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Pages: [1]
1  EARLY LEARNING / Teaching Your Child to Read / Re: speaking about our children in Spanish/English/German via Skype on: June 08, 2013, 01:17:35 PM
Hi, I'd be happy to speak to you via Skype. We are native English speakers but are learning German and Spanish. We live in Texas, USA. Send me a PM  with your Skype ID and preferable times. I have a 28 month old son and a 7 month old daughter.
2  EARLY LEARNING / Teaching Your Child - Signing, Speaking, Languages / Re: For non-native speakers: using the foreign language in public on: March 01, 2013, 04:04:38 PM
I speak in French only to my son and I do so in public even though my French is not fluent as a native speaker. I am the only source of French for my kids (we live in the US and hear only English in our external environment). At first I felt awkward speaking in a language that I learned long ago in high school and hadn't spoken since. But then I decided that my kids will take their cues from me and if I show confidence in a foreign language, then they will learn that it is fine to speak in a non-majority language in public.

When we are with other parents and children, I still speak in French but I will translate for the other kids and parents. Most parents are really cool with this. If my son speaks in english, I nod to acknowledge what he had said and that I've listened to him. But I reply in French and use sign language to overcome any confusion he may have with the subtle nuances in either language. I also explain to the other kids in a fun way that we speak a language from a foreign land and that it's fun to do that. My hope is to prevent any way for my son to feel out of place with other kids in as far as language is concerned. I want my son to feel that it is a normal thing to speak a non-majority language and that it is no big deal.

My husband does not speak a foreign language so at home we use english between us. I still always speak to my kids in French and translate for my husband so that he does not feel left out. Occasionally, my son will translate a word if my husband doesn't understand something and if all else fails, he signs the word out for my husband. It's cute.

So far, this has worked well. I don't know how long we can keep this up given my own limited foreign language skills. He still prefers English as his dominant language but that is understandable given his environment.We'll just keep on with our efforts as best as we can. 
3  EARLY LEARNING / Teaching Your Child - Signing, Speaking, Languages / Re: How did you teach your child to speak a foreign language? on: March 01, 2013, 03:34:53 PM
Hi Lois1,

I speak in French to my son who is 2 years old. My French is non-native and I am at a high beginner/intermediate level. I speak fluently for my son's age level; it's the adult conversation that is harder for me. I am consistent with a modified OPOL (we learn German and Hindi too). I have found NO french speakers in the area willing to meet and this makes is hard for my son. Although he is fluent in french for his age, he doesn't hear it from anyone else other than myself or media. Thankfully, my accent is very good and so my son speaks with a perfect french accent. We just need to interact with other french speakers irrespective of their fluency level. So if you'd like to Skype with us in French anytime - we're on!!

Have you tried 'La maison de Mickey', 'Tchoupi' or 'Caillou French' on youtube? My son loves these and has learned a lot from watching these cartoons (the only TV time he gets).

He is learning to read French through Comptines on youtube - they provide karaoke-type lyrics to traditional French rhymes. He also loves Alain Le Lait and Putamayo French playground.

His French improved dramatically since I discovered kid's radio in French (internet) - even I found it helpful for my comprehension. The two that we listen to are : a) Babymix radio (hotmix radio) which features many disney songs in french as well and, b) Radio junior (geared to tweens and preteens because the songs are more current)

French audiobooks: Nicolas series, French Collins, Baby steps in french (for attaining the correct accent)

I have made a French curriculum for him and we have already begun with the alphabet and numbers. If you want titles of french books, songs, or audiobooks let me know and I'll be happy to share our resources.

Hope this helps!!
4  Parents' Lounge / Introduce Yourself / Introducing myself - Hello from Austin, TX on: February 28, 2013, 05:45:44 PM
Hi All,

I am new to the forum, although I have been reading the posts for a few months now. I live in Austin, TX and have two kids - a son (2 years old) and a daughter (4 months old). When I first began reading the posts, I reached out to Keri (kerileanne99) who was wonderfully gracious and generous with her advice (Thanks, Keri!). And thanks also to you all - wonderful parents who take the time to post and share your questions, insights and thoughts. It's been a great resource for me.

I discovered EL last summer - rather late as my son was already 15 months old then. Prior to that, I had not known that I could teach my child reading, math, or science so early.However, I was pregnant with my second baby and was too tired between caring for my active son and being pregnant to implement much of the EL I learned. I felt more and more guilty that I was letting valuable time pass without giving him the opportunity to learn as he clearly wanted to do so.

Without knowing about such a concept as EL, I began doing montessori activities with him since he was born. Although I nursed him for 15 months, at 9 months, we practiced eating at the table from a plate with solid (not plastic) silverware, drinking from a glass (we never used sippy cups), pouring water from a pitcher, setting the table, putting on his shoes, etc. He began doing all this by himself at 13 months. I used elimination communication and cloth diapers to potty train him - we began and 9 months and by 15 months he was potty trained (with occasional accidents which we still have). We did a little bit of reading, but he is too energetic and never sat still to read. Instead we went on nature walks to identify birds, bugs, etc. I had to go with what he found interesting (cars, trucks etc, nature, planets). We began teaching him swimming at 4 weeks old, using immersion and no floats.  We did a lot of music and dancing using Putamayo world music for kids as a way of learning dance and about world cultures simultaneously. I highly recommend their CDs.

