Raising bilingual children

[Hashira 0]

Hello all,

I know many of you have direct or indirect experience with raising children in Japan, and so am wondering if you any advice on raising them bilingual.

I'm a native English speaker, and my wife speaks English fairly well after living in Canada for a few years, but we speak mostly Japanese at home. Obviously we're going to try to speak English more often as our son will be exposed to enough Japanese outside the home, but wondering if you have any other tips, advice, observations on what has/hasn't worked for you or people you know. We'll be living in Osaka starting in October probably for a very extended period of time, so if you have any location-specific tips (english playgroups?) that would also be great.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Mark Buckton 1]

Avoiding the obvious - 'don't let him / her speak Osaka-ben, 'twill be a life long ball and chain!' this might be something to think about.

I only speak English at home, my Japanese wife only speaks Japanese. My son, 3, is now conversant in both tongues (as much as a 3-year-old can be) and has the native 'mouth' forms (in both languages) in the standard areas that people trip up on - the L/R & B/V etc.

You might want to try a local Sunday School?

[HenryK 38]

I don't live in Japan but in the US; I am German, my wife is Spanish. We've two daughters, 3 and 1 1/2. The older one is pretty fluent in Spanish and also speaks German nicely. English will come, she just started pre-school. So we are trying tri-linguality.

Imo the key at this young age is consistency -- whenever you are addressing your children speak your language. Kids at this age tend to map people with languages, they get confused when you switch. Recently my wife said a couple of words to my daughter in German, my daughter got upset and said "mama no habla!" (mom don't speak).

At a later age, the question becomes whether you also want them to be able to write like a native in your tongue. We haven't figured out what to do then. The language of the country where they grow up should take priority at this stage, imo.

Edited July 20, 2008 by HenryK

[Sashohitowa 6]

I am going to repeat more or less Henry's and Mark's advise - it is crucial that each of the parents speak his/her own tongue.

I am speaking not from a past experience, but because I am currently in a similar situation - my daughter is 9 months, and she is rising in multi-language environment. I am Bulgarian, my girlfriend is Polish and we live in Vienna and we speak English to each other.

So I have read a little on the topic, and what I know is that the child has to be in direct contact with the language at least 30 hours per week.

So I can give you only the advise that I am giving to myself - speak to your kid (very nice picture, by the way (In a state of confusion...) ) constantly and only in English, and let your wife speak only Japanese to him. You won't have the problem of the third language like we have, but anyway try to speak correct English, try not to insert Japanese words in the middle of the sentence. Your child probably say its first deliberate words in Japanese, but you always reply in English. Don't correct him as it is wrong, just be steady and reply in English.

I have many examples around me of children raised in a multi-language environment, and (more or less) the same methodology has worked in all the cases. Don't be afraid that the child will be confused - it is normal that such child starts speaking a month or two later, and it is usual that the first words are in the mother language, but quickly after that everything gets on track and the children grow up speaking "natively" 2 or 3 languages (mother's, father's and of the country where they live, if different). Of course, as they grow, it appears to be a great bonus for them.

Edited July 19, 2008 by Sashohitowa

[Hashira 0]

Thanks for the advice.

We had been thinking more along the lines of having certain days or times when we only spoke English, and others when we only spoke Japanese, but I guess it would be better for him to hear the native speaker of each language all the time. one question, though- when you're speaking to your partner, do you speak your native tongue, and they in theirs? that seems like it would be very confusing...

[sekihiryu 51]

There are many variables and it also depends on the child and their own abilities (perhaps the biggest variable of all)

My biggest advice is - Never compare your kid to other bilingual kids and their progress.

If you are working a lot and getting home late and your wife is a stay at home mother and you don't see you children much except for weekends they will get your wife speaking in Japanese a lot lot more and you in your language a lot lot less.

If you can afford it I highly recommend an International kindergarten, I work at one part time and they kids who have been there full time for 2-3 years and they are awesome, I have 6 year olds who can read and write far better than native kids of the same age and can speak nearly as well. it will hurt your wallet but it works.

English may seem cooler to toddlers if they ever see English edu-tainment TV like Hi-5, the Wiggles, Upside down et al which blow stale Japanese toddler TV out of the water, plus to a 2 year old the Alphabet looks much more fun than Hirigana

But! Prepare for a potential rebellion against English when you kids start hitting about 4 and have Japanese friends or go to a Japanese kindergarten. Suddenly their Japanese will shoot up rapidly and their English will not as fast and it wont be cool to speak English as none of their friends can - only dad is the English guy, I can speak Japanese better and communicate my needs, English sucks etc.

be proud of your child's efforts to speak, any language... and Osaka-ben? Who cares what the snobs in Tokyo think, if you live in Osaka your kid will surely speak it as everyone else does, peer pressure is a remarkable thing. Even you train them scrupulously at home, they will be contaminated as soon as they walk out the door.

