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Tyakeia
  Reply with quote  #1 
Hello,
I have a two month old daughter and my husband and I both decided we’d like for her to learn German, ASL, and Spanish. We both know the basics of each language. We’ve started playing Dora cartoons for her and pointing out different items thoughout the house. He uses German and I use Spanish and ASL. We’d both like to advance our language skills. My husband’s grandfather is fluent in both Spanish and German, while my cousins and friends are fluent in Spanish. I’m currently learning ASL for my college degree program.
Does anyone have any suggestions we could do in the meantime? We don’t live near our family or friends as most are still in the military and we are now a civilian family. I’ve been doing searches for websites that I could use to make flashcards to post around the house. I pick up other languages better than my husband can and I usually only need to hear a few words once and I can remember them and what they mean.
Thanks in advance for any replies of suggestions and advice.


1. United States (Southern GA)
2. mainly english
3. 2 months
4. OPOL


 
Hanifa K. Cook
  Reply with quote  #2 
Hi there,

You and I share the same situation. My husband is not linguistically inclined. I personally speak 4 languages. The conscious decision for my child to learn Mandarin, English and Malay was largely mine in this regard. 

To begin with, you already have the basic prerequisites of raising a child to speak more than 2 languages. You are:
  1. talented (“I pick up other languages better than my husband can and I usually only need to hear a few words once and I can remember them and what they mean. “)
  2. the decision has been made jointly, so you don’t have to carry the weight of supporting your child on your own (“ my husband and I both decided we’d like for her to learn German, ASL, and Spanish.”)
  3. both of you can treat these languages as subjects for learning (“ We both know the basics of each language. “)
  4. both of you willing learners (“ We’d both like to advance our language skills.”)
These are your strong points and with an understanding of childhood development (language, motor skills, cognitive, practical skills etc.), you can gradually instil the interest of learning languages in your child. 

At 2 years of age, it is still too early to know if the child will become better at learning languages than other subjects in school. It is compulsory for Singapore kids to learn two languages in school, so all pre-schools will provide bilingual programmes. But that doesn’t mean that every kid will grow up become fluent in two languages. There are several factors influencing this, which we know is a matter for early childhood grooming programmes. 

So if you ask me what you’ll have to do to help your child, I’d say enjoy the time together as much as possible as the process of learning languages can only begin if there is interaction between two parties. Resource materials like flashcards and textbooks can only go so far.

If you like some tips, do visit my blog at http://www.childhoodspeech.com 

Regards
Mum who raises her daughter to speak 3 languages.


 
Tyakeia
  Reply with quote  #3 
Thank you so much for replying and for the link to your blog. I will gladly take a look at it.
 
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