Reply to Speaking native language too much?

Forum Index » Au Pair Discussion

Reply to "Speaking native language too much?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We are very clear in matching, handbook, and training that we expect APs to speak English with their friends in front of us.  The only exception is when a friend (or family member) comes to visit and doesn't speak English.  If a friend is an AP, then we expect both of them to speak English in front of us and the children.  No one wants to feel like an outsider in their own home or car by not understanding the discussion.

No one has had a problem with this.  Our APs can have friends over as much as they want, so this is a small price to pay.[/quote]

omg lol wait what really

i guess since i speak german it bothers me less but i don't expect people to speak my language just because i'm also present [/quote]

Thats called being polite not excluding people from conversation when visiting someone's home. Its one thing if the other person doesn't know English but to intentionally speak another language is rude.[/quote]
Is it rude to speak English in a Mexican or Vietnamese restaurant

It's definitely an asshole move to ban an entire language from your home

Seriously you just suck as a human. Not as a host mom, not as a MB, as a member of the human race[/quote]

What are you even talking about? No one is banning any language from being spoken. We are simply asking that when an AP has friends over and she is hanging out with us - in the kitchen with us, in the car with us - that they speak English so that all who are present are included. This is simply called good manners. She can chat away in her home language all she wants in any other room in the house and any other time she wants, but when she has a friend over and is with one of her host children, it can make the child feel left out not to understand the conversation going on around her.

Please save the drama about people sucking as humans. Save that for Assad and others. Asking people to have manners isn't sucking as a human.  [/quote]

I am bilingual (and poorly speak two other languages) and it doesn't bother me very much when people speak another language around me. But my husband, who speaks mostly only English, sometimes reminds me that it's rude when I speak my native language (French) with my kids and other people are around (like my kids' friends for example). I also had to change the way I interacted with my kids when we ended up with a Brazilian AP out of rematch. I quickly realized she would probably feel somewhat excluded if I continuously spoke French to my children in front of her. I suspect it has to do with the environment in which one was raised and comfort level with not understanding what is being spoken around you. Regardless, since my husband has brought it up, I am a lot more careful about this. Perhaps bilingual German-speaking host mom is like I was, not as conscious that is can be offensive to others because it is not that offensive to her. Still doesn't mean other people suck as humans, good lord...[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics