Anonymous
Post 10/31/2019 21:18     Subject: Introduce a language
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I want to introduce a language (Chinese) to my 4 year old DD. I can speak/write Chinese, but I don't know how to start to teach it. She only can understand/speak/read English, and she is not interested in learning Chinese. How do your kids learn/pick up a foreign language? I feel sad because she is the only chinese kids among my friends that does not understand/speak Chinese. My husband can speak really limited Chinese. Should I use exercise book, cartoon, story books, videotapes or anything? Anything helpful tips?


Can you speak only Chinese to her? Dad can speak English? That is what my friends have done and it worked.


Yes! Maintain her excellent English, too. I support a short introduction period, followed by immersion. My mil only spoke her language to my bil, but he always responded in English. He got a 5 on the AP test. Of course, she started at birth.
Anonymous
Post 10/31/2019 21:10     Subject: Re:Introduce a language
If your child is not speaking Cantonese at home, they will not learn it well, if at all. Can your child spend more time with their Cantonese speaking grandparents? How come your DH is reluctant to speak it at home? We also spent the entire summers in China for the early years.
Anonymous
Post 10/31/2019 09:58     Subject: Introduce a language
Speak to her in Chineses. Surround yourself with others who speak Chinese with their kids. Spend time in China.
Anonymous
Post 10/31/2019 09:08     Subject: Introduce a language
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:She did not talk because it's common for bilingual kids not to talk till 2.5-3. Ours had 30 words up until 3, with first words coming out at 2.5.We consulted multiple specialists and they all kept saying keep the two languages. For now, i'd introduce more and more of chinese every day. Maybe one phrase 'good morning", and next day it's good morning and good night, etc. We also have 2 different bookshelves and I only read to him in my language (ditto on the post above - we traveled back this summer with almost 15 kg of books). You are not too late though!


Actually, the latest research has disproved the myth that bilingualism is correlated with speech delay.

Our kids are being raised trilingual and they have all been early talkers. My 2 yo regularly uses words like fragile, confused, decision, actually. My oldest spoke clearly in two of the three languages before he walked.


Yes, my two kids a simultaneous bilinguals and they were not delayed at all. Some kids are just speech delayed and multiple languages may make them take a bit longer, but they would have been delayed even if they had been monolingual. It isn't a reason to not expose them to multiple languages.
Anonymous
Post 10/31/2019 08:32     Subject: Introduce a language
We have an Unblock TV box from Hong Kong which is basically an Android TV box that runs a number of Chinese and Hong Kong streaming apps. We literally have too much content to watch with hundreds of shows in Mandarin and Cantonese.

We have our kids watching some kids programming in Mandarin to help with their language skills.

You can get Unblock Box online from ebay or Aliexpress or a bunch of other websites. Pretty simple system.
Anonymous
Post 10/24/2019 15:21     Subject: Introduce a language
Anonymous wrote:She did not talk because it's common for bilingual kids not to talk till 2.5-3. Ours had 30 words up until 3, with first words coming out at 2.5.We consulted multiple specialists and they all kept saying keep the two languages. For now, i'd introduce more and more of chinese every day. Maybe one phrase 'good morning", and next day it's good morning and good night, etc. We also have 2 different bookshelves and I only read to him in my language (ditto on the post above - we traveled back this summer with almost 15 kg of books). You are not too late though!


Actually, the latest research has disproved the myth that bilingualism is correlated with speech delay.

Our kids are being raised trilingual and they have all been early talkers. My 2 yo regularly uses words like fragile, confused, decision, actually. My oldest spoke clearly in two of the three languages before he walked.
Anonymous
Post 10/24/2019 15:18     Subject: Introduce a language
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:S/O for Cantonese-speaking mom: do you know of any online resources or streaming services that have kids’ videos in Cantonese? I don’t speak it and DH doesn’t read characters so we’re struggling to find resources to make learning Cantonese fun for DD. Saturday schools near us are Mandarin-only and DH refuses to speak Cantonese at home, although grandparents cooperate.


YouTube?


I can speak Cantonese & Chinese. Cantonese is more difficult to learn than Chinese because there's less materials available out there for learning, it is less common/popular than Chinese (less exposure to groups & environment), and the way they talk (has more sounds than Chinese). The way you talk sometimes cannot be translated into words to words on the text in Cantonese, and there are many slangs. I am still undecided if I should teach my kid Cantonese or Chinese. I think it would be easier for my kids to learn Chinese, but I am more fluent in Cantonese. Suggestions are youtube, videos, import books/vidoes from Hong kong (pay for high shipping) etc. I know some friends of mine carry full luggage of books/videos/exercise book from hong kong everytime they visit. And, they are super heavy.


Cantonese is Chinese. It is an older form of Chinese than Mandarin. You mean you speak Mandarin and Cantonese.
Anonymous
Post 10/24/2019 15:17     Subject: Introduce a language
Speak, sing, read. My kids are on the path to being bilingual, including basic literacy in Chinese, without barely getting any at home. We did bilingual preschool.
Anonymous
Post 10/24/2019 12:17     Subject: Introduce a language
She did not talk because it's common for bilingual kids not to talk till 2.5-3. Ours had 30 words up until 3, with first words coming out at 2.5.We consulted multiple specialists and they all kept saying keep the two languages. For now, i'd introduce more and more of chinese every day. Maybe one phrase 'good morning", and next day it's good morning and good night, etc. We also have 2 different bookshelves and I only read to him in my language (ditto on the post above - we traveled back this summer with almost 15 kg of books). You are not too late though!
Anonymous
Post 10/24/2019 11:13     Subject: Introduce a language
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:S/O for Cantonese-speaking mom: do you know of any online resources or streaming services that have kids’ videos in Cantonese? I don’t speak it and DH doesn’t read characters so we’re struggling to find resources to make learning Cantonese fun for DD. Saturday schools near us are Mandarin-only and DH refuses to speak Cantonese at home, although grandparents cooperate.


YouTube?


I can speak Cantonese & Chinese. Cantonese is more difficult to learn than Chinese because there's less materials available out there for learning, it is less common/popular than Chinese (less exposure to groups & environment), and the way they talk (has more sounds than Chinese). The way you talk sometimes cannot be translated into words to words on the text in Cantonese, and there are many slangs. I am still undecided if I should teach my kid Cantonese or Chinese. I think it would be easier for my kids to learn Chinese, but I am more fluent in Cantonese. Suggestions are youtube, videos, import books/vidoes from Hong kong (pay for high shipping) etc. I know some friends of mine carry full luggage of books/videos/exercise book from hong kong everytime they visit. And, they are super heavy.