To want Nanny to speak all German to kids?

[mika2]

German Nanny (fluent English) starts next month 4 days a week (8-6pm) and I think it's a great opportunity for kids to learn German. They are 3 and 1. Nanny said she was happy to do so during interview. I have very rusty conversational German and also plan to practice my German. I would like her to only speak to kids in German from day 1 and read German books, sing songs in German, watch German cartoons on iPad etc with the aim of them having a good understanding of the language this time next year, rather than just knowing colours etc. Anyway DH thinks it's crazy and kids will be very confused etc. He vetoed putting this in her contract and doesn't see having a second language as a priority whereas I feel really strongly about it... Just to be clear I didn't deliberately hire her because she is German, we liked her and it was an added bonus. Who is BU?

Unless you keep it up or your children already speak or understand German this won't do much apart from make them confused. I'm bi-lingual brought up in German speaking household in English speaking country.I think its nice if she teaches them a few words and songs to give them an idea of the concept of another language. But immersion really only if the language is necessary or will be around for a long time. There either needs to a point to foreign language acquisition (eg speaking to granny ) or needs to be in structured probably educational setting where it's continuous over some years.

Depends on how long you have her for too tho? Around 6 months might work better. Also complete other language from the start is too much unless you need them to acquire a second language pronto.
Also the studies on the benefits of language acquisition tend to include people who end up bilingual not people who had a month or three of other languages. So not sure you reap that type of brain rewiring just via some exposure. Although getting children to understand that language is a code and there are different codes (other languages ) and then there is the actual world to which this code refers is a good thing in itself. But you don't need immersion for that just exposure.

"are likely to only become active users they are fully immersed in a German environment."

But they will be if the nanny is with them from 8am to 6pm. It doesn't have to be 24/7 to work. This is how Welsh-medium education works. Children arrive at nursery class age 3 not knowing any Welsh then speak only Welsh from then on and become fluent.

My two (3 and 6) have grown up bilingual abroad. We just got home from a 6-week trip to the UK and they've forgotten loads, it's like a portion of their brain has been erased!

So do it only if you can keep hold of the nanny for the next 15 years or so.

"I know lots of people whose children 'spoke' 3 languages aged 3, by which they meant they could ask for or get orange juice in these languages"

A friend of mine was a nanny for a little girl of about 4 years old who really could speak 3 languages. Her father's, her mother's and the nanny's, in which she was fluent. There may have been differences in how active a speaker she was in all three and she had trouble translating between one to another, but she understood them all perfectly.

That1950sMum
It sounds very contrived and I doubt the German would really stick. I think you'd need German all the time at home to really immerse the children in the language. Also seems a little unfair on the Nanny who is not being paid as a language teacher.

Continental Europeans do this all the time in reverse (hiring an nglish nanny and demanding she speaks English) and nobody ever considers it 'unfair' to the English nanny. Its not 'difficult' for a German nanny to speak her native tongue

OP
Its a great idea theortically BUT it is a long tern project which as a non German family requires huge commitment on your part. Subsequent nannies will also have to be German, and as you haven't put it in her contract and she is going to be reluctant to do it you will likely have real issues enforcing it. She has very right to refuse but far more likely is that she will be half arsed about it ensuring your project fails.

Do you live near one of the (only two I believe) German bilingual schools so that it could be followed through?

DH and I are German, DD grows up bilingual but German is her weaker language.

In general I think 4 days a week fully German will give them a passiv understanding and some German active language skills but it could also be that they may understand what the nanny says but will reply in English.

You need to be prepared that all skills will vanish when the nanny leaves. Even with the best of intention to be bilingual you need to keep the skills alive and even if you speak some German it won't be enough.

But, it will give them advantages that a foreign language can be learned, some parts of their brains will be wired that it may be easier to acquire it again. In our area most secondary schools do french and german so it is not that uncommon and they may use it again.

For your older one the time window is small. Is he already at pre-school? As soon as he goes to primary school the nanny may have to do some practice with him and this will require her to speak English. We do most of DD's homework in English as there are expressions she doesn't know in German, my knowledge is ancient and things are taught differently and obviously reading/spelling is language specific.

