Bridging the English gap for a 5 year old to start the Well Trained Mind program

[Luda]

First of all, I would like to thank Susan and Jessie for writing this wonderful book. I am sure it will accompany our family for many years. 
 

Our first language is Hebrew. My husband and I are willing to switch to English at home to cover the entire book program, but how do we bridge the language gap as quickly as possible?

The reading and writing resources presume understanding of the speech. How can this be bridged as quickly as possible? What are the best books or courses for a 5 year old non English speaker to become an English speaker?

[Rosie_0801]

Welcome to the forum!

Is the English a means to an end, or is bilingualism your goal in and of itself?

[Gil]

Just begin teaching the WTM content material in Hebrew. Replace the English language arts with Hebrew language arts, which means that you will
teach your 5yo to read and write in Hebrew. Teach them basic grammar facts in Hebrew. Teach them poems and songs in Hebrew.

I've had success in teaching my children to phonetically read a language that they don't understand. Then literacy becomes a tool in their Language Learning toolbox instead of a constant stumbling block--they know how to pronounce words well, they know when/if letters are silent, etc.

Don't feel like you have to start and master a language now at 5 or it won't be done. It will be get done

For my 2 older children they began systematic study of their 2nd language (Spanish) at around 6ish, because that's when I had the bandwidth and resources to teach them. By 10, they were very advanced in Spanish and began a 3rd langauge (Japanese). They're teenaged now and speak 3 languages really well. We're aiming at being fully trilingual by the time that they graduate highschool in 3 years.

In each language, I always try and teach my child Functional Lanugage first (phrases, sentences and patterns that they need right now and in specific contexts). We over learn irregular verbs or words in contextualized sentences--but we drill all regular verbs using verb tables and sentence frames that have to do with time (or mood) .

My 2 children learned to decode well (I won't say read because reading implies comprehension) 3 languages ahead of actually learning to speak those languages--so you can offer English phonics now.  If he struggles with decoding, do a month of phonemic awareness and sound games and try again.

I would not wait until the child speaks English to teach them content or skills.

 

[Miss Tick]

Also keep in mind that the book is a very helpful guide, but rarely is it implemented exactly as written. It is ok if you modify it to suit your needs. Perhaps that would mean getting your child to fluency in Hebrew and then switching one subject at a time to English (if that is one of your goals).

[Luda]

I am teaching him math and Hebrew and he is advancing very well. Unfortunately I can’t use most of the literature resources as they don’t exist in Hebrew, like the The adventures of Odysseus for kids. It upsets me. 
Thank you @Gil. I’ll give Hebrew another year to cement the reading abilities fully and switch to English next year, starting with reading, not insisting on comprehension. 

[Rosie_0801]

You could put audiobooks on in the background during bath time or whatever and let him take whatever he takes from it. He doesn't have to master 'The Adventures of Odysseus' right now. We've had board members before giving their kids a classical style education using their own background instead of 'Western Civilisation' as the core. Hebrew has tradition enough to keep you all occupied forever.

[Luda]

@Rosie_0801

Thank you for the advices. 
The thing with Hebrew literature is that it is either ancient and religious (we are atheists) or lacking as the modern language exists less then 100 years. This is why I would like to expose my children to broader resources written in English.  

[Rosie_0801]

Don't underestimate the power of dodgy cartoons, lol
My daughter had a significant language delay, and for some reason, didn't want to learn to speak from me. I had to use carefully cultivated movies. Once she was familiar with the story, she was happy to listen to me read. That's how Pride and Prejudice ended up on her kindergarten reading list instead of whatever people normally read kinder kids. To her that was an "easy" book.

 

[Luda]

Following Susan’s and Jessie’s advice in the book, I prefer not to use image based learning. 

[Gil]

9 hours ago, Luda said:

I am teaching him math and Hebrew and he is advancing very well. Unfortunately I can’t use most of the literature resources as they don’t exist in Hebrew, like the The adventures of Odysseus for kids. It upsets me. 
Thank you @Gil. I’ll give Hebrew another year to cement the reading abilities fully and switch to English next year, starting with reading, not insisting on comprehension. 

Yes, but you can read it in English and relate the story in Hebrew now or at any time. The year your child learns to speak English is probably not the year that they'll have the English vocabulary for The Adventures of Odysseus anyway.

When I started teaching The Boys Spanish, I'd make notes on sticky notes and leave them on the pages of the book that I was "reading" to them t remind me of a word or have the equivalent phrase available. Many stories were simplified or streamlined in the early days as I spoke at them in the level that I was proficient AND the level at which they understood.

[Gil]

You can also make audio recordings of books yourself.

Just pick a set of books, ID the most key terms and write out a basic translation.  Record yourself reading/performing the story. Then play that recording for your kid.

 

[Luda]

Wow! Very interesting and out of the box idea! @Gil

BTW Gil in Hebrew is joy 🙂

[jboo]

I've heard that live action works better for language acquisition than cartoons, because, among other things, one can see mouth movements.  

Are there English speaking playgroups and other, similar activities available in your part of the country? I know there are a lot of Americans who are in Israel, either permanently or temporarily. Getting your child to interact with other children who speak the target language is remarkably effective.

[Luda]

Couldn’t agree more. In addition, the child can ask to say the word again, which can’t really be done in a cartoon. 
 

Eventualy we have switches to English at home. Every sentence is said once in English and then in Hebrew and he started to repeat and sometimes even remind us to speak English. So it looks promising. 
 

In addition we will try Gil’s approach in about half a year, to teach him to read before he fully talks. We just want to finish Hebrew writing accusation.