Other non Welsh speakers hoping to raise their child billingually?

Question

I have a 3 month old son and I hope he will learn to speak both English and Welsh.

Although I'm Welsh myself I am not a fluent Welsh speaker - I have a VERY basic bit of Welsh but not enough to hold a conversation. I grew up in Newport in a non Welsh speaking family and only got a year and a half of Welsh in school (this was in the mid 80s, before the Welsh Language Act, and it wasn't taken very seriously then in some schools).

My partner is from Kent and so doesn't speak any Welsh at all!!!

My son has a cd of Welsh nursery ryhmes (Mynd Drot Drot, Dacw Mam yn dwad, Gee Geffyl Bach etc) from the TWF lady at our baby clinic (all mums were given them) which I've taken the trouble to learn and sing to him. He's going to our local Cylch Ti a Fi once a week too to hear other kids play in Welsh.

And he's obsessed with TV so I'm letting him watch Planed Plant Bach for half an hour each day!

Any other suggestions? I hope when he learns to speak he will have some Welsh and some English!

Speyhawkwhatever - I do live in Wales

What I mean by "obsessed"by TV is that he loves the lights and sounds, so I hold him on my lap and put the TV onto Planed Plant Bach so he can hear Welsh language for 30 mins a day. He doesn't watch TV all day for God's sake!

I spend my whole day with him!!!

Answer 1

Hi I am in the same position, except that I'm the Saesneg in our house! Our 3 year-old is going to Cylch T a Fi three days a week, and my wife (Welsh learner from Newport) talks as much Welsh as she can manage. My daughter does not use many Welsh words at home, but at Cylch, they ONLY use Welsh so she must understand it. I would say get into the Welsh language system early and you will be fine. Just don't expect your child to start jabbering in Welsh at home, if they don't hear it used much at home, they won't use it themsleves - but their understanding will be excellent if they are learning bilingually. Also encourage your husband to grasp the nettle. I am by no means a Welsh learner, but I show a keen interest and use as much Welsh as I know with our child.

Answer 2

Hi, it's great to start this early, and you're doing all the right things. keep on with the rhymes and the tv too (half an hour a day is not bad at all) alsom, your local library will have baby books in Welsh, which, as you already have the pronounciation, you can read to him (the pictures will help you with the meaning and baby books really only use basic language so you should be fine.
The group is an excellent idea, as he gets regular input in an immersion type way.
I say, just keep doing what you're doing, and keep up the welsh groups when he starts school, if you are not sending him to a welsh only school. You could send him to a welsh only school, but you might find he loses some english initially, as it becomes the language he uses least, therefore it will be possible that English MAY become his second language.
For now, howeverm I'm sure with what you are doing he will have some of each when he learns to speak- be aware that he might mix up the two langauges to begin with so his over all langauge learning may be SLIGHTLY slower, although it will catch up and surpass other children very quickly.
Well done

Answer 3

You don't say where you live, but clearly it is within the Principality for you to have access to such things as Cylch Ti a Fi. The environment is very important and I would go as far as to say that it is essential to have Welsh speakers around, just to show the child that it is a language which people speak naturally as a tool of communication and give him some incentive to practise. That is why my attempts (in London, uncomfortably far from the Welsh school which was then located in Willesden and has now moved to Brent) were largely unsuccessful. That probably means that you will have to work hard on your own Welsh and move in Welsh speaking circles yourself, so that speaking Welsh becomes part of the natural social environment. Those little songs are an excellent start, but the next stage is reading children's stories out loud and your Welsh must be up to it. Obviously you'll be able to read everything correctly, but you also have to comment and ask questions (things like: "Wasn't that funny! What do you think of that?"), so that the child responds. TV is also very useful when used properly. My children were passionate about Super Ted!

I think that your partner must make an effort too. Being from Kent is no excuse. I knew a man of Kent at University who learned Welsh from scratch and spoke it so well that someone described him as "the eighth wonder of Wales"! It can be done, tell him!

Answer 4

Do you have any neigbours or friends that can you with your welsh, so in turn you can help your son?

Does your local college/adult education centre do a Welsh for Beginners course?

people always say that children learn best from a very young age, if your son gets plenty of welsh input then he will stand a much better chance of picking it up more easily,

Perhaps you can get some bilingual baby books from the library - the a, b, c and basic word books - so when he is old enough to start learning you can sit with him and read with hiu - and you would probably learn at the same time.

Answer 5

A Welsh-medium school is by far your best bet; ideally you'd also move to a part of Wales, like Gwynedd, where you'll have tons of Welsh around you all the time. I grew up in Dolgellau and went to the school there. I didn't speak Welsh at home, as my father doesn't really know it at all, but I'm a fluent speaker.

Answer 6

hi,

i am a child of the 80's myself and am the only person in my family who speaks welsh, and speaks it fluently.

no 1 - don't worry - you are doing enough. kids brains are like sponges for words - you'll see. my little girl has a french speaking mother and is, so far, equally capable in 3 languages - which freaks me out!

when your baby hits about 2 seek out your nearest ysgol meithrin (nursery school movement). that's where i started out. then i moved on to welsh speaking nursery school, primary then secondary. no parental help was needed along the way but it's great that you are so supportive, so soon.

incidentaly, kent is privileged to be among the few handful of english places with welsh language equivalents - Caint. that may cheer up your other half!

in my opinion being bilingual does help in later life with language learning - i have a knowledge of a number of languages now and it's that appreciation of grammar and otherness (eg masculine, feminine) that sort of breaks the ice.

pob lwc a dal ati!

Answer 7

Good on you ,you put other so-called (I'm Welsh and am proud of it but can't string a sentence together brigade) Welsh to shame.The children will learn Welsh in school,move to NW Wales(Gwynedd) the schools are totally bilingual.Planed plant is a great place to start..I wish you all the best..Da iawn chi,Pob lwc.

Answer 8

You can get your son into a Welsh Speaking school where he will learn to speak Welsh fluently. You have plenty of choice in Wales.

Answer 9

If I get married and settled in Wales, I would want my children to be bilingual in Welsh. Make sure he goes to a Welsh language-only speaking school.

Answer 10

It is likely that he may well understand and listen but it is very unlikely that he will ever bother to speak back in Welsh unless that is the language of his peer group.

If the kids at school speak Welsh (all the time) then of course he will be a Welsh speaker.

One word of warning : don't force him.
Let him decide for himself and if its fun and if he is taught with love he will learn quickly and easily (if he wants to).If not, don't push it.

You may be disadvantaged if he speaks to his peer group behind your back and you don't understand.

My personal feeling is that unless his peers speak Welsh , it would be more to his academic advantage to learn a foreign language (from overseas).

Be aware also that bi lingual children (very generally) tend to be slower to learn in the early years and it is not until the age of about 11 / 12 that they tend to catch up.

Best wishes.