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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To teach my toddler a foreign language myself

20 replies

lopape · 19/02/2022 11:34

Hoping someone has experience with this. Not sure how to go about it .

Basically I speak another language fluently but I'm not a native speaker. I would like to teach it to my toddlers, but how do I do it?

I don't know if it's confusing to them that I suddenly speak another language. At the same time I don't know if it makes any difference if I point out to things and say it in the other language.

I read a lot about raising bilingual children but that was mostly if one parent has a different native language which is not my case.

Anyone can help with suggestions? AIBU to try?

OP posts:

bluebell34567 · 19/02/2022 11:38

i saw a parent talking to toddler in both languages and he was able to respond in both.

Ellmau · 19/02/2022 11:44

The younger you start the easier it will be. How do you think they learned English?

Can you get some children's books in the other language and read them alternately with the English ones?

Original poster

lopape · 19/02/2022 11:45

Interesting. Did he repeat the same thing in two languages or did he do half of sentence in one?

OP posts:

stayathomer · 19/02/2022 11:47

Niece and nephew live in germany and are fluent in german, French and english (and are picking up some irish!!) Now is the perfect time to learn. Kids seem to be able to compartmentalise languages the way adults cant. Get some toddler books in the language and start dropping words in too. Best of luck, I'm so excited for you!!

bluebell34567 · 19/02/2022 11:50

he responded as much as a toddler can, but it was clear he understood in both languages.

StrawberrySquash · 19/02/2022 11:50

My parents are fluent non-native speakers of a foreign language. I wasn't fully taught it, but I definitely absorbed a lot and it helped me hugely to learn it when I did it at school. Go ahead! Although it requires a lot to get it to stick fully.

Butterbegood · 19/02/2022 11:52

So, you speak to your child only in that language. Your partner speaks to the child in English or his/her native language. Your toddler picks up English from nursery, friends, tv,life.
It’s not confusing for them.
I know several bi/tri lingual children who are fluent in their parents native language and English.

bluebell34567 · 19/02/2022 11:52

that parent was very talkative though. she was constantly speaking.

Butterbegood · 19/02/2022 11:53

I also know a kid with a Russian mother who barely understand Russian as the mum rarely spoke it with her. The DH felt left out so insisted on English! Seems like a massive waste of opp to me.

IamSamantha · 19/02/2022 11:53

Absolutely best time to teach children many languages.

TwoBigNoisyBoys · 19/02/2022 11:53

Please do it! I live in wales (born in England, moved here age 8) and most of my friends were bilingual welsh and English. It’s just something that happens naturally in the home from babyhood, and they learn to distinguish between the two languages later on. Being brought up with two languages at such a young age means it’s just ingrained and part of life, SO much easier than ‘learning’ a language at a later age, as I had to. Also, please do continue it throughout their whole life. I was completely fluent in welsh as a teen but have almost completely lost it now because our friendship group all spoke English together…use it or lose it!

Photolass · 19/02/2022 11:55

Young children have an innate capacity for learning languages, which we lose as we get older. It's a great idea to get them bilingual from an early age. They will be way ahead of their peers when they start learning languages at school, it's a definite advantage.

MaizeAmaze · 19/02/2022 11:55

DH does everything in his language, unless there are other people about who need to hear. At which point he repeats it in English.
The more seperate you can keep the languages, the better, imo.
I'd use actions, not English, to convey meaning. So "DS, let's put it shoes on" followed by grabbing the shoes, not by repeating in English.

EileenGC · 19/02/2022 11:56

You need to switch the language you want them to learn, and stick to it. Do OPOL as much as you can. Their other parent if there is one, or otherwise extended family, nursery, friends… will also speak English so they’re covered on that side.

You stick to the minority language and they will soon pick it up. Try and get books, films and other audiovisual material in that language as well, especially so they can pick up a good-ish accent.

Clymene · 19/02/2022 11:56

What's your accent like? I know someone who does this (I also speak the language fluently) and her accent is appalling.

I mean I'm sure she's largely comprehensible but it's like teaching someone an instrument when you can't read music (to my ear anyway)

EileenGC · 19/02/2022 11:59

I'd use actions, not English, to convey meaning. So "DS, let's put it shoes on" followed by grabbing the shoes, not by repeating in English.

Exactly this. When I started pre-school I didn’t speak a word of the two local languages and there was no extra help in the classroom back in the day. This is how both me and my siblings learnt two of our three ‘native’ languages. I say native as we grew up trilingual and equally able in all 3, and the two local languages quickly surpassed our home language in terms of ability and ease of thinking in it.

Learning multiple languages at a young age is incredibly beneficial to children’s brains. I now speak 7 languages, 5 of which are at native or business level. I will be exposing my kids to as many languages as possible from the day they’re born.

balalake · 19/02/2022 12:01

Lovely to read, good luck OP, hope you succeed and the advice of others is helpful.

CecilyP · 19/02/2022 12:02

For them to really learn it you’ll pretty much have to use it all the time while your partner speaks to the DC in English. It’s probably easier if there are other people around you who also speak that language like extended family or if you’re part of an ex-pat community. If you are very sociable and speak to every other person in English, it might not be so successful.

GestationalDiabetes · 19/02/2022 12:08

I think it’s a great idea, especially if your accent is ok. It’s important to maintain it as it can quickly disappear so for example as child gets older watch dvds in the other language etc.

Original poster

lopape · 19/02/2022 12:57

It's not feasible for us to do OPOL. I can't just use the foreign language as it doesn't feel natural using it all the time. I could maybe commit an hour a day for example and some TV / books in the language. I know the OPOL advice but I don't think it's good for an non-native person

OP posts:

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