Do you remember when you first learned to read? I don’t, but I have enjoyed watching my children learn. When a person learns to read, something magical happens. It’s like a whole new world is opened up to them; a world that was always there but that they never noticed. All of a sudden, they are reading street signs and cereal boxes, perhaps picking up books and taking a new interest in magazines and the mail. There is information all around them and they see it with new eyes, wanting to take it all in and make it theirs just by reading. It’s an exciting time for a child.
If you want your child to be fully bilingual and biliterate, you will want him to be able to read in German.
Basic reading skills are a necessity if one wishes to travel comfortably in a German-speaking country and if your child wishes to communicate with German relatives and friends or read fun and exciting German literature, he’ll need to go beyond a basic comprehension.
Reading in German can interest and motivate your child to further his German study.
Literary works are usually best enjoyed in their original language. Once you’ve started Tintenherz (Inkheart) in German, you’ll find it just isn’t the same in English. There are many wonderful German authors and when your child can read them on his own, a whole world will be opened up to him. There’s only so much time in the day for read-aloud, don’t you think?
At what age should I start teaching my child to read?
That depends on the child. The most important thing to look for is signs of reading readiness. These signs are the same for English or German. Some children are ready to read at age 4 while some are not truly ready until age 8 (although unfortunately the school system will likely not let them wait that long).
Here’s what to look for:
Your child asking.
This is the most obvious sign. If your child is asking to learn to read, go for it! But be aware that his interest may wax and wane. If he wants to practice reading one day but is not interested the next, don’t take it personally. Many young children express interest, but aren’t ready to put in the effort it takes. You don’t want to squash his enthusiasm by making him work too hard if he’s young and not quite ready. It’s better to stop a lesson early rather than have a frustrated kid on your hands.
Another sign of reading readiness is your child recognizing letters and sounding out words, either in English or in German.
Many children pick up letter sounds through play or pre-reading lessons at preschool. My 5 year old has learned to read in English this way – he’s received almost no instruction – he just absorbed it. If your child is sounding out words in English, he’s ready for German! Go for it! (Just make sure to not overdo it and frustrate him as noted above.)
Your child recognizes his own name.
His name will probably be the first thing he can truly read. It's very exciting for a child to gain this initial recognition. He has cracked the code! He finally understands that those letters actually mean something and he knows what to do with them!
Your child pretends to read books and shows an understanding that we read from left to right.
Should I start before my child can read in English?
If your child has been speaking some German (not necessarily fluent) for 6 months or longer, I highly recommend teaching reading in German before reading in English where possible, as long as he’s showing signs of readiness. If he’s not ready until he’s learning English reading in school, that’s OK too, but you may find a bit more confusion until he gets things sorted out. Again, this will happen differently for each child but some may need several months to a year to get the two languages straight.
Why teach reading in German first?
German, as the second language, will always be a bit disadvantaged, due to the overwhelming influence of English. If you can give German a bit of a headstart, that will help to even things out as opposed to allowing English to dominate even more. I’m not saying that your child has a finite capacity for languages but there are only so many hours in the day. English and German are competing for your child’s attention. Give German a boost wherever possible.
In addition, your child will certainly learn to read in English in school so you won’t have to worry about that. This leaves you free to pursue German with your child. If you homeschool, you can choose the order yourself to best suit your child’s needs.
How can I teach my child?
How to teach reading is a very large topic and one for a future article. Stay tuned for more information on ways to teach reading to your child.
Summary
Look for signs of reading readiness.
Go at your child’s pace. Stop a lesson before fatigue sets in.
Start with German if possible.
The world of the written word is an exciting place for a child. When you teach him to read in German, you’ll give him the keys to a new kingdom, one that he can enter for the rest of his life whenever he pleases.
Here are some materials you can use to teach reading in German:
Anlaut-Memo (Card game)
Erstes Lesen (workbook/ stickers)
Das große Vorschul-Paket
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Saturday, September 05, 2009
Why the perfect time to begin speaking German with your child is on the day she is born.
A study by the University of Ottawa reports that even newborns prefer listening to speech over non-speech sounds. Language acquisition begins months before birth and babies are born preferring the language they heard in the womb. Of course you probably knew that your baby can recognize the sound of your voice over others and that she is listening to you. But did you know just how closely she listens? This study finds that young infants can even distinguish the sound of native vs. non-native consonants that adults may have difficulty with. Babies are wired to learn language!
It may seem cliché but babies are truly miraculous in how they change and develop over the course of the first year. This is why the day your baby is born is the perfect time to start a lifetime of bilingualism with her.
When you begin bilingualism during babyhood, you have many advantages over people who start later.
You will build good habits early.
You’ll figure out how you’re going to use German in your home and around your family. This is a big adjustment if you’ve spoken mostly English up to this point. Most importantly, you’ll get in the habit of speaking German to your child. I’ve spoken exclusively German with all three of my children up to about age 2 and a half. In fact, I frequently speak to strange babies in German – it’s just my instinct to speak German to small people! Luckily they don’t seem to mind. It’s a lot harder to start speaking German with an older child.
Babies love to learn.
A baby’s brain doesn’t know what’s important, so it tries to make sense of everything. This results in lightning fast learning. At no other point in her life will she master so many skills and make such enormous strides in development. Once she gets older, she’ll learn to distinguish between things that are important to her and those that are not. At that point, she may be much more resistant to learning the “hard” stuff.
Speaking German with your baby will give you time to establish a good support system.
If you spend a little time setting goals, you’ll see the areas where you may need extra help. Do you have a local German-speaking community? Can you plan regular trips to Germany? Will German relatives come to visit often? Do you have enough German exposure to accomplish the goals you’re planning for? These are all extremely useful components of a bilingual family plan and it’s helpful to have them in place early in your child’s life.
Plus, when you start speaking German with a baby, you have that much more time to reach your language goals.
You may get sidetracked along the way and things may not always go according to plan but if you start with an infant, you have many years available to bring your child to the level of fluency you hope for.
So how is this done?
With babies, it’s super simple. You don’t have to worry about them understanding you or any translating which you might have to do with older children. Just use German whenever you speak to them. As you immerse your baby in German, you may find that your own German improves. If you can’t do it all the time, pick a few times of the day to use German and try and increase from there.
You may find it helpful to spend some time setting goals and consider how you’ll get a monolingual spouse involved.
Playing German music at playtime and reading German books at bedtime is a great way to make things fun and also get you in a German mindset. You may also learn some new words in the process.
You may even find that others around you start to pick up a few German words here and there.
Doesn’t it seem strange to speak to tiny baby in German, especially if no other German speakers are around?
Well, yes, it may feel weird at first. If you’ve committed to raising your child bilingually and you’re not a native German speaker, it may be a little hard to get the habit established. You’ll have a whole new vocabulary to learn. How do you say “How’s my sweet little munchkin?” in German anyway? :) You’ll need to learn some new lullabies and terms of endearment. You probably didn’t learn this stuff in German class or on a trip to Europe! Even if you grew up in a bilingual household, you may have forgotten the German “baby-ese” that is so necessary for little ones.
But babies need to be spoken to, even when they’re too little to understand.
They need to hear language, language directed at them, to help them make sense of the world around them. And if you’re raising a bilingual baby, then you might as well start as soon as possible.
A bilingual example
Jessica Giering has spoken German with her triplets since they were born. They are now interacting at an age-appropriate level in German and English. She says, “it was challenging at first to remember to speak German to them but after a few weeks, it just came naturally.”
The sooner the better.
So don’t put it off until she’s older and has “established” the English language in her brain. A baby’s is biologically wired for languages and you can take advantage of that when you immerse her in German from the start.
What’s the best thing about speaking German with your baby?
She’ll think that everything you say is brilliant! An appreciative audience is always a good thing.
It may seem cliché but babies are truly miraculous in how they change and develop over the course of the first year. This is why the day your baby is born is the perfect time to start a lifetime of bilingualism with her.
When you begin bilingualism during babyhood, you have many advantages over people who start later.
You will build good habits early.
You’ll figure out how you’re going to use German in your home and around your family. This is a big adjustment if you’ve spoken mostly English up to this point. Most importantly, you’ll get in the habit of speaking German to your child. I’ve spoken exclusively German with all three of my children up to about age 2 and a half. In fact, I frequently speak to strange babies in German – it’s just my instinct to speak German to small people! Luckily they don’t seem to mind. It’s a lot harder to start speaking German with an older child.
Babies love to learn.
A baby’s brain doesn’t know what’s important, so it tries to make sense of everything. This results in lightning fast learning. At no other point in her life will she master so many skills and make such enormous strides in development. Once she gets older, she’ll learn to distinguish between things that are important to her and those that are not. At that point, she may be much more resistant to learning the “hard” stuff.
Speaking German with your baby will give you time to establish a good support system.
If you spend a little time setting goals, you’ll see the areas where you may need extra help. Do you have a local German-speaking community? Can you plan regular trips to Germany? Will German relatives come to visit often? Do you have enough German exposure to accomplish the goals you’re planning for? These are all extremely useful components of a bilingual family plan and it’s helpful to have them in place early in your child’s life.
Plus, when you start speaking German with a baby, you have that much more time to reach your language goals.
You may get sidetracked along the way and things may not always go according to plan but if you start with an infant, you have many years available to bring your child to the level of fluency you hope for.
So how is this done?
With babies, it’s super simple. You don’t have to worry about them understanding you or any translating which you might have to do with older children. Just use German whenever you speak to them. As you immerse your baby in German, you may find that your own German improves. If you can’t do it all the time, pick a few times of the day to use German and try and increase from there.
You may find it helpful to spend some time setting goals and consider how you’ll get a monolingual spouse involved.
Playing German music at playtime and reading German books at bedtime is a great way to make things fun and also get you in a German mindset. You may also learn some new words in the process.
You may even find that others around you start to pick up a few German words here and there.
Doesn’t it seem strange to speak to tiny baby in German, especially if no other German speakers are around?
Well, yes, it may feel weird at first. If you’ve committed to raising your child bilingually and you’re not a native German speaker, it may be a little hard to get the habit established. You’ll have a whole new vocabulary to learn. How do you say “How’s my sweet little munchkin?” in German anyway? :) You’ll need to learn some new lullabies and terms of endearment. You probably didn’t learn this stuff in German class or on a trip to Europe! Even if you grew up in a bilingual household, you may have forgotten the German “baby-ese” that is so necessary for little ones.
But babies need to be spoken to, even when they’re too little to understand.
They need to hear language, language directed at them, to help them make sense of the world around them. And if you’re raising a bilingual baby, then you might as well start as soon as possible.
A bilingual example
Jessica Giering has spoken German with her triplets since they were born. They are now interacting at an age-appropriate level in German and English. She says, “it was challenging at first to remember to speak German to them but after a few weeks, it just came naturally.”
The sooner the better.
So don’t put it off until she’s older and has “established” the English language in her brain. A baby’s is biologically wired for languages and you can take advantage of that when you immerse her in German from the start.
What’s the best thing about speaking German with your baby?
She’ll think that everything you say is brilliant! An appreciative audience is always a good thing.
Friday, September 04, 2009
Catch us on Facebook
I've just created our own Facebook page. Please stop by and drop us a line. I'd be honored if you'd add yourselves as Fans.
Now back to your regular programming...
Now back to your regular programming...
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Deutsch mit Papa (part 2)
This is part 2 of an interview I did with Christoph Oettinger on his experiences raising his children bilingually in English and German. You can read part 1 here.
Sarah: So what’s been the biggest challenge for you in speaking German to your kids?
Christoph: The challenge again is it sticks with me. I’m the one with the occasional grandma and aunt visit and such and there’s only one other place that I can think of really where they could get some immersion, and that’s really more of a class. That’s great and wonderful but the kids are learning all the time and to be in a more structured environment isn’t exactly what they want. The challenge for me is finding other opportunities. I had friends that were German-speaking and those that were English-speaking so I picked up those languages and I had to use them more because of that. You know, I had both parents speaking German to me and there was much more conversation. My language at home was German. Done, end of story. Where here, it’s both. And when children realize, “Hey, wait a second, Dadddy speaks it too, so I can answer him,” it’s the path of least resistance. So the challenge is finding more opportunities and some peers of theirs that speak German. And I haven’t found any around here. I find parents that may speak German but they don’t speak it at home, and it’s a little bit of the attitude, well, we’re in the United States now, we’re going to speak English. And I agree with that. My kids speak English and I want them to learn the language but I also believe that multiple languages are a huge advantage and if they do something with it, great. So the challenge is just finding other avenues to keep the language going. And that’s not easy.
Sarah: Absolutely, that’s a definite challenge, especially with German. With a different language, you might have more community resources at your disposal.
Christoph: Absolutely, and around here, Spanish would be obviously a much easier way to go about it. I mean, we have a lot of Hispanic families around and that would be a lot easier. And you don’t even have to go very far in suburban Chicago, you can find some Russian, some Polish, you name it, you find a lot more of those communities. But even the German community in Chicago is nowhere near what it was when we first moved here. The German community has gotten smaller. And that’s really because I think the younger – the importance of tradition and heritage isn’t there with my generation as it were. I think that’s kind of going away and that’s a shame, but I was kind of brought up very old school, to me it is very important.
Sarah: You know that’s like you said earlier, letting your kids know where they came from. That’s a big part of your motivation. What are you hoping for them? What are your goals for them to eventually do in German? Have you thought about that a bit? Where would you like them to be in 10 or 15 years?
