I think I'm the only parent who could not care less about DC learning multiple languages

[Anonymous]

OP, I wouldn't feel silent shame about this - and I'm one of the people who replied who's very much in favor of kids learning foreign languages from a young age. It's not necessarily as hard or expensive as you think, but you have to have the mindset to do it. In many ways, it's a "lifestyle choice". Your child may turn out to be gifted at learning languages and will pick one or more up later. Or not.

In any event, parents have lots of competing priorities and you can't do everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi all, OP again. Thank you for the citations PP on the neuroscience behind bilingual brains!

For me personally, I think this comes down to being a bit of a slacker mom. Hence my silent shame at the playground I'm not going to put in the time, effort and expense required on my end to raise children who are really, truly bilingual.

Although I do believe there is some cognitive bump to being bilingual, I'm not convinced that the gains that have been suggested by the research are, for me and DH at least, so very worth it, given what would we would have to do to make that happen.

I think you are short-changing your children. This is the typical ugly American veiwpoint of "Everybody else learns English so what's the point"...Has your child express a lack of desire to learn a language??

Oh god, you're horrible!
Signed,
Ugly American mom who (gasp) only speaks two languages fluently

[Anonymous]

OP- you may not want to take the time to do this for your child but as others have pointed out - a second language is an advantage and if you introduce it early- an intellectual step up to learn other subjects. If you (and you apparently do) have the means- do not do your child a disservice- your childhoold is very different from theirs- just think of them. I know that I would rather my kids have an advantage in this world..

[Anonymous]

Let's see. America is borrowing mass funds from the Chinese, Employers are hiring Latin American migrant workers. Who's gonna be left in the cold? "The Ugly American" who only knows English. Parents better do something now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's see. America is borrowing mass funds from the Chinese, Employers are hiring Latin American migrant workers. Who's gonna be left in the cold? "The Ugly American" who only knows English. Parents better do something now.

Which types of employers are hiring Latin American migrant workers? For what types of jobs, and for what types of salaries?

I speak two languages fluently, and I still think that your argument is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

You should maybe leave your home and get a taste of what's happening in your community or turn on the TV every once in awhile. Two languages? You should have learned a language that people use on a regular basis. If you speak Spanish???? I guess you are out of touch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should maybe leave your home and get a taste of what's happening in your community or turn on the TV every once in awhile. Two languages? You should have learned a language that people use on a regular basis. If you speak Spanish???? I guess you are out of touch.

If you're addressing me, guess what? I do speak Spanish. Fluently since my mother was born in Madrid and I've spent about ten summers outside Barcelona.

But I don't use it much to address MIGRANT WORKERS in my workplace.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know whether most DC preschools provide some level of exposure to foreign language, or is this something that really starts at the preK/K/elementary level?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi all, OP again. Thank you for the citations PP on the neuroscience behind bilingual brains!

For me personally, I think this comes down to being a bit of a slacker mom. Hence my silent shame at the playground I'm not going to put in the time, effort and expense required on my end to raise children who are really, truly bilingual.

Although I do believe there is some cognitive bump to being bilingual, I'm not convinced that the gains that have been suggested by the research are, for me and DH at least, so very worth it, given what would we would have to do to make that happen.

I understand that, OP, just make sure your kids get some kind of exposure to language. I studied French when I was in high school but not Spanish. Thirty-five years later I'm working hard trying to pick up Spanish. Even though I'm more committed to learning Spanish (and there are more resources out there) I find that I still can speak French more easily -- even though I have hardly used it in decades.

Just make sure your kids take foreign languages in middle and high school all the years that they can. It will be easier to learn early rather than later. Plus, if they've been successful with one language, they will have more confidence about picking up new languages when they are older. I'm not bilingual (though I wish I were!) but I know I know enough languages to travel in countries where French, Spanish, German, and Russian are spoken and to read French and Spanish media. When I get proficient in Spanish, I'm going to study Arabic. I wouldn't feel that confident if I hadn't had to study languages as a young person.

[Anonymous]

I don't think that there's any reason to feel shame because you're not focused on language education.

But I do think that it's really valuable to introduce a language early, and an added bonus for the child.