By all means try it but be realistic of the outcome

Btw, we speak to DD in German outside the house unless I have non-German speaker with us. Your nanny won't have to swap just because you go to a playgroup. I am sure she will encounter parents speaking other languages to their toddlers.

^I'm confused, have you moved to Germany and need the kids to speak German?

If not, I'm cringing for you.^

Waitrosepigeon, see, it's attitudes like this which leave us lagging behind so much of the rest of Europe in so many fields. Learning German is not something which only has a benefit if one is moving to Germany, and definitely nothing to cringe about. How narrow-minded!!

OP, I think it's a wonderful idea. The cognitive benefits of learning a second language from a young age are absolutely undeniable. Even if they forget the words later down the line (or even if you never move to Germany...) your children will benefit hugely.

frontiersacademy.org/top-5-reasons-child-will-benefit-learning-foreign-language/

www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2009/05/learning-second-language-good-childhood-mind-medicine

It's a great idea.

All the hysterical posters here are quite funny. One person, one language is the most effective way to learn a language. For her to speak English and German to the children would be the most confusing.

I would just think about how you will continue their German when you no longer have a nanny. Is there a Saturday school near you?

Rupert, it's just a bit dormant - it will come back.

Hopping Green
I think it's a bit extreme to ask the Nanny to do this.
If she new the DC will be getting used to her and vice versa so I think that having her speak ONLY German will be too much.

I repeat, ambitious Continental families do this regularly to give their kids a head start in English. Is it any wonder that Britons 'lag behind' in language learning when so many show the timidity and over cautious approach that you express?

The problem is not for the children or indeed onerous for the nanny, the issues are:

1. Nanny recalcitrance (she would prefer to use the OPs children and the OP to practice her English and it hasn't been clarified in the contract).
2. Maintenance after the nanny leaves (no it doesn't have to be for fifteen years but it does need keeping going at least through to secondary school).

Fabulous opportunity and it will be completely natural because it's her mother tongue.

HOW

Indeed it is FAR better than a German nanny speaking English badly to th children!

Problem is will the nanny be compliant?

If she starts even mixing the two languages it will not work, must be 100% German all the time.

The other thing to think about is where in the world will German be useful?
Germany and Austria really, and I say this as someone with a German DH who agrees that if our DC learn 1 language only it shouldn't be German. When we go to Germany ( often non touristy bits) 90% of people speak English and most business is conducted in English too. Germany really isn't the most useful language you could learn - when we looked at Secondary schools for DD none of them offered German.
I'm not saying we should learn foreign languages and both me, DH and the DC speak other languages to varying degrees but if you unless the plan s to spend a lot of time somewhere German speaking your DC won't really get to use what they learn and like other people have said once the Nanny goes so will their German.

Rattusn -
All the hysterical posters here are quite funny. One person, one language is the most effective way to learn a language. For her to speak English and German to the children would be the most confusing.

No, it is not. While I speak mostly German to DD I refuse to repeat everything I say in English when we are in mixed company. I am not a parrot. Strangely enough, DD is not confused. Very fast they realise that mummy and daddy speak both languages and how to speak it when.

I have friends, German/Irish combination. Mum speaks solely German, Dad speaks solely English unless all of them are together. When they lived in the UK family language was German to get that up to speed, now they live in Germany the family language is English. It works.

I think this is a great idea and the negativity on this thread is SO British. If it were the other way round every single German person would think it was great that kids were learning English from a native speaker.

I would agree with the saying things in English, repeating in German and gradually increasing the amount of German she speaks - a couple of weeks' lead-in time while she gets to know the kids is a good idea. I'm sure if you check out local Facebook groups you will find other German-speaking families or those who would like their kids to learn (like me) who she (and you) can socialise with.

Ignore the nay-sayers on this thread. No wonder we are so rubbish at languages in the UK (and Brexit can only make it even worse) :(

"Indeed it is FAR better than a German nanny speaking English badly to th children!"

OP said she is fluent in English.

