Post by Bridget on May 13, 2020 19:19:37 GMT 9
Hello everyone!
So glad to have found this resource, Adam, and I will purchase your books!
I am a Norwegian temporarily living in Zurich, and my husband is Italian. We have spent the past 15 years in London.
We have a 1 year old child who was born in the UK.
My husband and I have always spoken English together, as that is what falls most natural to us. After 15 years together we do understand each other’s native languages quite well.
I speak Norwegian to our daughter, and my husband speaks Italian, but we still speak English together.
I think if we still lived in the UK I wouldn’t be too concerned about our daughter being spoken to in Norwegian and Italian at home, as she would hear English outside the home.
But now that we are temporarily living in Switzerland, I’m concerned she is not getting enough English exposure, if she doesn’t hear us speaking English at home. I really want her to be exposed to English as we will move back to either the UK or Norway before she is 3, but it’s very important to us that we give her the best possible chance to learn Norwegian and Italian as well.
I read her books in Norwegian and English, and my husband reads to her in Italian and English.
I’m wondering if this is an ok approach, for my husband and I to speak English with each other, and Norwegian/Italian to our daughter? Is this giving her enough exposure to English? Or is this teaching her that we all understand English and she can be lazy with Norwegian and Italian?
We FaceTime with relatives everyday who speak Norwegian and Italian with her.
At the moment she is only 13 months old, and seems to have a good understanding of all 3 languages in that she will show “how big” she is, play hiding games, wave bye bye and point to objects when prompted in all 3.
It’s complicating things that we are not sure whether our jobs will take us back to London or to Norway in a few years, as if we go back to England I can imagine she would pick up English really quickly, but not so if we are moving to Norway. Since she is English-born it’s important to me she speaks it well.
Thank you so much for any insights and advice!
So glad to have found this resource, Adam, and I will purchase your books!
I am a Norwegian temporarily living in Zurich, and my husband is Italian. We have spent the past 15 years in London.
We have a 1 year old child who was born in the UK.
My husband and I have always spoken English together, as that is what falls most natural to us. After 15 years together we do understand each other’s native languages quite well.
I speak Norwegian to our daughter, and my husband speaks Italian, but we still speak English together.
I think if we still lived in the UK I wouldn’t be too concerned about our daughter being spoken to in Norwegian and Italian at home, as she would hear English outside the home.
But now that we are temporarily living in Switzerland, I’m concerned she is not getting enough English exposure, if she doesn’t hear us speaking English at home. I really want her to be exposed to English as we will move back to either the UK or Norway before she is 3, but it’s very important to us that we give her the best possible chance to learn Norwegian and Italian as well.
I read her books in Norwegian and English, and my husband reads to her in Italian and English.
I’m wondering if this is an ok approach, for my husband and I to speak English with each other, and Norwegian/Italian to our daughter? Is this giving her enough exposure to English? Or is this teaching her that we all understand English and she can be lazy with Norwegian and Italian?
We FaceTime with relatives everyday who speak Norwegian and Italian with her.
At the moment she is only 13 months old, and seems to have a good understanding of all 3 languages in that she will show “how big” she is, play hiding games, wave bye bye and point to objects when prompted in all 3.
It’s complicating things that we are not sure whether our jobs will take us back to London or to Norway in a few years, as if we go back to England I can imagine she would pick up English really quickly, but not so if we are moving to Norway. Since she is English-born it’s important to me she speaks it well.
Thank you so much for any insights and advice!
