Greetings from a Canadian dad in rural Japan

Welcome to the zoo, Ray!

The bilingual journey is always bumpy but through perseverance and proactive efforts, we'll get there in the end.


Do you use any ml media at home? Do you have any ml speakers around that could come and play or look after your child? An international school maybe? There are a lot of things to look into.

In any case, never give up! The journey is full of hiccups and frustrations, but you need to keep in mind the bigger picture and keep plodding along. If you ever feel down, reach out to us, we are here to share ideas but also support.

Greetings Amy and Adam!

Thank you very much for replying so quickly! I've noticed that many members in The Bilingual Zoo are eager to answer questions, and it is encouraging to see that this trend is continuing!

I agree that parents are one of the greatest - if not the greatest sources of motivation for children to use their minority languages. I'll definitely be speaking with my wife to see to what degree we can increase her English usage both inside and outside the home. Adam: I don't want to pry into the private affairs of the family that you worked with, but I can't help but wonder about the mother's position. Of course, she wants her child to be bilingual and supports the plan to do so, but she probably also has a natural desire to speak to her child in her native tongue as well. I wonder what kind of mental balancing act is at play between the practical desire to see the child develop the ml and the instinctual desire to connect on a more natural/comfortable level.

I'll try to answer both of your questions/comments simultaneously. We have about 120 books at home now split evenly between the ML and ml. We also visit several libraries regularly to augment this. We made a strong effort not to show him any screens until he was two, outside of the occasional computer/tablet for Skype with family. Since two, he watches children's shows perhaps twice a week for about 30 minutes at a time (one show in the ML; one in the ml). I've been currently considering expanding the TV that he sees, but I've read many wary and sometimes contradictory cautions and examples of how much should be shown to assist in language development.

Being in a rural area, there are not many English speaking children about, but there are a few here and there - even ones we're friends with. The trouble is scheduling time together - something parents struggle with regardless of whether they're doing so for bilingual aims. Due to everyone's plans, we're all lucky for the kids to see one another once a month if that. However I believe I see what you are getting at: need to strengthen the efforts.

Again, thank you both for the ideas! We'll be discussing them in the family right away to see what can work for us.

Ray

Greetings all.

I can't believe that it has been a year since I first posted my introduction. I read where I was in 2018 and thought I'd give a bit of an update on the current situation.

Recap: Son has Japanese as his ML and English as his ml; currently living in Japan with native ml speakers very few and far between. Dad is his primary source of ml. By the age of 2.5, about 80-90% of his discourse was in the ML; was looking for ways to increase the ml usage.

Current: He is now close to four years old. Between other children who he regularly interacts with, his family, and his kindergarten, his language skills in the ML have developed at the same rate as his peers. He has no difficulty in expressing himself in the ML to either adults or children, except when he becomes incredibly excited - but other children around him are much the same in this regard.

His ml has also been steadily increasing. He only has two or three friends his age who can also speak the ml; they play together using both roughly equally. I have been reading to him as much as possible - at least 10-15 minutes every night, more here and there. Also, my spouse, who is conversationally competent in the ml, has been speaking to him more and more in the ml - average 40%-75%. I've also begun introducing ml TV programs on a limited basis - not every day, and with time/# of episode limits. I almost always watch with him and give commentary/ask questions either during or afterwards. Finally, we talk, talk, talk. The conversations that I've had with him since birth haven't stopped, and I'm increasing the vocabulary and grammar that I'm using with him, and he seems to be remembering things.

I wouldn't say that he is at the same level as other English speakers his age who live in English environments, but he can almost always get his point across when he is speaking to ml speakers and looks comfortable doing so.

I'm making the time to read the blogs and the message boards again, and I'm glad to see the community so vibrant. Thank you all for the continuing suggestions, and let's keep going!