Bringing up baby bilingual
- Thread starter lrpolo
- Start date
carang
Registered User
i'm canadian, hubby is local chinese. my kids are becoming/already pretty much bilingual. for us, we decided before the kids were born that i would speak english and daddy would speak cantonese..... then reality hit. daddy and i use english and he has naturally used english with the kids too!
because of this, we decided to put the kids into local kindergarten. their schooling so far has been entirely local (with the occasional class at mummy's playgroup centre). the first year at kindie, my son understood about 70% of what was going on... his second year, he understood about 90%. now, in his last year, he happily plays in chinese at the playground and translates stuff for me all the time! he's even starting to pick out the chinese characters that he can read, just the same as he picks out the english words he knows.
my daughter, who is an excellent communicator, has always shown more interest in learning chinese than her older brother. she is constantly asking daddy how to say things in chinese. after 1 month at kindie, she started reciting a Grace before eating in chinese! she is picking it up faster than our son did, and i have no doubt that by the time she finishes kindie, she'll be speaking as well as the other chinese kids her age.
we have also enrolled our kids into a local school. they will be learning most of their subjects in english and their chinese subject will be cantonese, not mandarin. i may change this later on and put our son into the chinese section.... haven't quite decided....
because of this, we decided to put the kids into local kindergarten. their schooling so far has been entirely local (with the occasional class at mummy's playgroup centre). the first year at kindie, my son understood about 70% of what was going on... his second year, he understood about 90%. now, in his last year, he happily plays in chinese at the playground and translates stuff for me all the time! he's even starting to pick out the chinese characters that he can read, just the same as he picks out the english words he knows.
my daughter, who is an excellent communicator, has always shown more interest in learning chinese than her older brother. she is constantly asking daddy how to say things in chinese. after 1 month at kindie, she started reciting a Grace before eating in chinese! she is picking it up faster than our son did, and i have no doubt that by the time she finishes kindie, she'll be speaking as well as the other chinese kids her age.
we have also enrolled our kids into a local school. they will be learning most of their subjects in english and their chinese subject will be cantonese, not mandarin. i may change this later on and put our son into the chinese section.... haven't quite decided....
We are not Chinese, but French natives, and our son speaks both french and english. He was borned in HK, is used to hear english everywhere, TV, cartoons, people, helper, playgroups, friends etc.... We mainly speak french at home, but sometimes english, or will always give him a translation when he learns a new word. He is going to an international pres-school, in english.
He knows who speaks what, and can switch from one to the other language in a blink.
We didn't really make any effort, it just came naturally, with everydays life.
He knows who speaks what, and can switch from one to the other language in a blink.
We didn't really make any effort, it just came naturally, with everydays life.
My husband is local Hong Kong Chinese--grew up and lived here all of his life. I am from the United States. His first language is Cantonese. My first language is English. Our 3-year-old son is bilingual and fluent in both Cantonese and English (as fluent as any 3-year-old can be in any language). It is very natural for him to switch between languages and he speaks both languages every day--both at home and away from home.
The key to his fluency, I think is that he has a close relationship with his grandparents (my husband's parents) and spends at least 1-2 days/week with them. They only speak to him in Cantonese. At home my husband and I primarily speak English with one another but when my son is playing with his dad one-on-one they speak Cantonese together. I can also speak some Cantonese--especially simple Cantonese with my son and sometimes my husband and I speak in Cantonese.
My son also attends a local kindergarten where the medium of instruction is Cantonese but he also has English and Mandarin (Putonghua) class at school.
At a young age, the key to children learning another language or being bilingual (or even trilingual) is environment and exposure. If you want your child to pick up a language as a small child just expose them to that language in a context where they can use the language and they will pick it up rather quickly. It doesn't take much effort actually, with the right environment. At least that's our experience.
Although, I think it might be useful to send your child to a class or playgroup taught in another language as a means of helping him or her to learn another language--it probably isn't ideal. Exposure for only 1 or 2 hours a week to a language that is not spoken at home or in other places where the child spends their time during the week (school, grandparents' house) isn't going to do much good for the child, I think.
