Hello from New York!
Aug 29, 2016 0:28:05 GMT 9
Post by Beatrice on Aug 29, 2016 0:28:05 GMT 9
Hello everyone,
My husband and I live in New York with our son who now is 21 months - a very social and happy kid. The majority language is English, but we had some choices to make language wise: I am half German, half Italian myself. My husband is originally from Russia and his family here speak only Russian among each other. (They speak some English for me, but are now getting impatient for me to learn Russian, too. I can understand a little after taking a class and listening in for 3 years, but it is only passive at the moment.)
Since my German is so much better than my Italian (I grew up in German speaking countries and my parents actually raised me in German and English, not Italian!), I decided to pass German on to my son. My husband speaks English to him, though the grandparents and other relatives he sees speak Russian to him. So far I would say he is being raised German-English, and we don't really have a plan yet if we want him to really be trilingual.
I was raised bilingually myself, so I know it can be a struggle, my mother kept reminding me how I insisted to speak German to her as a toddler. But my parents stuck to it, so I also know it can be done!
We are sending my son to a German daycare (half days, 3 mornings a week), and I try to arrange for German playdates, have lots of German pictures books, German nursery rhymes on CD player. I can see how easily things can turn round though: the daycare is currently closed for the summer break and my husband is spending more time with my son, so I can pick up a little with my stuff. And just like that, almost all words he is picking up are English suddenly. Will have to make sure to pick up with his German again, I guess.
My husband and I live in New York with our son who now is 21 months - a very social and happy kid. The majority language is English, but we had some choices to make language wise: I am half German, half Italian myself. My husband is originally from Russia and his family here speak only Russian among each other. (They speak some English for me, but are now getting impatient for me to learn Russian, too. I can understand a little after taking a class and listening in for 3 years, but it is only passive at the moment.)
Since my German is so much better than my Italian (I grew up in German speaking countries and my parents actually raised me in German and English, not Italian!), I decided to pass German on to my son. My husband speaks English to him, though the grandparents and other relatives he sees speak Russian to him. So far I would say he is being raised German-English, and we don't really have a plan yet if we want him to really be trilingual.
I was raised bilingually myself, so I know it can be a struggle, my mother kept reminding me how I insisted to speak German to her as a toddler. But my parents stuck to it, so I also know it can be done!
We are sending my son to a German daycare (half days, 3 mornings a week), and I try to arrange for German playdates, have lots of German pictures books, German nursery rhymes on CD player. I can see how easily things can turn round though: the daycare is currently closed for the summer break and my husband is spending more time with my son, so I can pick up a little with my stuff. And just like that, almost all words he is picking up are English suddenly. Will have to make sure to pick up with his German again, I guess.
