Foreign Husbands Speaking Thai To Their Kids

[steelepulse]

Over the last couple of days here in Phuket, I've seen a a few foreign husbands speaking Thai to their kids.  

I really don't see any reason for this as they should be speaking to them in their mother

 tongue so the kids 

can be bilingual.  Anyone have any idea why it is preferable to speak Thai to yo

ur kids when you are not Thai? 

I would think that most parents would want their kids to be bilingual and speak 

each native language like a 

native. I would certainly not like my kids speaking Thai like myself, nor would 

I want them speaking English 

like my wife. I'm not saying it's either good nor bad, but just trying to understand why the native tongue isn't used.

P.S. Not sure why the formatting turned out like it did, but I guess the forum software doesn't like my browser.

[YoungFarang13]

they want those around them to know that they can speak Thai.

[wolfmanjack]

they want those around them to know that they can speak Thai.

You are probably right about this but it could be that the father is not around enough for the kids to learn his language and it is easier for him to communicate in thai. I know a few falangs that their kids do not speak anything but thai. I pretended not to know any thai with my kids and now they can speak both english and thai.

[Thai at Heart]

Over the last couple of days here in Phuket, I've seen a a few foreign husbands speaking Thai to their kids.  

I really don't see any reason for this as they should be speaking to them in their mother

 tongue so the kids 

can be bilingual.  Anyone have any idea why it is preferable to speak Thai to yo

ur kids when you are not Thai? 

I would think that most parents would want their kids to be bilingual and speak 

each native language like a 

native. I would certainly not like my kids speaking Thai like myself, nor would 

I want them speaking English 

like my wife. I'm not saying it's either good nor bad, but just trying to understand why the native tongue isn't used.

P.S. Not sure why the formatting turned out like it did, but I guess the forum software doesn't like my browser.

They are doing absolutely the wrong thing if they ever want their children to be bilingual. If they want their kids to grow up speaking Thai like a foreigner then they are going absolutely the right way about it. If you only speak your native tongue to your kids, they will learn it. It may take a little longer, but they will learn. There are loads of books around about how to handle different language situations depending on where you are living, mixed marriage, same language marriage, but the most important issue is that the kids should only learn from people who can speak a language properly.

Parents if disciplined can make their chilldren speak to them in the correct language. They even subconciously learn to speak to the relevant person in the correct language and switch in conversation with different people without even thinking about it.

[TheWalkingMan]

Very interesting as I was thinking about this recently.

Once I met an American guy who had been living in Thailand for 20+ years and had kids who were about 14~15 years old. The kids could not speak any English. This surprised me as I always thought (incorrectly) that western dads would want to give their kids something of a leg up on others. Additionally, it would help to communicate with family, if any, back in the states.

It just surprises me as I feel that the western pop not having his kids speak his native language is sad.

TheWalkingMan

[moe666]

Speaking Thai to your kid if you can why not.

[jumnien]

My Thai wife and I want our child to be bilingual. He obviously needs role models for bilingual and trilingual speaking. Therefore, I speak both English and Thai with him, as does my wife. We also speak English and Thai amongst ourselves. He will be going to a school taught in English, but we want him to be adept at the Thai language as well. It is absurd to think that parents who want their children to be multilingual should never let the child know that they are multilingual as well.

[GuestHouse]

And I guess you've never heared complaints about foreigners in your own country not learning and using your language....?!

[YoungFarang13]

I just want to thank all you guys for making a bunch of hot children to look at. **removed**. Thanks.

Edited April 21, 2008 by Reimar
removed an offensive sentences

[garro]

Maybe he wants to speak to his child in Thai because it provides more privacy when around non-speakers of Thai.

You only have to read a thread like this one to see how judgmental westerners can be, and maybe he didn't want his conversation analysed too much . Maybe it was force of habit. We try to stick to our native languages when speaking to our son, but habits can be hard to break. I don't see how it could harm the OP though?

