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RE: Teaching English to my baby? page 2

This question has been answered _· 11 replies

Forums _· Teaching English as a Foreign/Second Language (TEFL/TESL) _· Teaching Children

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Approved answer (verified by hitchhiker)

There's a pretty amazing course called 'Monkisee' that'll help very young children to read: Kids Reading with Monkisee - Check out the videos of kids at <1 year reading - very interesting..

Senior Member3,966

Approved answer (verified by hitchhiker)

Doll Don't teach any other language to your child before she can talk in her native language well. This will not help her. It will just confuse her. The sooner is better but this is not valid in yor case. You are not living in a country where English is the native language so there is no need for this. If you want it to so much, start teaching her when she is 5 or 6.

I don't really agree with you here, Doll Emotion: smile

We've been teaching our son (he'll be 3 in summer) both English and Maltese with the same intensity, and he speaks both of them very well. He knows when to switch to English and back to Maltese without hesitation. And even though in the OP's case, English is not needed right now, it sure will in the future!
I wouldn't necessarily go over board and teach them 3+ languages at the same time, however 2 is definitely possible.
I'm a bit behind on teaching him German, frankly because I barely speak it myself these days because I don't live there anymore, but he has learned a few phrases and words and understands quite a bit of it. I'm sure if I had to speak more, he'd know more and not get confused.
The teachers at his nursery told me that they have many kids that know 2 or more languages and switch between them as needed. It's the age where their brains are like sponges, and never underestimate how much they can learn! I think teaching them another language later on will just be a lot more difficult and that's where the confusion starts.

@Hitch, can't wait to test MonkiSee, will post a thread about it Emotion: smile

Senior Member2,100

In my opinion, the earlier you start, the better. Switching the language later can actually be more confusing for the child, because it already got used to a person speaking to him/her in a different one. Hence the best way is to follow the traditional way of bilingual pairs: each of the parents uses different language consistently. It also helps, if you talk to your partner in the same language.

As for the strange (phony, unnatural, whatever you want to call it) feeling when not using your mother tongue, it actually works similarly for the adult as it does for the child: you somehow switch more or less automagically when talking to the child, especially when you start as soon, as it is born. The only thing you have to get over if you're not a native speaker is that you won't be able to express yourself perfectly and with all the finesses of the language. Which can be both frustrating and challenging, depending on your determination, willingness and time to learn at parental age.

New Member01

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