Christoph: I do hope that by the time they get to be in those teen years, early college years and so on that they’ll have the ability to not only speak but to read and write. Would I be completely disappointed if that wasn’t there? No, I am very realistic. As long as they can understand me and don’t have the hang-up of gee, I’m going to sound funny so I’m not going to use it, that type of thing, I’ll be happy. In an ideal world, hey, great, go off to Germany or Switzerland or Austria or wherever you’d like where they speak German and you function. You just do and it’s very second nature. I want there just to be a certain amount of pride in being German and a pride in having at least a second language under their belts that just comes very second nature. I didn’t realize what I had until I came back to the States. And that was, gosh, it took me probably about another half a year, and I was a freshman in High School to realize, Wait a second, I’ve got something here. I grew up with my friends and their families at least having two and three languages if not four, five or six. My father spoke eight, so multiple languages as such wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t anything where you go, “Hey, look at me, I speak three languages, four languages.” Where everybody else would be going “Yeah, so do we.” And that didn’t sink in for me until high school. So I’m kind of hoping that the kids realize “Hey, wow, yeah, I’ve got something special here.” That they won’t have the hang up if they do travel to a German-speaking country or someone speaks German to them that they can function. I feel perfectly comfortable traveling and going to a German-speaking or Spanish-speaking country and just functioning. I mean, I can do everything I would need to do – I can read, I can write, I can communicate. And that’s really what I hope for the kids. You know, that they just feel comfortable with it, realize that they have something special and just have an understanding of who they are. Because it is part of who they are.
Sarah: That’s beautiful. Tell me a little bit about their favorite books and CDs and DVDs. I know you’ve ordered from us a couple of times. Tell me about what they like to hear and listen to.
Christoph: Well, it’s changing a little bit. And I need to update a little bit. Where we’ve gone from Meine Sachen – you know the little flipbooks that they get when they’re you know, three months. There’s one my son I think has literally gnawed on. But learning simple words or now moving on to some of my old kids books that my mom when she came over brought with her, which are Du bist sehr lieb Charlie Brown. There’s a connection though because my kids, and my daughter in particular, goes, “Oh, Charlie Brown. I’ve seen the Christmas special, the Easter special.” You know, all those that they see on TV. There’s a connection there to a little bit more of a story now, not just pictures, for my daughter in particular. My son’s still says, “Hey, show me the plane,” but the other one that they seem to like right now at least book-wise is Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten.
Christoph: That’s one of the ones I remember getting from you. I think it’s Meine ersten Märchen or something. My son’s really getting into that, those animals, so that I think has a huge impact for him. We haven’t actually done much with movies and DVDs. We don’t do that much TV anyway, but I’ll be really honest with you – a lot of the dubbed stuff that’s out there that are a little more from US-based movies, I don’t particularly like the dubbing. A lot of the German that’s dubbed – and this sounds so awful, me being German – but German can sound very hoity-toity, almost elitist. The “hoch Deutsch” in particular. And that’s where the dubbing comes from. And I don’t particularly care for it. There are words actually that I don’t use in German because it sounds too funny to me. “Funny” being one of them – “Ach, das ist lustig.” Don’t ask me why, it’s something that’s always been with us, it’s been in our family, but my father never used it and trust me, my father was very old school. There are just – don’t ask me why – some words that we know them, they just don’t enter in our sentences at all. You’ll hear German German German German English word German. So we do a lot with just the books that we’ve got and I’m trying to think of one that we had that was a step above a magazine but it was definitely not a book. It was black and white, and we use it as a coloring book, actually, for both kids now. It’s everything from city to farm to animals to planes, trains, you name it and all the words are there and it’s just in black and white. We’ve used it as a coloring book to kind of, you know, go “Hey, let’s find the cow. What color should the cow be?” Again, you know, my son’s like, “Purple.” And my daughter’s going, “No, it should be black and white.” It’s the age difference. And so the argument ensues of which color we’re going to use. That type of thing works really well for us. And the nighttime stories. That’s kind of quiet time where I have one-on-one with my kids and my wife has her time with them and we kind of do the reading and cuddling and that’s when I take the opportunity to read the German books to them.
Christoph: That’s really kind of where we go with it. It’s the everyday. It’s just everyday conversation and even the English language books that we read to them, I’ll just translate them. The sentences – it’s not like I’m reading War and Peace – so we’re talking Curious George or anything like that where we don’t have it in German, I’ll just translate it. Being fluent in the language makes it obviously much easier than perhaps if you’ve learned and you really have to think about it. For me, it’s not a conscious thought process. For me it comes very naturally. And that’s just an advantage of having learned languages young. It sounds kind of funny to me but it’s not a thought process. My daughter right now loves Fancy Nancy. So I’ll just take the Fancy Nancy book and just read it, I may have to think about, give me another word for this that or the other you know, fuchsia. Fuchsia’s pink. And that’s just stuff that comes from being a guy. I’m not going to differentiate between pink one, two and three. It’s pink, okay. Things like that, there I have to think but other than that, the English language books that my children are reading, they’re so simple for me to kind of just go along and translate as I’m reading is not hard and it does make it easier access. Because they get gifts, and most people won’t think to get a German-language book because again, they’re not as easy to get.
You’re one of the few resources and it takes some Google searches to find somebody that has them. German isn’t the top ten, you know what I mean? So that’s kind of what we do. We have some of the books that we’ve gotten from you and then some of my kid books and my sister has hers so when they go visit her, she has some books there that she can read to them. But a lot of what we do also is the English ones and we just kind of have to translate as we go.
Sarah: I love it. It’s just everyday life and you just go with the flow and you’re just ready whenever the opportunity strikes to have an extra chat in German or to mention a color but it’s all just very natural.
Christoph: You nailed it. As an opportunity presents itself you just have to be aware and say, “you know, I could do that” and that’s it. I’m sure when you’ve been talking with the other parents that you’ve come across this. You know, you just take your opportunities where they are. It’s not like I do anything different than what most parents do in English to teach their children. With them, I’m lucky that I don’t have to split between English and German I just do it in German because that’s the way it is. My wife will do it in English. So why would I be doing it any different than any other parent would, I just have to do it in German.
Sarah: Mm hmm, great. I love that, that’s such a great outlook. Frank and straightforward – I guess if you don’t get enough of it today you don’t worry about it and start over again tomorrow.
Christoph: I’m not going to stress out about it. “Gee, I didn’t get my requirement of German in – gotta read two German books today” because they weren’t interested in them that day. That to me would be counterproductive to teaching them. You know, I want them to just kind of go with it, not “Oh, criminy, here’s Dad, he wants to read to me that book again. Ugh, this is so old, I don’t want to do this anymore.” It would be so counterproductive. Kids are the way they are and when it seems like a task, they’re not going to want to do it. “Oh, okay, that’s not the book I want, it doesn’t sound like when Mommy reads it, oh well, I get what he’s saying, he’s saying the same stuff Mommy does, okay.” That’s the nice part. If you start fretting over it, are the kids getting enough of it, the kids will pick up on that.
Sarah: So just be.
Christoph: Yeah, that’s kind of my philosophy “just be” (laughs).
Sarah: I love it! Well, I just have one more question for you. I was just wondering if you have any other comments. I think you touched upon some really exciting ideas. I know my customers are going to love to read everything that you’ve said.
Christoph: That or they’ll never come back to you again. (laughs)
Sarah: (laughs) No, no, this is fantastic stuff! Like I said, your perspective as a dad is so important. Moms can’t do it all themselves. A lot of moms can’t do it at all because they don’t have that level of fluency, so it’s really cool to hear these ideas from you.
Christoph: The other thing is I’m also a very different dad. My wife owns her own company; she’s the primary breadwinner in our house. I’ve kind of switched roles. I’d like to say I retired from the corporate world. I used to be the international sales and marketing guy. The last company I was with, I got to my senior level. I loved the international aspect of it. That’s been my life. I love it but I realized the corporate world just isn’t for me. Maybe it was just the companies I’d been with but the priority that they always put on international wasn’t there to the way I thought it ought to be. It doesn’t mean it’s right or wrong, it’s just the way they ran their business. I was just very fed up one day and my wife looked at me and said, “So why don’t you just leave?” I looked at her with this very strange look and she said, “Look, it’s not worth being miserable. It’s just not. You’ve not got to the company that has put the priority on international. Since this last company you’ve seen your entire budget go down to zero dollars and the expectations increased, it’s not an environment you want to be in. Quit. Figure out what you want to do.”
Sarah: Really?.
Christoph: I kind of looked at her like “But what else do I do?” You know, international business has always been my focus. It took a little while. I taught for a short period. Then I realized I kind of liked the kids. And I kind of want to be home. I’ve turned out to be the house-husband. I grew up with a very German mother so I don’t mind keeping house. It allows us to be together as a family a lot more. I mean I do everything from cook, clean, do laundry, pay the bills, and keep our life organized. My wife, owning her own company, has the flexibility so late afternoons and evenings are ours because the stuff is done. She’s worked, and so to speak, she’s brought in the money. The house is in order. The kids come home from school and “Huh, what do you want to do?” “I want to play.” “Okay, let’s go play.” There’s no laundry that needs to be done, no last minute bills to be paid, don’t have to sit at the computer and think,” Oh, I’ve got to do the laundry.” Because it’s already done. And so our evenings and weekends are truly family time, which is the way I grew up. It was my mom doing what I’m doing. The family thing is to me a very traditional thing. And this way the children always have a parent picking them up, a parent is always home, rather than having to rely on a babysitter. Or, “Oh, okay, gotta ask Grandma to come and do something again.” It’s usually Dad, but Mom or Dad, always a parent there. And that’s something I grew up with, I was lucky enough to be able to grow up with, and we’re able to give that to our kids. And it gives me a little bit more to them, and keeps more of the German going. So that’s the other side of things. I’ve, gosh, for almost 20 years, I did the traveling. I had more miles than I knew what to do with and so I did that. I loved it, I enjoyed it to a certain extent, but our household is just a little bit different. That contributes to the way the kids are growing up too. And you were saying, what other comments and such, it’s just kind of nice to see through your site and that interview you did, I think the first one that I guess I paid enough attention to go, “Oh, huh, it’s nice to know that there are others doing it.” But as you see there’s a common thread to the story. One parent is a German. The importance of having that aspect of the life there is what that common thread is. It sounds so silly, but it’s nice to know there are others out there. And I think we all face the same challenges, especially with a language that isn’t so, you know, so forefront for people. It’s not the sexy language; it’s not the language that’s the second strongest language in this country. It’s kind of a language you need a reason to be speaking. You need a reason for it to be important in your life. That’s usually because one parent if not both, are German. I wanted to just say, keep doing what you’re doing please. Keep providing the resources. Because that’s what it is, at least to me, it is truly a resource that you may not tap all of the time, but for me it’s kind of in stages. And I don’t know how many stages it’s going to be. We’ve found the books that we could read to them when they were young. Three months old, six months old. Now we’re kind of progressing on. It’s nice to know that there’s a resource out there. I’m thrilled that you’re just able to keep it going.
Sarah: Well, thank you. You know, it’s been really, really fun for me to do these interviews. I think you’re number seven or actually eight now. Every time I talk to someone I think, okay, there’s so much more we can do here. You know, people are out there and they need help and we can help bring you guys together and give you support and give you inspiration. Just a simple half an hour call, with you spending a little of your time with me, again, I think this was fantastic. I can’t wait to listen to the call again and I can’t wait to get it out there for all the other people who are interested. I just really appreciate your time.
Christoph: I appreciate you doing what you’re doing and more than happy to do it. Like I said, I like to talk and I like to talk about what I’m doing, and if somewhere in there there’s something good that comes out of it, I think that’s great. I’m just glad there’s a resource for me, to be selfish about it, where I can go and find the occasional book or movie eventually or things like that. That will help me do what I want to be doing, which is teach my kids German. I think it’s great and seeing that there are other people out there is just very encouraging too.
Sarah: Absolutely. Good stuff.
Christoph: If there’s ever anything else that I can help you with, or honestly, just please, don’t hesitate to shoot me an email or let me know somehow and I’ll be more than happy to help out if I can.
Sarah: That would be fantastic! I will definitely keep in touch. I want to hear how things progress with your kids. Sounds like they are off to a fantastic start. Thank you again; I really appreciate it!
Sarah: So what’s been the biggest challenge for you in speaking German to your kids?
Christoph: The challenge again is it sticks with me. I’m the one with the occasional grandma and aunt visit and such and there’s only one other place that I can think of really where they could get some immersion, and that’s really more of a class. That’s great and wonderful but the kids are learning all the time and to be in a more structured environment isn’t exactly what they want. The challenge for me is finding other opportunities. I had friends that were German-speaking and those that were English-speaking so I picked up those languages and I had to use them more because of that. You know, I had both parents speaking German to me and there was much more conversation. My language at home was German. Done, end of story. Where here, it’s both. And when children realize, “Hey, wait a second, Dadddy speaks it too, so I can answer him,” it’s the path of least resistance. So the challenge is finding more opportunities and some peers of theirs that speak German. And I haven’t found any around here. I find parents that may speak German but they don’t speak it at home, and it’s a little bit of the attitude, well, we’re in the United States now, we’re going to speak English. And I agree with that. My kids speak English and I want them to learn the language but I also believe that multiple languages are a huge advantage and if they do something with it, great. So the challenge is just finding other avenues to keep the language going. And that’s not easy.
Sarah: Absolutely, that’s a definite challenge, especially with German. With a different language, you might have more community resources at your disposal.
