Introducing a Second Language

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

At what age or grade did you decided to introduce a second language?

 

It is a popularly held belief that language acquisition is strongest between the ages of 3-7yrs; however there is conflicting evidence regarding why (or even if) that is true. While accents are in fact developed more naturally at a young age, some research suggests that overall language acquisition is actually more efficient in early adolescence, provided development is given ample support & practice.

 

We are living overseas in a region where most families are bi-, tri-, or multi-lingual. My son is currently 3.5yrs old. I feel a lot of pressure to begin teaching him another language, however I don't speak the local tongue (Cantonese) myself. The complexity of a tonal language means we would require a tutor. We are also in a bit of a unique situation in that he is working on a K/1st level in the "3 R's". I am concerned about adding more while he is learning to read & write in English. He knows that other kids speak Cantonese & he cannot, but as of yet he doesn't seem to care.

 

Should I try to add in another language now, or wait a year or two until he is solidly reading / writing & might have more motivation to learn for communication with peers?

 

ETA: The vast majority of people he comes across (adults & children alike) DO speak English, so he is in no way socially impeded or isolated by his lack of understanding Cantonese or being able to read Standard Chinese. He just knows that many other kids *also* speak another language, called Cantonese, & that sometimes that is the only language they know: maybe 10% of the time.

Edited October 18, 2016 by Expat_Mama_Shelli

[SarahW]

I did read somewhere that there's good evidence that 10-11 years old was the age where language acquisition was "fastest." Young enough to learn new tricks, but old enough to understand grammar, complexity, and have retention.

 

But at an early age, good exposure is great if you can get it. Babypants (newly 3) watches the local Nick Jr. and attends preschool twice a week, and is also spoken to in Dutch daily, and his understanding is pretty good (I think, hard to tell with toddlers). His verbal expression is nearly all English, though. Even so, I think the passive language exposure is invaluable. At 3 they can just absorb, absorb, file away for later, and play with it. 

 

I wouldn't wait for English reading and writing. We did that with my oldest on the advice of his K teacher, and there was no point. English is English, another language is another language. Honestly, kids don't get that confused. I would embrace exposure, lots of it, and have a few times a week when he's free to engage actively with the language (or not). One language, two, three. Doesn't matter. Once he's older you can pick one (or two, or three) to study and delve into formal reading and writing skills.

[fralala]

Well, I definitely would not hire a tutor for a preschooler.
A babysitter, maybe.

 

My own 3 and 6 year olds have learned absolutely none of their father's native language, because they were not immersed in it. Immersion works for kids. It's why everybody becomes fluent in their native language. (Oh, and I apologize-- all my grumpiness is aimed at my well-meaning husband and in-laws, who sort of acted like I was a crazy American and insisted on speaking to the kids in English and then translating the occasional noun.)

 

OTOH, I exposed them to French videos and songs from the time they were quite young-- despite reading that this would have no impact on their language development absent a real human interacting with them in this language-- because I studied it throughout high school and college and can read and write it fluently enough to feel confident about teaching it one day. Although I never spoke with them in French, as soon as I enrolled the 6 year old in a French class, the teacher complimented me on my daughter's vast vocabulary and accent. So I am a little skeptical of the studies-- although I love studies! there's nothing like a good study about language acquisition!-- and I think you're right to follow your instincts about your own child, who seems to have a gift perhaps for language acquisition as it is.

[luuknam]

I wouldn't wait for English reading and writing. We did that with my oldest on the advice of his K teacher, and there was no point. English is English, another language is another language. Honestly, kids don't get that confused.

 

I think that varies per kid. My oldest did/does get confused with Dutch vs English, my youngest not so much. However, those two languages are relatively similar - I wouldn't worry at all about confusion between English and Cantonese. Cantonese doesn't even use an alphabet, and the number of cognates is probably rather low as well. 

 

ETA: since it sounds like you're planning on staying there for a while, I would start learning Cantonese now. Right now he may not care that the other kids speak Cantonese and he doesn't, but if you wait until he cares, it's going to take a while for him to catch up, while he may be sad he doesn't understand the other kids.

Edited October 15, 2016 by luuknam

[lulalu]

Those studies (I've read many) are right and wrong at the same time. A child will be fluent at their level. Meaning my son is fluent in English as a five year old- he doesn't understand all I say and he is fluent in Turkish at a 3/4 year old level- so he can't understand everything people say. Butwaiting means a child has a bigger vocabulary, grasp and understanding of language. Kwim?

