Anybody take issue with teachers speaking another language at daycare?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have heard from other parents that they believe that hearing Spanish in day care all day has hampered their English language development.

I know it is a politically charged issue, but for any experts out there in the speech/language areas, could you weigh in, pointing to anything like an objective study or statistics?

I am not a language expert, but I do know that studies have been done on babies/children who are being raised bilingually. Their language development in both languages is usually a little bit delayed because they have to process/learn two languages at the same time, but eventually they catch up.

[Anonymous]

Op here. Our pediatrician said that it's best for children under 1 or 2 yo to hear as many languages as possible so that they can get used to the sounds. This is supposed to help them to learn languages later in life.

I'm all for learning languages. If we lived in Kenya, I'd want my child to learn Swahili or any other local language so that she can connect with the people.

I was a bit alarmed when I first heard this directive to only speak English. Parents in the DC metro area are actively seeking bilingual daycares/schools and then I hear about this at my daughter's daycare. I gave people in this area more credit, but it's always just 1, 2, or 3 bad apples that throw a wrench in the cog that was running smoothly.

Overall, these types of directives get misinterpreted by staff and has the potential to lower morale, affecting the care that they provide to the children at daycare.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have heard from other parents that they believe that hearing Spanish in day care all day has hampered their English language development.

I know it is a politically charged issue, but for any experts out there in the speech/language areas, could you weigh in, pointing to anything like an objective study or statistics?

I am not a language expert, but I do know that studies have been done on babies/children who are being raised bilingually. Their language development in both languages is usually a little bit delayed because they have to process/learn two languages at the same time, but eventually they catch up.

I'm not an expert, but unless the caregivers are actively engaing the child in Spanish, they aren't going to pick it up. It is one thing to wave your hand and say hola and another thing to just hear the language as background noise. I come from a bi-lingual home and sometimes feel that my english conversational skills are weak. My parents did not speak English well enough for us to have in-depth conversations. Unfortunately, I have also not had an opportunity to practice my German, so I somewhat feel at a disadvantage. Always have a hard time finding the right words.

[Anonymous]

Depending on the situation, I actually would object to teachers speaking in a different language. It may mean that the teachers are spending their time talking to each other (in their preferred language) than interacting with the kids. On their breaks, it would be fine. On occasion in the classroom or playground, when they need to get their point across quickly or easily, or need to say something discrete and don't want the kids to hear, or if they just inadvertently slip, that also would be fine. But conducting on-going conversations in another language on a regular basis while they are supposed to be caring for the kids? No, I would object to that (unless the kids are being taught that same language as part of the curriculum). I think it would be off-putting to the kids (I have a toddler so I'm considering that age group) to approach or try to interact with the teachers if they are speaking in a different language. I would be worried that doing that would make the kids feel like they are being excluded, and I think that in a good classroom there should be a collaborative feeling. It also is just plain impolite, and even at a young age I believe kids should be treated with polite consideration.

[Anonymous]

It is one thong if you have chosen to send your child to a bilingual program but if you have not, the primary language should be English. I would love DC to be bilingual also and have chosen certain options as a result. To learn a few words or to speak occassionally in one's primary language is OK but not all day around the children unless otherwise agreed upon with administration and parents.

[Anonymous]

I agree with many of the points made by the 13:49 PP. If you are seeking a bilingual experience for your children, that is great and hopefully you can find a program that is a good fit for you and your family. However, if it is not part of the curriculum, or understood from the start, then I would expect that the working language would be English (though, as the PP mentioned, there are acceptable exceptions). OP, even you mentioned that parents in DC are actively seeking bilingual schools - I think that is precisely the point. Those that are seeking, can find it, but those that are not seeking it, should also have the option. I don't think that there is anything wrong with a school's management to ask the caregivers to limit interaction in their native tongues while with children or parents if it understood that the working language of the school is English and there is not curriculum for a second language.

Though we are bi-cultural family and we each speak a second language, we made the choice to have our daughter only learn English the first few years of life. We are currently overseas, so my 3.5yo daughter is now in a local preschool where she has English classes but the working language is clearly Arabic. We are fine with that - it is a great experience for her and it is facinating to watch her develop a different language (and we are learning lots of new vocabulary through her). But not all parents choose to have their children exposed to second or third languages - and even where we are, we could choose a school where the working language is English (where both expatriate and "local" kids go to get an English-language based education).