If you hired a nanny for bilingual language instruction

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:French. The Africa is the last untapped market and predominantly French speaking.

Speaking Spanish is nothing unusual and Mandarin, while a great, is going to be tapped out.

The Africa? Is this like the Ukraine or the Argentine?

No, Dear, it’s a typo.

PS. The examples you gave are countries. Africa is a continent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:French. The Africa is the last untapped market and predominantly French speaking.

Speaking Spanish is nothing unusual and Mandarin, while a great, is going to be tapped out.

Wise choice.

We also chose French. No nanny, but French immersion school and babysitters. I speak a little and spouse has conversational French. We live in DC and frequently encounter people from francophone countries, so there is some exposure outside of school also. Also, we do French cartoons, books, magazines, etc.

Spanish is now offered after school, and one of us also speaks some Spanish. There won't be the depth of exposure in Spanish anytime soon as there is for French, but hopefully Spanish could be pursued later if there's an interest.

Especially considering that once you know French, Spanish becomes much easier to learn (IME).

[Anonymous]

We chose Spanish. I only hire nannies who really don't speak English. And if they do speak English they're not allowed to speak it. My kids aren't allowed to speak in English to them. I speak Spanish but have a terrible accent. I only speak Spanish to my nannies. My kids are 5 and 3 (and a baby) and don't have accents. The downside is that because I want nannies who don't speak English, they tend to be less educated, and they teach my kids improper grammar. I sometimes correct my kids but I figure learning the accent and vocabulary and basic grammar now is best, and we can hire tutors when my kids are older.

Another issue is that my kids speak English with a slight accent. It's hard for most people to hear but I studied linguistics and can tell they make certain sounds differently due to their Spanish. I'm not concerned at this point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you are not Chinese there is no point in selecting a nanny for Mandarin. If you have no cultural links to another language, Spanish will be the most useful. Many people in the US speak it.

Lot of Manhattanites are paying through the nose for Mandarin speaking nannies.

Why?

Business in China is conducted in English. You don’t have any sort of edge in terms of getting a job by speaking mandarin.

Spanish helps you in your daily life in the US, and it helps with business domestically and abroad (far less bilingual businessmen in Spanish speaking countries).

I got my job in DC since I’m proficient in Spanish.

I am a corporate attorney that learned Mandarin to work in China. I think people keep telling themselves business is conducted in English to feel less insecure. Or people are speaking English to you because they know you not speak Chinese. Even if you don't become fluent in Chinese, it gives you an edge to know the language because it shows an understanding of the culture and a level of respect towards your Chinese associates.

Yeah but you work in China. Honestly how many DCUM posters want their children to work in China? All asides it’s very very far away from your families when there are plenty of opportunities in the US.

I work in Shanghai (and London too). But I live in DC. Have you not heard of traveling for work?