The key to his fluency, I think is that he has a close relationship with his grandparents (my husband's parents) and spends at least 1-2 days/week with them. They only speak to him in Cantonese. At home my husband and I primarily speak English with one another but when my son is playing with his dad one-on-one they speak Cantonese together. I can also speak some Cantonese--especially simple Cantonese with my son and sometimes my husband and I speak in Cantonese.
My son also attends a local kindergarten where the medium of instruction is Cantonese but he also has English and Mandarin (Putonghua) class at school.
At a young age, the key to children learning another language or being bilingual (or even trilingual) is environment and exposure. If you want your child to pick up a language as a small child just expose them to that language in a context where they can use the language and they will pick it up rather quickly. It doesn't take much effort actually, with the right environment. At least that's our experience.
Although, I think it might be useful to send your child to a class or playgroup taught in another language as a means of helping him or her to learn another language--it probably isn't ideal. Exposure for only 1 or 2 hours a week to a language that is not spoken at home or in other places where the child spends their time during the week (school, grandparents' house) isn't going to do much good for the child, I think.
I'm in a different situation as I'd love for my children to be bilingual but they have the added handicap of having two monolingual parents. Our son is at a kindergarten where english, cantonese and mandarin are all spoken (by the teachers) but I have no idea how much he picks up because of course he doesn't need to speak Chinese to us at home! Sometimes he comes out with stuff in Chinese but often I don't have a clue what it means. He is the only native english speaker at the kindergarten (maybe one other) and I know the kids mainly communicate to each other in Cantonese. He's been there about 7 months so I'm hoping a couple of years of this environment will be enough to get him started. I'm a little concerned about primary school though because most people in our situation end up with their kids in their ESF/international school english-speaking bubble. I know they do Mandarin lessons but I'd prefer Chinese as a medium of instruction. Still trying to figure out how to achieve this!
I'm not sure what school he's going to but if you want him to learn Chinese then send him to a local school where the medium of instruction is Cantonese and English and Mandarin are taught as additional classes (this is becoming the norm in the schools now). If you need help deciphering his homework, hire a tutor--you probably only need to hire a secondary student or university student who is looking for an after school job. If he's in that environment every day you can assume he's communicating in Cantonese. You can also check with his teacher and see how he's doing. It's all about exposure and if school is the most natural way to expose him to the language then that's a good way to start.
I am a Malaysian Chinese and my husand & our sons are Singaporeans. And we have stayed in Beijing for the past 2 years, and i notice my toddler boys have a strong liking towards Mandarin, and my elder one speaks with Beijing accent (which i love it and hope this accent retains as long as possible!).
We are bilingual or maybe trilingual as my husband converse in English with our boys while i speak in Mandarin with Malay once in a while. We have been here in HK for 2 months and my boys start to pick up some Cantonese as well.
From what i notice, kids at this age pick up new languages very fast and they are enjoying and passion about learning a new language. But there's a little problem here as i notice my boys tend to "mix" different languages in sentences, for eg: I love to eat "dim sum", are we going to the place with 小巴？" etc.. I have been trying hard to correct them on this problem but i wonder is this a norm for a 3yo bilingual to converse like this?
My elder boy is attending an international kindergarten, and there's Mandarin lesson 3 times a week (20 mins each session). His Mandarin teachers had feedback to me that he is very good in Mandarin, and the standards are too easy for him, as he's into reading and writing Chinese words (simplified version) now. Hence, i am quite worried his proficiency of Mandarin will start to stagnant. Does any mummies sharing the same situation as me?
And now it comes to select an appropriate Primary school for him (he's 4 this year), i am quite clueless which is more suitable for him as he understand very very little Cantonese so local school is probably out, and i prefer a school has strong focus on Mandarin as well. And not forgetting we may return Singapore one day, hence English is equally important. Headache!
We are bilingual or maybe trilingual as my husband converse in English with our boys while i speak in Mandarin with Malay once in a while. We have been here in HK for 2 months and my boys start to pick up some Cantonese as well.