--the poster who said that bilinguals process thought better was right. many studies support it
--additionally, studies on 50/50 immersion have shown that children who do a K-6 immersion speak the language accent-free by 6th grade. This was done with Spanish-- don't know if it works with Mandarin, which is tonal and so different.

Bottom line, there is also no down side to sending your child to a school where she'll pick up a second language. The children at Oyster, WIS, and the MoCo and Fairfax immersion programs read and do math on grade level like their monolingual peers, but they already have a high school topic mostly aced before they even get there. And when they get out into the city, and the world, they can communicate with more people. That's a gift to them, in my book.

[Anonymous]

I have a long winding OT question -

We're immigrants and speak Chinese (mandarin to be specific). Most of our friends speak Chinese. My DC (3&5) were born here and English is their dominate/best language. In fact, they speak very little Chinese due to lack of efforts on our part.

So, with that background, here's my theory on how to entice their interests to learn Chinese and use it: Meet up with mandarin speakers of different races (it's actually not hard to find them in DC). My thinking is, if the language is only spoken when 'Chinese-looking' people is around, and never between non-Chinese-looking people, they're going to associate the language with race. Since the majority of their lives they encounter much more people of a different race than their own, they will not see Chinese as a commonly-used language, and thus have little motivation to learn/use it - in other words, "because it's only spoken at home."

I hope I'm making (some) sense.... Thoughts? I'm especially interested to hear from moms who speak Chinese at home (2nd-gen Chinese?) and never get a chance to use it anywhere else.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

or there's the rockville chinese school and similar facilities for heritage speakers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a long winding OT question -

We're immigrants and speak Chinese (mandarin to be specific). Most of our friends speak Chinese. My DC (3&5) were born here and English is their dominate/best language. In fact, they speak very little Chinese due to lack of efforts on our part.

So, with that background, here's my theory on how to entice their interests to learn Chinese and use it: Meet up with mandarin speakers of different races (it's actually not hard to find them in DC). My thinking is, if the language is only spoken when 'Chinese-looking' people is around, and never between non-Chinese-looking people, they're going to associate the language with race. Since the majority of their lives they encounter much more people of a different race than their own, they will not see Chinese as a commonly-used language, and thus have little motivation to learn/use it - in other words, "because it's only spoken at home."

I hope I'm making (some) sense.... Thoughts? I'm especially interested to hear from moms who speak Chinese at home (2nd-gen Chinese?) and never get a chance to use it anywhere else.

Thanks!

You could send them to a school that teaches Chinese so they see lots of different kids learning it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I spoke with a top neuroscientist about this (with whom I deal through work, I don't just call 'em up for advice!) and he said that studies have shown that children who are bilingual are better able to process more information at once - essentially, their brain can multitask.

Oh, please....!

Hysterical.

Why is this so funny? You use different parts of your brain when speaking languages. Why not help a child develp a stronger brain early on with little effort compared to struggling thru it later in life. In the end, in addition to giving the kids a better developed brain, it gives a competitive advantage in studies and profession.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a long winding OT question -

We're immigrants and speak Chinese (mandarin to be specific). Most of our friends speak Chinese. My DC (3&5) were born here and English is their dominate/best language. In fact, they speak very little Chinese due to lack of efforts on our part.

So, with that background, here's my theory on how to entice their interests to learn Chinese and use it: Meet up with mandarin speakers of different races (it's actually not hard to find them in DC). My thinking is, if the language is only spoken when 'Chinese-looking' people is around, and never between non-Chinese-looking people, they're going to associate the language with race. Since the majority of their lives they encounter much more people of a different race than their own, they will not see Chinese as a commonly-used language, and thus have little motivation to learn/use it - in other words, "because it's only spoken at home."

I hope I'm making (some) sense.... Thoughts? I'm especially interested to hear from moms who speak Chinese at home (2nd-gen Chinese?) and never get a chance to use it anywhere else.

Thanks!

What you're experiencing is not that unusual. A few thoughts, if you haven't done these already: 1) get Chinese kids videos and kid's music; 2) read to your kids in Chinese; and 3) be consistent -- speak to your kids all the time in Chinese.

Most parents raising their kids bilingually have experienced what you're going through -- but your kids probably know more than they're letting on. If you keep it up and look for lots of creative Chinese-language activities, you'll be successful.