Armelle in the UK
Aug 1, 2014 18:30:46 GMT 9
Post by Armelle on Aug 1, 2014 18:30:46 GMT 9
Hi, my name is Armelle, I am French and my partner is British. We have 2 daughters, Maya, 6, and Zoe, 3.
We have always used OPOL with them. Maya was comfortable with both languages as a toddler although I felt she wasn't as advanced in English as some of her nursery friends. No concern from the nursery, though, but she had often been ill and I was wondering if she had slight hearing difficulties. This was confirmed and she had gromets inserted at 2 1/2. Not sure if it was more to do with the operation or her natural development, but her speech improved quickly soon after. In truth, it seems to me that Zoe has also only started to become a fairly confident speaker at around her 3rd birthday as well despite always being in good health!
But again, a French friend of mine made the mistake to drop the French language when she noticed her daughter had started to develop speech difficulties, only to realise, a couple of years later, that her daughter too had hearing difficulties and needed gromets inserted. So, as much as I wouldn't worry for a child who doesn't speak as early as some of their friends as long as they seem to have a good understanding of what people say, it might be worth bearing that in mind if a child seems to have difficulties - especially if they've been prone to colds and ear infections.
The other challenge we had with Maya is that when she started to speak more fluently, she switched to English, rejecting French which was just "my" language. This got resolved soon after when we went to France and we took her to a holiday club there. The first week or two, she continued to refuse to speak French, but although she understood everyone, she soon realised they didn't understand her. She then easily switched to French and has been happy to speak to me in French ever since. We have renewed the holiday club experience for 2 / 3 weeks every year. I think it works because it's about playing and keeping up with other kids and realising that for other children, the minority language is the only language. Not easy for everyone to do, but I would definitely recommend that experience if that's a possibility.
As I converse in French with Maya, Zoe has always found it natural as well. We are currently on our yearly French vacation and for the first time Zoe has been able to join Maya at the holiday club, which should give her language abilities a boost.
Reading wise, I would be keen for them to be able to read and write fluently in French in the long term, but I haven't yet pushed for it. Maya has started to be interested in reading in French, so we've read a few sentences and I started to explain some of the rules as we did, but all on a very casual basis.
I have been following the Bilingual Monkeys for a while now, and the articles offer lots of food for thoughts. Each bilingual journey is individual and comes with its own challenges, depending on the particularity of each situation, the particularity of each individual (parent, child, friends, etc...), the age of the children, and so much more. So, even if it's relatively natural for a child to learn another language, it doesn't mean it's always easy and having this type of support - and inspiration - is fantastic.
We have always used OPOL with them. Maya was comfortable with both languages as a toddler although I felt she wasn't as advanced in English as some of her nursery friends. No concern from the nursery, though, but she had often been ill and I was wondering if she had slight hearing difficulties. This was confirmed and she had gromets inserted at 2 1/2. Not sure if it was more to do with the operation or her natural development, but her speech improved quickly soon after. In truth, it seems to me that Zoe has also only started to become a fairly confident speaker at around her 3rd birthday as well despite always being in good health!
But again, a French friend of mine made the mistake to drop the French language when she noticed her daughter had started to develop speech difficulties, only to realise, a couple of years later, that her daughter too had hearing difficulties and needed gromets inserted. So, as much as I wouldn't worry for a child who doesn't speak as early as some of their friends as long as they seem to have a good understanding of what people say, it might be worth bearing that in mind if a child seems to have difficulties - especially if they've been prone to colds and ear infections.
The other challenge we had with Maya is that when she started to speak more fluently, she switched to English, rejecting French which was just "my" language. This got resolved soon after when we went to France and we took her to a holiday club there. The first week or two, she continued to refuse to speak French, but although she understood everyone, she soon realised they didn't understand her. She then easily switched to French and has been happy to speak to me in French ever since. We have renewed the holiday club experience for 2 / 3 weeks every year. I think it works because it's about playing and keeping up with other kids and realising that for other children, the minority language is the only language. Not easy for everyone to do, but I would definitely recommend that experience if that's a possibility.
As I converse in French with Maya, Zoe has always found it natural as well. We are currently on our yearly French vacation and for the first time Zoe has been able to join Maya at the holiday club, which should give her language abilities a boost.
Reading wise, I would be keen for them to be able to read and write fluently in French in the long term, but I haven't yet pushed for it. Maya has started to be interested in reading in French, so we've read a few sentences and I started to explain some of the rules as we did, but all on a very casual basis.
I have been following the Bilingual Monkeys for a while now, and the articles offer lots of food for thoughts. Each bilingual journey is individual and comes with its own challenges, depending on the particularity of each situation, the particularity of each individual (parent, child, friends, etc...), the age of the children, and so much more. So, even if it's relatively natural for a child to learn another language, it doesn't mean it's always easy and having this type of support - and inspiration - is fantastic.
