French/English, anyone in the same situation

[fredly]

I speak to my daughter in Fr and hubby speaks to her in En. Our daughter is 16m and has yet to say her 1st 'real' word. Although I hate to admit it (I know they're all diferent) it's starting to worry me a bit. Anyone out there in the same situation, with a similar age child ?

Hi Fredly,
I'm no expert. My DD has been exposed to both languages, though not to the same extent as yours. She's been saying things in English for the last couple of months, but as far as I know, 16 months is not desperately late, and you only have to look at the other threads on this subject to see the benefits of sticking with it.

My ds is 26months, we speak En at home and they speak Fr to him at the creché, he says about 10 words in all now. Didn't say a single word until he was about 20 months. There is a bi-lingual thread on here somewhere, but it's all perfectly normal!

Hi,
In our house, it's french english arabic.
DH started babbling at 17-18 mths. Now 22 months and speaks just like us, each language alternately, depending on circumstances/people. Starting 2 word sentences and instincltively KNOWS that the nanny speaks english only(and reminds us!!).
Basically we remained very relaxed about the whole thing and I guess struck lucky!
PS: you are doing it by the book with one parent/one language.I am sure it will be just fine, they are amazingly clever.

Hello.
As a baby my mum spoke to me in English but I had a Swiss (french-speaking) childminder, then nursery. We lived in Switzerland. When I started talking I spoke French to my mother and she spoke and answered me in English. My grandparents only spoke English so eventually my brain worked out that I had to use English with them. When I started at English speaking primary school (still in Switzerland), I used English a lot more and with my mum. By then though I was perfectly bilingual French/English and still am although my schooling & higher education were all in English.
It will all fall into place for your daughter as well and you and hubby are giving her an advantage for later years even if it seems that things are a bit slow.

Hi Fredly, our family is the same: I speak French, my dh speaks English (with a few words of horrible French thrown in!). DD is 2.2 now, and is speaking both languages really well - huge vocab. But at 16 months I think she had about five 'words', of which 'dada' 'mama' 'chat' and 'boire' are the ones I remember! Its really early, I wouldn't worry...as long as she's babbling, making up words etc she's probably right on target.

Ours is the other way round: i'm english and dh is french. but we always speak french between ourelves, even if ds is in the room. i will speak to him in english and dh in french. ds is 15 months and the only thing he says is dada. i know he's a month younger than yours, but i think it's perfectly normal to not be saying much. they all go at their own pace and yours'll probably just start whgen you least expect it!

my kids are also bi-lingual but 16 months is NOT late.... plenty of uni-lingual babies who do not speak until they are 2 !
Sounds absolutely fine to me...
My son spoke a lot at 20 months old but my nephew at the same age hardly said anything at all.

ds is coming up to 16mo and doesn't have any real words yet, just a few half-syllables (e.g. da for daddy), and we only speak English.

He understands a lot and communicates pretty understandable with gestures and body language - he just can't form the words yet.

So I wouldn't worry on that score. She is so lucky to be learning two languages at home, do stick at it .

understandably (before the grammar police come and get me )

CarolinaMoon, don't worry, there's no way I'm going to give up on this one !
She's 17m now and the only proper word she says is "daddy" !! We were not sure at the beginning that she used it to refer to her dad, as she would say it pointing to the tv screen or anything else, but now we're certain she does. He's so proud and I'm so jealous . She babbles a lot and with a French intonation, even when she's "talking" to her dad. She surprises us everyday by understanding things we didn't think she would.

hi there

aame here
i speak french to the girls and our ds and dh speaks english/scottish.now my 2 year old knows her french alphabet and numbers 1-10 in french and her sister copies her.i speak and sing in french to my 7 weeks ds as i am sure he will eventually pick up

I spoke Mandarin to my kids, DH speaks French and caregiver English. DS did not even utter a word at 18 mos, and only utter first proper words at 2 yo. After that, it was almost like turning a faucet on full blast. He quickly progressed to 3-5 word sentences.

At around age 3 yo. his Mandarin was his strongest bec. he had more exposure in this than the other languages. His French was his weakest but as soon as he started maternelle, he had listening comprehension after 3 months and was able to speak simple sentences, ask questions in 6 months.

DD is turning 3 yo. Perhaps bec. she is the 2nd one & a girl, and we were also better/more practised at talking to smaall kids (I struggled to "speak" to ds when he was a baby) she started speaking much earlier...I think at 18 mos. Based on what her teacher has observed, DD I believe also has a talent for languages.

So keep at it. Talk lots to her even if she seems unresponsive. Keep to One Parent One Languagee. Do fun stuff like baby class with lots of singing (that's how my ds started talking).

Any French families or bilingual/French families in the Oxfordshire area

Hi we are just back from France and after 2 years in Maternelle school our 5 year old is completely bilingual. How do I keep it going (I speak French but am not fluent)? Are there any clubs or online facilities you would recommend?

hello,
welcome back.
If I remember correctly ther's a playgroup called petit pierrot and also 123 soleil.Check classifieds in www.ici-londres.com for their number to find location.
Alternatively look it up in the babydirectory.