Raising toddler bilingual (English and French)

[climbershell]

We have a 6 month old 21 month old. I'm English, partner French.

We're raising them bilingual. However, they're obviously exposed to an awful lot more English than French. Due to the fact I'm the main caregiver, nursery for toddler 2 days a week in English. Most tv & songs are English. And when partner is around he speaks to me in English and to them prob 50:50 at best. We do have French books. And even I sing French bedtime lullabies .

Toddler will point to ears and nose, when asked in French or English tho. If i ask her wheee here knee is she'll point to her nose, as the french for nose sounds very like 'knee'. She can almost say 'papillon' (pronounce pap-e-on), currently 'pap-on', which is butterfly (she doesn't know the English for it)

Basically, I'm wondering when her language is likely to develop. I know bilingual kids often speak later but then all of a sudden have 2 languages... but wondering any real life experience xx

My experience from a family where 4 dc were raised bilingual and 4 trilingual, is that they will learn the languages when they see the use of it.

Exposing them to them is worthwhile, of course, and makes it much, much easier for them to learn it when they finally see the use of it, but until then they will do the absolute minimum and you feel like you are getting nowhere. Speaking to them in the second/third language and having them answer back in the first one is standard. Then all of a sudden they are in a situation outside the family where they can use it and they get going and get a good handle on it in no time.

Oh, and there seems to be absolutely no difference between the ones who had opol, the ones who had one of the languages taught formally (or casually) by the parents, and the ones who picked up languages from the place they lived in. In our family languages have been switched around no end, some parents are really consistent in speaking only one language, others mix it up, by the time they are teenagers nothing seems to have made a difference, other than the languages they see the use in become really strong and the others stagnate (until needed).

I would definitely encourage your DH to be consistent in speaking French to them. Also search out expat groups and toddler french sessions.

YouTube is your friend! Loads of tchoupi episodes. Mine love Zou le zebre too. There's also french versions of everything on there too, like Pierre Lapin and Sam le pompier. We rarely have to use Netflix.

We have also had french speaking au pairs but this is more difficult now.

If they can spend some time with DH's family in the holidays, that might provide some motivation too.

If your partner, the only native-level French speaker that your kids have regular access to, is unwilling to speak French at home / with them, I’d say you are on a hiding to nothing tbh.

i had a friend in your reverse situation: British, living in France, French husband. Her dd has grown up to be perfectly bilingual. They did OPOL strictly at home all the way through primary. My friend was a SAHM for a few years (so her DD didn’t go to French crèche / childcare) and during that time she took her to loads of English language playgroups, made anglophone friends to hang out with, had CBeebies on at home, and spent 4-6 weeks back in the UK every summer staying with grandparents.

i also have many friends who are the same situation but who have not really succeeded in making their kids bilingual. Generally, they’ve gone back to work early so the kids are in French childcare for most of the week then into French school. They’ve not had a network of anglophone friends to hang out with and end up spending a lot of time with French family. They’ve not stuck to OPOL at home, and French has been the majority language at home. They’ve not been willing to spend long summer holidays in the UK or with British grandparents. As a result their kids are very ‘French’ and while they understand English to varying degrees, they do not speak it fluently.

so I wish you luck, but it will be hard to compensate for your husbands lack of commitment to this.

We live in the Netherlands. I’m english, wife dutch. Day care etc all dutch speaking. I speak english to DD who is 3.5. She understands everything in both languages but only talks dutch. Will drop in the odd English word. Her little buddy in the same situation speaks quite a lot of english.

No tips or anything! Just for info!

If your partner, the only native-level French speaker that your kids have regular access to, is unwilling to speak French at home / with them, I’d say you are on a hiding to nothing tbh.

^^this.

Without more exposure it just won’t happen.