Jacob and I just got into a heated discussion in the car over whether Esme should learn Spanish or Chinese. Standing back, it seems a little ridiculous that we're debating what language our 2-year-old should be learning (and that I am advocating she should be learning, or at least exposed to, two foreign languages right now). I recognize I have the tendency to be a hyper-intellectual parent. I confess to having labeled things around the house so that Esme might be able to recognize the words.
But being hyper-intellectual, I have done a lot of reading on this subject, and I have applied my own common sense enough to know that there are windows of opportunity for learning. The developing mind and tongue are at their best for language learning at Esme's age. Americans generally don't think they need a second language, but I disagree. We are moving into a more global community, and I feel like my children will benefit tremendously from knowing languages other than English.
Esme already recognizes and understands a decent amount of Spanish. If I ask her, "Tienes hambre, Esme?" she answers, "Yes, I'm hungry." I have achieved this through video tapes that she loves to watch, speaking to her in Spanish regularly, and reading to her in Spanish. She loves the videos and the books, but she looks at me a little funny when I speak in Spanish at home. (In Spain, she was fine with it because everyone was speaking Spanish.)
So what is the best method for teaching a young child a foreign language? Immersion is the only way to get the child speaking that language fluently. Immersion can take place in a foreign country, with a primary caretaker (a nanny or a parent speaking another language), or in regular play groups with children that speak other languages. I make this last comment because I truly believe that children learn so much more from other children than they do from adults.
But immersion isn't the only path to a second (or third) language. My goal with Esme isn't that she be fluent in a second or third language by the time she's three or even four. I simply want to expose her to other languages, using repetition and child-friendly media like videos and books, so that it's not so foreign to her. I know that my own path to speaking Spanish has been a very gradual one. After not having advanced much in years (since we moved away from Spain), on my last trip there, I catapulted to a new level. This is a residual growth process, and it doesn't happen overnight.
Because traveling and thinking globally are so important to me, I expect it to be important to my children, too. I feel like giving them other languages at a young age is one of the best gifts I can offer. No, I don't expect them to be fluent, but by being exposed now, if they choose to pursue languages further when they're older, I believe it will be much easier for them. I'm careful not to make it a high pressure situation for the children. It's all fun learning. Esme begs to watch her Muzzy video in Spanish (from Early Advantage) and her Bonjour Les Amis video in French, and she loves reading her books in Spanish.
A word on Early Advantage, though. If you're thinking about getting videos for your kids, I have to say that the Early Advantage program is expensive and not very compelling. It lacks interactive elements and is basically just a 2-disc cartoon story. There are other DVDs on the market that are much less expensive. You can even check them out from the library.
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2 comments:
Having grown up in Europe with teachers as parents, I had the benefit of long family vacations in easily accessed foreign countries. As a result I grew up with 'camp-site' communication skills in many languages, and the ability tocomprehend much more than I could say.
You're right that immersion makes fluency possible, but more important than that, I believe, is the confidence to communicate in different languages. Adults (especially English speaking ones) can easily become self-conscious about trying to make themselves understood in a non-native tongue, but children love to try. Perhaps it's the desire to act independantly (asking for '2 croissants et un pain chocolate, svp' is so much better than just being handed the bounty) but children really do absorb new languages more quickly.
From 10 years old I spent a fortnight each year with my French penfriend and went to school with him before bringing him home to repeat the experience. It was an incredible annual experience, and one that helped to shape my attitude to the world. All EU children are now offered a subsidised school exchange in their second language from 11-18 years old. As a result Europe feels tiny and accessible, the rest of the world awaits!
I taught briefly in the San Francisco Chinese Parents' Committee School, right in the heart of Chinatown, and was the only non-Cantonese speaker in the building. And in a decade teaching across the bay area, I rarely had a class without at least one bilingual child. From a teacher's perspective, children who speak more than one language fluently often have slightly less depth in both languages as they enter school, something which can cause parents to drop/minimise the less dominant language for a few years. If the truly bilingual emphasis is maintained, however, by the end of elementary school most of these children will have deeper grasp of both languages than their monolinguistic counterparts. Their grammar is more accurate, verbal expression more articulate and writing skills further developed.
Beyond the usefulness of speaking a foreign language when travelling, is the richness it gives us in percieving the world. From an early age, I loved the fact that there is a whole level of intimacy which exists only in the French language. When you move from the formal 'vous' to the familiar 'tu' there is no going back. Nothing similar exists in English, and it gave me an understanding of how different perspectives on the world can be.
I tend to use French songs to teach new words to Imogen, or games. She is by no means being raised in a bilingual climate, but enjoys asking how other people say things and learning phrases in French, German, Italian or American(!). Sadly, foreign languages are becoming less popular as choices of subject offered in high school or college. This, now that the world is shrinking, is a true sadness. Speaking another tongue is one of the great beauties in education, with effects that should never be underestimated.
From 10 years old I spent a fortnight each year with my French penfriend and went to school with him before bringing him home to repeat the experience. It was an incredible annual experience, and one that helped to shape my attitude to the world. All EU children are now offered a subsidised school exchange in their second language from 11-18 years old. As a result Europe feels tiny and accessible, the rest of the world awaits.
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Dinesh
Preschool Mega Book Pack
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