Bilingual Toddler

[mearkat75]

hi

need some advice if possible!

Myself [british] and my Hubby[Thai] have a 18 month old Daughter,i speak to her in English,but so does my Hubs[his English is pretty good] although she does hear him talk in Thai to family and friends,his parents talk to her in Thai.The problem is that i am now wanting to relocate back to the UK,we wont have any Thai speaking friends back in the UK and am wondering if my Hubby starts talking to her just in Thai will it confuse her even more?? i want her to continue learning Thai and just wanting others opinion on this.

Thanks

[jumnien]

Just keep speaking to her and loving her, she'll get it. If you want her to be bilingual, the best thing you can do is to model that behavior. Mommy should speak to her in both languages and Daddy too. Kids understand.

[Boo]

My husband speaks exclusively to our son in thai & me in English. Our son is 14 months & now understands basic commands in both langauges, like come here or no (a word used more than 1 millions times at day sometimes )

As we are based in UK both my husband & I think it important for him to be exposed to as much thai as possible so this includes 3 times a week calls to granny in Khon Kaen for phone time with her as well as watching childrens cd's in thai & we have a few children nursery story books written in both languages that we both read to him so he gets the same story in both langauges.

I don't beleive it confuses him but am prepared for a slower development as bi/tri lingual kids tend to be a little delayed in speech but judging from his incessent babling I don't worry too much.

Where are you planning on relocating to? If near London then the temple at Wimbeldon does classes for thai kids on a Sunday.

[bina]

first kids are always easier to use the two language (or three as some families have); when u have more then one, it just works out that the adults tend to use the language of the country they are living in (provided they speak the language at all)...

my first child i spoke to in english as did all my english speaking friends' did with their first kids; by our third , we were all speaking in hebrew during daily interactions ; one on one some of us managed to keep up in english...

anyhow, the oldest speaks fluently, so does the second, the third is slower anyway in some stuff so she's not got it...

there are some famililies here with finnish or dutch as a third language, the kids all understand but dont speak the third language but when travelling to the respective countries, manage quite well...

[samran]

I grew up speaking Thai in Australia - but that was due to the fact that my Thai speaking grandmother was living with us. I got the basics from that but you really need some period of immersion back in Thailand to get it up to a good near native standard IMHO.

My daughter (2yo) here in LOS now and we speak exclusively English with her at home, but when she tags along with me and I am out and about she hears Thai and understands it. Our part time nanny is Thai so our daughter understands everything that is said to her, but tends to respond in English...which for me is fine. As she lives here she'll eventually want to use more Thai than English, so having a good English foundation for her is important. The Thai will come...

[mearkat75]

Thanks for all the positive replies,i think the best thing is for me to carry on speaking English,my Thai is shocking! and try and get the Hubby to speak only Thai to her,he actually said it was quite hard to remeber how to speak Thai!! My little un understands whats being said in both languages,but tends to make more English sounding words,she says 'mum'with a fantastic Yorkshire twang

Thanks again

[Mossfinn]

a little delayed in speech but judging from his incessent babling

I'll be interested to see the development here Boo, as your young one is 3 months older than mine, I have heard about the delayed development in speech, so would be interested in actual outcomes.

The Thai cartoons and books is interesting, hadn't thought of that!

Moss

[dingdongrb]

My daughter just turned 2 in May. She was born in the USA but has been here in LOS since 3 months old. My wife speaks to her in both Thai and English but mainly Thai. I speak to her mostly in English but often use some of the little Thai I know. I thought that this would confuse her as she was growing up but I really don't see a problem. We can tell her in English and Thai to go get her shoes and she will do what is asked. So this tells me (as well as other examples) that she understands both languages equally. I read to her in English and we have CDs/DVDs in both Thai and English she enjoys. Since she is just starting a vocabulary that is somewhat recognizable she says some things in English and some things in Thai.

I have a very good friend back in the USA who married a Japanese lady. They had a daughter who is now around 7. I asked him how they taught her when she was little and if she knows both English and Japanese. He told me at that time not to worry as little children can adapt very easily to multiple languages. He said his daughter is fluent in speaking, reading, and writing both languages. He actually said that his daughter is a great translator for her two parents...

