Our son's first language is Chinese. Now he is 2 years old and he is going to preschool, but he doesnt' understand English. Any suggestions on helping him?
Thanks!
2006-08-29 18:55:29 · 13 answers · asked by houseman 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Preschool
I just watched a special about this the other night...supposedly you are supposed to obviously send him to a school that teaches him in English...this way he is only exposed to English during the school day...then at home...speak to him half the time in your native language and half the time in English...like...one parent always speak to him in English and one always speak to him in Chinese...Read him books in both languages...the special said that this won't confuse the child because of the way that their brains develop at this age and that initially it will look like the child is falling behind the other kids in things like reading and writing but in several years he will be far ahead of them in both disciplines.
2006-08-29 19:03:25 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Try speak Chinese first, then English right a way (You have to say everything twice. Once in Chinese, once in English). It might be lengthy but worth it. That is how we teach our kids. Isn't preschool start at age 3?
2006-08-30 10:01:17 · answer #2 · answered by TheOne 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Speak English at home one day and Chinese the next. You want him to remain fluent in both languages, so don't ignore one for the other.
And when he gets to preschool, he start picking up on English more or else he'll start speaking Spanish as well!
2006-08-29 19:01:57 · answer #3 · answered by Firefly 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Two years old is too young. Wait two more years, then add the second language. It you do this too soon it will only confuse him and no one will benefit. There must be a solid communication foundation before adding a second language. If everyone in his school speaks English, he will pick it up from the other kids as he gets older.
2006-08-30 01:55:14 · answer #4 · answered by arrow_head72002 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
At our house, we mainly spoke spanish so our son's first language was spanish. Then when he became 3, my hub and I began teaching him simple words in english. By age 4 he was fluent. Now 5 years old and in Kindergarden, he can read, write, and speak both languages, and even helps with simple translations
2006-08-30 04:49:17 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, i became bilingual at age 4, but my parents spoke Spanish at home and in English at school. My suggestion is to speak both English and your language to him at home, teach him small words like dog, and door in English then explain to him in your language.
2006-08-29 19:07:16 · answer #6 · answered by Liz P 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Well - how do you feel about TV? Kids pick up languages fast from TV - my kids have some basic Spanish just from watching Dora the Explorer LOL
We're teaching our kids French, slowly but surely - they're 4 and 2 and we've just started (I mean JUST, like, 2 days ago) because their grandparents are French. We have one of those "my first words" type of book where it shows the picture and then the word - but ours is in French. I can't beleive how quickly the kids are catching on! My oldest asks me how to say x in French, and she retains in pretty fast after some basic repetition. Once they have some basic words, I'll start speaking to them in French occasionally, and I'll be asking the grandparents to try to speak to them frequently in French as well.
One of my girlfriends has a 2 year old who is English/French/Spanish, and he's becoming trilingual - wow!
2006-08-30 01:02:04 · answer #7 · answered by ceekryt 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My primary laguage is Thai and my parents told me when I was 3 that I needed to learn english. They told me that it was ok to speak Thai, but only if I didn't know how to say it in english. The open understanding that I needed to learn english helped me to be less afraid of it. To a two year old it may be difficult to explain; I would suggest immersion throughout the childs lifestyle; entertainment, speaking, and interaction with other english speaking children.
2006-08-29 19:03:53 · answer #8 · answered by Kanitha 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just bombard him with English. I only spoke Spanish until I was about 4 and once I had to start kindergarden my mom just talked to me in English all the time. It worked; I could read in English and Spanish when I was about 5.
2006-08-29 18:59:19 · answer #9 · answered by Gorgeous 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Children pick up spoken language from their friends very easily, whatever may be the language. Let him move with other children speaking English and that would do.
VR
2006-08-29 19:02:55 · answer #10 · answered by sarayu 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