raising bilingual children
Home
FAQ
Getting Started
Language Milestones
Tips and Tools
Resources
Products
Bulletin Board
News and Press
About
http://multilingualchildren.org
Keep Me Posted
For practical tips & news
sample newsletter here
Latest Posts RSS feed
Discussion Forum
Talk back! Expert advice is nice, but we all love to hear what other parents are doing. So, don't just ask questions but share your own experience, thoughts, ideas, tips or examples!
Look up acronyms.

Important, please read these short guidelines before you post.
A Message Board, Guestbook, or Poll hosted for your website.



View Single Post Thread: Refusing to speak but understands...
 
Author Comment
 
claire
    01/12/08Reply with quote#2

My boys, who are 8 and 6 years old, did exactly the same thing. Although now we are living permanently in France, when we lived in England my husband only ever spoke to them in French, it was only when we moved here that he realized that all is hard work was not in vain, as now they are like all the other children around them, French!!

In my experience children seem to 'pigeon hole' people, i.e. they will only speak the necessary language when needed. We have French friends that speak English very well, but when my children see them they will automatically speak French to them, and visa versa, when we have English friends visit, they revert back to English children. It is only with me that they seem to mix the languages!!

I really believe that our children do not see English and French as two different languages, they just seem to accept that they can understand and speak both without making a big difference between them!!

I think what I am trying to say is that you must keep going, for your culture's sake and for your family's sake.

Do you have any other Polish people around you? you could set up coffee mornings where you only speak Polish, then will be able to realize how much your child actually knows!!!
   
Copyright © 2004 Multilingual Children's Association, All Rights Reserved.