Does it take Thai/farang kids longer to learn how to talk?

[carib102]

Don't stress about it unless the child appears not to understand direction, and shows little to no interest in language what so ever. My wife worried because our 4 year old can't read yet. Well it just turns out she wasn't interested yet. In the past two weeks she has become interested and can now read simple sentences in English, and constantly has a book in hand. No worries. I seem to recall that I didn't read until starting kindergarten at age 5 and I turned out fine.

[Jonmarleesco]

Not necessarily, but first, it might be better to have your wife use only Thai, you only English; and for other Thais to be encouraged to speak in Thai to her, not to use her to practice their English skills. The same goes for foreigners trying out their Thai language skills on her; don't permit it.

The lack of prepositions, conjunctions, articles, etc., in the Thai language also mean she is often likely to short-circuit her English phrasing; correct her whenever you hear her omit a word.

When all is said and done, however, she will probably be fine, and certainly bi-lingual.

[VINCENT2012]

it depends ...man!!

i have already seen a problem

you say:

I can't speak Thai so only speak English to my daughter but my wife speaks both Thai and English to her.

how do you expect the child to be clever when her father is not?

think about it ...and relax your child will be bilingual before you can even see it...100%, i bet on it

[MrY]

Not to worry. My boy started at 3 years in pretty much complete sentences. It will be like flood gates opening...

Just make sure you speak the kind of English you want your child to learn, don't simplify [even when talking to others]. And your wife should stick to Thai only with the child, unless you don't live here the year around.

The silence will pass. Enjoy the conversations.

[Gandtee]

My Thai-farang boy started talking at 2 in Thai mostly. Some Englsih words but Thai sentences.

I spent a lot of time with my son from 1 to 3 - like a full-time Mr. Mom. We started speaking Thai together. English words were just names for things.

Everything was named and explained, talking to him as though he understood. Like you would talk to a 6 year old, that's how I talked to a baby. No gibberish and no half-watered down English.

And at 3 or 3 1/2 we switched to all English and hit the books: Richard Scarry, Dr Seuss, etc. Now the boy is almost 6 and is totally bilingual; he can function as a playground translator, after more than two years of bilingual kindergarten.

The only experience I have with kids is my own child and his Thai cousins and the few neighbors in my condo. If any conclusion can be reached, anecdotal as it may be, kids who develop verbal skills are the kids whose parents spend time talking and reading to them. My son's Thai grandmother could not engage the boy in attentive listening. His mother was always too entranced by the TV or the iPhone. The cartoons compete too. Just make sure the cartoons are English. I downloaded every Disney feature for kids and spent time together watching and talking about them. Mom and granny watch Thai and Korean soaps - nothing there for kids.

PM me if you want the cartoon and video collection.

There is no reason to believe that a kid is developing slower based on some inherited trait. They all develop at their own pace to be sure, but it is up to you to maximize the pace.

My 13 year old grandson we have raised since he was a baby. He only ever watches English language TV. I've read to him since he was a toddler and still do. He reads both Thai and English but my reading to him is a perk.He is fluent in English with a broad vocabulary. I suspect a lot of it picked up from Discovery and National Geographic type programs.I would not advocate kids watching Thai TV. Mostly it appears to me, is rubbish and and not a good influence on children..

[thairastawoman]

The most stupid thing to confuse the kids is that one person speaks more than 1 language...

Each person should always speak the same language.

[Pii Kate]

Relax. Einstein was 9 years old before he could complete a sentence. Read and talk to her. Sing with her...she will learn.

[Zonka]

The most stupid thing to confuse the kids is that one person speaks more than 1 language...

Each person should always speak the same language.

Care to elaborate on that?

[Zonka]

The most stupid thing to confuse the kids is that one person speaks more than 1 language...

Each person should always speak the same language.

[smileplur]

The most stupid thing to confuse the kids is that one person speaks more than 1 language...

Each person should always speak the same language.

I don't think I would be so critical of other people's approach to raising their children as to call it 'stupid'. I don't think it's for you or anyone else to judge how people decide what is best for their kids as far as their linguistic development is concerned. As far as the science of language acquisition is concerned, there is still a lot that we don't know about how the brain works regarding first language acquisition. We know even less about second language acquisition. Even worse, we know the least about the process by which a child learns and acquires two languages simultaneously, each with their distinctive features (phonemes, lexicon, sequencing, etc.).

