Hallo from Ithaca, NY (German/English)
Jan 29, 2017 23:28:52 GMT 9
Post by Liv on Jan 29, 2017 23:28:52 GMT 9
Hallo!
I'm Olivia. I live in Ithaca, NY with my American husband Andrew and our 2-year-old Maksym. We have a second child on the way, arriving in July.
I was very lucky to grow up fully bilingual myself, speaking American English and German, while living in Germany. I know my parents worked very hard to give me this opportunity, and it's opened many doors to me so far. In fact, despite being immersed almost entirely in the German school system, I am now a freelance writer in English.
I knew well before having children that I want to pass on this gift, but now that our son is here, I feel like I'm failing. My goal has always been full spoken and written bilingualism.
Here are some of the issues I'm struggling with:
- EXPOSURE: I think I need to spend more time providing actual input. My son is in daycare most of the day, where he only hears English. That had an immediate impact on his (positive) English language development and reluctance to speak German. I need to start taking him out earlier in the day to spend more time with German-language activities, but it's hard when I'm working and also need some alone time.
- MORE EXPOSURE: Even though we live in a university town, it's been difficult to find other German-speaking families with kids Maksym's age for playdates. There aren't any bilingual schools etc. I'll be looking for new strategies to heighten social exposure.
- SUPPORT: I don't feel that I have my husband's full support in this endeavor. He has never learned any German (I understand that he is busy working, but there hasn't even been a symbolic attempt). He does not actively work against me, but I feel I am alone in doing this. I'd like to find concrete things that he can do to help me.
- SECOND CHILD: From watching other families as I was growing up, I saw how often full bilingualism failed when there were siblings. I'm worried how having another child may make it even harder for the kids to become fully fluent in German.
- MATERIALS: I've found some videos and music that both my son and I enjoy (e.g. Bobo Siebenschlaefer, Eddy & Daen, Donikkl), but I find that the German books we have lack the playfulness and fun rhymes of many American children's books. Looking for recommendations. (Maybe I'll start writing my own.)
I'm happy to have joined this site and look forward to reading Adam's book. I'd like to feel less alone on this journey and can't wait to try out some new strategies.
I'm Olivia. I live in Ithaca, NY with my American husband Andrew and our 2-year-old Maksym. We have a second child on the way, arriving in July.
I was very lucky to grow up fully bilingual myself, speaking American English and German, while living in Germany. I know my parents worked very hard to give me this opportunity, and it's opened many doors to me so far. In fact, despite being immersed almost entirely in the German school system, I am now a freelance writer in English.
I knew well before having children that I want to pass on this gift, but now that our son is here, I feel like I'm failing. My goal has always been full spoken and written bilingualism.
Here are some of the issues I'm struggling with:
- EXPOSURE: I think I need to spend more time providing actual input. My son is in daycare most of the day, where he only hears English. That had an immediate impact on his (positive) English language development and reluctance to speak German. I need to start taking him out earlier in the day to spend more time with German-language activities, but it's hard when I'm working and also need some alone time.
- MORE EXPOSURE: Even though we live in a university town, it's been difficult to find other German-speaking families with kids Maksym's age for playdates. There aren't any bilingual schools etc. I'll be looking for new strategies to heighten social exposure.
- SUPPORT: I don't feel that I have my husband's full support in this endeavor. He has never learned any German (I understand that he is busy working, but there hasn't even been a symbolic attempt). He does not actively work against me, but I feel I am alone in doing this. I'd like to find concrete things that he can do to help me.
- SECOND CHILD: From watching other families as I was growing up, I saw how often full bilingualism failed when there were siblings. I'm worried how having another child may make it even harder for the kids to become fully fluent in German.
- MATERIALS: I've found some videos and music that both my son and I enjoy (e.g. Bobo Siebenschlaefer, Eddy & Daen, Donikkl), but I find that the German books we have lack the playfulness and fun rhymes of many American children's books. Looking for recommendations. (Maybe I'll start writing my own.)
I'm happy to have joined this site and look forward to reading Adam's book. I'd like to feel less alone on this journey and can't wait to try out some new strategies.
