Adjusting methods to fit needs
Feb 6, 2022 5:13:37 GMT 9
Post by Taysha on Feb 6, 2022 5:13:37 GMT 9
Bilingual journey going well!
BIG BROTHER is nearing six. At this point I would call him a balanced bilingual. Neither of his languages are super strong maybe from a monolingual standpoint, but they're at least within the normal range for his age I think. And he reads and writes in both languages. We have been homeschooling and doing a lot of online courses, many in the ML, some in the ml. Over the past few years, I have made a little bit of a conscious effort to open space for the ML for this older kid. We read together in both languages and don't stress over keeping out code switching. I do sometimes remind him of the ml way to say a word or use the ml word in my response.
SCHOOLING: My oldest child is kindergarten age and has never been to school; we are currently planning to keep homeschooling for first grade. This is partly because he doesn't want to go to school, and partly because there is not a bilingual school option for him at the moment. In second grade, there is a chance he could get into Spanish Immersion School. However, getting in is iffy, it is a bit of a drive to make every day, he probably would not be excited about it and would struggle with the schedule, and I question whether it would be helpful for his Spanish and education overall as opposed to our personalizing his studies through a homeschooling approach. But I know a lot can change in a year and a half. We will work on for first grade having consistent social outlets and hopefully forming new and/or growing old friendships. I am hoping to get in and/or start a co-op in English and/or Spanish. Somehow, I feel we need to grow exposure to speakers outside of the immediate family in both languages. If homeschooling seems to be going well educationally and socially, we may continue down that route through second grade. Second grade year for my oldest, my youngest will be three and may have a chance to join a part-time bilingual preschool if it is still going on at the time.
ml2: We also have a tiny bit of ml2 (Mandarin Chinese) at work--very minor. For my youngest, I started with it from the beginning, even with a very small amount of exposure; I feel that is still better than trying to introduce it at three like with my oldest. Now nearly six, he does not seem to have grown much in it and has pushed back a little, making me not emphasize it much. He has shown more interest in another language, French, so he has done some online classes in that as well. Mandarin Chinese continues being the most important of "extra" languages to me, and I feel like in the long run we are going to make progress in it, just figuring out how, and focusing my small efforts there more on the baby. No matter what happens with the ml2, I feel great about the part of the bilingual journey that we are concerned about most--English and Spanish.