[Thai at Heart]

And I guess you've never heared complaints about foreigners in your own country not learning and using your language....?!

Last I noticed, there are about 60 odd million other people for kids to learn Thai from other than a dad speaking in a second language. I have only met a handful of foreigners in Thailand who are truly fluent. I can speak the language, but ask me to discuss the constitution in Thai, not a chance.

Plus there are 60mn odd other people for dad to practice his Thai with other than his children. I don't care what other people do, but if you want your kids to be bilingual (which is a useful thing most would agree), be disciplined and speak to them in your mother tongue. Interestingly, kids who learn two languages by 7 years old, find it much easier to learn a third or fourth also. If you don't want your kids to be bilingual, who cares.

[YoungFarang13]

this thread is just about different minds and people. i bet if you took a survey of salaries, those saying "Its best to speak your native language as you are not fluent and its not necessary" make more money and have higher IQ's while the "just leave me alone and let me do what I want" crowd probably make less money and don't like to think too much.

[GuestHouse]

I don't care what other people do,

Your posts tell a different story.

[jumnien]

By far, the most important thing is that parents actually talk to their children and play with their children. It's not like my child is going to get his knowledge of English primarily from me, God forbid! Most of the kids speak English around here anyway.

[YoungFarang13]

photos asap please.

[Thai at Heart]

I don't care what other people do,

Your posts tell a different story.

I was simply commenting on the story vis a vis bilingualism.

[bkkmick]

I do to my kids, from time to time, because my 6yo speaks better Thai than I do and corrects me when I'm wrong. It helps me learn. They both speak great English too.

[jbowman1993]

To each their own....stop pissing in someone else's pool.

[soundman]

Its a communication thing.

We (TW & I) speak both languages with our children. Quite often I will speak English with our three year old and she will answer me in Thai, especially if she is anywhere near other children.

Cheers,

Soundman.

[jumnien]

No one should be ashamed to be bilingual. If you can speak Thai or English, then speak them. Your child is not going to reject the Thai language just because you speak it.

Edited April 21, 2008 by sunrise07

[Tod Daniels]

As always the 'experts' have weighed in on the extremely negative and adverse impact this will have on the development of a bi/tri-lingual child.

In my 'expert opinion'; There is NOTHING wrong with a non-thai father speaking thai to his half thai children, just as there is nothing wrong with him speaking to them in his native language. The impact of a language being poorly pronounced or enunciated (2 big words in a row for you ' experts'; please do your best to follow along) has not been shown to be detrimental in the acquisition of said language(s). Few people speak their native language perfectly nor their second language for that matter.

As an example;

I have a friend who has been in the glorious “Land ‘O Thais” over 10 years, he is German, his wife is Thai, their 9 y/o boy is no surprise 1/2 thai 1/2 German, and their housekeeper is Burmese. They speak a combination of Thai, English, German and Burmese in their home but almost exclusively thai out of the house. The boy to his great credit can effortlessly switch between the 4 languages; often carrying on several conversations at once, speaking German or English with his father, Thai or English with his mother and chatting in Burmese with the housekeeper. Not speaking German or Burmese I cannot vouch for the fluency the boy has with either language, but in Thai and English he is very conversant. His ability to change languages seemingly effortlessly is an enviable skill.

The ability of a child to acquire languages is far superior to that of adults, that fact cannot be argued. Of course the T/V Forum 'experts' know better; so I will defer to their incredible wealth of cumulative knowledge in language acquisition skills of children.

WARNING: This post contains MANY large words, please refer to Merriam-Webster (dot) com for the definitions.

[palm]

No one should be ashamed to be bilingual. If you can speak Thai or English, then speak them. Your child is not going to reject the Thai language just because you speak it.

Exactly!