From what i notice, kids at this age pick up new languages very fast and they are enjoying and passion about learning a new language. But there's a little problem here as i notice my boys tend to "mix" different languages in sentences, for eg: I love to eat "dim sum", are we going to the place with 小巴？" etc.. I have been trying hard to correct them on this problem but i wonder is this a norm for a 3yo bilingual to converse like this?
My elder boy is attending an international kindergarten, and there's Mandarin lesson 3 times a week (20 mins each session). His Mandarin teachers had feedback to me that he is very good in Mandarin, and the standards are too easy for him, as he's into reading and writing Chinese words (simplified version) now. Hence, i am quite worried his proficiency of Mandarin will start to stagnant. Does any mummies sharing the same situation as me?
And now it comes to select an appropriate Primary school for him (he's 4 this year), i am quite clueless which is more suitable for him as he understand very very little Cantonese so local school is probably out, and i prefer a school has strong focus on Mandarin as well. And not forgetting we may return Singapore one day, hence English is equally important. Headache!
fennho
Registered User
oreomama
we have the same predicament with our kids. Both myself and hubby are Sporeans. So since my daughter was born, i spoke Mandarin to her. She was proficient in Mandarin. But since she started attending school, i was worried she'd lack behind cos most of the kids in her school are caucasians, so i started to switch and spoke to her in English. Problem is now, her english is BETTER than her mandarin, and she also mixes her languages in ONE sentence! I'm also worried now her mandarin is slowing down.
we have the same predicament with our kids. Both myself and hubby are Sporeans. So since my daughter was born, i spoke Mandarin to her. She was proficient in Mandarin. But since she started attending school, i was worried she'd lack behind cos most of the kids in her school are caucasians, so i started to switch and spoke to her in English. Problem is now, her english is BETTER than her mandarin, and she also mixes her languages in ONE sentence! I'm also worried now her mandarin is slowing down.
oreomama,
I think that it's really normal for bilingual (or multilingual) children to mix up languages when they are young. For example, in Cantonese the phrase for "a lot" is "ho duo" (ho=good, duo=many; 'a good many'=a lot). In English we might say "so much" or "so many." My son started blending the two into "ho many" when he wanted to say "a lot."
Last week he said to me, "Mama, I give you see." He was literally translating the Cantonese "bei lay tai" which literally translated into English is give (bei) you (lay) see (tai). In English he should have said, "I will let you look" or "let you have a look" or "let you look at it."
These are all common errors with anyone who is learning another language. I think it's cute.
I think that it's really normal for bilingual (or multilingual) children to mix up languages when they are young. For example, in Cantonese the phrase for "a lot" is "ho duo" (ho=good, duo=many; 'a good many'=a lot). In English we might say "so much" or "so many." My son started blending the two into "ho many" when he wanted to say "a lot."
Last week he said to me, "Mama, I give you see." He was literally translating the Cantonese "bei lay tai" which literally translated into English is give (bei) you (lay) see (tai). In English he should have said, "I will let you look" or "let you have a look" or "let you look at it."
These are all common errors with anyone who is learning another language. I think it's cute.
Gataloca
Registered User
In this case "ho" doesn't mean good, but "very". Like "ho len" (very beautiful), "ho ho" (very good), "ho tai" (very big)
Gataloca
Registered User
I think the problem of mixing different languages in one sentence is common in HK, even on adults. You can hear people talking/chatting in cantonese, and it is very common to hear one of two english words in a sentence as they speak. When I first came to HK, I found that quite annoying. Even I, having grown up outside HK, would not mix language up when I speak in cantonese or another language (unless it is for technical things). But here, don't know if is fashion, or people are just lazy speaking and just use the first word that come to their mind instead of finding the right word...
Language acquisition is very complex. it is really important, whatever you decided to do, that your child can identify with one (or 2 if you want truly bilingual) language as a mother tongue. The kids that struggle later on in schooling are those whose parents have spoken to them for 3+ years at home in one language (for arguments sake let's say Cantonese) and then suddenly stop that using that language with the kids when they go to school in a different language (let's say English). Using the above languages as example....Many parents make the mistake of abandoning the Cantonese and speaking in English to their child, under the false belief that it will help their child's English language development. In fact it is usually the opposite as the child then has confusion about their 'base' language, or mother tongue. There have been many, many studies that emphasise the importance of solid mother tongue development. This sound foundation will give children a solid foundation for developing additional language skills.