Christoph: Absolutely, and around here, Spanish would be obviously a much easier way to go about it. I mean, we have a lot of Hispanic families around and that would be a lot easier. And you don’t even have to go very far in suburban Chicago, you can find some Russian, some Polish, you name it, you find a lot more of those communities. But even the German community in Chicago is nowhere near what it was when we first moved here. The German community has gotten smaller. And that’s really because I think the younger – the importance of tradition and heritage isn’t there with my generation as it were. I think that’s kind of going away and that’s a shame, but I was kind of brought up very old school, to me it is very important.
Sarah: You know that’s like you said earlier, letting your kids know where they came from. That’s a big part of your motivation. What are you hoping for them? What are your goals for them to eventually do in German? Have you thought about that a bit? Where would you like them to be in 10 or 15 years?
Christoph: I do hope that by the time they get to be in those teen years, early college years and so on that they’ll have the ability to not only speak but to read and write. Would I be completely disappointed if that wasn’t there? No, I am very realistic. As long as they can understand me and don’t have the hang-up of gee, I’m going to sound funny so I’m not going to use it, that type of thing, I’ll be happy. In an ideal world, hey, great, go off to Germany or Switzerland or Austria or wherever you’d like where they speak German and you function. You just do and it’s very second nature. I want there just to be a certain amount of pride in being German and a pride in having at least a second language under their belts that just comes very second nature. I didn’t realize what I had until I came back to the States. And that was, gosh, it took me probably about another half a year, and I was a freshman in High School to realize, Wait a second, I’ve got something here. I grew up with my friends and their families at least having two and three languages if not four, five or six. My father spoke eight, so multiple languages as such wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t anything where you go, “Hey, look at me, I speak three languages, four languages.” Where everybody else would be going “Yeah, so do we.” And that didn’t sink in for me until high school. So I’m kind of hoping that the kids realize “Hey, wow, yeah, I’ve got something special here.” That they won’t have the hang up if they do travel to a German-speaking country or someone speaks German to them that they can function. I feel perfectly comfortable traveling and going to a German-speaking or Spanish-speaking country and just functioning. I mean, I can do everything I would need to do – I can read, I can write, I can communicate. And that’s really what I hope for the kids. You know, that they just feel comfortable with it, realize that they have something special and just have an understanding of who they are. Because it is part of who they are.
Sarah: That’s beautiful. Tell me a little bit about their favorite books and CDs and DVDs. I know you’ve ordered from us a couple of times. Tell me about what they like to hear and listen to.
Christoph: Well, it’s changing a little bit. And I need to update a little bit. Where we’ve gone from Meine Sachen – you know the little flipbooks that they get when they’re you know, three months. There’s one my son I think has literally gnawed on. But learning simple words or now moving on to some of my old kids books that my mom when she came over brought with her, which are Du bist sehr lieb Charlie Brown. There’s a connection though because my kids, and my daughter in particular, goes, “Oh, Charlie Brown. I’ve seen the Christmas special, the Easter special.” You know, all those that they see on TV. There’s a connection there to a little bit more of a story now, not just pictures, for my daughter in particular. My son’s still says, “Hey, show me the plane,” but the other one that they seem to like right now at least book-wise is Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten.
Christoph: That’s one of the ones I remember getting from you. I think it’s Meine ersten Märchen or something. My son’s really getting into that, those animals, so that I think has a huge impact for him. We haven’t actually done much with movies and DVDs. We don’t do that much TV anyway, but I’ll be really honest with you – a lot of the dubbed stuff that’s out there that are a little more from US-based movies, I don’t particularly like the dubbing. A lot of the German that’s dubbed – and this sounds so awful, me being German – but German can sound very hoity-toity, almost elitist. The “hoch Deutsch” in particular. And that’s where the dubbing comes from. And I don’t particularly care for it. There are words actually that I don’t use in German because it sounds too funny to me. “Funny” being one of them – “Ach, das ist lustig.” Don’t ask me why, it’s something that’s always been with us, it’s been in our family, but my father never used it and trust me, my father was very old school. There are just – don’t ask me why – some words that we know them, they just don’t enter in our sentences at all. You’ll hear German German German German English word German. So we do a lot with just the books that we’ve got and I’m trying to think of one that we had that was a step above a magazine but it was definitely not a book. It was black and white, and we use it as a coloring book, actually, for both kids now. It’s everything from city to farm to animals to planes, trains, you name it and all the words are there and it’s just in black and white. We’ve used it as a coloring book to kind of, you know, go “Hey, let’s find the cow. What color should the cow be?” Again, you know, my son’s like, “Purple.” And my daughter’s going, “No, it should be black and white.” It’s the age difference. And so the argument ensues of which color we’re going to use. That type of thing works really well for us. And the nighttime stories. That’s kind of quiet time where I have one-on-one with my kids and my wife has her time with them and we kind of do the reading and cuddling and that’s when I take the opportunity to read the German books to them.
Christoph: That’s really kind of where we go with it. It’s the everyday. It’s just everyday conversation and even the English language books that we read to them, I’ll just translate them. The sentences – it’s not like I’m reading War and Peace – so we’re talking Curious George or anything like that where we don’t have it in German, I’ll just translate it. Being fluent in the language makes it obviously much easier than perhaps if you’ve learned and you really have to think about it. For me, it’s not a conscious thought process. For me it comes very naturally. And that’s just an advantage of having learned languages young. It sounds kind of funny to me but it’s not a thought process. My daughter right now loves Fancy Nancy. So I’ll just take the Fancy Nancy book and just read it, I may have to think about, give me another word for this that or the other you know, fuchsia. Fuchsia’s pink. And that’s just stuff that comes from being a guy. I’m not going to differentiate between pink one, two and three. It’s pink, okay. Things like that, there I have to think but other than that, the English language books that my children are reading, they’re so simple for me to kind of just go along and translate as I’m reading is not hard and it does make it easier access. Because they get gifts, and most people won’t think to get a German-language book because again, they’re not as easy to get.
You’re one of the few resources and it takes some Google searches to find somebody that has them. German isn’t the top ten, you know what I mean? So that’s kind of what we do. We have some of the books that we’ve gotten from you and then some of my kid books and my sister has hers so when they go visit her, she has some books there that she can read to them. But a lot of what we do also is the English ones and we just kind of have to translate as we go.
Sarah: I love it. It’s just everyday life and you just go with the flow and you’re just ready whenever the opportunity strikes to have an extra chat in German or to mention a color but it’s all just very natural.
Christoph: You nailed it. As an opportunity presents itself you just have to be aware and say, “you know, I could do that” and that’s it. I’m sure when you’ve been talking with the other parents that you’ve come across this. You know, you just take your opportunities where they are. It’s not like I do anything different than what most parents do in English to teach their children. With them, I’m lucky that I don’t have to split between English and German I just do it in German because that’s the way it is. My wife will do it in English. So why would I be doing it any different than any other parent would, I just have to do it in German.
Sarah: Mm hmm, great. I love that, that’s such a great outlook. Frank and straightforward – I guess if you don’t get enough of it today you don’t worry about it and start over again tomorrow.
Christoph: I’m not going to stress out about it. “Gee, I didn’t get my requirement of German in – gotta read two German books today” because they weren’t interested in them that day. That to me would be counterproductive to teaching them. You know, I want them to just kind of go with it, not “Oh, criminy, here’s Dad, he wants to read to me that book again. Ugh, this is so old, I don’t want to do this anymore.” It would be so counterproductive. Kids are the way they are and when it seems like a task, they’re not going to want to do it. “Oh, okay, that’s not the book I want, it doesn’t sound like when Mommy reads it, oh well, I get what he’s saying, he’s saying the same stuff Mommy does, okay.” That’s the nice part. If you start fretting over it, are the kids getting enough of it, the kids will pick up on that.
Sarah: So just be.
Christoph: Yeah, that’s kind of my philosophy “just be” (laughs).
Sarah: I love it! Well, I just have one more question for you. I was just wondering if you have any other comments. I think you touched upon some really exciting ideas. I know my customers are going to love to read everything that you’ve said.
Christoph: That or they’ll never come back to you again. (laughs)
Sarah: (laughs) No, no, this is fantastic stuff! Like I said, your perspective as a dad is so important. Moms can’t do it all themselves. A lot of moms can’t do it at all because they don’t have that level of fluency, so it’s really cool to hear these ideas from you.
Christoph: The other thing is I’m also a very different dad. My wife owns her own company; she’s the primary breadwinner in our house. I’ve kind of switched roles. I’d like to say I retired from the corporate world. I used to be the international sales and marketing guy. The last company I was with, I got to my senior level. I loved the international aspect of it. That’s been my life. I love it but I realized the corporate world just isn’t for me. Maybe it was just the companies I’d been with but the priority that they always put on international wasn’t there to the way I thought it ought to be. It doesn’t mean it’s right or wrong, it’s just the way they ran their business. I was just very fed up one day and my wife looked at me and said, “So why don’t you just leave?” I looked at her with this very strange look and she said, “Look, it’s not worth being miserable. It’s just not. You’ve not got to the company that has put the priority on international. Since this last company you’ve seen your entire budget go down to zero dollars and the expectations increased, it’s not an environment you want to be in. Quit. Figure out what you want to do.”
Sarah: Really?.
Christoph: I kind of looked at her like “But what else do I do?” You know, international business has always been my focus. It took a little while. I taught for a short period. Then I realized I kind of liked the kids. And I kind of want to be home. I’ve turned out to be the house-husband. I grew up with a very German mother so I don’t mind keeping house. It allows us to be together as a family a lot more. I mean I do everything from cook, clean, do laundry, pay the bills, and keep our life organized. My wife, owning her own company, has the flexibility so late afternoons and evenings are ours because the stuff is done. She’s worked, and so to speak, she’s brought in the money. The house is in order. The kids come home from school and “Huh, what do you want to do?” “I want to play.” “Okay, let’s go play.” There’s no laundry that needs to be done, no last minute bills to be paid, don’t have to sit at the computer and think,” Oh, I’ve got to do the laundry.” Because it’s already done. And so our evenings and weekends are truly family time, which is the way I grew up. It was my mom doing what I’m doing. The family thing is to me a very traditional thing. And this way the children always have a parent picking them up, a parent is always home, rather than having to rely on a babysitter. Or, “Oh, okay, gotta ask Grandma to come and do something again.” It’s usually Dad, but Mom or Dad, always a parent there. And that’s something I grew up with, I was lucky enough to be able to grow up with, and we’re able to give that to our kids. And it gives me a little bit more to them, and keeps more of the German going. So that’s the other side of things. I’ve, gosh, for almost 20 years, I did the traveling. I had more miles than I knew what to do with and so I did that. I loved it, I enjoyed it to a certain extent, but our household is just a little bit different. That contributes to the way the kids are growing up too. And you were saying, what other comments and such, it’s just kind of nice to see through your site and that interview you did, I think the first one that I guess I paid enough attention to go, “Oh, huh, it’s nice to know that there are others doing it.” But as you see there’s a common thread to the story. One parent is a German. The importance of having that aspect of the life there is what that common thread is. It sounds so silly, but it’s nice to know there are others out there. And I think we all face the same challenges, especially with a language that isn’t so, you know, so forefront for people. It’s not the sexy language; it’s not the language that’s the second strongest language in this country. It’s kind of a language you need a reason to be speaking. You need a reason for it to be important in your life. That’s usually because one parent if not both, are German. I wanted to just say, keep doing what you’re doing please. Keep providing the resources. Because that’s what it is, at least to me, it is truly a resource that you may not tap all of the time, but for me it’s kind of in stages. And I don’t know how many stages it’s going to be. We’ve found the books that we could read to them when they were young. Three months old, six months old. Now we’re kind of progressing on. It’s nice to know that there’s a resource out there. I’m thrilled that you’re just able to keep it going.
Sarah: Well, thank you. You know, it’s been really, really fun for me to do these interviews. I think you’re number seven or actually eight now. Every time I talk to someone I think, okay, there’s so much more we can do here. You know, people are out there and they need help and we can help bring you guys together and give you support and give you inspiration. Just a simple half an hour call, with you spending a little of your time with me, again, I think this was fantastic. I can’t wait to listen to the call again and I can’t wait to get it out there for all the other people who are interested. I just really appreciate your time.
Christoph: I appreciate you doing what you’re doing and more than happy to do it. Like I said, I like to talk and I like to talk about what I’m doing, and if somewhere in there there’s something good that comes out of it, I think that’s great. I’m just glad there’s a resource for me, to be selfish about it, where I can go and find the occasional book or movie eventually or things like that. That will help me do what I want to be doing, which is teach my kids German. I think it’s great and seeing that there are other people out there is just very encouraging too.
Sarah: Absolutely. Good stuff.
Christoph: If there’s ever anything else that I can help you with, or honestly, just please, don’t hesitate to shoot me an email or let me know somehow and I’ll be more than happy to help out if I can.
Sarah: That would be fantastic! I will definitely keep in touch. I want to hear how things progress with your kids. Sounds like they are off to a fantastic start. Thank you again; I really appreciate it!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Deutsch mit Papa (part 1)
Sarah interviews Christoph Oettinger about his experience raising 4 year old daughter and 2 and-a-half year old son bilingually in German and English.
This post contains part 1 of 2 of this interview.
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Sarah: I’m so excited to talk to you! I appreciate your time this morning!
Christoph: No worries; glad to do it!
Sarah: Where are you located?
Christoph: I’m just outside of Chicago.
Sarah: And you are the German speaker in your family? You grew up speaking German with your parents?
Christoph: I am, I’m the German one in the bunch as it were. German parents, grew up speaking German at home, and still speak it with my mom and my sister.
Sarah: Did you grow up in the United States or was it abroad in Germany?
