Fluency in English and Chinese

[carey]

I have been trying to find a tread like this. I am so happy that I found it.

I have learned l lot from this thread and thinking to try the one parent, one language method and going to stick to it.

Cantonese and Mandarin are my mother tongue. My husband speaks English and German. Between us, we can only speak English at home.

I am better versed in English, but not a native speaker. But I am a little concerned that since I am not a native speaker ( I am fluent, yet, perhaps not a 100% native), we might teach him the " Wrong language". My husband is better in German.

I have a big extended family living close to us and they are the one who help with caring for the baby and we spend time with together. so I think our child would understand the local dialect too.

I know that children have their ways of figuring out the differences in language and acquiring it better than adults. But I am also concerned that with so many languages speaks around him, he would be really confused. As a result, slow down his learning.

As parents, we think, in the end, our child would have to speak all three languages, English, Chinese and German. But we don’t want to impose this on him at an early age. Moreover, speaking and being a native speaker is also different. I have talked to a friend who grew up in different language background. He felt that he was caught in the between of not being good at any of the languages. He said although they speak the languages, but people thought he sounded foreign.

 

[carey]

ask for advice---language learning

The research project was on bilingualism in HK amongst expats particularly expats who are trying to maintain a language not spoken in the "resident country" and found the following:

(A) The only way to succeed like a lot of the mums have mentioned is through perseverance and persistence i.e. one parent one language strategy, creating language domains e.g. playgroups in that language, church service...

Even so, there is no guarantee for a child to become an active bilingual - speaks both languages. There is no set system in which a child metabolises language as Cara mentioned before... how one child processes the language may be different and may result in different outcomes... e.g. passive bilingualism - understanding but not using the language. Lots of Australian migrants end up being passive bilinguals.

For mums who have managed to produce active and equal bilinguals! Congratulations! Not an easy feat given that studies have shown that it is common for a child to be better versed in one language than another.

Studies have also shown that where a parent uses a language which he/she is better versed in, the success rate is higher e.g. If German is not your mother tongue, the outcome of raising a proficient German speaker is not likely because you'll screw up the natural grammar of the child. In our family, we use only English or German (between father and son). Our son prefers English when we are both around but switches to German when it's just one-on-one with dad - it has become their secret language.

Cara's strategy has also shown to work - correct me if I'm wrong Cara with regard to your approach - English only (or most of the time) and sending her son to a Cantonese school. I've seen this work with another non-English speaking family. The parents sent their child to an English kinder and the results were simply amazing!

Hi spockey, Is there a way I can access the full article of the research?

and I wonder if have suggestion for my situation---I am definitely thinking to send my child to an English international school as soon as he is old enough, where he also learns some Chinese. Perhaps it would be better for me to talk to him in English only and my husband to talk to him in German. Or you think it would be better for me to talk in Cantonese since we live in a Cantonese speaking/Chinese society and his father talks to him in English and save German for a later age.

Thank you for your time.
Carey

 

[spockey]

Sorry Carey, it's an unpublished paper I wrote for my Masters. It's unpublished for now as I may consider it as part of a future PHD. If you are interested though on Bilingualism, you can also search for articles on Google Scholar... but most of them require some sort of access through a university. I have a basic textbook on bilingualism though.

We currently have this arrangement:

Dad to son - German
Mum to son - English
Dad-Mum-son - English
Helper to son - English

School - English plus Mandarin twice a week.

Reading - We alternate reading days... English with mum and German with dad (we both work). The reading exercise in German we only started after summer. The reading in German is developing his German wonderfully! Reading really helps!

The most bizarre thing is happening to us though... our son is picking up Cantonese and Mandarin at his English nursery. We can't work out why. Either (a) the kids at the nursery are using more Cantonese/Mandarin or (b) the Mandarin lessons are really effective & the help there speaks Cantonese.

English is his dominant language right now. German is a secret language between dad and son... Mandarin/Cantonese... a totally surprising development.

I'd say keep to the one parent one language system... in your case, use your mother tongue so as to develop the child's natural grammar. English - Just send your child to an English kinder like ESF, attend English playgroups like Baby Buddies... it's quite easy to pick it up. As for Cantonese... I don't have a suggestion and honestly don't find a great use for it unless you are planning to send him to a local school.

Whatever your decision... just bear in mind that using your native language is probably the best in communicating your youngin to develop their natural grammar.

Good Luck!

 

[fennho]

hi there

i'm fluent in Mandarin and English but have decided to speak to my baby (now 12mths old) in Mandarin since birth cos i figured English is an easier language to pick up when she starts attending school. My husband who's also bilingual in Mandarin and English, is supposed to speak to her in English but becos we both conversed in a mixture of Eng/Mandarin at home, he ended up speaking to her in Mandarin most of the time as well! (of the little time he had with her after he knocks off from work and before she sleeps!). I'm thinking of sending her to playgroups where parents attend with the child, but i'm now at a lost of whether i shud send her to an English speaking one or a Mandarin one. On one hand, i'd like her to attend an English one but that would mean i have to switch to talking to her in English...would this confuse her cos i can tell she's just starting to understand me, simple instructions like give me, go there in Mandarin at home. Any advises? Thanks!

 

[carang]

personally, i believe that the younger they are exposed to another language the easier it is for them to pick it up.

we had a similar situation at our house, but hubby was supposed to speak cantonese instead while i spoke english.

both of my kids have been exposed to a mish-mash of languages. i speak english, hubby speaks english/cantonese, helper speaks english/cantonese/tagalog, grandmother speaks cantonese with a hakka accent etc.

i have found that the kids use english more often as the language of choice, but they have the underlying understanding of chinese in order to be able to go to local school.


so.... to make a long post, ummm.... less long.... i would say, it wont' hurt if you take your baby to an english playgroup. she will soon develop the ability to differentiate the sounds of the two languages.

good luck!