Family: mono-lingual -> Multi-lingual (General discussion) Language Learning Forum

Family: mono-lingual -> Multi-lingual
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Language Learning Forum : General discussion

10 messages over 2 pages: 1 2

chobbs
Newbie
United States
Joined 4579 days ago
35 posts - 47 votes
Speaks: English*
Studies: Esperanto, French

Message 9 of 10

04 May 2015 at 10:43pm | IP Logged

rdearman wrote:

You might want to PM Radioclare who is part of the Esperanto movement in the UK, She can certainly answer a lot of your questions. I studied Esperanto briefly and it shouldn't be to much of a struggle, there are only a dozen grammar rules, so everything else is just learning vocabulary.
So there is some benefit in your children learning this first. Also, research into the neurobiology of bilingualism has found that being fluent in two languages, particularly from early childhood, not only enhances a person’s ability to concentrate, but might also protect against the onset of dementia and other age-related cognitive decline.

Thanks, I'll send her a PM and see what insight she can offer.

rdearman wrote:

So I say go for it. After all what could it hurt, and the advantage is you'd have a language in your family very few outsiders understand, so you can talk about how fat Great-Aunt Bessie has gotten without her actually knowing. :)

LoL, I am sure the boys will get quite a kick out of that aspect.

- Chris

1 person has voted this message useful

shk00design
Triglot
Senior Member
Canada
Joined 4446 days ago
747 posts - 1123 votes

Speaks: Cantonese*, English, Mandarin
Studies: French

Message 10 of 10

05 May 2015 at 12:33am | IP Logged

Part of the equation for learning languages is exposure to a language. The other is personal effort. In order to
be successful learning any language,

There are parents who are first generation immigrants and speak to their kids in their native language.
Although the kids have the advantage of being exposed to the language early, in some cases the second
generation is able to maintain language fluency. Depending on a number of factors including connections with
the home country (frequent travelling back & forth and relatives visiting), watching videos in another language,
etc. Families with parents and grandparents who are not fluent in English the kids tend to be more fluent in the
mother-tongue because they often act as interpreters for the older generation when shopping or going to a
doctor's appointment.

Relying on going to class everyday is not enough. Once you get to a summer break, you have 3 months with
no exposure to a language. Personally I'd read news in Chinese at least 3 times per week, listen to news in the
language on radio as much as possible and watch all sorts of online documentaries of interest. In the
beginning, picking up words & phrases from a documentary may be a bit difficult. Try to find TV programs that
are entertaining such as 中国达人秀, the Chinese version of "America's Got Talent" and "Britain's Got Talent".
Many countries have their own versions of the show and the format is very similar so the only issue is
following the dialogue. There are other reality shows including singing contests similar to "American Idol" that
are also easy to follow.

I know 1 family who had no TV for many years or even a video machine. Although the mother is Dutch and the
father is German, the kids learned other languages (Latin, French & German) in class. Their parents never
spoke to them in a mother-tongue. They maintained good marks in school but did not become fluent speakers
in another language until they moved to Europe where they picked up Spanish and Italian as well.

Some people suggested getting to family to stop using English at home. The problem is hat when 2 people are
learning the same language, they tend to pick up on each other's mistake. My parents would never speak to
the kids in Japanese if they are learning the language unless they are already native-speakers. On the other
hand, I know someone in the US who belongs to a local Deutsch Klub where the group would meet once a
week to practice their German. And he also belong to another group who studies Chinese in a program
sponsored by the Confucius Institute. They would meet regularly to practice Mandarin. When you have a
group of people who have already reached an advanced level in a language, communications become easier.
1 person has voted this message useful

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