At 13 months old, I discovered sign language and taught him to sign. He loved it and learned it so quickly that we used it as a bridge between the multiple languages I was teaching him. That has worked out really well as my husband speaks only English but understand the signs in case my son speaks in another language to him. I speak to my kids exclusively in French. We also learn German and Hindi - as I'm from India and have relatives who live in Germany. He is exposed to Spanish, Russian and Chinese from our close friends and I try to follow up at home with a few phrases from these languages. But I rather focus on English, French, German, and Hindi as I am teaching him to read and write in these languages too. This is a tiring task as my French is non-native at a an intermediate level, and german is basic. So I have to supplement with external sources. Still I do not veer from the OPOL interspersed with a day of German and an afternoon of Hindi per week. Our days loosely model a French immersion montessori school. I guess it's the consistency that helps because my son is completely bilingual in French and English. He understand German but does not speak it, he can understand basic Hindi and loves to read in Hindi. For anyone who is teaching their kids a non-native language, take heart. If I can do it, anyone can. Later on, our kids will appreciate our efforts on their behalf even though it is difficult right now. smile

I wish I had known about EL earlier. I was working full time and barely had time to do the montessori and language training. But I began EL earnestly   when my son was 20 months old. The added benefit is that my newborn is learning with him. She is already more advanced than he was at the same age. I think it is because of EL and watching her brother. My son regressed with speaking, learning, potty etc., a little when my daughter was born, but we didn't mind. I think it is natural and we just let it be and gave him loads of emotional attention. I gave up a little on doing any EL as I was exhausted caring for a newborn and having an extremely active toddler.

We are back on track now and just now beginning reading, math, science, and piano playing. I am sad to have begun so late. But my son is really unfocused - he didn't enjoy being read to or focusing on any activity for more than a minute until recently!! He didn't enjoy the LM or LR presentations. He didn't like the dots or even word flashcards. I just keep reading to him even though he show no interest. Plus, he doesn't demonstrate any evidence of whatever I do teach him when I ask him. It was hard to convince anyone, especially  my husband that this EL thing (and the money for all the EL material) was worth it. Thankfully, my husband is wonderfully supportive and my own frustration was eased when I read some parents give great advice on this forum about providing input and not testing. My husband and I agreed that we will continue with our efforts and support our kids in whatever they want to learn without having to 'perform' for us. I have no support within my friends, though. Most of them think that I am being too pushy with him even though I explain that I am following his requests and interests. He gets a lot of play time. Although he enjoys imaginative play a lot, he gets bored and over stimulated with too much free play and then brings his 'school' work (number or word puzzles) for me to play with him. I wish that my friends could understand this. Other than my husband, I feel very lonely in my efforts.

I am struggling with how to help him with math, science and music concepts. From this forum, I hope to learn how others have accomplished this with their kids. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for bearing with my very long introduction. I'm glad to be part of this forum and hope to be a regular poster henceforth.

Gail
5  EARLY LEARNING / Early Learning - General Discussions / Re: Nursery Rhymes in Hindi??? on: February 16, 2013, 02:34:53 AM
Hi, I'm from India and most nursery rhymes from there are passed on by word of mouth, so to speak. It's because there are so many languages and dialects within the country. Some old indian movies have songs in them that are child-friendly and really iconic - these tend to be sung to kids too. I'll be happy to give you a list of those and other commonly sung children's songs in Hindi - PM me. I'm teaching my kids Hindi too so it'll be easy to share. (Sorry, my child is crying so I can't stay on the computer longer!!).

Gail
6  Products Marketplace / Second-Hand Sell + Swap / Re: WTS ASAP: Jones Geniuses Singapore Earlybird Science Tune Toddlers Trebellina on: February 16, 2013, 02:26:48 AM
I'd like packages 1 and 3. Can you PM me at [email protected] with details. Thanks.
7  EARLY LEARNING / Teaching Your Child - Signing, Speaking, Languages / Re: International Children's Digital Library on: September 04, 2012, 01:28:11 PM
Thanks for sharing, Keri. I've been using the ICDL library to read books to my son in french and german. The only not-so-good part is that the books are scanned and hence the graphics do not seem to be captivatiing for younger kids. But it is a wonderful resource and we love it.

Gail
8  Local Support Groups / Texas / Re: Anyone else in Austin? [AWARDED!] on: August 20, 2012, 07:12:41 PM
Hi, I'm new to BrillKids and would love to meet up with other parents using EL. I have just moved to Austin (Northwest area) and am trying to make new friends, especially for my 18 month old son. I'm a stay-at-home mom so am flexible to dates/times to meet up.

Gail
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