Christoph: The short answer is yes… I grew up a little bit all over. I’m actually US born because my father was with the German Foreign Office and we were stationed in New Orleans when I was born. And shortly after that, it was back to Germany for about a year and a half, then to New York with the UN, then off to Argentina, then to Brazil, then to Chicago, and my father retired in ’91 with a mandatory return to Germany – well, not really mandatory – but at the time, with the exchange rate, that’s really the only thing that made sense. So my parents moved back to Germany, and my sister and I stayed in the United States.
Sarah: So you’ve been all over the place!
Christoph: Yes, I’ve kind of been all over the place. Lived overseas quite a bit and then my professional career kind of took me the rest of the way.
Sarah: That’s really interesting – you really have an international perspective to bring to your kids and to your life.
Christoph: Yes.
Sarah: So how old are your kids?
Christoph: My oldest, my daughter, just turned four and my son is two and a half.
Sarah: And are they speaking German back to you?
Christoph: Hit or miss, actually. I mean, it’s pretty normal, they get so much English, you know, outside of the home and they know that my wife and I speak English so most of the replies I get are in English but when I speak to them it’s exclusively in German and my son is using more of it, but both of them understand everything that I say and on the rare occasions where there’s a word they haven’t heard before, both of them will look at me and go, “Now what does that mean?” They know to ask if there’s something they haven’t heard, and my son, like I said, is using it a little bit more. He’s proud of himself when he uses something. I think, as they get a little bit older, they will begin to use it, because they know that their grandmother and their aunt also speak it. Again, they don’t see them every day, and I think I mentioned in the email to you that the opportunity for immersion is difficult. The opportunities are few and far between. So I’m not all too worried that I’m not getting a whole lot of conversation with them in German, I’m thrilled that they understand what I say to them.
Sarah: Well, yeah, I like how you have set it up so naturally. I’m wondering, if that was hard for you to develop that habit or did it just come naturally?
Christoph: It’s come pretty naturally.
Sarah: That’s one of the greatest challenges that I have.
Christoph: It did come pretty naturally. Again, I grew up speaking German at home. That was just the way my life was. And I’m grateful I have a very supportive wife who as such doesn’t speak it, although I think she suffers more from what most adults do – if they don’t do something very well, they’d rather just not do it. My wife was learning German before she ever met me, and she was learning it from Berlitz which was still using statements like “Gee, Mrs. Mueller, you have a nice skirt on today. Would you get me my cup of coffee now?” which made me cringe, but it’s easy from the standpoint that one, I don’t have to worry that the kids will ever use it to try to pull one over on mom because mom understands as much as they do if not more.
And as they’re learning, so does she. She knows that that’s what’s coming at her, and if there’s ever anything she doesn’t know, she knows that she can ask. So it’s easy from the standpoint that my wife is supportive of it, I grew up speaking German at home, and it is just ridiculously important to me. Unfortunately, I no longer have family in Germany, my mom immigrated to the US two years ago almost, and my father passed away so we have no one left in Germany and for me, it’s just important that my kids learn that part of who they are. It’s kind of who I am, so, as you can tell, languages come easy and I have very little accent in either one. It’s kind of just English-German, flip a coin, it works both ways for me. Having support from my wife to do it was kind of really never even a question.
Sarah: So you feel she’s kind of picking it up along with the kids, even though she’s not speaking it.
Christoph: Oh, yes. She’s picking it up as quickly as the kids. And again, like I said, she was on her own, before we even met, for some reason she was studying German through tapes and classes whenever she could. There was an understanding. We’d traveled to Germany when my parents were still there. Despite what my father always thought, “Go with her, go with her, she needs help,” she could handle herself in a grocery store, the usual type of thing you pick up on so you can get by. She would do just fine. It’s again, we as adults, rather than sound funny or make a mistake, we hesitate to use something but her comprehension is very, very good.
Sarah: Right. Well, that would really hold you back if you were worried about or thinking about something like, which case is this in? Which gender is that noun again? Instead of not worrying too much about it and just chatting, you get a lot further ahead. But it’s hard to do that sometimes, especially if you learn it as an adult.
Christoph: Right, and kids don’t have that, “Oh, boy, I’m going to sound funny” or “Boy, that’s going to be wrong so I’m just not going to say anything.” Kids, for the most part, they don’t even know to think that way. Even as kids start learning English as their first language or their only language. I see it with my kids, I know I did it, and I see it with my kids’ friends. They make mistakes – which are perfectly normal – they correct themselves as they hear it more often or get corrected in school, they learn it. And that’s kind of just the way it is. But they just “Oh, that’s just the way it is” and they toodle on about their business, and we as adults are the ones that have this “Oh, gee, I’m going to sound funny when I say that”, or “Ooh, that’s going to be wrong, someone’s going to make fun of me.” We’re the ones with the hang-ups. Kids don’t have them. So that is another reason it’s easy – you just talk at them, they don’t know that they’re learning a second language while they’re learning a first to begin with, it’s just that’s the way it is.
Sarah: So for your kids, it’s “This is what we do. The words that Daddy uses when he talks to me.”
Christoph: You got it. And that’s exactly it. My son right now is kind of going, “That Papa guy, he uses Deutsch” and “Is that Deutsch, Papa or is that English?” It happened last night. We had my brother-in-law and my sister-in-law and my nieces over. And my nieces look at me like I have two heads. It’s like, “Wait a second, he just spoke English to me and now there’s this strange gobbley-gook stuff coming from him.” And my brother-in-law is like, “What is Uncle Christoph saying? Is that English? That’s not English, is it? Do you notice that Ellen and Copeland are understanding him? Oh, isn’t that amazing, they speak two languages.” And Cope’s looking at them like, “Oh, yeah, I guess I am.” It just is, you know.
My biggest fear, and this is the only thing my wife and I talked about. I said, “I need to know that you’re comfortable with that happening because I’ll be damned if they start using it against you.” You know, as they get older, to try and get away with something or say something to her that they probably shouldn’t and she doesn’t understand it. And she’s says, “No, that won’t be a problem. I know enough to be dangerous.” And she does. It’s just the fact that boy, they may use it against their cousins or some of their friends to talk about them or who knows what else. As long as it doesn’t happen here in the home, I’m okay.
Sarah: Right. If they’re going to do that, they’ll have plenty of opportunities to do it, whether or not they know German.
Christoph: You got it. (laughs)
Sarah: Kids can be mean in all kinds of languages.
Christoph: I’m sure they’ll be saying stuff to each other that I won’t understand.
Sarah: That could be (laughs). That’s when the real trouble comes in, right?
Christoph: Wait for the teenage years.
Sarah: You’ve got a while.
Christoph: Thank goodness. I’m not ready for them yet.
Sarah: Although I guess it will be here before you know it, right?
Christoph: That’s what everybody tells me.
Sarah: I have a son who just turned 9 and -
Christoph: You’re wondering where the time went?
Sarah: Yeah, I can’t believe it. I was thinking the other day about the first set of books that I bought even before I had the business, I was thinking, gosh, we still have them around, you know, the kleine Ich bin ich and a couple different ones. He was a baby, and now he’s nine.
Christoph: As a matter of fact, we’re going to be having a garage sale here in a couple of weeks from our little neighborhood and starting to pull the books and I’m going, “Wow, I actually read this to you?” It’s like, you’ve outgrown that one. Okay, that one I guess gets to go to the garage sale. It blows me away, how much they’re capable of and again, they just learn so much faster than we do. Their brains are just taking it all in. It’s just a non-issue and they just kind of go with it. It’s not like, “Oh, gosh, what’s this? And now I’ve got to learn that.” It’s just “Oh, okay, let’s just go with it.” It’s an amazing thing to watch happen.
Sarah: Even at age two-and-a-half you see amazing things going on, right?
Christoph: Oh, it’s mind-boggling. It’s totally mind-boggling what they’re doing at two-and-a-half. I have to remind myself that he’s actually that young, because so much of what he does, to me, seems so much beyond but it seems perfectly normal at that age. They tell me, “Oh, no, that’s to be expected now.” And I’m think, really? Are you sure? I’d have trouble with this right about now. But their brains are just so amazing. So absolutely amazing.
Sarah: Just the leaps, right? From age one to age two? The leap in comprehension and what they can produce, it’s just substantial.
Christoph: It’s mind-boggling. It truly is completely mind-boggling. It’s like, “Wow, you can do that, now, huh?” From a language standpoint, we talk to them and the words they all of sudden pick up, in German or English and even Spanish, for that matter. They have it in school just one hour one day a week. All of a sudden they’ll be standing there counting in Spanish. I’ll say, “What? What are you doing?” “What, it’s Spanish, Papa.” “I know it’s Spanish, but you’re working on English and German, what’s this Spanish?” “Oh, yeah, Spanish too, Papa.” I’m all for it. You go right ahead, just keep picking up the languages. Whatever.
Sarah: Absolutely. It’s only going to be an advantage.
Christoph: It really will be. I don’t care what they ever do with their lives, I really don’t, my thing is, as long as they’re happy, but I know that over the years I was so glad.
Christoph: I just think that it’s such a huge gift that I can give them. You know, I’m fortunate enough to have multiple languages under my belt. Given that my father, who was a wealth of information, is no longer alive, and can’t share so much of what he knew with them, it’s the little thing that I can do to keep that German bit going and hopefully it will go on with my kids and their kids, but at least, I’ve done my part to share that with them. That was just very, very important to me.
I didn’t spend a lot of time in Germany and I don’t think I grew up German as such, I grew up very internationally – from my circle of friends, and we’re not traditional German in the sense people always ask me, “Do you eat German food?” Well, yeah, but it’s not like I have my Bratwurst every day and a Schnitzel as well. Yeah, I eat it because I like it, but it’s not what I make every day. And my mom never did either. For me it’s just let’s kind of keep a little bit of who I am, and who we are, going. Understand where you came from and if you do something with it, great, and if not, I hope it just gave you a little bit of insight into where you come from.
Part 2 of this interview is here.
Bilingual Families Wanted!
We are always looking for new families to interview! Even if you are not a native speaker of German and don't consider yourself to be bilingual, we'd still love to chat. It's quick, painless, and lots of fun! Plus, we'll send you a free book for participating.
If you'd like to be interviewed on our blog, please send an e-mail to thea (at) alphabet-garten.com
This post contains part 1 of 2 of this interview.
=======================================================
Sarah: I’m so excited to talk to you! I appreciate your time this morning!
Christoph: No worries; glad to do it!
Sarah: Where are you located?
Christoph: I’m just outside of Chicago.
Sarah: And you are the German speaker in your family? You grew up speaking German with your parents?
Christoph: I am, I’m the German one in the bunch as it were. German parents, grew up speaking German at home, and still speak it with my mom and my sister.
Sarah: Did you grow up in the United States or was it abroad in Germany?
Christoph: The short answer is yes… I grew up a little bit all over. I’m actually US born because my father was with the German Foreign Office and we were stationed in New Orleans when I was born. And shortly after that, it was back to Germany for about a year and a half, then to New York with the UN, then off to Argentina, then to Brazil, then to Chicago, and my father retired in ’91 with a mandatory return to Germany – well, not really mandatory – but at the time, with the exchange rate, that’s really the only thing that made sense. So my parents moved back to Germany, and my sister and I stayed in the United States.
Sarah: So you’ve been all over the place!
Christoph: Yes, I’ve kind of been all over the place. Lived overseas quite a bit and then my professional career kind of took me the rest of the way.
Sarah: That’s really interesting – you really have an international perspective to bring to your kids and to your life.
Christoph: Yes.
Sarah: So how old are your kids?
Christoph: My oldest, my daughter, just turned four and my son is two and a half.
Sarah: And are they speaking German back to you?
Christoph: Hit or miss, actually. I mean, it’s pretty normal, they get so much English, you know, outside of the home and they know that my wife and I speak English so most of the replies I get are in English but when I speak to them it’s exclusively in German and my son is using more of it, but both of them understand everything that I say and on the rare occasions where there’s a word they haven’t heard before, both of them will look at me and go, “Now what does that mean?” They know to ask if there’s something they haven’t heard, and my son, like I said, is using it a little bit more. He’s proud of himself when he uses something. I think, as they get a little bit older, they will begin to use it, because they know that their grandmother and their aunt also speak it. Again, they don’t see them every day, and I think I mentioned in the email to you that the opportunity for immersion is difficult. The opportunities are few and far between. So I’m not all too worried that I’m not getting a whole lot of conversation with them in German, I’m thrilled that they understand what I say to them.
Sarah: Well, yeah, I like how you have set it up so naturally. I’m wondering, if that was hard for you to develop that habit or did it just come naturally?
Christoph: It’s come pretty naturally.
Sarah: That’s one of the greatest challenges that I have.
Christoph: It did come pretty naturally. Again, I grew up speaking German at home. That was just the way my life was. And I’m grateful I have a very supportive wife who as such doesn’t speak it, although I think she suffers more from what most adults do – if they don’t do something very well, they’d rather just not do it. My wife was learning German before she ever met me, and she was learning it from Berlitz which was still using statements like “Gee, Mrs. Mueller, you have a nice skirt on today. Would you get me my cup of coffee now?” which made me cringe, but it’s easy from the standpoint that one, I don’t have to worry that the kids will ever use it to try to pull one over on mom because mom understands as much as they do if not more.
And as they’re learning, so does she. She knows that that’s what’s coming at her, and if there’s ever anything she doesn’t know, she knows that she can ask. So it’s easy from the standpoint that my wife is supportive of it, I grew up speaking German at home, and it is just ridiculously important to me. Unfortunately, I no longer have family in Germany, my mom immigrated to the US two years ago almost, and my father passed away so we have no one left in Germany and for me, it’s just important that my kids learn that part of who they are. It’s kind of who I am, so, as you can tell, languages come easy and I have very little accent in either one. It’s kind of just English-German, flip a coin, it works both ways for me. Having support from my wife to do it was kind of really never even a question.
