Your thoughts please...

[ChaCha]

My DS1 is almost 2 years old. I have just taken him to the Middle East for over a month (my father is from that part of the world) and spoken to him in both Arabic and English, he understand simple commands in Arabic and although he is only saying words in English has obviously fathomed what I'm telling him as he responds well. Am trying to keep it up now that we are back in the UK as I am amazed at how they pick it up this young....anyhooo...I am about to start a degree in language studies so after choosing French as one of the main strands thought 'why not teach DS French as well' so here I am sat with the First Fun with French DVD and the basics in a book to refresh my memory and use with DS and now i'm thinking perhaps three languages is unrealistic and too ambitious...

Your thoughts please. I learned Arabic very late in life and wish my parents had spoken it at home. Just want to give my kids the chances that i never had.

p.s. DH is Welsh and only speaks to them in English and a little, weeny bit of Arabic.
(Any Welsh lessons welcome )
Thanks

my ds(4)and my dd(20 months) both speak 2 languages they speak to me in english and dh in urdu (although dh is always telling me i should speak to them in urdu to!) i think its important for them to learn both languages as they will then be able to communicate with all members of both sides of the family and when they are that young they do seem to pick it up quite quickly, my ds now even knows who to speak to in english and who to speak to in urdu my parents used to speak to us in urdu and we used to reply in english looking back i wish they had made us speak in urdu cos we would not have had a lot of the communication problems with our family who dont speak english, saying that however my urdu has improved so much since i married dh because i rarely speak to him in english (his english however is not so good

so tbh i dont think 3 languages is to much they are like sponges at that age and can take in more than we give them credit for.

I think 3 languages is very ambitious and I wouldn't expect him to learn very much French. However, any exposure you can give him will help him learn it later on.

so watch the dvds with him, but put most of your energy into the arabic (or whichever language you speak best, which from your post I assume is arabic?)

We are a bilingual family (English/German). DH and I have just started learning French and we have put our DCs (5 and 3yo) names down for French classes starting in the new year.

There is a possibility that we might move to Switzerland in the next year or so and we would like the DCs to have some French language skills before we go.

Everything that I have learnt about bilingualism/multilingualism emphasises the advantages of teaching more than one language from an early age. Children are capable of much more than we expect of them sometimes.

I teach English to small children and have had bilingual children in my classes. They tend to pick up the language quicker and easier than monolingual children.

I would go for it. I do not think you are being unrealistic.

I am a bilingual salt and my children are brought up bilingually (Welsh/English) as was I. I have a great interest in this field both personally and professionally.

Yes, the more languages one has the better.However for them to be truly functional they need to be used properly. Therefore it is highly likely that your children will pick up some French if you do this but it will probably be only bits and pieces.

Thanks for the replies. It seems a little is better than nothing so will focus on my two languages and the French as an added bonus.

Cheers

Moondog: DH still v.cross with his parents for not putting him in to a Welsh school! Big shame!

We only speak Afrikaans at home, ds nearly 2 speaks English and Afrikaans, they can learn as many language as you can teach them, the best time is before the age of 4, after which the part in the brain that develops speech then slows down, the problem will not be getting them to learn the language is will be whether you can keep it up when they get older.

ChaCha,I know mAny adults who feel the same bitter regret and want to reclaim Welsh for their children.
People need to think very seriously about denying their children access to a mother tongue.

DD (2.3) is learning three languages at the same time, and I know of other trilingual kids, so no, I don't think three languages are too many for a kid.

However, I believe the best method for teaching multiple languages to children is "One Parent, One Language" - i.e. you should speak one language to your DS, and your DH another. If you would like him to learn French as well, try introducing him to a French kid and set French audio when he is watching cartoons on DVD.