Osaka-ben is hardly a ball and chain, (who the hell would want to live in Tokyo anyway?) being half is more of an issue.....

Edited July 20, 2008 by sekihiryu

[Sashohitowa 6]

... one question, though- when you're speaking to your partner, do you speak your native tongue, and they in theirs? that seems like it would be very confusing...

We personally speak English at home (not native language for both of us), as none of us is good enough in the other's language to communicate freely. Maybe it can look confusing, but we believe it is better, as our daughter will know that "this is the way how mom and daddy communicate". Otherwise, if she hears mommy replying in Polish to my Bulgarian question, she will know that that's all right, and this may obstruct the development of her Bulgarian language skills.

But this phase is still to come - all I am sharing with you are our presumptions, guessing and stuff read somewhere else - our cutie has still to grow a little before we start really talking... All I know is that it cannot be bad and she cannot lose from her multi-language/multi-cultural situation.

[HenryK 38]

Thanks for the advice.

We had been thinking more along the lines of having certain days or times when we only spoke English, and others when we only spoke Japanese, but I guess it would be better for him to hear the native speaker of each language all the time. one question, though- when you're speaking to your partner, do you speak your native tongue, and they in theirs? that seems like it would be very confusing...

First, yes I personally would recommend that both of you speak your native language. This is less confusing for your child.

Second, as Sashohitowa, my wife and I speak mostly English with one another, sometimes Spanish. Interestingly, our daughter has picked up very little English from our conversations. What kids hear "passively" doesn't seem to matter that much, critical is what language one communicates in when addressing them directly. However, since our daughter started preschool, she has become quite keen to practise her English. Our (American) neighbor is her preferred guinea pig, whenever she sees him he'll mercilessly enganged in English conversation ("Ron, come, come; look, look").

[That-Satsu-Guy 1]

I hope everyone is aware that there is a limit to the vocabulary of children. Learning two languages somtimes reduces the quality of both.

It's called semilingualism. I've meet a lot semilinguals and they're not the happiest people in the world.

In my home we usually speak Japanese. But we sometimes watch TV and read books in English for enrichment.

We are trying to establish a first language to build second language acquisition on instead of a 50/50 environment where neither is 100%.

Edited July 22, 2008 by That-Satsu-Guy

[Otokonoyama 2,735]

I've read research to suggest that though there are some language deficits in young children raised in a bilingual home, these tend to lessen as the children grow, and be all-but-gone by age 11 or 12. The real semi lingualism I've noticed tends to be where one language or the other isn't kept up in the home.

[Sashohitowa 6]

I've meet a lot semilinguals and they're not the happiest people in the world.

I didn't get if you call every person, raised with more than one mother language "semilingual", or you call this some kind of disorder.

I know also quite a lot people, raised with 2 or 3 languages, and they don't seem less happy than any normal person.

Maybe the cases you know were not due to the languages?

[Jakusotsu 4,882]

I've meet a lot semilinguals and they're not the happiest people in the world.

And I've met a lot of semilinguals growing up monolingual.

[That-Satsu-Guy 1]

I've meet a lot semilinguals and they're not the happiest people in the world.

I didn't get if you call every person, raised with more than one mother language "semilingual", or you call this some kind of disorder.

I know also quite a lot people, raised with 2 or 3 languages, and they don't seem less happy than any normal person.

Maybe the cases you know were not due to the languages?

Let me start by saying that I strive to be bilingual and in my home we speak more than one language and I'm not gonna get bogged down arguing about things that I know personal experience and from taking graduate courses on bilingualism.

In Europe there may be many people who claim to be happy multilinguals, but the cultural and linguistic gulf between Japanese/English is much greater than Spanish/Italian. With Japanese/English the orthography is different and so is the word order SVO-SOV. Time spent studying one language doesn't contribute to the other, so at some point hard choices will be made. Will the young student study harder or choose not to be fully literate in one of his parents languages?

Just imagine if you could read only some kanji and you could read English but with some difficulty.

When you relax after a hard day's work are you going to put out the effort to read for pleasure?