Given that we know so little about how this takes place in the developing mind of a child, I would think the person making a judgement about another person's approach pretty 'stupid' because they don't have any clue themselves about the best way to go about such a thing. There simply isn't enough research and evidence out there to support any approach that parents might take to benefit their children. There are arguments for and against each method. I hardly think you are a scientist in the field of linguistics or language acquisition, so it might be best to keep your opinions to yourself and do as you see fit in your own household with your own children.

[Hans Donnerborg]

It takes time to grow synapsis for more than one language - and place them in right order -
2 synapsis for monkey talk - evil grins

many for the Queens own language ;)
and you will end up being spoken about like duuud gae -
because u dont understand thai
mother will if no english be called ol hag.
oh yes wait untill child is a teenager and you deny out late ;)

but for the good sake challenge the language now - thwe more the better later in life.

[DerringDo]

Our sons have learned at different speeds in both Thai and English as well as maths.

The oldest took more time to speak but went straight into both languages. The youngest started using Thai more quickly but that's probably because the oldest and his mother converse in Thai unless I'm around then it switches depending on how difficult I find to explain something.

Don't worry about the kid(s) they'll be jabbering 12 to the dozen before you can shut the little blighters up. As another poster said you'll wish for the quiet times again ???

Comprehension is more important than repeating a model sentence. IMHO ?

[DrTuner]

The most stupid thing to confuse the kids is that one person speaks more than 1 language...

Each person should always speak the same language.

Not always practical. My MIL understands my Thai better than English or German so I use that with her, my FIL is German and I speak German with him as it's his strongest language, my mother is Finnish and I speak Finnish with her (The only language she really understands), with wife & kids it's English. One language to one person, sure, but different per person. Kids don't seem that confused, more like amused.

I think the some of Swiss are used to three or more languages and seem to do fine.

[Johpa]

I doubt there is any significant lag in developing language skills being raised in a bilingual environment, especially in light of the natural variation for such development even in a monolingual enviroment.

We raised both our kids as bilinguals. It takes commitment, time, and money (AKA financial sacrifice). Here is my take after watching countless families both succeed and fail raising bilingual children.

If you are living in Thailand and the mother speaks decent Enlish then by all means speak only English in the home as the kids will pick up Thai from relatives and "in the streets". In this situation English will be the mother tongue and Thai will be the native tongue. The Thai may be a little slower in developing then their age-mates, but it will come. (My wife was raised in a minority village in Thailand where all her peers learned Thai outside the home and all those peers became native Thai speakers early in primary school.) If your wife does not speak strong English then it is important for you to only speak English when one-on-one, even if the children tend to respond in Thai. The key element is that they understand English as understanding is the key to any future progress that may be less than bilingualism, and that is still a desirable and advantageous outcome for the future. Do not get frustrated. If you are living in Thailand then it will be important to get the kids into an English speaking environment for at least a few weeks each year, preferably with English speaking children their age, preferably cousins with whom they can develop long term friendships. If you can't afford to fly them overseas to visit family then by all means take them every year to a tourist beach area dominated by English speakers and hopefully they will find child playmates as well. And I shoud note that these days, if you live in a major tourist area all this may not be necessary given the large numbers of ex-pats and English language school options that did not exist when my kids were young.

If you are living in an English speaking country then the kids will have English as their native tongue and Thai as their mother tongue. Again, the mother must continue to speak Thai and can not get frustrated if they become English language dominant and respond to her in English. Again, understanding is the critical and necessary first step. It will be necessary to get them to Thailand annually. This was our situation and we were successful in raising blinguals. I don't know of many families from my generation in this situation that were successful in raising bilinguals who did not make the effort and spend the money to get their kids back to their mother's homeland on an annual basis. A footnote here is that in the early years of school it will not impact their education significantly by taking them out of school for a few months. We tended to take out kids out of school in November and return in late January.

Anyways, best of luck and stay committed. The rewards for both you and the kids are worth the effort and investment.

[traviss]

In my experience and talking to other bilingual families yes they will start talking at a later age but then mostly in complete sentences. As long as your daughter reacts to what both of you are saying then it should be fine and nothing to be worried about. A friend of mine grew up with 5 different languages spoken to her and she turned out fine. Starting speaking at the age of 4 but then in all languages and was able to switch between them without any issues.

