Benefits of raising children in a non-native language
Jan 11, 2016 2:23:02 GMT 9
Post by Sam on Jan 11, 2016 2:23:02 GMT 9
I speak only Yiddish with my son, which is not my native language. The fact that it's not my native language has been very frustrating for me, because I struggle a lot not only with vocabulary/grammar, but also with fluency -- being able to roll words/phrases off the tip of my tongue, to express any whim, joke, idea, story, etc, that I can do very naturally in English. And the only other family member who speaks Yiddish lives on the other side of the country and has a lot of trouble hearing over the phone (and in person, too...), so I don't have any native-speaking family support.
But I've been chugging along, reading to him every day (with maybe 3 or 4 exceptions), trying to talk as much as I can, singing with him, watching Yiddish TV shows and YouTube videos with him, etc.
Recently, I've noticed a huge improvement in my own reading fluency, when I'm reading Yiddish novels for myself. I'm reading a lot faster now; I've also started to notice all the typos in the books I'm reading (and know what they're supposed to be), and I can often predict what the first word on the next page is going to be. My wife thinks that it's because I've been reading to our 9-month-old son almost every day of his life, day in and day out, and all the experts say the best way to learn a language is by doing a little bit every day. That hadn't really occurred to me, but maybe she's right! My speaking fluency has also gotten better – at least, when talking about baby stuff (though I still struggle with more complex conversations), which may also be a result of my having spoken to my son every day for the past 9 months. My listening comprehension has also probably increased a lot, from having watched so many videos with him / listened to so much music with him. But I've noticed the biggest improvement in my reading fluency.
Since there are quite a few non-native minority language speakers here, I thought it would be both fun and encouraging to share some of the ways that we think our bilingual adventures have actually benefited us as non-native speakers.
But I've been chugging along, reading to him every day (with maybe 3 or 4 exceptions), trying to talk as much as I can, singing with him, watching Yiddish TV shows and YouTube videos with him, etc.
Recently, I've noticed a huge improvement in my own reading fluency, when I'm reading Yiddish novels for myself. I'm reading a lot faster now; I've also started to notice all the typos in the books I'm reading (and know what they're supposed to be), and I can often predict what the first word on the next page is going to be. My wife thinks that it's because I've been reading to our 9-month-old son almost every day of his life, day in and day out, and all the experts say the best way to learn a language is by doing a little bit every day. That hadn't really occurred to me, but maybe she's right! My speaking fluency has also gotten better – at least, when talking about baby stuff (though I still struggle with more complex conversations), which may also be a result of my having spoken to my son every day for the past 9 months. My listening comprehension has also probably increased a lot, from having watched so many videos with him / listened to so much music with him. But I've noticed the biggest improvement in my reading fluency.
Since there are quite a few non-native minority language speakers here, I thought it would be both fun and encouraging to share some of the ways that we think our bilingual adventures have actually benefited us as non-native speakers.
My son is now 10 months old, and it's strange to think that I've been speaking Yiddish at home every single day for the past 10 months... I often speak to my cats in Yiddish now, without even thinking about it, because it's become such a natural part of my home life.