[poshthai]

Wow boo,a super moderator and you dont live in thailand.That sounds like a new post to me,so please tell me how you managed that,no doubt you have moved to uk recently,good luck with your family.My step son is 7 and we do live in Thailand permanently,but he has good command of english,speaks lao and is learning chinese,what a kid!!!!!

btw

he is fluent thai

Edited July 15, 2008 by poshthai

[poshthai]

My stepson teaches me some thai too especially when i say something wrong in thai or forget the thai words lol.Just glad i am not thai else i would lose so much face lol.

[Boo]

There is some requirement (in your mind) that someone has to live in thailand to be a super moderator?

You seem a tad obsessed with the moderation of this board (after reading through todays posts alone!!) so I suggest you try not to worry about it too much & just follow the rules.

[Naam]

need some advice if possible!

Myself [british] and my Hubby[Thai] have a 18 month old Daughter,i speak to her in English,but so does my Hubs[his English is pretty good] although she does hear him talk in Thai to family and friends,his parents talk to her in Thai.The problem is that i am now wanting to relocate back to the UK,we wont have any Thai speaking friends back in the UK and am wondering if my Hubby starts talking to her just in Thai will it confuse her even more?? i want her to continue learning Thai and just wanting others opinion on this.

don't worry Mearkat! my son grew up trilingual (german, english, french). at age 12 he had quite some fun correcting my english grammar and my wife's german grammar

[AFKAFSinLOS]

My husband speaks exclusively to our son in thai & me in English. Our son is 14 months & now understands basic commands in both langauges, like come here or no (a word used more than 1 millions times at day sometimes )

As we are based in UK both my husband & I think it important for him to be exposed to as much thai as possible so this includes 3 times a week calls to granny in Khon Kaen for phone time with her as well as watching childrens cd's in thai & we have a few children nursery story books written in both languages that we both read to him so he gets the same story in both langauges.

I don't beleive it confuses him but am prepared for a slower development as bi/tri lingual kids tend to be a little delayed in speech but judging from his incessent babling I don't worry too much.

Where are you planning on relocating to? If near London then the temple at Wimbeldon does classes for thai kids on a Sunday.

Thanks for clearing up that one. I just assumed the incessant babling was genetic on the mother's side...

Having studies linguistics as well as languages many moons ago the key with languages is constant exposure to them and as early as possible...

Kids are actually very bright and very receptive to new stimuli... it's just a few years when as adults they stop listening so much that the problems set in...

[Jimjim]

People wrongly think their kids will be confused and it is harmful to speak to them in multiple languages. Usually they will take the language of wherever they are living as their main language, especially if one parents speaks this. But if one parent is Thai, it only helps to be bilingual and that parents should speak Thai to the kid. I met some parents who had 3 or 4 languages between them but were afraid to speak more than 2 for fear their child would get confused. Big mistake. Children can pick up languages so quickly and it only helps them in the future to be able to speak more languages. A child could be learning 5 languages all at one time with little problems.

[PennyI]

I would like my son to speak Thai but unfortunately his dad is still living in Thailand and I just don't seem to have the energy at the moment. As well as learning the language I'm also really keen on him to learn the different culture from a young age and having been trying to find Thai people locally where I live but have had no joy (I even tried writing an ad in Thai and sticking in a shop window for a couple of weeks but it probably didn't say what I wanted it to). Does any one know where I can look to find this as well the culture side of things? I only just found out about these forums today when someone told me about the Thai festival at Battersea on Sunday so hoping to make some new friends and learn some useful information.

[Boo]

Where do you live Penny?

[sylvafern]

Thanks for all the positive replies,i think the best thing is for me to carry on speaking English,my Thai is shocking! and try and get the Hubby to speak only Thai to her,he actually said it was quite hard to remeber how to speak Thai!! My little un understands whats being said in both languages,but tends to make more English sounding words,she says 'mum'with a fantastic Yorkshire twang

Thanks again

The key here is to insist on your hubby speaking Thai to your little one - if he continues to speak mostly English, from experience, your daughter will almost have no chance of ever becoming bilingual ... whether you stay in Thailand or move overseas. My son has lived all of his almost 4 years in thailand (with the exception of 5 months in New Zealand last year) and he can not speak Thai at all past the regular sawadee-krap and kop khun krap. He can understand a bit more than he can speak but he is very limited. Right from the start his dad has always spoken to him in English despite my insistence that he must speak Thai to him. Now that he is getting older and has advanced English language skills for his age, his dad is frustrated that he can not speak Thai yet .... but whose fault is that!!! He seems to think it is the responsibilities of his teachers but he is at an international school and has limited Thai language while there. His dad and I are no longer together but he still sees him once a week and talks to him on the phone most days but every time I say he should be speaking Thai to our son he complains that my son doesn't understand him when he's speaking Thai. Ughhh! I've tried my best to encourage the bilingualism but one can only go so far. I still try to encourage him to have some understanding and try to teach him words in Thai but there's no chance that I alone will ever be able to help him become fluent in Thai (but at least he has as excellent grasp of English!!).

