When the kids speak another language...

[KrisM]

do you learn it too? My oldest 2 can talk to each other in Manadrin. They learn it 30min/day at school and are picking it up quickly. But, I can count and that's about it :). I wonder how it'll be in a few more years, when they're very good at it and I can still just count! I think if I try to learn it now, I'll never be as good as they will, so is that even worth it?

[fivi2]

I would try to learn it - why not? Sounds like a great idea!

[hellokitty]

Why not ask them to teach you? They would probably get a big kick out of it, and you'd be getting free lessons, lol.

[KrisM]

Why not ask them to teach you? They would probably get a big kick out of it, and you'd be getting free lessons, lol.

DD tries. She's very picky on pronunciation, which is good, but I seem to struggle with it. That makes her frustrated. We should keep doing that though.

I can count to 100, sing Happy Birthday, sing We Wish you a Merry Christmas, and say a few other things.

[maestramommy]

Oh I would definitely try to learn!

[megs4413]

this is one of the reasons we don't put the kids in spanish...or at least haven't up to this point. My Dh and I both speak French reasonably well as does my mother. We would prefer they learn french. I hope they will. So far, no go.

If they do start taking spanish in school, we will try to learn spanish...it's similar to french, but I'm sure it will be difficult at this point. We will still try, though.

[Simon]

Ds1 is learning a new language at school, which supposedly Dh learned in high school, but so far I seem to be doing the most speaking with him. This will be my 3rd language and although I'm not doing anything formal, yet, I do try to initiate and respond when I can in his new language. He seems to be picking it up quite rapidly, too, which is exciting to see.

[hellokitty]

DD tries. She's very picky on pronunciation, which is good, but I seem to struggle with it. That makes her frustrated. We should keep doing that though.

I can count to 100, sing Happy Birthday, sing We Wish you a Merry Christmas, and say a few other things.

If it makes you feel any better, your mandarin is better than mine. I mostly only understand mandarin, but I have a horrible american accent. My cousins in taiwan laughed their butts off when they heard me speak mandarin when I visited back in college. I regret not trying harder to learn mandarin when I was younger and I could probably try to learn it again, but I have nobody to practice with. Don't feel embarrassed and while your dd gets frustrated, I would remind her that it's easier for kids to pick up a language than grown ups. Maybe just work on a few words a wk, so it's not too frustrating.

[ahisma]

Check and see if you have access to Mango Languages through your library. If so, it's a great free way to learn a new languages, they have a ton!

[twowhat?]

If it makes you feel any better, your mandarin is better than mine. I mostly only understand mandarin, but I have a horrible american accent. My cousins in taiwan laughed their butts off when they heard me speak mandarin when I visited back in college. I regret not trying harder to learn mandarin when I was younger and I could probably try to learn it again, but I have nobody to practice with. Don't feel embarrassed and while your dd gets frustrated, I would remind her that it's easier for kids to pick up a language than grown ups. Maybe just work on a few words a wk, so it's not too frustrating.

This is me and DH. We don't speak it well enough to be able to use it with the girls. Which just seems dumb that we're Chinese and can't even teach it to our girls. Oh, well. I had hoped that the grandparents would use mandarin with the girls but even THEY are so used to speaking English that they don't! LOL!

To PPs, there are lots of studies showing a huge benefit to even just HEARING a foreign language so for those of you who can speak another language, keep speaking it even if it seems your kids have no interest in speaking it themselves!!!

[truly scrumptious]

Check and see if you have access to Mango Languages through your library. If so, it's a great free way to learn a new languages, they have a ton!

Just wanted to say thanks for this recommendation. Our library has Mango languages available and I've started playing around with it. Love it!

[KrisM]

I am going to look into the library program. I asked the kids to teach me some tonight. DD did a bit and included writing as well!

I am amazed at what they are learning. Friends were in Chinatown in Chicago and their kids held conversations with shop workers. I love it.

[fedoragirl]

My situation is a bit different, but yes, I have to learn the language my kids also speak. If I don't learn it, I won't understand when their friends come over. I started classes in Dec. and it's actually fun. This will be the 4th language I speak, but sadly, my other two languages are getting all muddled up.

[schrocat]

Watch chinese/taiwanese dramas/movies on TV, netflix and crunchyroll. There are English subtitles and after watching for a bit, you can pick up words and sentence structure. That's how I'm picking up Korean and some Japanese.