Anybody Here from Germany or Experiences with Raising a Child Bilingually?

A couple recently moved here from Germany with there 4 year old son.. they put him in daycare with my son.. he speaks both Eng. and German. He had trouble at first.. I had and loaned to the school a book on german.. It was a little bears first day at school and it tought him German>(they have it for all languages). (forgot the name of the book>) and funny enough. my mom and her first husband spoke italian and so did there family.. My older brother , who was mostly with my italian grandparents. (the 3rd born from her first marriage.) didnt say anything until he was 4 and then it was only Italain.. us kids only know some italian cause my mom didnt wnat it happening again. i wish she didnt do it.. i miss the language being spoken and i only get it in italian music.. dont not expose him.. heritage from boht sides is important.

Hi M.,

We just moved here from Switzerland. my husband is Swiss, I'm Italian. We have each been speaking our mother languages with our daughters from the very start, and the older one speaks both (though of course her german is better because she has more practice). It's totally doable, familiaes in Europe do it all the time. Just make sure each of you sticks to one language, don't ever switch back and forth, if you want to speak German with him/her don't mix german and English. Maybe start reading her stories from German fairy tale books (you can order them from Amzon.de). There is also a German school in White Plains and they have german classes for English speaking on Saturdays.

If you want to discuss this fursrter and/or have more questions, feel free to go to my profile and send me a message.

best of luck!

Hi! Both of my children are being brought up bilingually. I have sought out a lot of advice from co-workers in the speech therapy field. Every has consistantly said each parent should speak their own language to the child exclusively. This helps the child learn the language but also helps lessen the confusion over who understands the language. The children's father speaks Portuguese only to the children and I speak English. My 2 year old will have conversations with his dad in Portguguese and then come to me and relay the information in English. He rarely will mix the languages and is learning very quickly both languages. Sometimes children who are brought up with a parent speaking two languages will mix the languages and not recognize who can understand them. My niece was taught two languages by both parents and she mixes her languages while speaking. She will say a few words in English and some in Portuguese and it is difficult to understand her. Being consistent is the key...as is making it fun! And don't be discouraged if some of the baby's speech is delayed. This can happen with bilingual children! They are processing two languages so sometimes words come a little later, but when they start they come quickly! Good luck!

M.:

I'm not from Germany but I just had my first baby Jan 05, and I will try to raise her bilingual. I also have a friend that is in your same situation, she is italian and her husband cuban, he doesn't speak italian but she wanted both her kids to speak both languages. Her secret to success is that from the time their children were born she doesn't speak anything to them that is not italian and her hubby doesn't speak anything but spanish. In order to force them to speak both languages they don't listen to them or fulfill their request unless they speak the appropriate language to each respective parent. She said it takes a lot of discipline and it is hard b/c everything else around them is in english and they sometimes don't want to speak italian or spanish. Again if they don't speak the appropriate language their request won't be fullfilled. Today they are 6 and 4 and both of them are fluent in Italian, Spanish, and English. The only freedom they get in terms of language is that they can speak whatever they want to one another and they have chose italian to speak among themselves which made her very happy. I will follow her advice and try to do the same to see how it goes. Again not easy but I have seen her do it. She also found a nanny for them that only spoke spanish for their first years. Hope this helps.

I know how you feel. I am Isreali and my husband is American. I don't know anyone that speaks Hebrew here. What we've been doing is I only speak to Victor in Hebrew and my husband speaks to him in English. I also have ordered many kids DVDs and electronic toys from Isreal so he gets exposure that way. I read him Hebrew books as well. I hope this will be enough. I hope you find some German friends as this would make it easier. Good Luck!!!

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I am not from germany, but many of my friends are in bi lingual situations. The child is amazing, you can teach her a German word for every english word. You will be amazed she will understand. Speak to her in both languages, just make sure english is the language she hears more, since she is living in an english speaking region. I have friends from Thailand who raised three children who grew up fluent in both languages. I have spanish speaking friends who have times, like meal times where only one language is spoken, and times like playing games another language is spoken. You will be able to teach your child as much of the german language as you want. Good luck. here is a site I have been too before http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=13108 it has a lot of links at the bottom.

