Any Advice?

[Stefka]

My husband is Macedonian and so we want our children to speak both English and Macedonian. I don't speak Macedonian though - do you think it will be possible? We were thinking that he would probably have to speak in Macedonian all the time to the baby. Any Advice?

my dh is israeli and only speaks hebrew to the kids and has done so since day one, they both understand completely what he`s saying but are reluctant to speak it, however when in israel they do tend to start talking in hebrew..i dont speak hebrew very well so i dont to tehm in hebrew , only in english

it's important to speak to your children in your own mother tongue. It's likely that they'll be reluctant to speak in Macedonian while they are in England, but they'll certainly understand it and it will make it easier for them to bond with their paternal family if they know it.

My dh is Bosnian and speaks Serbo-Croatian to our ds (20 months)about 60% of the time - he also speaks English especially when we are all having a conversation together as I don't speak/understand much of his language. My son seems to have no problem understanding both languages and will answer questions/follow commands in both languages. I think the trick is varied exposure to the different languages early on. We have lots of childrens books and play music in my dh's native language and he regularly sings songs with my ds in his language. This is also helped by the fact that we speak to my PIL on Skype everyweek and make sure it is an important part of my sons routine.

I agree - speak to your children in your respective mother tongues. Try to be very consistent and only speak to them in your respective languages (one-parent-one-language approach). This is especially important for your macedonian husband, as he may not be able to spend as much time as yourself with them. Good luck - its a great advantage for your children to be able to speak and understand two languages (and its good for their brain development too!).

Yes I think it's fine for dh to speak to the dc in Macedonian and you in English. Where do you live - in an English speaking environment? If so, it may be hard to achieve the same level of fluency in Macedonian as in English because, presumably, you as mother will spend much more time with the dc when they're small and then school will be in English, so the Macedonian input they receive will be comparatively small.

Just one example of what I mean: My best friend is Bulgarian, her dh Greek, the dc go to German school. They understand all three languages. German is their primary language, being the language of the country, schooling and peers, Bulgarian is their second language, whereas Greek they understand but rarely choose to speak, answering in German or Bulgarian instead.

We live in Scotland so the baby will hear mostly English. I like the idea of getting books and cartoons etc - I will ask his family to send some stuff over!