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?

what is goo goo ga ga in German?

do it.
but be under no illusion about the dc speaking german. they might, they might not

"I prefer my mother tongue"

Its not a case of 'preferring', if this nanny is coming from Germany, keen to improve her English, but quite fluent already, she may prefer to spend most of her time speaking English so that she immerses herself fully.

From first hand experience, it may have delayed it for about 2 months, if at all.
My daughter is now in the top of her class in all languages. This will clearly piss a few of you off.

English speakers benefit from learning other languages

Indeed, I am with the OP. Sorry if my post suggested otherwise!

The nanny is there to be a nanny, not improve her English. She is not an au pair. What she does in her spare time is hers. Just like when the children are with their parents they speak English.

keen to improve her English, but quite fluent already, she may prefer to spend most of her time speaking English so that she immerses herself fully.

With a 1 and a 3 year old?

"The nanny is there to be a nanny, not improve her English."
I know but if her heart isnt in the project it wont work and she can easily get another job with a family who will allow her to practice her English. You will have seen here many softies who think its 'unfair' to expect the nanny to speak her mother tongue to the children!

Hopefully she will instead find it an interesting project and an opportunity to add another achievment to her CV.

Having the option to learn a language when you are too young to realize you are learning is a gift! We are English living in French speaking Switzerland. I have been quite forceful in getting people to speak to my 1 year old in their native language. If the monster can have French and English as "mother tongue" languages others will come more easily. I have done a lot of research and we are strictly one person one language - I only speak English (even where French would make more sense) and my Swiss friends only speak French.

Exactly Lweji she is doing a job, what she wants (although she has not said she does want to speak English) is irrelevant and a 3 and 1 year old is hardly riveting conversation. She will get that chance is her not inconsiderable time off.

Again, it is normal, in which language is irrelevant, it is just slightly more usual to be English on the continent, or French.

"a 3 year old"

Yes with a three year old! And its def more trouble if she cant watch English TV and videos or read English books.

The OP needs a good supply of all these things and games that can be played in German.

Access to English materials is far easier for overseas parents teaching English

It's not a project. It's a job. She's just speaking her mother tongue while she's at work.

And its def more trouble if she cant watch English TV and videos or read English books.

Because there's no Youtube, or the internet and it's not possible to buy online German books or videos for a whole year?

I clearly misunderstood. I thought the nanny was a nanny, there to do nannying and not read books or watch TV while at work.

It really is so simple. She speaks in her normal language while at work with children who can barely speak English yet.

I'm out, Adios

Emma what utter rubbish - fluency in another language enhances rather than slows down progress in the mother tongue. My bilingual kid gets effortless top grades in both her mother tongue (English taught as a foreign language here but intensively - 5 hours per week from subject specialists from year 5 in state schools) and the community language (which she first encountered age 2). She has other subjects where she has to work harder, but at 11 she already sees overlaps and shardd roots and it's all 'round helpful to be bilingual with two European languages, and she's eager to start a 3rd next year.

All my kids have been ahead of most of their monolingual peers in their 2nd (community) language by age 3.

Straws and clutching spring to mind.

Drinktea
You think the performance of your child (seen through the rose tinted glasses of her proud mum) undermines the academic research which shows the contrary?

Do fuck off Mamaduchess, research shows no such thing and you are really annoying now and rude. drinktea I believe fully, it really isn't that mindblowing or indeed unusual on the continent.

Can you link to the research Marma - the assessment that they are ahead has come (each time, with 3 kids) at the parent teacher consultation 6 weeks after starting Kindergarten. My assessments of their English are possibly biased, but the assessments of their German are external.

Board games in German are very easily acquired: the Germans are the world leader in board games for all ages. Most nannys don't use the TV with their charges.

Story books would be a bit of a challenge because most people would consider them an essential part of the daily routine for children of that age, so you'd have to invest via Amazon.de rather than just popping down the library (unless nanny is happy to translate English books on the fly which is more difficult than you'd think). But far from impossible.

Actually academic research shows no slowdown of language acquisition where a child is monolingual.

Anecdotal evidence says that bilingual kids tend to speak later but in fact the data does not back this up.

My eldest now has formal English at school and her grades (in both English and German) are not subjective. She is not an all 'round top achiever but in languages (both English and German) she has always had 1s (As) and they are not handed out like smarties at all.

academic research which shows the contrary

What academic research?

Quick Google for "academic comparison bilingual children" (no bias)

www.erbis.org/downloads/DeHouweretal2013.pdf

www.hanen.org/Helpful-Info/Articles/Bilingualism-in-Young-Children--Separating-Fact-fr.aspx

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4303178/

dana.org/Cerebrum/2012/The_Cognitive_Benefits_of_Being_Bilingual/

Do read.

www.lingref.com/isb/4/079ISB4.PDF

Here is one piece of research Drinktea .
Please understand that I strongly support bilingualism and consider the benefits far greater than the negatives. However it would be foolish to pretend there is no price whatsoever to pay. It''s clear that time spent using one language is NOT spent on another, and since language acquisition is a lifelong process, while its not a zero sum game, nor is it a totally free lunch. Think of it like any other skill if your child learns piano and violin she may find it harder to be as good as if she focused on piano alone, but the overall musical benefit would be greater.

Nice analogy Marma