Non-native bilingualism - when is too late?

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Forums > Non-native Speakers > Non-native bilingualism – when is too late?

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Tosomja

Posted 09/09/10	Reply with quote #1

I have a son who is 2 years 2 months old. I speak French fairly fluently but with lots of errors (didn’t study it beyond the age of 17 but have spent time living in France and really love it). I started speaking French exclusively to him 15 days ago and I’m really not sure if I’m much too late – should have started from birth! I didn’t even think about it for the first 2 years . Is there anyone else out there who started late and what were the results? Is it worth it or should I just give up and send him to French classes when he’s 3? He does think it’s fairly strange and is showing a strong preference for his dad at the moment (who talks English to him) but he is starting to understand and repeats words back to me. When I look at French grammar books I just feel overwhelmed by the inadequacies of my French and feel I could never teach him properly – but on the other hand I can manage the requirements of toddler communication at the moment!

elizabeth

Posted 09/11/10	Reply with quote #2

Hi, I know exactly what you are feeling as I had the same experience! Last summer when my son was almost 2 I realized suddenly I wanted to speak to him in Spanish. My Spanish is very bad (intermediate) but I just started and it amazed me how quickly he understood. There are often times when I am frustrated and feel disheartened but I definitely don’t think it is too late and though our mistakes will affect his language skills of course to some degree it is still a blessing to be able to know a language even if it is with mistakes. If you keep at it your son will be able to understand French speakers, hopefully be able to speak with them, and definitely be able to smooth over his mistakes and learn other languages with more ease as he gets older. I don’t think you should stop and give him French lessons. I think you should continue AND give him French lessons! The French lessons (presumably taught by a native speaker) will help him as it is important to supplement as much as possible with native speakers and if possible trips to French speaking nations in these early years. My son understands a lot of Spanish but thus far only speaks a little bit here and there. I am hoping that will change with my persistence. I have just found him a Spanish speaking daycare after a year of searching so that should help him a good bit. Also make sure you get French practice with others who know the language, ie more lessons or French meetup groups. I belong to a Spanish group that meets for dinner a couple of times a month that is great. If you live in the USA check out http://www.meetup.com to see if there is a French group near you. Also if you are interested check out my blog http://www.monolingualmami.com about my experience teaching my son Spanish. Good luck!

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