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Q: Possible for Cross-Cultural kids to Learn Chinese and English?
Does anybody have any experience with this? This is one of those things that I can't Yahoo. I want to know if you can speak English and Chinese in the same house and how your kids respond to that. Thanks a whole ton for the invaluable advice.
9 years 3 days ago in Teaching & Learning - China
It is possible, but the language develops slower than normal kids (because they are learning 2 languages instead of just one)
ScotsAlan:
Yup. Or in the case of my kid, 4 languages. English is her weakest, but she is young yet. The kids same age as my daughter but with a single language were wittering away long before ours, but she is catching up with her Cantonese and Mandarin. Interestingly, the Cantonese parents only speak Cantonese to their kids, no Mandarin. Puts them at a disadvantage when they start school.
It is possible, but the language develops slower than normal kids (because they are learning 2 languages instead of just one)
ScotsAlan:
Yup. Or in the case of my kid, 4 languages. English is her weakest, but she is young yet. The kids same age as my daughter but with a single language were wittering away long before ours, but she is catching up with her Cantonese and Mandarin. Interestingly, the Cantonese parents only speak Cantonese to their kids, no Mandarin. Puts them at a disadvantage when they start school.
Kids learn two languages as one. That's why, it's easier for them to master two or more languages at the young age than later as adults.
If you have chance, you should go for it. Bilingual parents would be great environment.
Once in Holland I was in home, where two kids (4&5y old) were replying with ease to parents in 4 different languages.
The British Chinese I know consider themselves to be able to speak and write both languages to native level. They were in environments growing up, where they were saturated by both languages. The best way for them to become bi lingual is to learn the language that is not native to the country they are in. When they go to school they will learn the native language. They ll be a bit slower at first but won't take long to catch up
I know a couple who have a tri- lingual child. The father speaks French and English, the mother is Chinese.
Like Stiggs I have friends where the father is French, the mother Chinese (Cantonese)
They have two Kodak, 4 year old daughter. 2 year old son. Both kids speak Cantonese with their mother, French with their father & the daughter also understands the Hakka grandmother! Their parents speak English to each other so even though the kids don't speak English they understand it enough when spoken to. They'll end up Quad-lingual (is there such a thing?). Cantonese, Mandarin (from school), French & English.
So you speak one language at home and learn the other in school? Is that the best way?
ScotsAlan:
ha ha no. Last week, me and my 3 year old were having a lazy hour outside the corner shop, drinking orange juice and eating qqs. "I fancy a beer", I thought... "Daughter .. go get me a beer".... in English. Daughter to shopkeeper... "Laoban, alan yow peijo" Fantastic moment :-) They auto switch.
Stiggs:
The couple I know have a system which seems to have worked. When they're all together they speak English because the mother speaks great English, when it's the father and son they speak French, when it's the mother and son together they speak Chinese. Obviously when he's at school he only hears Chinese.
I can't say whether being around 3 languages has slowed him down but from what I've seen his English is at native level for his age, his Chinese is probably better and I can't speak much French but I'd guess it's at a similar level to his English and Chinese.
icnif77:
Kids act similar as vacuum: 'whatever you speak, they'll repeat and copy'. Same in the kindergarten and school. Much easier learning than when adults.
ScotsAlan:
It gets better. Laoban open the fridge door... Daughter.. "Alan... what one ?" Me... "That one" Daughter to laoban... "Ta yow zigga" What an increible advantange in life these kids have.
From my understanding from friends and education articles I've read then if the parents speak different native languages then it's best if they always talk to the kids in their native language.
So so in my example about the father always speaks French to his kids, the mother always speaks Cantonese. They'll learn mandarin at kindergarten & school. They'll pick up English from hearing their parents speak to each other and their other friends.
There is generally one dominant language. In thier case it will be Cantonese as they live in Guangzhou & most of their immediate family speak it as a first language. Their French will be strong due to their father. Mandarin will develop due to being taught in it at school. England will be the weakest but as kids suck up languages at an early stage will still probably be good.
Bottom line - stick to your native language when talking to your kids, read books with them in your language. Ensure your wife does the same in her native language. Don't force anything either.
Shining_brow:
Sorry, Hotwater, but I've got to downvote this.
All the studies suggest (and trust me, I've had to read quite a few in my applied linguistics second language acquisition classes*) that if you do this, then the kids will revert to using 1 language in one situation (and have relative fluency in those situations), but using the other language in different situations (and be fluent with that language in those situations). Which would end up - 'fluent' with social interaction with one parent, but unable to use the language, say, for social or academic purposes. If you want all-rounded fluency, then the language must be used in all situations (and, thus, to all people).
