I'm monolingual unfortunately :-(. How can I ensure that my child grows up bilingual?

Question

I only speak a couple of foreign languages to a not very high level how is possible for me to teach my children to speak another language fluently?

Answer 1

I (Unfortunately) didn't begin learning my second language until I was 40 and My oldest was in high school learning Spanish. Since then I've studied several other languages and mastered one to the point that I'm fluent in it (Esperanto).

I would suggest learning the language with your child(ren). It will give you a shared experience with them, bringing you closer together.

If I was to recommend a language, I would recommend Esperanto. It draws very much on other European languages (including English) therefore is easy to learn for adults, and for children serves as a bridge language to other European languages, making learning them easier in the future. Since I'm fluent in it, I'm planning on teaching it to my grandchildren.

Start out with that, and your children may end up being multi-liingual.


Q: What do you call a person who knows more than two languages?
A: multi-lingual

Q: What do you call a person who knows two languages?
A: Bi-lingual

Q: What do you call a person who knows only one language?
A: A U.S. Citizen ;-)




I just thought of a tool that could be useful in your little project. "Muzzy in Gandoland". No matter what language you decide to teach, this great cartoon based language course for children is probably available in it. I've seen the Esperanto version of it, and can vouch for it's usefulness. It's also available for English, Spanish, French, German, Mandarin Chinese. Here's a site where you can purchase it (although they don't list the Esperanto or Mandarin versions):

http://www.multilingualbooks.com/muzzy.html

Answer 2

This will vary depending on where you live but in places like Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas etc. there are a lot of bilingual schools. they are set up so that kids take half of their classes in English and half in Spanish. From what i have heard, many of them dont even cost a lot of money. Some of them are Charter schools so they are partly funded by the government.

I can tell you from experience and also from formal education (I grew up speaking two languages and now am married and speak fluently a third. English, Spanish, Portuguese. And I also have a masters degree in linguistics) that you definately should not let this awesome opportunity pass.

According to Second Language Acquisition research, it is clear that a child can easily learn more than one language. It is also a fact that once a person has passed puberty their brain's ability to learn a new language is extremely restricted. (This seems to be a result of a process called lateralization of the brain)

I have personally done research on Language acquisition of children and babies and can tell you that the bilingual brain is objectively superior to the monolingual brain. The bilingual brain is more highly developed making their cognitive abilities superior to what they would have been had they been monolingual.

Therefore, you will be giving your child the greatest gift of all if you provide him with the life changing opportunity to grow up speaking fluently two or more languages.

Of course, aside from the strictly cognitive, speaking another language fluently will open up a completely different cultural world.

Answer 3

Studies exhibit that the high-quality method to have a real bilingual baby is to have one mum or dad talk just one language within the residence and the opposite mum or dad talk most effective the moment language. Obviously that is intricate in case your husband does not talk Spanish considering he'll consider overlooked if he in no way knows what you're announcing. It's simpler if each mom and dad recognize each languages and every simply opt for one to talk. Hey, your husband will more commonly gain knowledge of plenty of Spanish, too, despite the fact that! It takes plenty of area and willpower. Also recognize that your baby's expressive language will more commonly be a bit bit behind schedule considering she or he could have two languages to form out. However, reports additionally exhibit that, in the end, bilingual individuals have BETTER language abilities than natural. Good success!

Answer 4

they say kids pick up a second language best before the age of 5. My daughter in law is bilingual. English as her second language and she was in a regular school by first grade speaking English just fine. she speaks 4 languages now

Answer 5

Well, i started learning English when i was around 7. I did everything on my own. Now, i would hire a Spanish, or Italian, or any language you want your kid to learn nana/babysitter. Let her talk to him in her native language and your kid will absorb it like a sponge. This is something that could take time, but will give you the best result. 1 on 1 is always better than 1 to a lot of kids (class room)

Good luck!

Answer 6

Raise them in another country. Not only will this help their languages, but yours as well.

Or you could send them to an immersian school where you live. My mom works at a Spanish immersion school, and the little kids speak almost soley Spanish.

Answer 7

They will learn in school, but you can find language tapes & books for youngsters too.