We had the same concerns with our son. He is now 2.5 years and understands english and thai. He speaks more thai as his mother and I are the only ones that speak english with him. The rest of the family only speak thai and he has alot of day to day exposure to them. This may be a case of being a product of surroundings so we plan to take him back to the US so he gets more day to day exposure to the english language. At that time, his mother can continue to speak thai with him so he doesn't fall behind with the thai language.

[David48]

Thanks pinkpanther99 for asking the original question and all the parents with the great replies ...

Our boys are only 6 months old and I had no idea when they will start to talk, but we will raise them as bi-lingual.

Come a time when they are 2 yo and not babbling along, I won't sweat it.

[ChiangraiTony]

Daughter will be 3 end of this month. She spends more time with mom (Thai) and in pre-k also (Thai). So now at her age we cannot keep her quiet for she speaks a lot of Thai.

She can also say about 20-30 words in English (words not sentences) however, she understands many things spoken by her English speaking father. I don't speak Thai so my daughter is subject to both languages but primarily more Thai. She watches YouTube video for Children in both languages. She can sing-along with song and music videos for ABC's but without music cannot say the entire ABC alphabet. If I ask her to do something in English she responds, so she does understand but cannot yet put those spoken words together herself. Hope this provides some reference point.

[Satcommlee]

It took my boy nearly 3 1/2 years to start conversing properly (stringing together proper sentences with more than 5 words) but at at 2 1/2 he was still babbling and now at 4 years old he can switch between the two languages naturally and without exaggerating is already acting as my personal Thai translator.

Don't worry, I know where you are coming from (been there and had the same worries).. the delay is due to learning two languages at the same time and mastering both simultaneously which of course take a little longer.

Your child is learning to think in two languages as well as being able to speak them.

It is well worth the wait, it is an amazing gift!

[boike]

My best friend's daughter started at 2.5 year's old. And now she's talking all the time.

Sent from my Galaxy S4 4G LTE

Edited July 23, 2014 by boike

[Thai at Heart]

Mine bilingual, above average in English in UK for their age. Private bilingual school all the way through.

Now.French and welsh to sort out.

[Maybole]

Does she have an older sibling? I have come across two families where the older, a girl in each case, was a chatterbox and the younger, both boys, almost mute. nI each case the younger only started talking when his older sister went to school. We realized that the older child was doing all the talking for the younger and he got all he wanted without needing to speak. Also he would have found it difficult to get a word in when the sister did all the talking.

[recycler]

Don't worry, our daughter is almost 2 and can say "No" and "Beer" in 3 languages!

And many other words, her Thai is best now as my wife spends whole days with her and I have to catch up 2 languages after work and in weekends. Multilingual kids are always later with talking, but will come up with full sentences sooner and have a higher switching capacity that helps them to learn faster.

[Mr00Farang]

"The most stupid thing to confuse the kids is that one person speaks more than 1 language...

Each person should always speak the same language."

Complete nonsense typical of monoglot colonial British.

Let the tongues flourish. By 5 years old the Thai-farang kids will be laughing at your Thai. My son corrects my Thai and helps me understand what other kids are saying.

Likewise, he wants to know a few foreign language expressions. In our community we have French, Brazileiros, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Norwegian.

He learns a little something about the world every day by just saying hello.

Edited July 24, 2014 by Mr00Farang

[rct99q]

May I suggest that only you speak English and your wife only speak Thai to your child. Your wife's English possibly like most Thai's is more Asian/English, than true English spoken in 1st English speaking countries. I'm a retired teacher and when I was teaching at a bilingual school in Phuket, I met a 2 year old girl who eventually became my foster daughter, living with me on weekends. She is now 13 years old and speaks the most perfect English in her bilingual school. While living with her grandma during the 5 day week, she only speaks Thai with her.

Personally, we don't speak Thai at home. English is the language of the household. It always has been, and it always will be. So, our son should know that and adjust to it accordingly. Since his mother had to quit work to stay home with him, we lost her income. As a result, I often work more than one job to make ends meet. I don't get to see him and interact with him as much as I would like. My wife is fluent in English, and she doesn't make the typical mistakes I often hear. If she did, I would ask her to speak Thai with him.