Sarah: So you feel she’s kind of picking it up along with the kids, even though she’s not speaking it.
Christoph: Oh, yes. She’s picking it up as quickly as the kids. And again, like I said, she was on her own, before we even met, for some reason she was studying German through tapes and classes whenever she could. There was an understanding. We’d traveled to Germany when my parents were still there. Despite what my father always thought, “Go with her, go with her, she needs help,” she could handle herself in a grocery store, the usual type of thing you pick up on so you can get by. She would do just fine. It’s again, we as adults, rather than sound funny or make a mistake, we hesitate to use something but her comprehension is very, very good.
Sarah: Right. Well, that would really hold you back if you were worried about or thinking about something like, which case is this in? Which gender is that noun again? Instead of not worrying too much about it and just chatting, you get a lot further ahead. But it’s hard to do that sometimes, especially if you learn it as an adult.
Christoph: Right, and kids don’t have that, “Oh, boy, I’m going to sound funny” or “Boy, that’s going to be wrong so I’m just not going to say anything.” Kids, for the most part, they don’t even know to think that way. Even as kids start learning English as their first language or their only language. I see it with my kids, I know I did it, and I see it with my kids’ friends. They make mistakes – which are perfectly normal – they correct themselves as they hear it more often or get corrected in school, they learn it. And that’s kind of just the way it is. But they just “Oh, that’s just the way it is” and they toodle on about their business, and we as adults are the ones that have this “Oh, gee, I’m going to sound funny when I say that”, or “Ooh, that’s going to be wrong, someone’s going to make fun of me.” We’re the ones with the hang-ups. Kids don’t have them. So that is another reason it’s easy – you just talk at them, they don’t know that they’re learning a second language while they’re learning a first to begin with, it’s just that’s the way it is.
Sarah: So for your kids, it’s “This is what we do. The words that Daddy uses when he talks to me.”
Christoph: You got it. And that’s exactly it. My son right now is kind of going, “That Papa guy, he uses Deutsch” and “Is that Deutsch, Papa or is that English?” It happened last night. We had my brother-in-law and my sister-in-law and my nieces over. And my nieces look at me like I have two heads. It’s like, “Wait a second, he just spoke English to me and now there’s this strange gobbley-gook stuff coming from him.” And my brother-in-law is like, “What is Uncle Christoph saying? Is that English? That’s not English, is it? Do you notice that Ellen and Copeland are understanding him? Oh, isn’t that amazing, they speak two languages.” And Cope’s looking at them like, “Oh, yeah, I guess I am.” It just is, you know.
My biggest fear, and this is the only thing my wife and I talked about. I said, “I need to know that you’re comfortable with that happening because I’ll be damned if they start using it against you.” You know, as they get older, to try and get away with something or say something to her that they probably shouldn’t and she doesn’t understand it. And she’s says, “No, that won’t be a problem. I know enough to be dangerous.” And she does. It’s just the fact that boy, they may use it against their cousins or some of their friends to talk about them or who knows what else. As long as it doesn’t happen here in the home, I’m okay.
Sarah: Right. If they’re going to do that, they’ll have plenty of opportunities to do it, whether or not they know German.
Christoph: You got it. (laughs)
Sarah: Kids can be mean in all kinds of languages.
Christoph: I’m sure they’ll be saying stuff to each other that I won’t understand.
Sarah: That could be (laughs). That’s when the real trouble comes in, right?
Christoph: Wait for the teenage years.
Sarah: You’ve got a while.
Christoph: Thank goodness. I’m not ready for them yet.
Sarah: Although I guess it will be here before you know it, right?
Christoph: That’s what everybody tells me.
Sarah: I have a son who just turned 9 and -
Christoph: You’re wondering where the time went?
Sarah: Yeah, I can’t believe it. I was thinking the other day about the first set of books that I bought even before I had the business, I was thinking, gosh, we still have them around, you know, the kleine Ich bin ich and a couple different ones. He was a baby, and now he’s nine.
Christoph: As a matter of fact, we’re going to be having a garage sale here in a couple of weeks from our little neighborhood and starting to pull the books and I’m going, “Wow, I actually read this to you?” It’s like, you’ve outgrown that one. Okay, that one I guess gets to go to the garage sale. It blows me away, how much they’re capable of and again, they just learn so much faster than we do. Their brains are just taking it all in. It’s just a non-issue and they just kind of go with it. It’s not like, “Oh, gosh, what’s this? And now I’ve got to learn that.” It’s just “Oh, okay, let’s just go with it.” It’s an amazing thing to watch happen.
Sarah: Even at age two-and-a-half you see amazing things going on, right?
Christoph: Oh, it’s mind-boggling. It’s totally mind-boggling what they’re doing at two-and-a-half. I have to remind myself that he’s actually that young, because so much of what he does, to me, seems so much beyond but it seems perfectly normal at that age. They tell me, “Oh, no, that’s to be expected now.” And I’m think, really? Are you sure? I’d have trouble with this right about now. But their brains are just so amazing. So absolutely amazing.
Sarah: Just the leaps, right? From age one to age two? The leap in comprehension and what they can produce, it’s just substantial.
Christoph: It’s mind-boggling. It truly is completely mind-boggling. It’s like, “Wow, you can do that, now, huh?” From a language standpoint, we talk to them and the words they all of sudden pick up, in German or English and even Spanish, for that matter. They have it in school just one hour one day a week. All of a sudden they’ll be standing there counting in Spanish. I’ll say, “What? What are you doing?” “What, it’s Spanish, Papa.” “I know it’s Spanish, but you’re working on English and German, what’s this Spanish?” “Oh, yeah, Spanish too, Papa.” I’m all for it. You go right ahead, just keep picking up the languages. Whatever.
Sarah: Absolutely. It’s only going to be an advantage.
Christoph: It really will be. I don’t care what they ever do with their lives, I really don’t, my thing is, as long as they’re happy, but I know that over the years I was so glad.
Christoph: I just think that it’s such a huge gift that I can give them. You know, I’m fortunate enough to have multiple languages under my belt. Given that my father, who was a wealth of information, is no longer alive, and can’t share so much of what he knew with them, it’s the little thing that I can do to keep that German bit going and hopefully it will go on with my kids and their kids, but at least, I’ve done my part to share that with them. That was just very, very important to me.
I didn’t spend a lot of time in Germany and I don’t think I grew up German as such, I grew up very internationally – from my circle of friends, and we’re not traditional German in the sense people always ask me, “Do you eat German food?” Well, yeah, but it’s not like I have my Bratwurst every day and a Schnitzel as well. Yeah, I eat it because I like it, but it’s not what I make every day. And my mom never did either. For me it’s just let’s kind of keep a little bit of who I am, and who we are, going. Understand where you came from and if you do something with it, great, and if not, I hope it just gave you a little bit of insight into where you come from.
Part 2 of this interview is here.
Bilingual Families Wanted!
We are always looking for new families to interview! Even if you are not a native speaker of German and don't consider yourself to be bilingual, we'd still love to chat. It's quick, painless, and lots of fun! Plus, we'll send you a free book for participating.
If you'd like to be interviewed on our blog, please send an e-mail to thea (at) alphabet-garten.com
Saturday, August 15, 2009
How reading German childrens books can help improve your German.
Have you ever noticed how kids can pick up lines from their favorite TV shows and recite them verbatim at exactly the perfect time in a conversation? Sometimes I may not even realize my kids are quoting from a show until later. They are able to do it with such finesse. They absorb the words, phrases, timing and rhythm of these little bits and pieces and store them away for future use.
You may not want to go around quoting TV shows, but did you know that you can use this same strategy to improve your own German?
Learning more German is high on the list for many parents who are teaching German to their kids, even though they aren't fluent themselves.
They are often frustrated when they want to say something that they don't have the knowledge for. Or they can't get the words to come quickly enough. They may not always be able to spend time in personal study. What I tell them is that they can take advantage of a regular German lesson every day, all for the price of reading a book to their child.
Simply reading German books every day with your kids can bring you a surprising effect on your own German fluency.
When you read a German children's book, you get to enter the mind of the author. You have access to her favorite words and phrases, her sense of timing, her style with grammar and sentence structure. As her words are spoken by you, you internalize her style, little by little. You start to take ownership of the words used in the story. It’s almost like you have a tape recorder in your brain which will offer up these “taped” words later when you need them.
Of course all this happens auf Deutsch. So you’re reading, hearing, pronouncing, and absorbing high quality German language (assuming you’ve chosen quality stories). You may find yourself using a phrase later on in the day. Or you'll learn a new word just by hearing it in the context of the story.
Reading is easier than having a conversation.
When you read, you don't have to formulate the sentences yourself. As you read, your brain receives practice speaking German more quickly and with less effort than when you speak spontaneously. If you’re not fluent, you may find it difficult to express yourself or keep up with a more accomplished speaker. When reading you don’t have to retrieve the right words, worry about gender and case, etc. With a book, you can just focus on the story. Your mind gets a bit of a break from the hard work and gets to enjoy some excellent German.
You’re not the only one who benefits from a daily reading session.
Of course your child is getting the same benefits you are. Your child is absorbing German sentence structure, style, rules about gender and case, all wrapped up in the pretty package of a good story. What a fantastic and fun way to learn!
Why is it important for parents to read books to their kids daily?
Daily reading is important for so many reasons, but in the context of this article, the regular practice is key for you (and your child) to maintain the progress you’ve made and keep moving forward. You’ll need to see a new word several times before your brain can easily remember the word, know how to use it, what gender it is, etc. If you don’t read every day, you lose momentum and your progress will suffer.
What should I read?
What you read is not as important as how regularly you read and picking something enjoyable for your child to hear. Pick books on your child’s favorite topics or look for popular stories for your child’s age. Make sure to tailor your pace [liNK] so that your child gets the maximum benefit from the reading session.
What if I don't understand everything we're reading?
Keep going anyway. Just as your child doesn’t have to understand every word of a conversation to know what’s going on, so too, you don’t have to understand every word in a sentence to follow the story. If you must, keep a piece of paper handy to jot down any unfamiliar words so you can look them up later. But don’t stop to look anything up at this point. Stopping during a story will interfere with your momentum and get you out of the groove.
What if my child wants books that are too easy for me? Will I still benefit from them?
Your child may want to hear Augen zu, kleiner Tiger for the 17th time – that’s OK. You’ll probably still find something in the story you hadn’t noticed before. As your child grows, he’ll want longer and more complicated books and your skills will be more challenged by his needs.
Conclusion
Take advantage of your mind’s ability to “record” the books you read aloud. Your read-aloud times with your kids will do double-duty as quality time and German lessons. Then you, too, can quote from the books you read and become a more accomplished German speaker.
You may not want to go around quoting TV shows, but did you know that you can use this same strategy to improve your own German?
Learning more German is high on the list for many parents who are teaching German to their kids, even though they aren't fluent themselves.
They are often frustrated when they want to say something that they don't have the knowledge for. Or they can't get the words to come quickly enough. They may not always be able to spend time in personal study. What I tell them is that they can take advantage of a regular German lesson every day, all for the price of reading a book to their child.
Simply reading German books every day with your kids can bring you a surprising effect on your own German fluency.
When you read a German children's book, you get to enter the mind of the author. You have access to her favorite words and phrases, her sense of timing, her style with grammar and sentence structure. As her words are spoken by you, you internalize her style, little by little. You start to take ownership of the words used in the story. It’s almost like you have a tape recorder in your brain which will offer up these “taped” words later when you need them.
Of course all this happens auf Deutsch. So you’re reading, hearing, pronouncing, and absorbing high quality German language (assuming you’ve chosen quality stories). You may find yourself using a phrase later on in the day. Or you'll learn a new word just by hearing it in the context of the story.
Reading is easier than having a conversation.
When you read, you don't have to formulate the sentences yourself. As you read, your brain receives practice speaking German more quickly and with less effort than when you speak spontaneously. If you’re not fluent, you may find it difficult to express yourself or keep up with a more accomplished speaker. When reading you don’t have to retrieve the right words, worry about gender and case, etc. With a book, you can just focus on the story. Your mind gets a bit of a break from the hard work and gets to enjoy some excellent German.
You’re not the only one who benefits from a daily reading session.
Of course your child is getting the same benefits you are. Your child is absorbing German sentence structure, style, rules about gender and case, all wrapped up in the pretty package of a good story. What a fantastic and fun way to learn!
Why is it important for parents to read books to their kids daily?
Daily reading is important for so many reasons, but in the context of this article, the regular practice is key for you (and your child) to maintain the progress you’ve made and keep moving forward. You’ll need to see a new word several times before your brain can easily remember the word, know how to use it, what gender it is, etc. If you don’t read every day, you lose momentum and your progress will suffer.
What should I read?
What you read is not as important as how regularly you read and picking something enjoyable for your child to hear. Pick books on your child’s favorite topics or look for popular stories for your child’s age. Make sure to tailor your pace [liNK] so that your child gets the maximum benefit from the reading session.
What if I don't understand everything we're reading?
Keep going anyway. Just as your child doesn’t have to understand every word of a conversation to know what’s going on, so too, you don’t have to understand every word in a sentence to follow the story. If you must, keep a piece of paper handy to jot down any unfamiliar words so you can look them up later. But don’t stop to look anything up at this point. Stopping during a story will interfere with your momentum and get you out of the groove.
What if my child wants books that are too easy for me? Will I still benefit from them?