 

Our experience- (that's all I can give you) we hired a tutor for our son at 3 years old best investment ever. With a tutor we were able to specifically set up language experiences. A sitter may work for some, but we didn't need much time each week and this way we could state what we needed. We required picture books be read (started with pointing and giving vocab and then to reading) going around the house and giving vocab, playing games, going to parks and helping talk to kids, going to places around town etc. I am still not fluent..... it is a hard language for English speakers....

 

We prioritized this time for a few reasons- we could delay other learning and work on language, my ds is young enough to try and fail without a big deal since he is doing that with English verb tenses ect anyways, we live here it is important for that alone if anything happens or we don't seem rude to our neighbors, and the accent is important to us.

 

Now in our home we didn't move ahead in reading in English, but focused on language. We still are taking a slow approach in k this year. That came from my time living in several countries that don't worry about reading skills. So I am no help there, however the brain can grow a lot just remember language learning takes a lot of brain power, especially the older you get since your thoughts are in one order and need to be reordered for new grammar.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

I would look at immersion experiences before a tutor.  Sign him up for a few hours of preschool a week, or a pre-school gym class or art lass or whatever.  At his age, this will be enough to start acquiring the basics.  

[lulalu]

With a complex language immersion experiences are not enough, kids are not good teachers either. An adult who has a focus on passing language is best. When a language has such a different format to the mother tongue a lot more focused work is needed. It is an area that without experience it is hard to understand- the idea that immersion alone will work is really giving a short stick to the complexity of learning language. It works for many similar languages such as spanish or german related to English, but when grammar is so different it is hard for children to just pick up.

[StartingOver]

We started Latin first this time around, afterfter they finished FLL 3, whatever age that was. With the older kids, I lived and planned to stay in Texas, so Spanish it was at preschool age. I did wait to do reading and grammar for Spanish till about 6th, 5th, and 3rd so I could keep them together.

Edited October 18, 2016 by StartingOver

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

I would look at immersion experiences before a tutor. Sign him up for a few hours of preschool a week, or a pre-school gym class or art lass or whatever. At his age, this will be enough to start acquiring the basics.

Preschool does not exist here. Kindergarten begins at age 3, so they are in school. International schools cost tens of thousands a year, while local schools are 8hr days of seatwork & drill. While I have no doubt the language immersion would help him learn Cantonese, my bright, active, social son would be positively miserable in that environment.

[Shoes+Ships+SealingWax]

Our experience- (that's all I can give you) we hired a tutor for our son at 3 years old best investment ever. With a tutor we were able to specifically set up language experiences. A sitter may work for some, but we didn't need much time each week and this way we could state what we needed. We required picture books be read (started with pointing and giving vocab and then to reading) going around the house and giving vocab, playing games, going to parks and helping talk to kids, going to places around town etc. I am still not fluent..... it is a hard language for English speakers....

 

 

This is exactly what I had in mind for a tutor. Of course language tutoring would look vastly different for a 3.5 or 4yr old than for an older child, but I don't want "just a babysitter" either. I have no need of a sitter; I need a language-learning partner for my son. The lack of ANY standard romanization for Cantonese (like pinyin for Mandarin) means it is nearly impossible for me to teach him the language, not knowing it myself. I would likely do far more harm than good, butchering tones & forgetting vocabulary. Edited October 18, 2016 by Expat_Mama_Shelli

[Miss Tick]

If you can swing it, I would try to find someone to come in once or twice a week to talk to and teach both of you. Maybe a half hour with your ds and then another half hour just for you. In our experience a half hour was all my kids could handle even when it was songs and active games (but the tutors usually priced by the hour). If you are there also then you can help reinforce during the rest of the week. It can be informal to start building a base for vocabulary- numbers, nouns, commands, requests.

[wendyroo]

If you can swing it, I would try to find someone to come in once or twice a week to talk to and teach both of you. Maybe a half hour with your ds and then another half hour just for you. In our experience a half hour was all my kids could handle even when it was songs and active games (but the tutors usually priced by the hour). If you are there also then you can help reinforce during the rest of the week. It can be informal to start building a base for vocabulary- numbers, nouns, commands, requests.

 

This is what I was going to suggest.  I think your son will get a lot more mileage out of tutoring if you sit in on the sessions and can reinforce the lessons daily.

 

I would look for a tutor who is willing to be recorded.  Then I would record the sessions as he/she taught you guys vocab, played games, sang songs, read books.  I would request the tutor use vocab words, give instructions, etc. in short, concise, complete Cantonese sentences that he/she then translate.  Then I would play the recordings frequently so you and DS are both exposed to the same words and sentences over and over until you have them memorized.  (For more ideas about using memorization to learn a language I would recommend Andrew Pudewa's lecture Nurturing Competent Communicators.)

 

Wendy