Furthermore, we intend to move him to the states for his education. As a teacher here, I am not too thrilled with the education system. I work in a supposedly very good school. Nonetheless, I am still less than pleased. He will go through Anuban here. He may even do a couple of years of Prathom, but I haven't decided on that yet. Ideally, he would begin grade one back in the states. As much as I love Thailand and want to stay here, I feel it would be selfish of me to allow him to get his education here. I can't afford the top notch international schools. He will learn the Thai, but it is critical that he learns the English naturally.

Interesting to hear this side of the equation. I am taking the opposite as I will be taking our daughter to Canada/US for the first 3-4 years and return back here starting P1. Along with finding a decent school here (and there are many) I will be filling in the gaps with home schooling. Not to overburden her just as a complement. My thinking has been that with her language skills (3 and counting) along with supplemented schooling she has the potential to be a big fish in a little pond versus being a little fish in a big pond in the West. Possibly.

As for the OPs worry, not a problem, as long as she/he shows continued developmental growth, plays well, is curious, responds to sounds, motor functions etc...then the language skills will come. I have met several linguists and all have stated the same thing that the magic "age" is three. Having children exposed to several languages from birth to the age of three makes language processing easier. I had the opportunity to meet a very special person several years ago who was fluent in over 16 languages (2 of which are now considered extinct). It was very interesting in hearing their take on childhood development in language. As one poster mentioned about a "black box" the idea is that children not "translate" language as adults tend to do (which is why some people find it difficult) children learn from exposure.

She strongly suggested that for the first 3 years (in a bilingual home) one parent speaks X and the other parent speaks Y even if the one parent is fluent. In our case I spoke English, my wife Thai (encouraged not to speak Isan).

Good luck it is a very exciting time in a childs life and yours.

[ozsamurai]

When my eldest was an only child for the first 2 years of his life, I has similar concerns, we only speak English inside our home and Thai outside (my rule). He began to get the hang of it a bit late comparatively. When he started pre-school at 3 we were concerned that he actually didn't have enough Thai. Within a few months he was blabbering away just fine (much to grandma's delight). When his sister came along, she was spilling out English and Thai with fluency at about 2, since she had a 'role model' with her big brother. So the 'slow learning' I feel is more about the environment than language acquisition skills.

Oz

[pinkpanther99]

Thanks for all the contributions and feedback so far. You've all been a great help.

[tartempion]

We have a 3 and half year daughter, her main languages so far are Thai and the local dialect.

I understand she switches easily between the two and knows I understand zero from the dialect,,so sometimes she translate what is said between her and her mother into English for me when she can, otherwise she explains it in Thai.

I am quadrilingual and understand the issues (Thai is not part of my language proficiency, I do know a bit and talk too much Thai to her).

Her English is coming along quite well.

We were at a seaside resort last week and they had a kids corner.

She did talk English to some kids there.

I heard her say : "I push you" to a girl on a slider and "I aw you to try this"

Strange, because "aw" means "want" which she uses a LOT.

I just opened the door to her play room and she asked me "do you come too?"

It's the first time she uses the word "too" and I have not taught her this word.

She plays a lot with her iPad and watches many YouTube movies, she listens carefully and repeat songs and plays.

I teach her a few words of French and she pronounces them without accent, even my name "Alain" which not a single Thai managed to pronounce correctly, my wife included.

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

[RichBKK]

Have heard also that bilingual children have slower speech development

Absolutely the opposite with our baby. She is 14 months and already a gasbag with her Thaiglish, first word (English, 'daddy') was at 7 months roughly. But she isn't normal

I am a confirmed monoglot and didnt speak at all until nearly 2 years old. Though obtained 2 degrees later in life. So didnt make too much difference in the end

No hard and fast rule I guess

[cgphuket]

Research has proven that bi-lingual kids are a bit slow to talk, but soon will catch up in both languages. My sone speaks Thai primarily, some Laos, and knows English but is lazy to speak it. He even knows a little Khmer he picked up from his uncles. He is 3 1/2.

[thehelmsman]

Baby girl could recite english alphabet, count to 10 thai and english when I returned home for her birthday age 2, now if I could get her to stop drinking my beer.