[YoungFarang13]

gotta love the kids who learn the maids language. best to switch from a burmese maid to a cambodian maid before 5 years old

[steelepulse]

I started this thread to be mostly about kids in the developmental years, say up to 6 or 7 years old.  Just last night the guy next to me is speaking Thai to his 1 year old baby.  I certainly agree that the kid needs to be bilingual and I too sometimes speak in Thai, but to me it makes sense for the child to hear the native language in the native tongue, whatever it is. I really don't want kids speaking English telling me they are going to "Centun" when actually it is Central.

[Neeranam]

If the father can speak fluent Thai, I don't think there is anything wrong with him speaking Thai to his kids now and again. I only speak English with my kids as I want them to learn it and I'm not fluent. Additionally, the mother should speak to the kid in Thai unless she is fluent in the father's language.

The only occassion I will speak Thai is if I want to say something secretly.

It's hard sometimes not to speak in Thai if the kid understands Thai better/only(usually the case in Thailand) but fathers should try. This is advice given to me by a Thai friend who got his Phd in 'Bilingual Language Aquisition' from Leeds University.

It is much better for my kids if I use the English word than to say it in English and Thai.

Edited April 21, 2008 by Neeranam

[Thai at Heart]

As always the 'experts' have weighed in on the extremely negative and adverse impact this will have on the development of a bi/tri-lingual child.

In my 'expert opinion'; There is NOTHING wrong with a non-thai father speaking thai to his half thai children, just as there is nothing wrong with him speaking to them in his native language. The impact of a language being poorly pronounced or enunciated (2 big words in a row for you ' experts'; please do your best to follow along) has not been shown to be detrimental in the acquisition of said language(s). Few people speak their native language perfectly nor their second language for that matter.

As an example;

I have a friend who has been in the glorious “Land ‘O Thais” over 10 years, he is German, his wife is Thai, their 9 y/o boy is no surprise 1/2 thai 1/2 German, and their housekeeper is Burmese. They speak a combination of Thai, English, German and Burmese in their home but almost exclusively thai out of the house. The boy to his great credit can effortlessly switch between the 4 languages; often carrying on several conversations at once, speaking German or English with his father, Thai or English with his mother and chatting in Burmese with the housekeeper. Not speaking German or Burmese I cannot vouch for the fluency the boy has with either language, but in Thai and English he is very conversant. His ability to change languages seemingly effortlessly is an enviable skill.

The ability of a child to acquire languages is far superior to that of adults, that fact cannot be argued. Of course the T/V Forum 'experts' know better; so I will defer to their incredible wealth of cumulative knowledge in language acquisition skills of children.

WARNING: This post contains MANY large words, please refer to Merriam-Webster (dot) com for the definitions.

My kids speak English to me, (I don't speak Thai to them) Thai to mum (Mum speaks Thai with them), Chinese quite well from school and Laos/Isaan with to the maid and older realitives. Below 7 years old the brain processes language learning/vocabulary in a different way so they can soak it up and become bilingual far more easily than adults.

[geriatrickid]

Maybe Dad was trying to make a point to his kid to ensure that it was understood.

Jeez if this is the worst think papa was doing, be happy. He could be like the the father that took his son with him when they robbed ATMs a couple months ago.

[onzestan]

Foreign husbands speaking Thai to their kids, Why?

Why not, after all this is Thailand. You hear a dad speaking Thai to his kid at a certain time and place, and immediately you assume that he never speaks any other language with his kids, and also assume that he speaks English. Maybe he's French or German, or Italian or whatever.

onzestan

[jstumbo]

And I guess you've never heared complaints about foreigners in your own country not learning and using your language....?!

There is a difference. When speaking to the child or at home use your native tongue. When in public you can use Thai.

[garro]

There is so many other reasons why he could be speaking in Thai-

- it might not be his child

- the child might not be bilingual because the father can only visit a few weeks of the year (amazingly some holiday romances in Thailand don't end up in a life-time commitment to the partner).

Edited April 21, 2008 by garro