Hello - Hallo - Buna ziua from Germay :)
Jan 17, 2022 3:47:42 GMT 9
Post by Leni Walter on Jan 17, 2022 3:47:42 GMT 9
Hello everybody 
,
I am so excited that I finally found this great forum. I am impressed by the comments I've read so far. Reading about your journeys has been really inspirational.
I would like to introduce myself. I am a first-time mom, which is exciting per se, of a 15-month-old son. We live in the south of Germany. My husband was born and raised in Germany, while I was born and raised in Romania. My family and I moved to Germany when I turned six, so I have spent most of my life in Germany. I was raised bilingual from birth - with my father speaking to me in German and my mom speaking only Romanian. I had absolutely no problem learning the languages and I am fluent in both, however, as I use my Romanian mostly for daily conversations, my vocabulary is quite limited. German is the language that I feel most comfortable speaking, arguing, and writing in. My parents were very clear about speaking only their mother tongue to me, so I am still addressing them in the language that I am used to speaking with them.
Having a great Romanian family both abroad and so many family members who live about an hour away, I would love my son to learn Romanian. My husband speaks no Romanian at all, but he is supportive of my goal to make sure that my son learns to speak it. My goal is not to turn him into a native speaker, but to make sure that he feels comfortable to talk and have conversations in daily situations with family members (a level of B2 proficiency would be great).
With a clear goal in mind, the journey so far, was one of self-doubt. I tried talking to him only in Romanian, while at home with my husband. But it did not work out, because I would constantly forget to switch back to Romanian after I spoke with my husband. Then I decided to try the time and place strategy. So I started to speak only Romanian after he woke up until lunchtime and only when we are at home or if we are with family members who also speak Romanian. I also asked all my relatives to speak to him in Romanian, but as we only visit them every two weeks or so, this is not enough. We look at books in Romanian and I try to offer him a large variety of input during our Romanian mornings.
He has turned into an active, very friendly toddler, but so far he is only imitating sounds of animals, says "Mum and Dad", "no" and "there" and "wait" in German. I guess this is all normal for his age, as he is just gradually starting to speak but I am still a bit worried, because I am unsure about the following aspects:
- Is it okay for me to switch languages during the day, or is this too confusing for him, as I also speak German to him at home during the afternoon? Will this negatively affect his speech learning process?
- Will the input that I provide him during our mornings together be enough for him to obtain some fluency in Romanian, eg. to be able to talk to relatives in daily situations?
- Is it okay to read the same book in Romanian in the morning, and in German in the afternoon? Or should I have different books for both languages? So far I translate them while reading them to him.
- What can I do to make sure that my approach is more likely to be successful?
- Is there research to back up my approach and to diffuse some of my worries about confusing my son with my approach and causing speech delay or speech problems?
My bilingual journey was quite successful. However, my sister was much younger when we came to Germany and my parents were less consistent in their approach, they mixed the languages with her, and I guess it was more difficult for her than for me. She started to stutter when she was about three, but it went away on its own without intervention. My parents never consulted a specialist, but they believed it was because of mixing the two languages with her. She has no problems speaking both languages fluently today and she is not stuttering at all, but I guess this is part of the reason why I am a bit worried about my approach.
I know that I will probably have to maximize my efforts, so I am currently trying to start a Romanian playgroup in my area.
I would love to hear your thoughts on the questions above. I would love to hear from other families who are further down the road using the time and place strategy to learn from your experiences.
Thank you, Adam, for providing this great forum for inspiration and guidance.
I am very much looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
, I am so excited that I finally found this great forum. I am impressed by the comments I've read so far. Reading about your journeys has been really inspirational.
I would like to introduce myself. I am a first-time mom, which is exciting per se, of a 15-month-old son. We live in the south of Germany. My husband was born and raised in Germany, while I was born and raised in Romania. My family and I moved to Germany when I turned six, so I have spent most of my life in Germany. I was raised bilingual from birth - with my father speaking to me in German and my mom speaking only Romanian. I had absolutely no problem learning the languages and I am fluent in both, however, as I use my Romanian mostly for daily conversations, my vocabulary is quite limited. German is the language that I feel most comfortable speaking, arguing, and writing in. My parents were very clear about speaking only their mother tongue to me, so I am still addressing them in the language that I am used to speaking with them.
Having a great Romanian family both abroad and so many family members who live about an hour away, I would love my son to learn Romanian. My husband speaks no Romanian at all, but he is supportive of my goal to make sure that my son learns to speak it. My goal is not to turn him into a native speaker, but to make sure that he feels comfortable to talk and have conversations in daily situations with family members (a level of B2 proficiency would be great).
With a clear goal in mind, the journey so far, was one of self-doubt. I tried talking to him only in Romanian, while at home with my husband. But it did not work out, because I would constantly forget to switch back to Romanian after I spoke with my husband. Then I decided to try the time and place strategy. So I started to speak only Romanian after he woke up until lunchtime and only when we are at home or if we are with family members who also speak Romanian. I also asked all my relatives to speak to him in Romanian, but as we only visit them every two weeks or so, this is not enough. We look at books in Romanian and I try to offer him a large variety of input during our Romanian mornings.
He has turned into an active, very friendly toddler, but so far he is only imitating sounds of animals, says "Mum and Dad", "no" and "there" and "wait"
in German. I guess this is all normal for his age, as he is just gradually starting to speak but I am still a bit worried, because I am unsure about the following aspects: - Is it okay for me to switch languages during the day, or is this too confusing for him, as I also speak German to him at home during the afternoon? Will this negatively affect his speech learning process?
- Will the input that I provide him during our mornings together be enough for him to obtain some fluency in Romanian, eg. to be able to talk to relatives in daily situations?
- Is it okay to read the same book in Romanian in the morning, and in German in the afternoon? Or should I have different books for both languages? So far I translate them while reading them to him.
- What can I do to make sure that my approach is more likely to be successful?
- Is there research to back up my approach and to diffuse some of my worries about confusing my son with my approach and causing speech delay or speech problems?
My bilingual journey was quite successful. However, my sister was much younger when we came to Germany and my parents were less consistent in their approach, they mixed the languages with her, and I guess it was more difficult for her than for me. She started to stutter when she was about three, but it went away on its own without intervention. My parents never consulted a specialist, but they believed it was because of mixing the two languages with her. She has no problems speaking both languages fluently today and she is not stuttering at all, but I guess this is part of the reason why I am a bit worried about my approach.
I know that I will probably have to maximize my efforts, so I am currently trying to start a Romanian playgroup in my area.
I would love to hear your thoughts on the questions above. I would love to hear from other families who are further down the road using the time and place strategy to learn from your experiences.
Thank you, Adam, for providing this great forum for inspiration and guidance.
I am very much looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
(see all the links below to find out more on bilingual kids).