I would take a look at websites and blogs about bilingual teaching as 'all German from day 1' may not be best.She could do it some days but not others, or do specific actitvities?

And ALL languages are useful. NOT everyone in Germany speaks English (and those who do aren't as good as they think they are - compare eg Norway). It makes a real difference to the quality of interactions in Germany when you can speak and understand German.

And you might find it useful in other countries. I have used German as lingua franca in Hungary and Italy. And even if they forget it if the nanny goes home, they may pick it up again at a later stage and what they learn now will come back to them.

When we go to Germany ( often non touristy bits) 90% of people speak English and most business is conducted in English too.

It is true that German is a language which is slowly dying! Merkels Open Borders policy is going to speed this up, raising the profile of English as the lingua franca.

Sack off the German nanny and get a Spanish speaking one instead!

I think that you should encourage the nanny to speak German. It is a great opportunity as far as I am concerned
Even if your dcs forget what they have learned they will be able to pick up other languages easily.
My dc have attended Spanish classes since they were young. This has helped them grasp other languages .
Please ignore the naysayers.

From personal experience, and as Portuguese, I'd say I certainly benefited from exposure to different languages. Mostly on TV. We watched Spanish, Italian, and French, as well as English series and shows with subtitles and as a nation we speak different languages better than most countries that use voice overs (Spain, France, etc).

DS picked up English in early life mainly from the BBC, went to Nursery and he was fine. It was quite funny when we returned to Portugal, that he'd start speaking English with other children, but never at home.

My own experience of French, that I learned for 5 years, is that I do struggle a bit if I suddenly have to speak it, but then it all comes back after a little while on the rare occasions that I've needed it.

Daily exposure to German can only be good for the children, particularly at those ages.

It is an excellent idea.

Even if it doesn't "stick" there are massive advantages for brain development:

www.psychologytoday.com/blog/radical-teaching/201211/bilingual-brains-smarter-faster

I grew up bilingual, so I'm clear that it can work, but I wonder whether you prepared to persevere when it gets difficult, because the devil really is in the detail.

When the children first meet her, how will she be introduced? You (and they) will be speaking English. How do you want her to join in? By speaking German from the start? How will you know what she is saying? Its not easy for people to communicate unless they share a common language. When does she switch over to German? When they are alone and she is new and unfamiliar ti them?

Once they get going, how strict do you want her to be? If they are feeling unwell, or are in pain, are they allowed to express this in English and have her understand, or must she insist on the other language? Once they understand that she understands their English, how strict must she be in sticking to speaking in German? What language will she speak when you are all together as a family?

Are you planning any visits to bring the language alive? There are german bakers in London, and Windsor, how about some visits so they can try German food. It would be good for them to see some context for the language.

I don't think my parents put any effort i to it,they spoke on language to me and I 'picked up' the language of the country where we were living. It all just happened. Im sure it is possible to recreate the experience of total immersion but it would be good for you to be prepared for the pitfalls. All the best.

I think this is a great idea and the negativity on this thread is SO British. If it were the other way round every single German person would think it was great that kids were learning English from a native speaker.

Many of the posters saying it won't work without ongoing exposure to German for many years are from bilingual families. I haven't seen a single post saying, "We tried exactly this and it worked for us". But hey, what do those of us who actually have multilingual families (5 languages in my case) know?

The comparison with German families having an English nanny is a false one. The very reason that European children find it easy to learn English is that, in most countries, they are constantly exposed to it though TV, media and primary school. The OP's DC won't have this ongoing exposure to German.

JacquettaWoodville
"Indeed it is FAR better than a German nanny speaking English badly to the children!"

OP said she is fluent in English.I would take a look at websites and blogs about bilingual teaching as 'all German from day 1' may not be best.She could do it some days but not others, or do specific actitvities?

Being 'fluent' can still be far, far below native levels. Many 'fluent' speakers' speak English appallingly!

It has long been accepted that 'total immersion' is much the best way to learn a language. Ideally the children should never hear the nanny speak English so that German is the only way they can communicate with her.
If the OP is serious in her intention she should be very strict with the nanny about not even reverting to English when the kids do not understand.