sagira Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 I've avoided this section of the board because I feel a little ashamed. I've spoken my native language, Papiamento, to my son, now five, from birth. However, he claims he doesn't know how to speak it. I think sometimes he does try, but he doesn't know how to speak it. How is this possible? I've even read to him and translated everything up to the time he was three years old. Am I doing all this for nothing? I'm going to keep speaking Papiamento to him, but during school I speak English. Since I've been speaking English to him during school time, his English conversation and vocabulary have gotten so much better, especially since he started reading himself. I don't know why he doesn't know how to speak my native language, though. What did I do wrong? I've even read books to him in my language, sing songs, you name it :confused: I'm glad that we'll be visiting Aruba for two weeks (haven't been since before he was born). Maybe he will pick up some words and idioms there. My mom is baffled too. She thinks it's my dh's side of the family, as my dh grew up with his Cuban grandmother (who only spoke Spanish) and never learned to speak Spanish :confused: Is there such a thing as no aptitude for speaking other languages? Should I continue plugging on in my language (I'm not a quitter by nature), or is this fruitless? The least I want him to get is a foundation in the Romance languages and to eventually learn to speak Spanish fluently. I recently started teaching him Spanish and he always says the language I speak to him is Spanish, but I have to keep telling him no, it's Papiamento. Sigh. I'm usually not this negative in my posts, but someone please help me understand or give me some hope :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted June 3, 2009 Author Share Posted June 3, 2009 Oh, I have to add that he does understand a lot. Not everything, especially when I speak really fast :tongue_smilie:, but a lot. I'm happy about that :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 :grouphug: Hey, you should've crashed the party earlier, then you could've read this thread: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84069 and this one: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83974 This refusal of a bilingual child to speak on one of the languages (even if they understand completely) is very common and is usually a phase. Take heart, you're not doing anything wrong! A visit to a place where it is spoken widely is a great help over the hump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted June 3, 2009 Author Share Posted June 3, 2009 Thank you :grouphug: It's been hard for me to stay motivated and speak to him in my native tongue. Nobody else speaks this language! I stress to my mom to keep speaking it to him, but she's almost like, What's the point. She spoke four languages fluently by the time she was four. I told her maybe it's because we lived in a multilingual society. I'm not sure. Ds tries to say things, but he says he can't and he struggles to say the words. I don't think he's faking it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VanessaS Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Am I doing all this for nothing?No way. If the comprehension is there, the speech will develop eventually. I didn't speak fluent German until I was 18 (and living in Germany) but I learnt it RRRRRREALLY fast because I'd heard it so often before. It's important to be familiar with a language's rhythm. His speech might speed up when he starts reading the language on his own. He might just be a visual-spatial learner, rather than audio-sequential. They have more difficulty learning foreign languages but tend to advance further in adulthood. Don't give up hope! You're doing a good job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 No way. If the comprehension is there, the speech will develop eventually. I didn't speak fluent German until I was 18 (and living in Germany) but I learnt it RRRRRREALLY fast because I'd heard it so often before. It's important to be familiar with a language's rhythm. His speech might speed up when he starts reading the language on his own. He might just be a visual-spatial learner, rather than audio-sequential. They have more difficulty learning foreign languages but tend to advance further in adulthood. Don't give up hope! You're doing a good job. I feel much better now. Thank you. Would you know he asked me today to speak Papiamento to him because he wants me to teach him? I was touched, and relieved. He's sweet :001_wub: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate in Arabia Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 No way. If the comprehension is there, the speech will develop eventually. I didn't speak fluent German until I was 18 (and living in Germany) but I learnt it RRRRRREALLY fast because I'd heard it so often before. It's important to be familiar with a language's rhythm.This was also true for us. We worked a lot with my oldest in Arabic while we were living in the States, although he never did much speaking in Arabic beyond a few phrases. Once we moved overseas, however, he had a major advantage. Also, it has enabled us to use curricula that are designed for native speakers, even though he is not a native (or even fluent) speaker, because he had so much early exposure. Basic vocab, and just familiarity -- he knows a sentence sounds right or wrong, even though he may not understand why, technically, kwim? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 I'm glad that we'll be visiting Aruba for two weeks (haven't been since before he was born). Maybe he will pick up some words and idioms there. This trip may help a lot. My cousins spoke English at home, but went to school in French. Not an immersion school, but designed for francophones. The first one hated it at first, and spoke a fake French at first. When they visited Montreal the following summer, her eyes lit up and she turned to my aunt (or perhaps my uncle--this was back in the early 1980s) and said, "They're speaking French!" Things went much easier for them after that eye-opening experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Friederike in Persia Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 If he's 5 he might also understand why this is improtant to you. You could try and explain some of your reasons to him. I do this with my children when they bulk at having to do German. "This is who I am! Do you not want to be able to talk to the rest of the family?...." Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Today it took my dd8 2 hours to write half a page of German, maybe I shouldn't be advising on this topic!:w00t: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelovearth Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 I'm just curious, what language is Papiamento? From what country is that? I've never heard of it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 How has it been going recently? I definitely think it is a phase, and if you speak a less common language, it can be harder, but being in an environment where someone else besides that one person or two speak it, shows them that it is a real language! I think if he can understand it, then you can nurture it so that he will begin to speak it (reply to you in your language, instead of in English). Don't lose hope! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renai Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 Thank you :grouphug: It's been hard for me to stay motivated and speak to him in my native tongue. Nobody else speaks this language! I stress to my mom to keep speaking it to him, but she's almost like, What's the point. She spoke four languages fluently by the time she was four. I told her maybe it's because we lived in a multilingual society. I'm not sure. Ds tries to say things, but he says he can't and he struggles to say the words. I don't think he's faking it. I agree with the others: don't give up, and keep up the exposure. The trip will do him good as well. When you see him struggling, give him the words. I see your update that he wants to learn, so as he is trying to speak, just give him the words/phrases/sentences he needs and let him repeat them. He'll get it eventually. Don't give up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renai Posted June 11, 2009 Share Posted June 11, 2009 I'm just curious, what language is Papiamento? From what country is that? I've never heard of it... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papiamento_language Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.