I am a mother of a 7 month old girl. I am bilingual and speak English and Spanish. It is important to expose your child to both languages. You shouldn't be worried but you will have to be consistent in speaking to him in German. I live with my mother-in-law and she speaks only Spanish to her while I usually speak English. Reasearch has shown that children who are introduced to two languages advance academically and socially. "We found that if children are exposed to two languages from a very early age," says Petitto, "they will essentially grow as if there were two monolinguals housed in one brain, and this will occur without any of the dreaded 'language contamination' often attributed to early bilingual exposure." Therefore, they won't be confused. I myself was raised bilingual and am fluent in both. http://www.scienceblog.com/community/older/2002/F/2002196...

Hi M., I'm K., 38, mom of 5 kids! My oldest is 20 and my youngest is almost 3 months old, I know, that's a heck of a span! We live in Connecticut, about an hour from New York City. I'm sorry I don't have an answer to your question but I did want to write back to you anyway if you don't mind. Though I'm not German, I have an Aunt that is German, she was born in Germany and moved here in her 20s, then went back to Germany to help her ailing mother about 10 years ago and has only once been back to the states to visit. I have to wait for her to call me, because the ladies at the front desk of the senior home she now lives in don't speak a work of English, and I can't understand THEM! I can write to her anytime, she lives in... Pirmasens? Is that the town, even? ANyway, no matter how many times I say her name to the ladies at the front desk, they fail to get her for me, it's really awful for me! In Connecticut, I don't know a single person who speaks German. Spanish speaking people, there are many. German, not that I know, and I've been in this state for 38 years! I would love to have my little children learn German, so they can talk to their Aunt in her native tongue. I bought my little ones a tape called "Bi-lingual Baby", and my 2 year old and I watch it all the time, so she's at least learning some basic words (braun, rot, blau, apfel, der poppe shlept en dem kleinen bett., etc.! LOL)but I wish it were more! There's not much German exposure around here, it's a shame, Germany and it's people are SO interesting! Well good luck, I sure wish you lived around here!!! Sincerely, K.

My aunt is from Sweden and she raised both of her two sons speaking english, spanish, and swedish. The boys are now 4 and 2 -- but they know everything!!

I speak German .. it was a language I decided to take in high school and college because my mom (Polish) didn't want me to learn Polish. She said it was a worthless language and that it'd be better if I took a major language.

My son gets little exposure to German.. but since both of my sisters also speak German we do end up conversing in it from time to time.

I would go for it, I've heard a baby doesn't get confused-- I've seen it for myself.

Goodluck!

Hello M.,

My name is C., I am French and I have been living in the US for the last 13 years.. I am married to an American who doesn't speak my language and I have two boys (a 3 1/2 year old and a 22 months old). Like you, it was very important for me to raise my children bilingual so they could communicate and interact with my family (I am the only one in the US). I started to speak French to my son early on (French only) and my husband only uses English. My first son (the second doesn't really talk yet) has completely mastered the two languages. He is able to switch back and forth very easily. During my pregnancy, I was trying how to figure out how his little brain would function and if he would get confused... Kids introduced to a second language early on don't have to translate like we do, things just come naturally. My advice is to stick with it when your baby is born and speak German at all times.

Good luck!

Before going back to work I was a nanny for a 1 year old boy who's mother was from Germany and shared the same desire as you. The mother spoke ONLY German to the baby and the father spoke only English (and very infrequently German since he was not fluent in it). I, as his nanny was his primary english language. I have not seen him in quite some time but when I last saw him at a little more than 1 years old, he was speaking almost nothing of either language but understood most everything spoken to him both English and German. Just remember that he will be learning 2 languages instead of 1 and therefore will take him just a little longer to start verbalizing either. It works you just have to be consistant.
Jess

Hi M., trying to raise a bilingual child is tough and immersion is the key, try finding a pre dominatly German community in your area and make a routine of having lunch or dinner there regularly, keeping speaking to your child in both languages saying the word in German first and then repeating it in English, and remember that it is never to early to start, even now sing him a German lullaby or say the alphabet in German. I started teaching my daughter Spanish by singing her a song that my grandmother and mother sung to me, and everytime she askes me what something is I tell her in English and Spanish. Make sure that your child converses with you in German frequently it will help you both stay/become fluent.