Also, there is a sense of European identity across languages and there is also an East Asian identity across languages but is there a Transpacific culture that can be agreed to by all Transpacific people?

If someone receives half of their education in the US and the other half in Japan there is a danger that they won't feel comfortable using either language. Socially they might be considered a foreigner in both countries.

I think bilingualism is is wonderful asset to people who strive for it, but for the purpose of forming an identity and for a child's cognitive development a first language should be established. One can and should learn a second language but without a strong primary language life can be harder than well meaning parents plan for.

Edited July 22, 2008 by That-Satsu-Guy

[Yangnomazuma 57]

My $0.02 on the question:

My wife is Korean and I am American. I speak Korean more or less fluently and my wife likewise English. While in Korea, my son through age 3 was introduced to almost only Korean from everybody but me who spoke English. As a result, he became semi-functional in English and was beginning to hit his stride in Korean when we rotated back to the USA. At that point, he was put into day care and was getting only minimal Korean and all English. The 180 degree turnabout was greatly confusing to him. His well-meaning but naive daycare providers who "have seen bilingual children before..." decided he was language and socially delayed and badgered us to have him tested. The doctors diagnosed my son with Pervasive Developmental Disorder - NOS (not otherwise specified). This is a disorder in the same spectrum as Autism. Obviously, I disagreed, but took advantage of the free schooling and speech therapy the diagnosis provided. My son is now in Japan in an American grade school and earning top marks. The diagnosis was quite false and he simply was suffering from the confusion of the language flip-flop.

So, bottom line, I suggest you take a hard look at the long-term future of your child and where the child will be attending schools and living and working and ensure first and foremost that that language is strong. If you can do that and introduce other languages then drive on. Just don't allow the confusion that was created in our family by my job relocation.

Food for thought...

[That-Satsu-Guy 1]

Speaking Irish in Ireland can hardly be compared to say speaking Portuguese in Nagoya.

The social support for some "foreign" languages are quite different.

In Ireland how are Czech speakers handling learning Irish and English while maintaining their Czech?

[Mark Buckton 1]

limits on language learning are more often than not 'decided' or 'given a name' - such as semi-lingualism by those -

a. looking to increase the self importance of their field (linguists, as are any scholars guilty of making up words to identify such 'problem' areas - a point amply proven by Yanmanozuma above)

b. for the most part incapable of multi-lingualism themselves (to give it a name).

It would seem unrelated but look at S. Freud, a rather famous man. Today he is largely discounted in serious fields of (related) study after spending his career superimposing his own desires for his mother in the famed Oedipus complex form - onto the rest of humanity. His method of dealing with his own problem areas was to pretend the rest of mankind (itt was largely men at the time) suffered the same attractions - and that he was thus 'normal' fine and genki.

There is no big difference in the field of language learning. Too often in Japan we hear people griping on the one hand that the general populace has a poor command of English, whilst on the other hand claiming that to preserve the 'beauty' of Japanese, kids shouldn't be confused by another language at too young an age.

This is simply the Freudian superimposition of (the) inability of most elderly Japanese in positions of power (out to protect their language from what they see as corruption by an alien tongue) on the new generation.

Every single multilingual or gifted speaker of a non-Japanese language - and I often interact in Korean / Japanese now as well as English Japanese circles day to day, recommends language exposure in large amounts as young as possible - ESPECIALLY in families with members native in different tongues.

[HenryK 38]

I hope everyone is aware that there is a limit to the vocabulary of children. Learning two languages somtimes reduces the quality of both.

It's called semilingualism. I've meet a lot semilinguals and they're not the happiest people in the world.

In my home we usually speak Japanese. But we sometimes watch TV and read books in English for enrichment.

We are trying to establish a first language to build second language acquisition on instead of a 50/50 environment where neither is 100%.

Well I guess the bottom line is that every child is different and that every social context is different, and that parents need to be sensitive to both.

In our case, I wanted my kids to speak German and my wife wanted them to speak Spanish, and so far with my older daughter it is working out very well (the younger one is too small to assess this yet). And we know many examples where kids have picked up 2 or 3 languages with ease. Most are proud about how they can switch from one tongue to the other. My daughter is a point in case, when my wife told her that visitors were coming who spoke German, she replied "como Marta y papa?" (like myself and dad?). But the most impressive case I know is a 6-year old girl who was already perfectly tri-lingual (English, French and Icelandic) and begged her hesitant mum to be allowed to learn a fourth language (Spanish).

