89 votes
Accepted

Teaching my son a language he doesn't want to learn

Yes, I do have another idea. Most sources agree that immersion is the best way to really learn a language. So bringing your son to a school where English is the primary language is a good start. ...
Stephie's user avatar
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49 votes
Accepted

Raising a bilingual kid. When should we introduce the majority language?

You probably need to get started on English exposure soon. At some point he wants to play with other kids and unless you live in a French speaking enclave, that will happen in English. I suggest ...
Hilmar's user avatar
  • 7,274
45 votes
Accepted

Do I keep my daughter's Russian vocabulary small or not?

is this approach going to help her build connection with a basic vocabulary Yes should I try to broaden it as much as I can and as soon as I can? Yes. Progress the Russian and English vocabulary at ...
Hilmar's user avatar
  • 7,274
43 votes
Accepted

Should I correct my daughter's pronunciation of ballet terms?

My approach to pronunciation issues is simple: pronounce them correctly myself, but only correct my children when it's relevant (meaning, if they're saying something that's actually a different word, ...
Joe's user avatar
  • 62.6k
42 votes

Will reading the same book in two languages confuse my daughter?

Don’t worry. I have 3 kids who are now fluent in 3 languages... When the youngest was learning to count we were giving her the numbers in either of two languages - because she was also at nursery ...
Solar Mike's user avatar
  • 2,479
40 votes

Teaching my son a language he doesn't want to learn

Having been in a similar family position (as the child) half a century ago, it's possible he's a bit possessive of his mother, and associates your English with losing her full attention and regard. In ...
T.E.D.'s user avatar
  • 2,980
33 votes
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Can I "read" from English books to my infant, but use words from my native language?

I have personally tried this. The only difficulty that I've found is that once your child reaches "reading age", these books can offer some starting points. However, if your child has consistently ...
Ian MacDonald's user avatar
29 votes

Raising a bilingual kid. When should we introduce the majority language?

If you want a child to be truly bilingual, you have to start with both languages at the very beginning. The important thing is the separation of languages. This can be accomplished in multiple ways. ...
Granny Aching's user avatar
27 votes

Teaching my son a language he doesn't want to learn

You could ask him to help you learn Japanese better. In order to explain things to you, he will have to speak some English, while at the same time the potential reward of you speaking more Japanese ...
Tobias Kienzler's user avatar
27 votes
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when to start reading books to a child and attempt teaching reading?

In our experience, the main reading-promoting activities at this early age were limited to reading aloud to children. We used good quality books with lots of pictures, often board books. Having the ...
Timur Shtatland's user avatar
18 votes

Raising a bilingual kid. When should we introduce the majority language?

This answer is only from my personal experience raised in an only-French-speaking home/family/extended family living in the US. My father and mother both had a lot of siblings, and I had lots of ...
anongoodnurse's user avatar
17 votes

Should I correct my daughter's pronunciation of ballet terms?

I think you might be overreacting. As an French-speaking American, I can guarantee most non-French speaking Americans can't pronounce battu (and many other words) correctly, either. It's performing ...
anongoodnurse's user avatar
16 votes

Teaching my son a language he doesn't want to learn

I can give you a few data points. The first one is my son, to whom I spoke French since he was born. I am French, we lived in another country at that time, but I knew we would be back in France (and ...
WoJ's user avatar
  • 567
16 votes

Can I teach my 9-month-old child my native language if I only see her for a few minutes at a time?

This is one of those rare cases where there's been a scientific study on exactly this topic! The short answer is yes, speaking Russian with your 9mo daughter --- even for just the short visits you ...
Rose Hartman's user avatar
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15 votes

Raising a bilingual kid. When should we introduce the majority language?

I think you are in danger of already having left this too late. Children learn language by making sense of what they hear before they start to speak at all. To be truly bilingual, and "accent-free", ...
alephzero's user avatar
  • 251
14 votes

Teaching my son a language he doesn't want to learn

The child needs incentive to learn. Only speak English and have great quality time with him. Go out together, cook together, have a hobby together, just make sure you're doing it together and only ...
the_lotus's user avatar
  • 1,608
13 votes

Do I keep my daughter's Russian vocabulary small or not?

There is no harm in broadening the second language (e.g., Russian) vocabulary. Numerous studies have shown that bilingual and monolingual children have similar overall vocabulary sizes (see, for ...
Timur Shtatland's user avatar
13 votes

when to start reading books to a child and attempt teaching reading?

when to start reading books to a child As soon as it's fun for everyone involved. 11 months is fine if you and your daughter enjoy it. and attempt teaching reading? Too early. At 11 month you ...
Hilmar's user avatar
  • 7,274
12 votes

Can I "read" from English books to my infant, but use words from my native language?

You may not get a choice, particularly as your child gets older. Mine has lots of books in both English and her mother tongue. When I pick up a book she will often request demand it be read in one ...
Bob says reinstate Monica's user avatar
10 votes

Teaching my son a language he doesn't want to learn

"Gamification". We had a Japanese "wwoofer" ('Willing Workers On Organic Farms") staying with us some years back, and played cooperative scrabble - we all worked together to find the different ...
MickeyfAgain_BeforeExitOfSO's user avatar
10 votes

4 languages... are we going to overload our child?

Most of the parenting resources say that it's easier for babies to learn different languages if each person who interacts with them stick to one particular language. I found this true from my ...
svj's user avatar
  • 1,442
9 votes

Teaching my son a language he doesn't want to learn

Immersion is the most effective way to learn, and it sounds like your son enjoys watching television. So my suggestion is to allow him a set amount of Japanese television per day (30 minutes would be ...
Joe's user avatar
  • 62.6k
9 votes

Raising a bilingual kid. When should we introduce the majority language?

Very respectfully have to disagree 100%. Your child will pick up English faster than you can imagine. He/she will then immediately begin to lose French on a daily basis. He/she will soon be annoyed ...
vbp13's user avatar
  • 650
9 votes

How to teach a child a third language you don't speak yourself fluently?

There have been many posts on multilingualism and the most common approach, namely one-person-one-language, as well as mixing languages. It sounds like you'd be offering your child input 3 languages (...
iulia's user avatar
  • 1,752
8 votes

How to help a 2-year-old settle in day care where a foreign language is spoken?

I wouldn't worry too much: At 2 years old, children are basically professional, full time language learners. Your son will pick up any language as easily as he picked up Hungarian. At that age, many ...
microtherion's user avatar
8 votes

when to start reading books to a child and attempt teaching reading?

Pre-reading is definitely possible at 11 months. A bilingual child whom I take care of has been happily "reading" the logos of cars since about that age. As we walked down the street, I ...
James Newton's user avatar
7 votes

Monolingual parents encouraging language skills early

I'd recommend the foreign babysitter option. You'll want her to come on a regular basis, several hours a week at least, and you'll want her to speak to the child exclusively or almost exclusively in ...
Warren Dew's user avatar
  • 2,643
7 votes

Teaching my son a language he doesn't want to learn

The Bilingual Family: A Handbook for Parents by Harding-Esch and Riley is a very good resource, built largely around case studies. The main thing I took away was a better understanding that there's no ...
CynicallyNaive's user avatar
7 votes

4 languages... are we going to overload our child?

While I don't have personal experience to share, there is scientific evidence that bilingual babies learn additional languages faster. I would therefore advise that you each teach the baby your ...
Chris Sunami's user avatar
  • 6,183

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