Your child may want to hear Augen zu, kleiner Tiger for the 17th time – that’s OK. You’ll probably still find something in the story you hadn’t noticed before. As your child grows, he’ll want longer and more complicated books and your skills will be more challenged by his needs.
Conclusion
Take advantage of your mind’s ability to “record” the books you read aloud. Your read-aloud times with your kids will do double-duty as quality time and German lessons. Then you, too, can quote from the books you read and become a more accomplished German speaker.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Why the confidence wave is so important to bilingual kids.
My middle son, Max, is a bit of a perfectionist. Some things come very easy to him and consequently, when he doesn't get something right the first time, he collapses into a puddle of frustration. It was like this when he was learning to ride his bike and like this when he is practicing math facts (his choice - Max loves math problems - weird for a 5 year old, isn't it?!) Anyway, we're working to dispel his perfectionist tendencies and encourage a bit more perseverance. However, I've also realized he has a confidence problem.
You'd think a perfectionist would have all the confidence in the world.
But some young perfectionists don't get much practice working hard at things. They may subconsciously stick to their comfort zones. If everything is easy, they don't know what to do when something turns up that challenges them, as it inevitably will.
Confidence can also be a big issue with kids learning German.
Learning a second language can be a source of frustration for some kids. If they are new to the language or if they aren't exposed to a lot of German, they may feel insecure or hesitant to use what they do know. Perhaps they were criticized or embarrassed by a particular mistake they made. Even well-meaning criticism can be hurtful at times. Confidence can also wax and wane from day to day.
Once a child's confidence is damaged, he may find it harder and harder to keep learning.
When my son is having a low-confidence moment (aka meltdown), there's nothing I can do to help him continue learning the skill at hand. I just have to wait it out and see if he recovers and wants to keep going. Your child may not get all the way to a meltdown, but you may see other signs of low confidence - a hesitancy to speak German around others, or complaining that the German books you're reading are too hard, although they were fine the day before. The child may resist going to German class or talking on the phone with Oma. You may notice he's not increasing his vocabulary or improving his accent at the same rate as before.
The chicken or the egg?
Which comes first? The low confidence or the struggle to learn? Well, one will certainly trigger the other and it doesn't really matter which comes first. The important point is to recognize that it will be more difficult to learn when you're struggling with confidence. This is the important time not to give up on the study. Things will eventually get easier again and confidence will improve.
Why is confidence so key? What about talent?
Think about a time when you had a major accomplishment. For the rest of your day, didn't everything else you did seem effortless? Didn't you feel talented? This is because your confidence was sky-high as a result of your accomplishment. You then were able to approach other tasks with the feeling that nothing could stop you. And nothing did. You were riding the confidence wave.
Talent is overrated.
When you're riding the wave, minor setbacks are no big deal and you navigate through them without batting an eye. You aren't suddenly a more talented cook, parent, or German speaker. It's the confidence wave, not some intrinsic talent. Eventually the wave comes back to shore and you are just you again; not superhuman any more.
My son does have a bit of an aptitude for numbers. But it's his confidence that will make or break him when it comes to mathematic accomplishments. If he doesn't learn to work through periods of low confidence, he will probably decide that he's no good at math and it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Similarly, a child who is "talented" with languages but experiences great frustration and low confidence won't progress nearly as far as one who is "not" talented, but who works steadily to improve.
So we now know that building confidence is critical. But how do I do that?
1. Recognize a confidence problem when you see it.
2. Be a good model - show your kids it's OK to make mistakes. Be willing to laugh at yourself when you do something wrong.
3. Pick one specific thing your child does well and praise him for it. Watch him glow with pride and see his internal confidence meter rise.
4. If he's sensitive, find gentle ways to correct his errors. Don't criticize him in front of others. Help him work on his accent if it's a source of embarrassment for him. Make sure that he feels safe speaking German and making mistakes. If he never makes any mistakes, he's not getting out of his comfort zone.
5. Let your child overhear you bragging about his latest German advance. Kids just love this!
6. Make sure German in your house is low pressure and fun. Nobody's perfect and your child shouldn't expect perfection from himself.
Summary
Once you understand the importance of confidence related to learning, you will find all kinds of applications for this knowledge. You can't always keep your child's confidence high. More important is for him to know that a time of low confidence is only temporary and doesn't mean he's lost his knack. Help him to keep working and rebuild his confidence and you'll see the results in improved German.
I'm reminding Max of times when he did work hard at something and persevered. His big brother went through a similar phase and is now more willing to work through a problem rather than give up. I'm hoping the same change is on the horizon for Max and he can start to ride the confidence wave once more.
You'd think a perfectionist would have all the confidence in the world.
But some young perfectionists don't get much practice working hard at things. They may subconsciously stick to their comfort zones. If everything is easy, they don't know what to do when something turns up that challenges them, as it inevitably will.
Confidence can also be a big issue with kids learning German.
Learning a second language can be a source of frustration for some kids. If they are new to the language or if they aren't exposed to a lot of German, they may feel insecure or hesitant to use what they do know. Perhaps they were criticized or embarrassed by a particular mistake they made. Even well-meaning criticism can be hurtful at times. Confidence can also wax and wane from day to day.
Once a child's confidence is damaged, he may find it harder and harder to keep learning.
When my son is having a low-confidence moment (aka meltdown), there's nothing I can do to help him continue learning the skill at hand. I just have to wait it out and see if he recovers and wants to keep going. Your child may not get all the way to a meltdown, but you may see other signs of low confidence - a hesitancy to speak German around others, or complaining that the German books you're reading are too hard, although they were fine the day before. The child may resist going to German class or talking on the phone with Oma. You may notice he's not increasing his vocabulary or improving his accent at the same rate as before.
The chicken or the egg?
Which comes first? The low confidence or the struggle to learn? Well, one will certainly trigger the other and it doesn't really matter which comes first. The important point is to recognize that it will be more difficult to learn when you're struggling with confidence. This is the important time not to give up on the study. Things will eventually get easier again and confidence will improve.
Why is confidence so key? What about talent?
Think about a time when you had a major accomplishment. For the rest of your day, didn't everything else you did seem effortless? Didn't you feel talented? This is because your confidence was sky-high as a result of your accomplishment. You then were able to approach other tasks with the feeling that nothing could stop you. And nothing did. You were riding the confidence wave.
Talent is overrated.
When you're riding the wave, minor setbacks are no big deal and you navigate through them without batting an eye. You aren't suddenly a more talented cook, parent, or German speaker. It's the confidence wave, not some intrinsic talent. Eventually the wave comes back to shore and you are just you again; not superhuman any more.
My son does have a bit of an aptitude for numbers. But it's his confidence that will make or break him when it comes to mathematic accomplishments. If he doesn't learn to work through periods of low confidence, he will probably decide that he's no good at math and it will be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Similarly, a child who is "talented" with languages but experiences great frustration and low confidence won't progress nearly as far as one who is "not" talented, but who works steadily to improve.
So we now know that building confidence is critical. But how do I do that?
1. Recognize a confidence problem when you see it.
2. Be a good model - show your kids it's OK to make mistakes. Be willing to laugh at yourself when you do something wrong.
3. Pick one specific thing your child does well and praise him for it. Watch him glow with pride and see his internal confidence meter rise.
4. If he's sensitive, find gentle ways to correct his errors. Don't criticize him in front of others. Help him work on his accent if it's a source of embarrassment for him. Make sure that he feels safe speaking German and making mistakes. If he never makes any mistakes, he's not getting out of his comfort zone.
5. Let your child overhear you bragging about his latest German advance. Kids just love this!
6. Make sure German in your house is low pressure and fun. Nobody's perfect and your child shouldn't expect perfection from himself.
Summary
Once you understand the importance of confidence related to learning, you will find all kinds of applications for this knowledge. You can't always keep your child's confidence high. More important is for him to know that a time of low confidence is only temporary and doesn't mean he's lost his knack. Help him to keep working and rebuild his confidence and you'll see the results in improved German.
I'm reminding Max of times when he did work hard at something and persevered. His big brother went through a similar phase and is now more willing to work through a problem rather than give up. I'm hoping the same change is on the horizon for Max and he can start to ride the confidence wave once more.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Are you feeling the need for some bilingual support? Why not form a German playgroup?
My mother laughs because I never follow a recipe 100%. My favorite dishes never turn out the same twice. I often substitute because I'm out of a particular ingredient and I hate making last-minute trips to the store. So I use what I have and make do. No buttermilk for the biscuits? No problem - just put a dash of vinegar in some milk and 5 minutes later you have sour milk ready to whip up fluffiest biscuits you can imagine. Frequently my substitutions are better than the original recipe and turn into new favorites.
I'm the same way with other aspects of my life too. I love to use what I have and make do. Making do means creatively making the best of the circumstances you're in. If it's raining, you can't change the weather, but you can make do by using old things in the basement to come up with new games for your kids. If you want to expose your kids to nature but you live in the city, don't pine away for a house in the country. You can make do with a birdfeeder, and window box full of wildflowers, and regular trips to the park.
Now take this strategy one step further.
Are you concerned that you're the only source of German for your bilingual children? Are you many miles from the nearest German Saturday school? Not to worry - why not make do and form your own Spielgruppe (playgroup)?
Playgroups are fun. Playgroups with other German speakers are fun with a purpose.
Playgroups can run the gamut from quite structured with a theme, agenda, crafts, and such, to completely unstructured where kids just play and parents chat. If you don't have a large extended German-speaking family nearby, a German playgroup can fill in as your major support system. You know how important a support system is, don't you?
When you meet weekly with other German speakers, you build relationships that may even last a lifetime.
Parents with older kids can give advice on language challenges younger families are facing. You can share or trade German books and CDs. Parenting advice will surely be freely exchanged. And, perhaps most importantly, your kids will see that there are others who speak German, too - not just Mom and Dad.
Why are German playgroups so helpful?
For a lot of us, the lack of a local German-speaking community is the greatest challenge we face in raising bilingual kids. It doesn't take much to have a productive group - even 3 families meeting weekly will provide motivation and support for parents and bilingual playmates for the kids. Sure, the Internet is great for support, but it still doesn't take the place of real life friendships.
Starting your own playgroup.
You may be lucky enough to find a group already established in your area. But more likely, you'll have to make do and form a new group yourself. It's really not that hard and the rewards are tremendous. Here are a few things to consider when forming a playgroup:
1. What is the maximum group size? Once the group gets too big, you can split it into subgroups.
2. Where and how often will we meet? (group members homes, nearby park, library).
3. How much time do I want to invest in forming and maintaining the group?
4. Will it be structured or unstructured? What kind of activities should we do?
5. Are beginners welcome or should we require one of the parents to be fluent? If all the parents are beginning German speakers, you may find it too difficult to maintain any conversation in German.
Once you've answered these questions, spread the word. Tell your friends and neighbors. Create some flyers and hang them up at the library, post office and school. You might be surprised at how quickly you gain a few members. If no one responds at first, keep trying for a few months. It may take time for the word to get around.
Anticipate problems with bilingual playgroups
Besides the typical problems you might expect when kids play, you might find that the children don't speak German to each other. Especially if the children aren't confident with German, they may find it much easier to speak English. You can choose to not worry about this or to encourage more German from the children. Another potential problem is if a parent isn't committed to speaking German, she may sidetrack the goal of the group.
As the group grows, it's important to make sure the burden of the group doesn't rest on just one person.
To help share the load, you can pass around a sign-up sheet for people to bring snack or host the group or have a group leader position that rotates every few months or so.
How do I encourage the kids to speak German to each other?
You could start the group off with a song or a story to set the mood and establish the group as a German time. If you have activities and a theme, parents can prepare a bit beforehand by familiarizing their children with vocabulary. For instance, if you have a pirate day, you can learn a bunch of pirate words and do pirate crafts.
The Seattle Kinderstube
Some ambitious parents in Washington state wanted a German community for the kids and formed the Seattle Kinderstube. Their membership now numbers over 300 families! Can you imagine having that kind of network for your budding bilinguals? Your playgroup may not reach that level but you are sure to learn and grow by participating in a group.
Summary
So I encourage you to take stock of your needs. If you're feeling the need for a German-speaking community, don't fret that you don't live near the Kinderstube in Seattle! Make do with what you have - form a German playgroup! You may discover new friends you didn't know you were missing and find that the reward of organizing a group is far greater than the effort needed.
I'm the same way with other aspects of my life too. I love to use what I have and make do. Making do means creatively making the best of the circumstances you're in. If it's raining, you can't change the weather, but you can make do by using old things in the basement to come up with new games for your kids. If you want to expose your kids to nature but you live in the city, don't pine away for a house in the country. You can make do with a birdfeeder, and window box full of wildflowers, and regular trips to the park.
Now take this strategy one step further.
Are you concerned that you're the only source of German for your bilingual children? Are you many miles from the nearest German Saturday school? Not to worry - why not make do and form your own Spielgruppe (playgroup)?
Playgroups are fun. Playgroups with other German speakers are fun with a purpose.
Playgroups can run the gamut from quite structured with a theme, agenda, crafts, and such, to completely unstructured where kids just play and parents chat. If you don't have a large extended German-speaking family nearby, a German playgroup can fill in as your major support system. You know how important a support system is, don't you?
When you meet weekly with other German speakers, you build relationships that may even last a lifetime.
Parents with older kids can give advice on language challenges younger families are facing. You can share or trade German books and CDs. Parenting advice will surely be freely exchanged. And, perhaps most importantly, your kids will see that there are others who speak German, too - not just Mom and Dad.
Why are German playgroups so helpful?
