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Is it possible to teach yourself a language from home?

Multi lingual home – which language to teach daughter?

  • Okay so my girlfriend and I are expecting our first child, a little girl, in November. My girlfriend is half South African and speaks a mixture of Afrikaans and English at home. I am half French and Spanish and speak both of the languages at home. My mother told me that you can only teach babies 2 languages before the age of six, otherwise they get confused. Is this true or can you teach more than two? My girlfriend would like my daughter to be able to speak Afrikaans. I would also like my daughter to be able to speak Spanish as my father who is Spanish can hardly speak English; I would also like honor my French heritage. However my daughter needs to be able to speak English fluently for schooling purposes. I learned English at school and struggled. I can speak all three languages fluently and have no problem addressing my daughter in any of the languages, my girlfriend however feels more comfortable speaking Afrikaans. We now have to decide what other language my daughter gets to learn before her sixth birthday, and this is quite difficult. Any advice at all? Thanks

  • Answer:

    Hi Chris. The fact that your daughter would be learning from a young age I think would increase her chances of learning all of them fluently. What's most important is that you and your girlfriend don't switch between different languages excessively as this might cause your daughter to be unable to differentiate between the languages you want to teach her. Since your girlfriend feels most comfortable speaking in Afrikaans then I think this should be the language she always speaks with your daughter. The fact that you speak both French and Spanish may complicate things a little. But it's still manageable. You could try doing something creative like assigning a specific language to be spoken on each day of the week. For example, Mondays and Wednesdays could be for Spanish while Tuesdays and Thursdays could be reserved for French only. If your daughter were to use an inapropriate word for that specific day (like using a Spanish word on Tuesday) you could kindly remind her as to which word she should use for that day. Last but not least I understand your concern for making sure that she learns to speak English fluently. As long as you are living in an English-speaking country it's almost inevitable that she'll learn the language as long as she's properly exposed to it. Since Afrikaans, Spanish and French are mostly languages that will be spoken with family members you can make sure that she speaks English with everyone else. For example you might choose to hire a babysitter that only speaks to your daughter in English. Also, if there are other small children in the area for her to play with, if they are English-speaking she will likely be exposed to the language that way.Additionally, make sure she has lots exposure to English-speaking programs like Sesame Street as well as some alphabet books, and other English learning materials. And of course English will be language that she receives her education in so even it her English skills are a little lacking for her first year or two of school this will probably end of being her strongest language. Best of luck and hope all goes well with the pregnancy. Take care

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your mom is wrong. you can teach a child numerous languages and they won't get confused......in fact, it is far easier for them to learn as a child than to learn later in life.

tickled blue

A friend of mine is quatro-lingual as a result of his home background. It did him no harm at all. He is an architect and I have seldom met a less confused person!

GrahamH

You don't need to speak English at home -- she'll pick that up at school. I'm sure your English is fine, but it's always weird to see parents speaking broken English to their kids in an effort to "help" them. It's much better that they speak their native tongue -- the kids will pick up English quickly in public.

blue z

Your mom is wrong, I grew up multilingual (4 languages at the same time, and my parents omitted English, because I would learn that at school anyway ... they made the right decision for me). If your daughter needs to speak English for school, teach her something else ... she will learn English anyway, only later. I'd go for the other three languages (and not all four) at the same time, instead ... if you want to make it easier on your daughter. Good luck!

Shweppes

I am assuming that when you learned English at school you were older than 5. Kindergartners learn English quickly and well at school, and it is even easier to pick up in nursery school (the younger, the better). Your mom is wrong in saying that babies can only learn two languages before the age of 6. Their little brains are capable of much more than that. Here is how you can manage to teach her three home languages. If the child speaks Afrikaans with her mom, Spanish with you and your father, and French with you and your mother, then she will keep the languages well organized according to whom she speaks them with. English she will pick up from friends around the neighborhood plus her preschool experiences. Just be aware of one thing. Children are not passive little sponges. They will develop preferences for one or more of their many languages, and that may cause you to have to adapt your ambitious program to her own strengths. Any attempt at forcing a language on a child is always counterproductive, since it makes it harder for them to learn it. When you are a parent you will understand what I mean. We educate our children, but they also educate us. Stay flexible for best results. Enjoy your great adventure!

RE

i think it would be easier to teach her every language simply by immersing her in it. i spoke russian ONLY until i got to pre-k, and there i learned how to speak english in 2 months. i think it is far easier for younger children to learn more languages now as opposed to later in life.

ri_123

I think your mom is right a baby could get easyly confused with more than two languages, I suggest you to teach her English and Spanish first, those are the most important languages Afrikaans is not so important..

MD. Cortex!

Try teaching her 3 languages. Afrikaans, English and Spanish.

Good guy

No. Don't you know about the boy Lorenzo who spoke 6 languages at the age of 5? The axons and the dendrites in children's brains connect a lot faster than that of an adult, which is why they can learn a new language so fast. Here's about Lorenzo. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenzo's_Oil Teach your child all the languages you want, it's only going to benefit her. Speaking four or five languages at home will teach her those, then taking her out in public will help her learn English. My husband moved to America when he was six and he was placed into a regular class and told he'd be able to catch up. He learned English in less than a year. Trust me, if your daughter can speak 4 languages by time she starts school and can continually speak them, she will be much better off. Studies show people who learned more than one language as a child (fluently!!!) retain knowledge in class easier. My husband and I use Japanese around our child so his parents can communicate to him, and then when we leave the house we use English. He understands both, even though he's still a baby. :)

Srta. Argentina

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