorry if my English is a bit (rough?) I am still practicing!</p>
<p>Julietkim, wow 5 languages! You’re going to ucla, congratulations.
Thanks a lot for your comments. It’s great to know of someone like you that has learned and still is learning new languages.
My dd gets 3 languages (spanish, mandarin, english) simultaneously as I do not speak mandarin and my H doesn’t speak Spanish. And we only speak to her in our own native languages. We do not speak english to our dd. But she hears a lot of english from us because my H and I need english to
communicate with each other. Yes it’s true. There are a lot of people who speak mandarin and Spanish. However, children default to English. I’ve been thinking that Im going to look for children who only speak mandarin or Spanish so my dd won’t revert to English. Of course it’s easy to say it, but so far I haven’t found any. I guess I need better strategies to find them :-)</p>
<p>Thank you for your comment! That means so much to me! ^^</p>
<p>My friends as well like to go back to English, but I politely tell them (as much as I need to get better with my English communication skills…) if we could continue speaking in ___ language. Or I just respond in that language, they get the message and continue on. Also, I watch a bunch of (as cheesy as this sounds) Mandarin dramas, listen to ALL different kinds of music. Music is music, and no matter what the language is, if you are attracted to the music, you will learn the lyric (at least that is what happens to me!) </p>
<p>Find ways to expose your DD to Mandarin and Spanish. These languages are very beneficial with today’s rising expectations on a foreign language. It will help her greatly when searching for a job, it has helped me in a lot of interviews for scholarships and such! Good luck to you, and thanks again! (:</p>
<p>Fresas -</p>
<p>It is hard to find children who only speak Mandarin or Spanish in the US, especially once they get to school where it is most likely that their classes will be in English. However there are two powerful tools for language learning called Grandma and Grandpa! If the “real” grandparents are too far away for frequent extended contact, look for substitute grandparents and/or aunts/uncles that your daughter can develop long-term relationships with. Everyone will benefit from the wider circle of “family”, and your daughter will have natural contexts in which she can use her non-English languages.</p>
<p>JulietKim, thanks for your feedback. I can see that you are a mature and highly motivated young lady. JulietKim do you mind explaining in more detail "These languages are very beneficial with today’s rising expectations on a foreign language. it has helped me in a lot of interviews for scholarships and such! "
I have a dd who is in college. She’s tri-lingual (English, Spanish, Frech) and will start learning a new language Italian. But according to our experience when dd was applying to college being tri-lingual did not give her any advantages in college admission.</p>
<p>happymomof1, you are completely right. Gradparents make all the difference. When my oldest dd was young, she spent many of her summer with her in my home country. But now, grandma is too old for my 5 year old. Grandma vitis as but it’s not as often.</p>
<p>I want to thank you all of you. I was really worry about how my dd will learn 4 languages. Now after reading all of your suggestions, writing about my worries, and thinking about my previous experience, I’m starting to feel a little bit more confident that we’ll be able to provide enough support for my dd to be multi-lingual.
We raised a fully bilingual kid already. However, two languages are much easier than four languages. When my oldest was a little kid, we used to sent her to my home country to stay with grandparents during summer vacations. Then, dd took French in HS. And, amazingly she learned the language. Dd is almost fluent. I think a french immersion summer program would do the trick for her.
Now, i’m trying to develop a system to provide enough exposure to 4 languages for my youngest. Again, thank you to all of you for your helpful comments. It helped to clear my mind, and I feel much better.</p>
<p>There are many summer language programs for when you daughter gets a little older.</p>
<p>MD Mom, you’re right immersion summer programs really are the best strategy to make the kids speak the target language.</p>
<p>After my little one spent a about 6 weeks in China, she’s finally speaking Mandarin : ) I’m really happy about it. Now, since she’ll be starting her 4 language Cantonese in an immersion school (K-8), I think I really need to help her to keep all the three languages that she already has.</p>
<p>So far her English and Spanish are great. She switches between the two easily. And her Spanish grammar is pretty sophisticated : ) Now, I need to help her to keep her spoken Mandarin. So I’m trying to think what would be the best approach. I wonder if someone could provide feedback about some of the options I’m thinking about</p>
<p>1) Mandarin classes - my only concern is that the children talk among themselves in English, so she won’t be practicing her spoken Mandarin much. The only practice she’ll have is with the instructor, but I wonder if that would be enough to keep her speaking skills?</p>
<p>2) I found a babysitter who is stay-at-home-Mom with a little girl who only speaks Mandarin and is 2 years younger than my dd. This Mom speaks very little English, which is great for my purpose. My dd could go after school to this Mom’s house and play with the little girl. It would be like an immersion play date. But, my H is not happy about this option because he feels uncomfortable having our dd go to someone else house. He feels more comfortable with the traditional after school activities. He thinks is safer and better for dd. Any feedback about this option?</p>
<p>3) Hire a private tutor for two days a week. I like this option because she’ll be practicing a lot. However, at her age, children learn more by playing not by instruction. It’s a good alternative. I think.</p>
<p>4) Train my H to speak only Mandarin to dd. I’ve been trying for the last 3 years with not great results. As soon as my dd responds in English, H switches to English and forgets to go back to Mandarin. If I hear this happening I tell him to speak Mandarin, but he gets upset at me. I’m very much tired of fighting about this with him.</p>
<p>This is a whole new experience for me. My oldest dd grew up bilingual and learned a 3rd language easily in high school. And, so far, I’ve learned that growing multi-lingual is a little more complicated. If someone has some advice, I’d love to hear it. Thank you so much.</p>
<p>It’s easiest to acquire languages when young.</p>
<p>My family lived in Europe, where I learned French. I then learned Latin in high school and am now working on German, my fourth language (fluent in E/F, equivalent in Latin). Immersion is key – you can’t learn a language solely from a textbook. I would say forward with the four-language plan; it may be difficult for your daughter at first because of so many languages, but it will definitely be worth it.</p>
<p>Baelor, thank you for the encouragement. Congratulations - learning two more languages in HS an after is a lot of work! I’m glad to hear from someone who is multi-lingual. ""Immersion is key “”, I agree 100%. It’s just a little bit hard to have an immersion environment in a foreign language in US.</p>
<p>That is definitely true. But if you and your husband speak your respective languages, that will provide some “immersion” for your daughter. Also, start her reading early – my sister learned to read and write in French before English, which is my family’s native language.</p>
<p>About your question about sending your daughter to someone else’s home…This is a very personal decision. Your husband, however, should be able to talk with the stay-at-home mom and get a good idea of her priorities. You daughter would probably get more direct attention in a home where it is just her and one other child. She may also enjoy some cultural activities (music, crafts, food) that she would not get in any American day care. I think that I have tried every single child care option available over my two children’s lives and we had two lovely women who lived in our neighborhood and watched my kids in their homes. Best wishes with your decision.</p>
<p>Baelor, thanks for stating what immersion is in such a clear manner. I don’t know why I didn’t realized that when we speak our languages to dd we create an immersion environment for her. I was thinking immersion in the sense of going to a foreign country and immerse dd in the language. Anyhow, thanks so much for the heads up. Yes, we started reading early too, and i’m sure it’s helped her a lot.</p>
<p>thanks MD Mom. I feel comfortable with dd going to a Mom’s home to play with another kid. My husband feels is too informal and less “safe”. So we’re still thinking about what options are available to provide additional help to dd with her mandarin.</p>