This said, I also know of some -- but significantly fewer -- examples where it has not worked that well. One boy refused to speak until he was almost 3. The parents visited a psycho-linguist who told them that the child needed a lead language. As a consequence, they put the emphasis on one language for a while, and from then it worked out fine. In another case, the first child picked up three languages with ease, but the second had difficulties. As in the case of one colleague here, the child was wrongly diagnosed with learning difficulties, where all he needed was more time to sort of three tongues. Today he beats his older brother at school.

To sum up, my personal advice would therefore be:

(i) don't be discouraged,

(ii) if you try bilingualism, do so consistently -- half-hearted things don't work with kids. But

(iii) observe your child and be sensitive to its needs. If it starts speaking later than other kids this is normal to some extent. But if you notice that your child is frustrated or unhappy or confused with the language situation, get advice and adjust as needed.

Edited July 25, 2008 by HenryK

[Gusoyama 57]

The kids can switch between the two without missing a beat and are able to communicate perfectly in either language. An interesting effect when talking to a person from there is that they can smoothly choose a word in either language and insert it into a sentence of the other if it serves the purpose better.

I've seen the same experience with Quebecois. They can intersperse French Canadian and English pretty easily. Though they tend not to, because that's a very common cajun thing to do, and the Quebecois I know want to distance themselves from Cajun as far as possible.

[Kintamayama 40,611]

I am dumb, but I was raised tri-lingual. My father spoke English, my mother -Hebrew, and my friends in the neigborhood Japanese. I had no problems making a total differentiation. My little sister who was very little had no problems either from an early age. Both my daughters who are teenagers and my sister's sons who are teenagers too are totally fluent in English as well, although I never spoke English with them. I have a theory about countries (not US, UK etc..) where a large percent of people speak English well, but that's for another day..

Edited August 5, 2008 by Kintamayama

[Manekineko 200]

I have a theory about countries (not US, UK etc..) where a large percent of people speak English well, but that's for another day..

I have a theory too - pop music and subbed films and TV series. :-)

[Kintamayama 40,611]

I have a theory about countries (not US, UK etc..) where a large percent of people speak English well, but that's for another day..

I have a theory too - pop music and subbed films and TV series. :-)

Exactly- great minds think alike.

[That-Satsu-Guy 1]

I am dumb, but I was raised tri-lingual. My father spoke English, my mother -Hebrew, and my friends in the neigborhood Japanese. I had no problems making a total differentiation. My little sister who was very little had no problems either from an early age. Both my daughters who are teenagers and my sister's sons who are teenagers too are totally fluent in English as well, although I never spoke English with them. I have a theory about countries (not US, UK etc..) where a large percent of people speak English well, but that's for another day..

Kintamayama, you might be semi-lingual.

Consider taking a test on your knowledge of the Torah in English, Japanese and Hebrew, in which language do you think you would score the best?

What about a test on American history? Or on sushi and sashimi?

I eat a lot of fish in Japan that I don't know the English names for and I don't really need to know because other English speakers have never heard of them and wouldn't understand.

Now, imagine children who receive their primary and secondary education in one language, will they be as successful taking their post-secondary education in a second language that they are familiar with but only in a casual context?

We were talking about children's education originally if I'm not mistaken...

[Jakusotsu 4,882]

Kintamayama, you might be semi-lingual.

For a guy playing the bass guitar, he appears to be hyper-lingual.

[That-Satsu-Guy 1]

Kintamayama, you might be semi-lingual.

For a guy playing the bass guitar, he appears to be hyper-lingual.

Are you suggesting that I was suggesting that Kintamayama is hypo-lingual?

Well,　I wasn't.

[Kintamayama 40,611]

I am dumb, but I was raised tri-lingual. My father spoke English, my mother -Hebrew, and my friends in the neigborhood Japanese. I had no problems making a total differentiation. My little sister who was very little had no problems either from an early age. Both my daughters who are teenagers and my sister's sons who are teenagers too are totally fluent in English as well, although I never spoke English with them. I have a theory about countries (not US, UK etc..) where a large percent of people speak English well, but that's for another day..

Kintamayama, you might be semi-lingual.

We were talking about children's education originally if I'm not mistaken...

If you see the first sentence, I was saying I was tri-lingual as a child. I wasn't talking about myself in the present. In the present my Japanese is lacking, and Hebrew of course is my strongest language, and I would do best in Hebrew in everything you mentioned. I gave my kids and my sister's kids as an example of the present. As we grow older, one language inevitably takes precedence over the rest, but as a kid-I was totally fluent in all three languages.