3 year old bilingual child - behind in one language?

Question

We have raised our daughter bilingual from birth - English and Japanese. We live in Japan...so I have really tried concentrating on English with her. She speaks only Japanese with her father and Grandparents who live next door.....BUT her English is quite a lot more advanced than her English.
She will chat away at a great pace with me in English, using really complex sentences for her age......but uses only 2 word sentences or gibberish in Japanese. Her grandmother and father are getting really worried. They think she has a speech problem.

I am wondering if I should do something to help her Japanese catch up. I have recently started asking her how Daddy says things and teaching her Japanese to use with her Daddy. This goes against the way we decided to teach the languages - which was one parent/one language.

Any suggestions or reassurance from others who have been in the same situation.

thanks

Answer 1

I would suggest that you continue the one parent/one language rule. We are currently raising our daughter speaking Spanish and English. At times it is challenging, but it is important that you continue to challenge her to try.

Our daughter is four and experiences the same thing. Her English is much more advanced than her Spanish skills, but it will catch up. My wife, being the native Spanish speaker often challenges my 4 year old to try Spanish. When she says something in English, my wife then says "Think about what you just said, and tell me what the words are in Spanish (in Spanish)." If my daughter gets stuck, we prompt her by giving a syllable of the word to see if she can figure it out. Sometimes it takes a little while, but it pays big when she finally remembers and starts to speak.

I am sure your little girl will catch up. Learning 2 languages at the same time can be confusing for smaller children. You have the advantage of living in the country and culture where the language you want her to learn is spoken. Once your daughter starts going to school, you will notice a remarkable increase in her Japanese ability, simply out of necessity. A lot of her friends will probably not be able to speak English, so she will have to speak to them in Japanese.

Don't worry. It will come soon enough.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Don´t change the one parent/one language system. It is the best way to do it.

Your daughter will have enough time to catch up with Japanese if she is a little behind now. She will want to communicate with friends, will go to a Japanese school, etc.

Don´t forget she is only three. In two years you will see she is having both languages at the same level.

Good luck.

Answer 3

My parents are French speaking. I began school in English because my parents moved from Québec, Canada to Ontario, Canada when I was 2 1/2 years old.
I never spoke English but started school in English. I learned very quickly the English language but my parents spoke French at home and with my family. So I still learned French at home.
My family moved back to Québec 3 years later but I stayed in English school. Fortunately I had French classes alongside all other subjects in English.
Your daughter will go to school in Japanese I assume. She will catch up quickly since she is only 3 years old. I would speak both Japanese and English at home.
I wouldn't worry but do teach her Japanese as much as you can.

Answer 4

I was raised one parent/one language and that worked really well. That way I learned both languages at about the same pace and I practiced both at the same pace as well.

However, I learned to speak this in Mexico so my Spanish was more advanced at the time.

When I moved to the U.S. my English skills surpassed my Spanish skills.


So I would use the one parent/one language. I think in Japan, many students are required or encouraged to take English. And while she is living in Japan and immersed in Japanese langauge, then both language would probably be about even.