For a lot of us, the lack of a local German-speaking community is the greatest challenge we face in raising bilingual kids. It doesn't take much to have a productive group - even 3 families meeting weekly will provide motivation and support for parents and bilingual playmates for the kids. Sure, the Internet is great for support, but it still doesn't take the place of real life friendships.
Starting your own playgroup.
You may be lucky enough to find a group already established in your area. But more likely, you'll have to make do and form a new group yourself. It's really not that hard and the rewards are tremendous. Here are a few things to consider when forming a playgroup:
1. What is the maximum group size? Once the group gets too big, you can split it into subgroups.
2. Where and how often will we meet? (group members homes, nearby park, library).
3. How much time do I want to invest in forming and maintaining the group?
4. Will it be structured or unstructured? What kind of activities should we do?
5. Are beginners welcome or should we require one of the parents to be fluent? If all the parents are beginning German speakers, you may find it too difficult to maintain any conversation in German.
Once you've answered these questions, spread the word. Tell your friends and neighbors. Create some flyers and hang them up at the library, post office and school. You might be surprised at how quickly you gain a few members. If no one responds at first, keep trying for a few months. It may take time for the word to get around.
Anticipate problems with bilingual playgroups
Besides the typical problems you might expect when kids play, you might find that the children don't speak German to each other. Especially if the children aren't confident with German, they may find it much easier to speak English. You can choose to not worry about this or to encourage more German from the children. Another potential problem is if a parent isn't committed to speaking German, she may sidetrack the goal of the group.
As the group grows, it's important to make sure the burden of the group doesn't rest on just one person.
To help share the load, you can pass around a sign-up sheet for people to bring snack or host the group or have a group leader position that rotates every few months or so.
How do I encourage the kids to speak German to each other?
You could start the group off with a song or a story to set the mood and establish the group as a German time. If you have activities and a theme, parents can prepare a bit beforehand by familiarizing their children with vocabulary. For instance, if you have a pirate day, you can learn a bunch of pirate words and do pirate crafts.
The Seattle Kinderstube
Some ambitious parents in Washington state wanted a German community for the kids and formed the Seattle Kinderstube. Their membership now numbers over 300 families! Can you imagine having that kind of network for your budding bilinguals? Your playgroup may not reach that level but you are sure to learn and grow by participating in a group.
Summary
So I encourage you to take stock of your needs. If you're feeling the need for a German-speaking community, don't fret that you don't live near the Kinderstube in Seattle! Make do with what you have - form a German playgroup! You may discover new friends you didn't know you were missing and find that the reward of organizing a group is far greater than the effort needed.
Sunday, August 02, 2009
How serving a German "Diet" to your kids can improve their German
Imagine you live in Minneapolis and your child is just starting her first day in a German immersion kindergarten. She will spend the day with Frau Schmidt gently guiding her, expertly coaching her toward a future as a German speaker. You beam with pride as you pick her up and she shares with you the new words she's learned and the beautiful picture she painted of Neuschwanstein. Ahh, isn't it wonderful to have access to such a wonderful school?
But wait! You don't live in Minneapolis and there is no German immersion school in your area. There is no Frau Schmidt and if you want your daughter to speak German, it's largely up to you, non-native German speaker that you are.
Well, it may be up to you, but that doesn't mean it's an impossible goal. It just means you need to get on a German Diet.
What's a German Diet?
No, I'm not talking about Bratwurst and Bier (although enjoy them if you wish!). I'm talking about enjoying nutritious "servings" of German throughout the day. Serve a hearty helping of German Kinderlieder on the CD player in the morning. Share tasty Bilderbücher with your child after lunch. Pick a German time or two each day [liNK HERE] and give them a concentrated dose of conversation auf Deutsch. Hand out German DVDs like snacks after school. Your kids will eat them up!
Why does the German Diet work?
Like any good diet, the keys are patience and forming good habits. When you offer your kids some German every day and encourage them to participate with you, they will "digest" the language a bit at a time. Over time you'll start to see the fruit of your efforts - not in a healthier body but with a better grasp on German.
Lots of kids hear and use German in "helpings" throughout the day.
Kids in immersion school do get an extra large serving but they, too, may be switching back to English for some subjects. You may not be able to provide the German-filled diet these kids get but your own child will certainly benefit from a lighter offering.
How much German should I "serve"?
This is entirely up to you. Obviously the more German you can provide, the better. If you are not a native speaker, you may decide to start with an hour or two a day, broken up into a few sessions. You should start at a level that is comfortable for you and that won't stress you out. Speaking German all the time is exhausting if you're not used to it! You don't have to start at 100%.
What if I'm make mistakes? Will my child pick up on them?
Maybe, maybe not. If your child has other people who speak native German with her, she will most likely correct you. If you don't have access to other native speakers, she may learn a few incorrect things from you. But that's ok! You don't have to be a math professor to help your child with arithmetic. By the same token, you don't have to be fluent in German in order to teach it to your child.
Your child can always take a class later on and iron out any errors she's picked up. She'll still be way ahead of the rest of the class who are starting from scratch. Don't let your own inadequacy stop you from offering what you do know.
Parents can improve too, you know.
If your German is rusty, it will certainly improve with use. As you read children's books, you'll learn new vocabulary and sentence structure (really! I'm not kidding!) As you listen to audiobooks and CDs with your child, you'll hear correct pronunciation and your own listening comprehension will go way up.
The key is the consistency.
The critical component of this method, just like a successful diet, is that you have to stick with it. You can't do it for a week, stop for a week, and expect to pick up where you left off. You have to keep it up day in and day out in order to experience optimal learning for yourself and your child. Cheating on this diet will just sabotage your past efforts.
Summary
Even if you don't have Frau Schmidt to rely on and even if you're not a native speaker, you can still raise a bilingual kid. When German is on the menu day after day, you'll be on the right track to bilingualism.
But wait! You don't live in Minneapolis and there is no German immersion school in your area. There is no Frau Schmidt and if you want your daughter to speak German, it's largely up to you, non-native German speaker that you are.
Well, it may be up to you, but that doesn't mean it's an impossible goal. It just means you need to get on a German Diet.
What's a German Diet?
No, I'm not talking about Bratwurst and Bier (although enjoy them if you wish!). I'm talking about enjoying nutritious "servings" of German throughout the day. Serve a hearty helping of German Kinderlieder on the CD player in the morning. Share tasty Bilderbücher with your child after lunch. Pick a German time or two each day [liNK HERE] and give them a concentrated dose of conversation auf Deutsch. Hand out German DVDs like snacks after school. Your kids will eat them up!
Why does the German Diet work?
Like any good diet, the keys are patience and forming good habits. When you offer your kids some German every day and encourage them to participate with you, they will "digest" the language a bit at a time. Over time you'll start to see the fruit of your efforts - not in a healthier body but with a better grasp on German.
Lots of kids hear and use German in "helpings" throughout the day.
Kids in immersion school do get an extra large serving but they, too, may be switching back to English for some subjects. You may not be able to provide the German-filled diet these kids get but your own child will certainly benefit from a lighter offering.
How much German should I "serve"?
This is entirely up to you. Obviously the more German you can provide, the better. If you are not a native speaker, you may decide to start with an hour or two a day, broken up into a few sessions. You should start at a level that is comfortable for you and that won't stress you out. Speaking German all the time is exhausting if you're not used to it! You don't have to start at 100%.
What if I'm make mistakes? Will my child pick up on them?
Maybe, maybe not. If your child has other people who speak native German with her, she will most likely correct you. If you don't have access to other native speakers, she may learn a few incorrect things from you. But that's ok! You don't have to be a math professor to help your child with arithmetic. By the same token, you don't have to be fluent in German in order to teach it to your child.
Your child can always take a class later on and iron out any errors she's picked up. She'll still be way ahead of the rest of the class who are starting from scratch. Don't let your own inadequacy stop you from offering what you do know.
Parents can improve too, you know.
If your German is rusty, it will certainly improve with use. As you read children's books, you'll learn new vocabulary and sentence structure (really! I'm not kidding!) As you listen to audiobooks and CDs with your child, you'll hear correct pronunciation and your own listening comprehension will go way up.
The key is the consistency.
The critical component of this method, just like a successful diet, is that you have to stick with it. You can't do it for a week, stop for a week, and expect to pick up where you left off. You have to keep it up day in and day out in order to experience optimal learning for yourself and your child. Cheating on this diet will just sabotage your past efforts.
Summary
Even if you don't have Frau Schmidt to rely on and even if you're not a native speaker, you can still raise a bilingual kid. When German is on the menu day after day, you'll be on the right track to bilingualism.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Summer break coming soon
We're closing for summer break on Monday, August 4. If you'd like to order this weekend, please do so by Sunday at noon.
Any orders placed after noon on Sunday will be shipped on Monday, August 17.
Happy summer, everyone!
Any orders placed after noon on Sunday will be shipped on Monday, August 17.
Happy summer, everyone!
Monday, July 27, 2009
When kids respond in English, why not play the goof?
"Alle meine Entchen, schwimmen in den See, schwimmen in den See,
Köpfchen in das Wasser, Schwänzchen in das Bett."
At these last words, your child will probably take great delight in correcting you. "No, Mommy - Schwänzchen in die Höhe!" This is your cue to insist you are right and make further "enhancements" to the song. You make it even sillier. So then you sing "Alle meine Hunde, sitzen in das Auto, sitzen in das Auto, Nasen in meine Tasche, Schwänzchen auf den Boden." (or something equally funny and obviously falsch).
What is going on here? This is a quick instance of "playing the goof."
If your bilingual household has a large proportion of English in it, your child may respond mostly in English.
This is ok - if she is responding to your German, even if it's in English, it's an excellent sign that she understands what's being said. You should congratulate yourself on having made it to this point. However, if you've been at this stage for a while and you'd like to hear more German from your child, you may want to actively encourage her. After all, if she understands so well, she should be able to start actively using German. Sometimes kids need a little push.
That's when it's time to play the goof.
Playing the goof means that you take something very simple that they already know and mess it up. For instance, you sing "Alle meine Entchen" like I wrote at the top. Or you take a familiar poem and change a word or two. The more ridiculous, the better. You make it very obvious and invite them to correct you.
This game isn't just for songs. You can also do this by using the wrong word in a simple request. You can ask "Gib mir bitte die Katze" while pointing at the butter. When your child insists that the cat is on the floor and you're pointing to the butter, you again feign ignorance and insist that your child is pointing to a horse, not a cat. You get the picture. Some kids will find this game hilarious. And this is a good time to gently insist that they correct you in German. You can put a silly spin on this, too. "Wie bitte? Hast du Nase gesagt? Nein? Katze? Ich kann dich nicht verstehen."
How does playing the goof encourage kids to use German?
First of all, it makes them feel smart. This is important for a kid who may be a little insecure about speaking German. She knows the correct word and she probably won't hesitate to use it. This is a bit of an ice breaker for the reluctant German speaker. Plus, it's fun to correct Mom or Dad. Between school, music lessons, or sports, kids get corrected all the time. They like it when the tables are turned and they get to be the expert.
When you play the goof, everybody has fun.
Don't discount the value of fun when teaching your kids German! The more times you can find quick ways to have fun with the language, the more interested your kids will be and the more they will enjoy themselves.
Just don't overdo it.
Sometimes you will miss the unspoken signal that the game is over and your kids will roll their eyes at each other. Then it's time to leave the game for another time. You (and they) know they love it and will be very happy to giggle again later at how silly their mother is and how much German they know.
So be on the lookout for your next opportunity to play the goof. Your kids will love it and they won't even realize they're learning! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go sing a silly song.
Köpfchen in das Wasser, Schwänzchen in das Bett."
At these last words, your child will probably take great delight in correcting you. "No, Mommy - Schwänzchen in die Höhe!" This is your cue to insist you are right and make further "enhancements" to the song. You make it even sillier. So then you sing "Alle meine Hunde, sitzen in das Auto, sitzen in das Auto, Nasen in meine Tasche, Schwänzchen auf den Boden." (or something equally funny and obviously falsch).
What is going on here? This is a quick instance of "playing the goof."
If your bilingual household has a large proportion of English in it, your child may respond mostly in English.
This is ok - if she is responding to your German, even if it's in English, it's an excellent sign that she understands what's being said. You should congratulate yourself on having made it to this point. However, if you've been at this stage for a while and you'd like to hear more German from your child, you may want to actively encourage her. After all, if she understands so well, she should be able to start actively using German. Sometimes kids need a little push.
That's when it's time to play the goof.
Playing the goof means that you take something very simple that they already know and mess it up. For instance, you sing "Alle meine Entchen" like I wrote at the top. Or you take a familiar poem and change a word or two. The more ridiculous, the better. You make it very obvious and invite them to correct you.
This game isn't just for songs. You can also do this by using the wrong word in a simple request. You can ask "Gib mir bitte die Katze" while pointing at the butter. When your child insists that the cat is on the floor and you're pointing to the butter, you again feign ignorance and insist that your child is pointing to a horse, not a cat. You get the picture. Some kids will find this game hilarious. And this is a good time to gently insist that they correct you in German. You can put a silly spin on this, too. "Wie bitte? Hast du Nase gesagt? Nein? Katze? Ich kann dich nicht verstehen."
How does playing the goof encourage kids to use German?
First of all, it makes them feel smart. This is important for a kid who may be a little insecure about speaking German. She knows the correct word and she probably won't hesitate to use it. This is a bit of an ice breaker for the reluctant German speaker. Plus, it's fun to correct Mom or Dad. Between school, music lessons, or sports, kids get corrected all the time. They like it when the tables are turned and they get to be the expert.
When you play the goof, everybody has fun.