[PennyI]

Where do you live Penny?

I live in Hampshire / Berkshire in the UK.

[Boo]

Did you end up going to the festival in Battersea?

[PennyI]

Did you end up going to the festival in Battersea?

I did and it brought back lots of memories of being in Thailand. I used a bit of Thai which was fun as well but I'm worried taht I am going to forget what I've learnt if I don't keep using it. I'm thinking about going to the temple in Wimbledon this weekend while I have the use of my friends car as I think that is a Thai temple? I know my little one is too young to appreciate or understand anything that he is doing at the moment but I want to immerse him in as many Thai things and Buddhist things as possible (well I'm partly doing it for myself as well).

where are you in the UK or Thailand?

[Boo]

I'm in the UK too, Kent. I actually sent you an email earlier so check your email inbox.

We were at the festival too, I was hoping you would come back to the website before Sunday cause I was going to tell you where my group would be, we ended up being a large group of englsh & thai people & a few mixed kids but never mind, maybe next time.

The temple at wimbledon is lovely, really serene setting & large grounds with a pond. There isn't that much going on there though unless it is a thai holiday but nice for a day out & close to Wimbledon hight street so canalways get some shopping in too. We usually go a couple of times a year at Songkran & Loy kratong

[dclaryjr]

My kids were 8 and 6 when I brought them to the U.S. and I really regret that we didn't work on their Thai as youngsters. The older boy (now 41) can understand quite a bit, especially after going back for a visit to the village and being immersed in the language for a few weeks.

[Zzinged]

I grew up in Singapore speaking and learning English as my first language. However, my parents also spoke to me in Thai and so did my Thai aunt. As a result I could speak and understand Thai fairly well (but I spoke with a farang accent I was told) but I couldn't read or write Thai. I've been living in Thailand now for about 2 years, and I took Thai reading/writing classes at the AUA and I can finally read/write Thai

Keep speaking to her in both languages, I think it'll be just fine

[Londongirl]

Hi there,

Today is the first time that I have ever visited the Thai visa website and I was amazed to find other women like me, a farang woman married to a Thai man. It's nice to know I'm not the only one. Everytime I go to the Thai festival in Battersea Park in London I only see Thai women with their farang husbands or boyfriends.

My husband and I have two girls, one who is 3 1/2 and one who is 6 weeks old. My husband also does not speak very much Thai to our children even though I would love for him to speak exclusively Thai to them as there are not many other Thai people around us. As a result our oldest girl has his accent (and pronunciation) when she speaks English! My husband feels strange speaking Thai to them and feels embarrassed, there is nothing I can do to persuade him to change. Sad but I don't want to argue about it forever. My Thai is very limited and I am a poor student of languages. I would like to join a classes, preferably the one at SOAS, but need to money to do so.

[Boo]

Welcome to the forum Londongirl, you must have missed our group at the festival then as there were a bunch of us English girls with thai husbands & UK/Thai kids around your kids ages (well the toddler anyway).

We are spread out over London & the local counties though & our husbands don't socialise as much as thai women would for example. Hubby has been here over 4 years & only has one thai man friend & thats casue I met his wife first.

It's a shame about your husband not speaking to the kids in thai, have you explained to him that they are gonna have problems talking to family in thailand or that it will affect their opportunities in thailand when they are older?

My husband is very good about speaking thai to our son but I make a point of pulling him up if I hear him using Englsih when talking directly to our boy, I DO NOT want my son learning that accent & I don't use thai when talking to him directly for the same reason. Keep at him & hopefully he might get over his embarrassment.

[mearkat75]

Just to let you know,the hubby has been speaking Thai,and only Thai,to our Daughter since i first posted this,and already she is beginning to say a few words!

thanks again for all the helpful advice