My good friend Sijen asked me recently what my perspective on raising a bilingual kid is. A couple of months ago, I wrote a little about it (http://a-newell-life.blogspot.com/2008/11/polyglot.html), but I have a few more things to add.
I will say again that if you have the opportunity to give your child the gift of another language, it really would be a waste not to give it a try. However, I am also practical in understanding that in a multi-racial family, sometimes speaking in more than one language can be inconvenient, confusing, unnatural, and sometimes - though rarely - even offensive to other family members who may feel "left out" of conversations. I think that everyone just needs to keep an open mind about how the child should be raised. A child equiped with more tools and skills will fare better in the world, so why not give your child that leg-up?
From what I have noticed about Abigail's learning experience with Chinese and English (and even sign language to some extent) is that she is just so much better at expressing herself than many toddlers her age and even toddlers older than her. She absorbs everything we have taught her and she uses whatever is the most convenient for her to get her thoughts across. Over the past few months, she has been building up her vocabulary in both languages and making associations between the two. These days, if she says something in Chinese we don't understand, she will sign it or use the English equivalent and the same goes for any English words coming out of her mouth we don't understand - we will get a Chinese translation, if she knows it. Taking care of her has become so easy so quickly because she communicates well enough to express her wants and needs and as a result, she is a very, very happy kid.
Last week, I found out something really cool. At daycare, a couple of her teachers have learned to speak some Chinese! Abby just uses her Chinese words enough and - when necessary - explains by other means, so that some of her teachers understood and will now use the Chinese words with Abby. Cool, huh?
If Abby can continue to pick up both English and Chinese as she has, then I'm pretty confident she can become fluent in both. Moving to Colorado and being close to Paul's parents and my parents means that Abby will grow up knowing two different cultures and environments. I can't wait to see what she makes of them. I really do not intend to push her hard in Chinese because I feel that pushing may create an opposite reaction and cause her to resent the language and culture.
I will say again that if you have the opportunity to give your child the gift of another language, it really would be a waste not to give it a try. However, I am also practical in understanding that in a multi-racial family, sometimes speaking in more than one language can be inconvenient, confusing, unnatural, and sometimes - though rarely - even offensive to other family members who may feel "left out" of conversations. I think that everyone just needs to keep an open mind about how the child should be raised. A child equiped with more tools and skills will fare better in the world, so why not give your child that leg-up?
From what I have noticed about Abigail's learning experience with Chinese and English (and even sign language to some extent) is that she is just so much better at expressing herself than many toddlers her age and even toddlers older than her. She absorbs everything we have taught her and she uses whatever is the most convenient for her to get her thoughts across. Over the past few months, she has been building up her vocabulary in both languages and making associations between the two. These days, if she says something in Chinese we don't understand, she will sign it or use the English equivalent and the same goes for any English words coming out of her mouth we don't understand - we will get a Chinese translation, if she knows it. Taking care of her has become so easy so quickly because she communicates well enough to express her wants and needs and as a result, she is a very, very happy kid.
Last week, I found out something really cool. At daycare, a couple of her teachers have learned to speak some Chinese! Abby just uses her Chinese words enough and - when necessary - explains by other means, so that some of her teachers understood and will now use the Chinese words with Abby. Cool, huh?
If Abby can continue to pick up both English and Chinese as she has, then I'm pretty confident she can become fluent in both. Moving to Colorado and being close to Paul's parents and my parents means that Abby will grow up knowing two different cultures and environments. I can't wait to see what she makes of them. I really do not intend to push her hard in Chinese because I feel that pushing may create an opposite reaction and cause her to resent the language and culture.
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