Tips on teaching a child 2 languages?

Question

Although my baby isn't born yet, I am worried about teaching him or her Greek and English. I am British but live in Greece, my husband is Greek and the child's first language must be Greek. Several friends here have bi-lingual children, they say that one parent talks in English and the other in Greek, isn't his a little confusing for the child? Does anyone have any good tips for me?

Answer 1

This advice that you have received is excellent. Make it so that your husband ONLY speaks Greek to your child. This will force your child to speak Greek. In addition, you should ONLY speak English to your child. This will force your child to learn English as well. It is even better if you speak Greek as well as English and your husband can speak English as well as Greek. That way, your husband can speak Greek to you (and remain the primary Greek speaker in the house; like when he's asking you a question) and you can speak English back to him (continuing to model English speaking). If both you and your husband are bilingual and can speak to each other in the other language then it will help cement in your child's head that they HAVE to speak English to you and Greek to their father because that is the only way you two seem to communicate. If you are consistent like this it is not confusing for the child. Good luck with this. I think it's a GREAT idea!

Answer 2

Children can absorb two or even more languages with little confusion. As they will be growing up in Greece, they will get a full exposure to Greek, but if they only use English at home, they won't learn a full command of the language... they will be fluent, but their vocabulary will be a bit limited; so I would suggest that getting English-language TV would be a good idea at some point. Also, you will have to teach the child to read English as well as Greek.

Good luck!

Answer 3

actually kids are much smarter than we give them credit for, lol

the child will not have a problem with you speaking english and your husband speaking greek to him/her because the child will associate language with the person and will be able to acquire both languages without a problem... you might consider at one point (when the child starts going to school) to intensify the use of the language that is not used in school i.e. if the kid attends greek school try speaking more english at home - but i am sure that kid will turn out to be a genius anyway - they all do these days (it's almost scary)

Answer 4

We live in Spain and my grand daughter is bi lingual, her mother is English and her father Spanish. We speak to her in both languages and she understands perfectly well. She speaks more Spanish as she's at school all day and is reluctant to speak English, but understands everything we say and has many English books and films. I have been told by others with the same experience that later she will automatically start speaking English fluently when she's ready. I think it's an advantage for a child to grow up with more than 1 language, and now she's even learning Valenciano in school (local dialect for this area) so she will know 3.

Answer 5

I have heard this before, and no it does not confuse the child - as long as during the crucial first few years this is consistent i.e the Greek speaking parent sticks to Greek.
In places such as India, children may grow up to speak three languages competently and many can make themselves understood in several more.
The point is, the human brain is programmed to acquire language and is very adaptable during the first seven years.

Answer 6

No, it is not at all confusing for children to grow up bilingual. On the contrary, it is very good for their mental development and their life chances. And you won't need to teach them at all - if you each speak to them in your own native language and use both languages at home, they will acquire both quite naturally. People only need to be taught foreign languages when they are over the age of about 7 - children younger than that have a pre-programmed, super-fast, auto-didactic language learning capability which far exceeds anything that an adult can achieve or impart by teaching. The brain extinguishes that capability in pre-pubescence so that the child who has by then fully acquired their native language(s) can concentrate on other survival skills. Good luck to you and your family - I too will bring my children up to be bilingual if I ever have any!

Answer 7

Start as soon as possible. I speak German and English and no, it's not going to confuse the child. Children's brains are like sponges, they absorb so much information and process it so effectively that they already understand language, long before they talk. Relax, you and your child will learn a lot together, and you find a new appreciation of our world when you discover it all over again with your baby.

Answer 8

Hiya absolutely not the best time to learn languages is when you re small. At the age of 5 i spoke 5 languages and still do my daughter who is born in the UK can speak 3, when she was a baby she used to stay at my mums every weekend so mum would speak to her in my mother tongue and I speak to her in English except when she's in trouble lol.
I think you speak to your baby in English and let the in laws and hubby do Greek its really good stimulation for a kid I think.
Good luck with the arrival of your little one.
Peace

Answer 9

I can tell you from personal experience how to teach a child two languages. When I was little both my mother and father knew how to speak Spanish, but we lived in the U.S. My parents taught me Spanish when I was little first. That was my first language. And since I lived in the U.S. i was taught English in school. Its best to learn two languages when you are little because that's when your taking it all in. What I suggest you do is talk to your baby in English, and teach him English too. And he will pick up on speaking Greek when he interacts with other children and when he goes to school.
Not only have I been taught how to speak two language, but all of my little cousins are being taught like this. And all of them can speak just fine and aren't confused.

Answer 10

It has been suggested that each parent speaks their own mother tongue to the child.. It isn´t confusing to the child providing both parents stick to it and don´t use both languages.

Obviously one language will seem more dominant than the other due to the place you live and that they are more exposed to it. But having a dual language family myself, i can assure you that the child will understand both languages but will opt to speak the language of your place of abode.

There is no general rule as to when the child will speak both, but it will come later if not sooner.