If you speak one language at home, then for your child's sake you should continue it at the same level, regardless of what language you then choose to have them schooled in.
I know many parents who have gone successfully down the one parent/one language route and kids are successfully bi and tri lingual at a young age. Provided you are consistent then this could be a good way to go.
If you speak one language at home, then for your child's sake you should continue it at the same level, regardless of what language you then choose to have them schooled in.
I know many parents who have gone successfully down the one parent/one language route and kids are successfully bi and tri lingual at a young age. Provided you are consistent then this could be a good way to go.
Thanka2 - I wish I even knew where to start with the local school system. I am concerned about the quality of education and class sizes, not to mention that I have heard the local schools won't accept non-Cantonese speaking kids because they don't have the extra resources to help them out. I know immersion is the best approach but I'm not sure it's practical to send our son to a local school. On the other hand I am not crazy about the idea of sending him to ESF (our other option) because I think it's such a wasted opportunity. He is 3 so we have a little time up our sleeves to consider our options.
In this case "ho" doesn't mean good, but "very". Like "ho len" (very beautiful), "ho ho" (very good), "ho tai" (very big)
I do understand this but the most likely way we would say something similar in English is "a good many" (which is an actual phrase in English). I did study Chinese in the past. It's amazing how many variations of meanings there are for this one character.
I don't have any answers here. All I know is that I have colleagues who have older children who also don't speak any Cantonese in their family and chose to put their children in the public schools here when they were young. Although it was difficult, they found creative ways to make things work. Now that the children are older, they really believe they made the right choice. When it comes to education in HK, my observation is that 1) nothing is straight-forward or simple 2) nothing is easy 3) nothing is truly "cheap" (you always have to pay in some way--money, time, stress...etc.)
But, having said all that, it is not possible to make a blanket judgement about "all the public schools in HK" because truly (and I can say this as a primary school teacher in a local school) every school is "it's own kingdom." You'll find that the local schools are loosely connected through the Education department but have a lot of flexibility--especially at the primary school level. There are a few "hidden jewels" as far as schools go. I think whether or not you and your family will be able to navigate the system here depends on many factors but one of those is how connected and educated you become about how the system actually operates here--the best way to do that is to ask a lot of questions of the people who have their children in the system--not the ones with the children outside of the system. If you find the right kindergarten, I'll tell you what, the government subsidy for kindergartens is unbeatable (this means that my family and I send my son to kindergarten 1/2 day, 5 days/week at a school we like and we pay $800 HKD/month plus about $400 HKD/month for his bus transportation to and from school every day--most private kindergartens are charging a minimum of $3,000 HKD/month as far as I know).
I grew up bilingual -- Cantonese at home with mom and dad, and English outside the home. This is typical for an immigrant family.
Sure, we mixed things up when we were young. And our relatives laughed at our non-pure Cantonese when we came back to HK in the summers. But I think it's a little much to ask for perfection.
When the kids grow up, they'll be able to sort of the languages more clearly. But when they're young, I wouldn't worry about mixing and matching.
After all, kids learn by playing. I feel lucky that I learned 2 languages naturally and painlessly.
Sure, we mixed things up when we were young. And our relatives laughed at our non-pure Cantonese when we came back to HK in the summers. But I think it's a little much to ask for perfection.
When the kids grow up, they'll be able to sort of the languages more clearly. But when they're young, I wouldn't worry about mixing and matching.
After all, kids learn by playing. I feel lucky that I learned 2 languages naturally and painlessly.
solidstars
Registered User
I speak English to my son and my husband and relatives speak Cantonese to him. He understands me but prefers using Cantonese so far.
I grew up speaking cantonese to my mom, mandarin to my dad, thai to the helper and friends and English at school.
I think its easier on the child if you make sure one caregiver speaks one language.
I grew up speaking cantonese to my mom, mandarin to my dad, thai to the helper and friends and English at school.
I think its easier on the child if you make sure one caregiver speaks one language.