Use of language in general, and about learning foreign languages. See also the tags [language-development] and [bilingual].
6
votes
2answers
62 views
Should we put our a child in a preschool with a primary language we do not speak?
We have an almost 2 year old daughter and we are looking around for preschools to put her in. We are in Vancouver, Canada which has a large Chinese population and Mandarin is very common. Neither of ...
2
votes
2answers
73 views
Songs for teaching hindi/kannada phonics?
My son is just starting to make a few words, and enjoys songs a lot. I feel that teaching him the letters in hindi/kannada (which we speak at home along with english ) will help him learn the sounds ...
3
votes
2answers
165 views
Should I make my child respond to me in my language?
In my family (including extended family), everybody speaks both German and Danish. It also means that everybody can speak whatever language they happen to prefer, and we even throw in a word from the ...
7
votes
4answers
287 views
What if my kids don't want me to speak my native language?
My children are raised multilingual; we live in Austria and they learn all their German from my wife and from the world around us. I'm Danish and I want my kids to know that language too, so since ...
6
votes
6answers
305 views
How to get my sister to use correct spelling while typing on computer?
I am sure that I am treading on eggshells here as this is a matter of opinion, but please do read on.
I absolutely resent when people use incorrect spelling for 90% of their words, on purpose. My ...
2
votes
1answer
58 views
How do you teach your children about regional colloquialisms?
We live in an area that is relatively new to me. Since moving here, I've found that there are some colloquial phrasings specific to this region that are particularly jarring to my ear.
In ...
7
votes
1answer
82 views
Three year old with good speech, now sometimes making up own words, especially names.
I think he is just exploring rhythms and sounds but would like to learn more. My other theory is that it just gives great satisfaction to be able to appear authoritative when he doesn't have a full ...
2
votes
1answer
113 views
How to handle homeschooling in another language?
I want to home-school my child (He is now 2 years old).
However I live in a country where homeschooling is not allowed (at least not in the country's school system). Also, educational materials for ...
7
votes
4answers
145 views
At what age is it appropriate to start to teach a foreign language / second language - and how to do it?
We are a Brazilian family in Brazil and therefore we speak Portuguese. I can speak English reasonably well but my wife is just learning it now. We want our 9 months old son to learn English, too. ...
5
votes
4answers
348 views
Kindergarten Teacher teaching in Spanish, should I be concerned?
My 5 year old stepson recently moved to El Paso, TX with me and my wife. He's only been in the U.S. for a little over a month. His primary language is Thai. I would love for him to start picking up ...
6
votes
8answers
1k views
When should I allow a child to swear?
Disclaimer: I do not have kids of my own yet, so this is more of a curiosity question.
I'd met some kids via online gaming who were ages 13 or so, and swearing quite skillfully. I think in ...
5
votes
5answers
267 views
Moving to a foreign country with a 2.5 years old child
My wife and I are moving to a foreign country with our 30 months old daughter. The country we are moving to speaks a different language (German-we speak Italian) which my wife and I understand and ...
16
votes
5answers
1k views
Why do parents refer to themselves in the third person?
Can anyone explain to me the reason why parents tend to refer to themselves in the third person, when talking to their young children?
E.g.:
"Hold Daddy's hand while we cross the road"
as opposed ...
2
votes
4answers
158 views
How can I add English to an already bilingual household?
In this recent question, Matej raises his son English bilingual. I think teaching English very early is a great idea because there's hardly any way around English anyway so you might as well learn it ...
7
votes
4answers
367 views
Should I stop teaching my toddler a second language if his exposure to it will be limited?
I have stared to talk exclusively in English to my son when he was less than 6 months old. However, we have decided not to move to an English speaking country, so I ended up practically alone.
It's ...
6
votes
1answer
471 views
Should I be concerned that my 3 year old is not able to pronounce an 'r' sound?
My daughter is turning 3 this December, she goes to pre-school with other kids who speak totally different languages. We're from a remote part of India, thus she shares her mother-tongue with no one ...
18
votes
13answers
1k views
How do my wife and I stop our son from learning to swear from us?
My wife and I both tend to have... colorful language (for me it tends to be far worse when driving). Our son just turned one, and is starting to become more verbal. He's not quite at the point where ...
17
votes
7answers
910 views
Why are parents so concerned about profanity around their children?
I've spent some time around parents of children in the 2months to 6 years range. And both were quite diligent about having me watch what I said, in particular around profanity.
Why the concern?
For ...
2
votes
2answers
136 views
Is there software that helps teach pre-schoolers to recognize letters?
I am looking for software, which allow my three year old to tap a letter and it will present the letter and say it. I speak an obscure language so I need to record the letters myself. Does this exist?
...
5
votes
4answers
1k views
What is a good age to start teaching a child Ancient Latin and Greek?
I've read a lot on here about children and languages, but they all have to do with spoken language. I am not fluent in any spoken language, but I have taken extensive coursework in Classical Latin and ...
4
votes
6answers
406 views
Is the Rosetta software a good tool for teaching a toddler foreign languages?
I have the full version of the Rosetta cd with many languages.
I understand that young children absorb information like a sponge - so if I wanted to teach my daughter languages which I do not know, ...
4
votes
3answers
271 views
Does anyone recognize where the phrase “Dinosaur on the button” comes from?
Our 3.5 year old son has picked up a catchphrase/joke punchline from somewhere... but we can't figure out where it came from, his teachers can't figure it out, his day care teachers can't figure it ...
13
votes
8answers
8k views
How do you stop a child from using bad language and profanity?
My child has started to use swear words. This is shocking because he is using words that we don't use. I'm not sure how to react! How do I get this to stop?
45
votes
11answers
2k views
What are some strategies for raising a bilingual child?
We are planning on raising our child bi-lingual. The plan is for my husband to only speak English to her and I would only speak Tagalog (a dialect of the Philippines). I have asked my parents to also ...
