beachmom Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 My ds 9 and ds 6 are in a German school for several hours a day and only the youngest speaks a little German. The youngest will learn to read with the class while improving his spoken German but with the older ds, how can I help him learn to read? (I'm assuming him being at the school will get him speaking) I don't read or speak German either. Are there any books that teach reading German that are written to an English speaker like me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted August 21, 2010 Share Posted August 21, 2010 Could you tell a little more about your family situation? Why are the kids in a German school? because you are in Germany right now? (If so, they will pick up the language and be fluent within a few months) I will get a better idea what to suggest if you tell a bit more about your circumstances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beachmom Posted August 22, 2010 Author Share Posted August 22, 2010 Could you tell a little more about your family situation? Why are the kids in a German school? because you are in Germany right now? (If so, they will pick up the language and be fluent within a few months)I will get a better idea what to suggest if you tell a bit more about your circumstances. Yes, we're in Germany. The kids are surrounded by German speakers at school but hear English at home. I just wanted to know if there was a phonics-type book that I could use with my oldest to get him going with reading German. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted August 22, 2010 Share Posted August 22, 2010 (edited) Does he read English? Once my kids were able to read English, all I had to do was explain that a few letters make different sounds - and then practice. They would make a few mistakes, but once they got the idea of blending sounds to words in English, they could transfer that into German easily. There really are only few differences, phonics wise, mainly in the vowels, v/w, and of course the infamous "ch". I would, however, find it difficult to teach a child how to read if he does not speak the language, so I am not sure what you are trying to do: have him read aloud making the correct sounds (since you ask about phonics)? I would guess that as soon as he picks up spoken language and knows what the words mean, reading should be no problem. How long have you been in Germany? When we moved to England, it took my DD three months to speak English without any prior knowledge. Good luck! Edited August 23, 2010 by regentrude oops -forgot "three months" in last line Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohdanigirl Posted August 23, 2010 Share Posted August 23, 2010 Does he read English? Once my kids were able to read English, all I had to do was explain that a few letters make different sounds - and then practice.They would make a few mistakes, but once they got the idea of blending sounds to words in English, they could transfer that into German easily. There really are only few differences, phonics wise, mainly in the vowels, v/w, and of course the infamous "ch". I would, however, find it difficult to teach a child how to read if he does not speak the language, so I am not sure what you are trying to do: have him read aloud making the correct sounds (since you ask about phonics)? I would guess that as soon as he picks up spoken language and knows what the words mean, reading should be no problem. How long have you been in Germany? When we moved to England, it took my DD to speak English without any prior knowledge. Good luck! :iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree: That's how I have done it with Spanish and the boys were off in no time. Danielle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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