Kids don't have much of a problem picking up languages in general... so it's perfectly ok (and better) if instead of just using native with one parent, that parents use both languages... I know it's more of a PITA, but it would be better for the kids if it was one day, one language... so, on Monday use English, on Tuesday use Cantonese, Wed back to English, etc....
(* - no, not big-noting myself, just trying to provide the supporting evidence to my claims)
ScotsAlan:
Do you have kids yourself shining? Ha ha. Just going for the lowest common denominator to reject your studies.... Chinese style :-)
Shining_brow:
@Scots - fortunately for them - no :p
If I did, I would totally follow this advice (for maybe the first 10 minutes, and then switch to what's most familiar :p) Personally, I'd love to be multi-lingual... and after this friggen dissertation is done, I might pull my finger out and work on that... first Chinese, then... German? Or French?? Or try to remember my Russian or Spanish... perhaps Italian to get that passport... (only 3 years! Or 2 if we live in Italy!)
Hotwater:
No problem with the down vote Shining, interesting to get a view from someone who has looked more deeply into the subject. My knowledge is only from a few families I know & a couple of articles I've read over the years.
My always keen to understand more so would be great if you could share a couple of links for further reading.
(I'm not digging here in my request for links...I really am interested & I know Scotsalan would also read them as he has a vested interest...his daughter!)
Shining_brow:
Ummm... I'll see what I can do for you guys. My stuff is usually from university libraries, so I get access to stuff that I wouldn't be able to otherwise... (unless... I can d/l and then PM or something...).
Oh, Hots, you're still in HZ - yes??
Hotwater:
Not in HZ, only visit there to visit factories. I live in GZ, same as Scots. Though I may up there week after next, mainly in the Xiaoshan area. Have they opened the metro from there to downtown yet?
Shining_brow:
Line 1 is open, Line 4 is open - but I'm not sure how useful it will be to you.
As I just commented above - evidence shows that people can be fairly easily multi-lingual (more than 4 isn't really an issue! Some speak 6).
What is the issue is the relative fluency levels - they will be more fluent in some situations than others. It has not shown to be hugely detrimental (I know mono-lingual native speakers who still suck!)
They will go through a phase where their academic grades will make them appear behind the mono-lingual kids, but this will pan out over time, so that by the time they're in senior grades, there won't be any significant difference. Be aware, their relative fluency in academia will be that which they've been taught in - not necessarily their 'native' language (which may or may not be a language actually spoken at home).
The best option is to ensure the kids are getting language input for all languages for all situations... social, academic, employment (yeah, obviously I mean much further down the track - but how many Chinese understand 'supervisor', 'senior management' etc, instead of just 'boss', 'leader', 'officer', etc.)
Also be aware, as Scots was indicating above, they will also "code-switch" (techno-babble for 'change languages mid-sentence/conversation'). Again, not a problem, and it will sort itself out in time... especially when their brain knows the correct word in the correct language, but people question it (shenma??) enough so that the right word comes out.
Mixing grammars will also occur... again, it should sort itself out in time!
To answer your OP question... Hong Kongers and Singaporeans did!
Interesting stuff Shiningbrow.
My daughter has to deal with 4. Cantonese, another Cantonese dialect, Mandarin and English.
I would prefer she just has to deal with Mandarin and English, but the MIL being what she is... she insists on speaking hometown. Stupid beyond stupid if you ask me. Even my wife could not speak her own hometown dialect until baby was born and MIL moved in. After all, she saw no point in remembering home town dialect because it's not as if she will ever go live there.
So my daughter at three years old... fluent in home town... but lives in a city where the only people who understand it are.... from that hometown... erm.. that means half a dozen where we live.
So she goes out, chats in hometown.. and is met with blank states.
Cantonese... yup she can do Cantonese.. chats in Cantonese... oh dear... chatting to a Mandarin speaker.
Daughter is getting confused by now... why does nobody understand what she is saying.
Add in English... wow... she talks to me in English, the people in the corner shop have no idea what she is saying. The grandmas dragging their unwanted grand daughters around see my daughter, point to her, and tell their unwanted girl to "go touch the hem of her garment".. touch her and the magic of English will pass to you... FFS.
I think the issue in China, is not so much the different languages, it's the total stupidity when it comes to accepting other languages exit.
Today with my daughter... me.. lets get a drink...
Me... wo yow e guan cola.
blank stare.
Me... wo yow chidan.......
blank stare.
Midan!
Blank stare
The daughter has just point blank refused to listen to what they are sayung