Don't discount the value of fun when teaching your kids German! The more times you can find quick ways to have fun with the language, the more interested your kids will be and the more they will enjoy themselves.
Just don't overdo it.
Sometimes you will miss the unspoken signal that the game is over and your kids will roll their eyes at each other. Then it's time to leave the game for another time. You (and they) know they love it and will be very happy to giggle again later at how silly their mother is and how much German they know.
So be on the lookout for your next opportunity to play the goof. Your kids will love it and they won't even realize they're learning! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go sing a silly song.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Why you must study German every day to become fluent.
If you have young children, you can probably cook dinner one-handed while balancing a baby on your hip, supervise a mischievous preschooler, and listen to a CD, all without breaking a sweat. Simple right? You do it every day, and without too much fuss. Your childless friends probably wonder how you do it all. But think back to when your first child was a newborn and everything took hours and required absolute concentration. Bathing your first newborn probably required at team of 2-3 adults and coordination rivaling an Indy 500 pit stop. And forget about finding the time to take cook a real dinner.
Learning to manage life as a new parent is exhausting and not just from lack of sleep. You're learning a whole new set of skills. This learning requires lots of practice before it becomes second nature.
In the same way, learning a second language requires lots of practice before it becomes second nature.
Of course you already knew this. No one expects to learn a new language overnight. But did you realize that how often you study is as important as what you study?
Daily practice is absolutely critical when learning a new language.
In some form or other, you must study daily in order to make your learning "stick." Whether it's reading, doing grammar exercises, having a conversation in German, or writing a letter, you absolutely must exercise these new German skills your brain is learning on a daily basis.
When you first learn a new fact, word, skill, etc., your brain ingests that information but after a while, it can only take so much and it starts to protest. That's why you get tired at the end of a German lesson or after reading a particularly challenging book. You don't need more sleep; you need to stop. Your brain is "full." And of course you're not going to remember or understand everything you just learned. But when you encounter the same concepts, words, and nuances the very next day, they're no longer new to you. Your brain recognizes them. "Hey! I've heard this before!" And this time the word, fact, or skill doesn't tire you out so much and you understand it a little better. This sense of familiarity makes German seem almost easy. When you wait too long to get back to your study, you'll start over at square one.
Your brain won't recognize the material as familiar and you'll go through the same struggle you did last time trying to memorize or understand a concept. Making your brain start back at square one is very tiring. Without daily practice, those new words that you were starting to remember, that grammar concept you thought you had mastered, or the verb you conjugated perfectly at the end of your last session is now a distant memory.
Daily practice isn't always easy.
Sure you'd love a few days off from being a new parent - imagine sleeping more than 3 hours in a row! And while you may leave the baby for an afternoon, you know without thinking twice that experienced parents are the result of hours and hours of dedicated and often thankless work and you cannot postpone your parenting duties until you are completely refreshed. The show must go on and through trial and error, parents figure out what works best and life settles down.
So, too, you may not want to open that German book or listen to that audio or go to class day after day. Hey, everyone needs a break now and then, don't they? Well, yes, sure but you can have your break when you're done studying . If you study a half an hour a day, you can take the rest of the day to allow your brain to digest the information you've learned and gear up for tomorrow's session. This means weekends, too! We're not talking about marathon training here! And once you've tried this for a while, you'll see the tremendous benefit you get from daily practice.
Getting started is the hardest part.
This is always the truth, isn't it? Whether it's getting out of bed early on a cold morning, giving a speech in front of a crowd or taking that jog, getting started is always the hardest. Once you're moving (or studying), it's not so bad and you're usually glad you did it, or at least glad it's over.
Daily practice is the secret to real progress whether you're a beginning German speaker or already very advanced.
This is why college language courses are usually scheduled for 4 or 5 days a week. This is why people who "dabble" in German a little here and there will eventually get bored or frustrated and give up. This is also why if you have made a commitment to improve your German, you need to practice every day!
Once again, don't forget:
1. Daily practice is essential.
2. Getting started is the hardest part.
If you want to learn German, be sure to add the critical ingredient of daily practice to your German study. Just like as a parent, you will gain skill with practice. You may be surprised at how fast you outgrow the beginner stage. And maybe you'll find out that you're zipping through your German lessons and German is fun!
Learning to manage life as a new parent is exhausting and not just from lack of sleep. You're learning a whole new set of skills. This learning requires lots of practice before it becomes second nature.
In the same way, learning a second language requires lots of practice before it becomes second nature.
Of course you already knew this. No one expects to learn a new language overnight. But did you realize that how often you study is as important as what you study?
Daily practice is absolutely critical when learning a new language.
In some form or other, you must study daily in order to make your learning "stick." Whether it's reading, doing grammar exercises, having a conversation in German, or writing a letter, you absolutely must exercise these new German skills your brain is learning on a daily basis.
When you first learn a new fact, word, skill, etc., your brain ingests that information but after a while, it can only take so much and it starts to protest. That's why you get tired at the end of a German lesson or after reading a particularly challenging book. You don't need more sleep; you need to stop. Your brain is "full." And of course you're not going to remember or understand everything you just learned. But when you encounter the same concepts, words, and nuances the very next day, they're no longer new to you. Your brain recognizes them. "Hey! I've heard this before!" And this time the word, fact, or skill doesn't tire you out so much and you understand it a little better. This sense of familiarity makes German seem almost easy. When you wait too long to get back to your study, you'll start over at square one.
Your brain won't recognize the material as familiar and you'll go through the same struggle you did last time trying to memorize or understand a concept. Making your brain start back at square one is very tiring. Without daily practice, those new words that you were starting to remember, that grammar concept you thought you had mastered, or the verb you conjugated perfectly at the end of your last session is now a distant memory.
Daily practice isn't always easy.
Sure you'd love a few days off from being a new parent - imagine sleeping more than 3 hours in a row! And while you may leave the baby for an afternoon, you know without thinking twice that experienced parents are the result of hours and hours of dedicated and often thankless work and you cannot postpone your parenting duties until you are completely refreshed. The show must go on and through trial and error, parents figure out what works best and life settles down.
So, too, you may not want to open that German book or listen to that audio or go to class day after day. Hey, everyone needs a break now and then, don't they? Well, yes, sure but you can have your break when you're done studying . If you study a half an hour a day, you can take the rest of the day to allow your brain to digest the information you've learned and gear up for tomorrow's session. This means weekends, too! We're not talking about marathon training here! And once you've tried this for a while, you'll see the tremendous benefit you get from daily practice.
Getting started is the hardest part.
This is always the truth, isn't it? Whether it's getting out of bed early on a cold morning, giving a speech in front of a crowd or taking that jog, getting started is always the hardest. Once you're moving (or studying), it's not so bad and you're usually glad you did it, or at least glad it's over.
Daily practice is the secret to real progress whether you're a beginning German speaker or already very advanced.
This is why college language courses are usually scheduled for 4 or 5 days a week. This is why people who "dabble" in German a little here and there will eventually get bored or frustrated and give up. This is also why if you have made a commitment to improve your German, you need to practice every day!
Once again, don't forget:
1. Daily practice is essential.
2. Getting started is the hardest part.
If you want to learn German, be sure to add the critical ingredient of daily practice to your German study. Just like as a parent, you will gain skill with practice. You may be surprised at how fast you outgrow the beginner stage. And maybe you'll find out that you're zipping through your German lessons and German is fun!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Why you need to tailor your pace when you read aloud
I used to drive a red 1996 VW Golf. I loved that car. What I loved most about that car was the manual transmission. Having the control to rev the engine in 3rd gear or downshift around corners was so much more fun than driving an automatic with its almost unnoticeable shifting.
Nowadays I drive an automatic, but I still find the need to control and fine tune my speed. My reading speed, that is. This concept of up- and downshifting is especially useful when reading aloud.
Kids will give clues when they need a change of speed.
Have you ever started reading a German book to your child only to be interrupted 50 times with "Ich verstehe nicht" (I don't understand), (I don't like this book) "Ich mag dieses Buch nicht," or (I'm hungry) "Ich habe Hunger." What your child is really saying to you is that you need to change your pace. The way you're reading the book isn't fitting his needs at that time.
Fit the reading to the child.
Just as you consider the child when you're selecting a book, you need to consider the child when you're setting the pace. Don't just read on "automatic." Get ready to shift. If you've got an antsy toddler on your lap, you will read differently than if you have a spellbound youngster who is glued to the page. Of course - you already knew that. But are you adjusting as needed during the reading?
If you follow these simple guidelines, you will find your reading sessions more enjoyable and more productive and have your kids asking for more.
Wiggle worms need to be actively involved.
If your listener is young and not likely to sit still for long, you're likely already choosing bright and colorful books to keep his attention. In addition, help keep him engaged by using different voices for the characters, asking him to find things in the picture or just turn to the next page for a change of scenery. He will reward you with more interest in the book and the reading session.
If he starts to fidget, the language may be too difficult for him.
In this case, you may choose to stop and explain a word or a concept or you may point to something in the picture that will help your child understand what's being said.
Simplify when needed.
There are no "read-aloud" police! Feel free to substitute simpler words, paraphrase, or skip entire sentences if the book is too challenging for your child. You can always read more at the next session. It's better to allow your child to enjoy a story and have a feeling of closure than to be frustrated and not want to listen in German the next time.
When you see the child's attention starting to drift, ask them a question to bring their attention back to the book. Ask them to find something in the picture or ask them about a character in the story. Ask them what they think will happen next.
Kids can listen and play at the same time.
Some kids may enjoy building with Legos or coloring while listening to stories. Some kids may be able to be moving all around the room and still pay attention to the story. Don't assume that they're not listening if they aren't sitting still. You may find they remember more and listen longer when they are engaged with an additional activity during storytime.
Stop before they tire out.
It is critical to stop reading before a child is over-extended or unhappy. You may find a few shorter reading sessions per day are more enjoyable than 1 long time. If you're reading a longer book and your listener is still engaged, you may choose to stop at a particularly exciting part to build suspense and keep her excited for the next time you sit down together.
You can use these techniques with kids of any age to make reading in German more enjoyable.
So next time you're reading to your kids, remember to pay attention to the "terrain" and speed up or downshift as needed. The ride will be so much more fun for you and your passengers!
Nowadays I drive an automatic, but I still find the need to control and fine tune my speed. My reading speed, that is. This concept of up- and downshifting is especially useful when reading aloud.
Kids will give clues when they need a change of speed.
Have you ever started reading a German book to your child only to be interrupted 50 times with "Ich verstehe nicht" (I don't understand), (I don't like this book) "Ich mag dieses Buch nicht," or (I'm hungry) "Ich habe Hunger." What your child is really saying to you is that you need to change your pace. The way you're reading the book isn't fitting his needs at that time.
Fit the reading to the child.
Just as you consider the child when you're selecting a book, you need to consider the child when you're setting the pace. Don't just read on "automatic." Get ready to shift. If you've got an antsy toddler on your lap, you will read differently than if you have a spellbound youngster who is glued to the page. Of course - you already knew that. But are you adjusting as needed during the reading?
If you follow these simple guidelines, you will find your reading sessions more enjoyable and more productive and have your kids asking for more.
Wiggle worms need to be actively involved.
If your listener is young and not likely to sit still for long, you're likely already choosing bright and colorful books to keep his attention. In addition, help keep him engaged by using different voices for the characters, asking him to find things in the picture or just turn to the next page for a change of scenery. He will reward you with more interest in the book and the reading session.
If he starts to fidget, the language may be too difficult for him.
In this case, you may choose to stop and explain a word or a concept or you may point to something in the picture that will help your child understand what's being said.
Simplify when needed.
There are no "read-aloud" police! Feel free to substitute simpler words, paraphrase, or skip entire sentences if the book is too challenging for your child. You can always read more at the next session. It's better to allow your child to enjoy a story and have a feeling of closure than to be frustrated and not want to listen in German the next time.
When you see the child's attention starting to drift, ask them a question to bring their attention back to the book. Ask them to find something in the picture or ask them about a character in the story. Ask them what they think will happen next.
Kids can listen and play at the same time.
Some kids may enjoy building with Legos or coloring while listening to stories. Some kids may be able to be moving all around the room and still pay attention to the story. Don't assume that they're not listening if they aren't sitting still. You may find they remember more and listen longer when they are engaged with an additional activity during storytime.
Stop before they tire out.
It is critical to stop reading before a child is over-extended or unhappy. You may find a few shorter reading sessions per day are more enjoyable than 1 long time. If you're reading a longer book and your listener is still engaged, you may choose to stop at a particularly exciting part to build suspense and keep her excited for the next time you sit down together.
You can use these techniques with kids of any age to make reading in German more enjoyable.
So next time you're reading to your kids, remember to pay attention to the "terrain" and speed up or downshift as needed. The ride will be so much more fun for you and your passengers!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Stocking your library without breaking the bank
If you've made German a priority for your family, you'll want to offer your children books and other media (CDs, DVDs) to support their learning. But German books can be expensive and it can be a bit intimidating to select something on a budget. Here are a few ways to get the most bang for your buck (or Euro).
Consider your home library an investment
First and foremost, understand that a commitment to a foreign language is going to require an investment in books. Most libraries don't have a selection of German books for children and so you'll probably have to build a home library yourself. Make sure that the quality of your library matches the priority you've set on bilingualism.
Plan for re-use.
If your preschooler demands to hear Der Buchstabenbaum 10 times, you've cut the cost / read to $1.34. If you play a Conni CD in the car twice a week for a month, the cost is negligible. If you have more than one child, you can pass on the books from one to the next.
Select quality over quantity
A few excellent stories published well-made books will provide you more value than a pile of cheap books that no one wants to read again.
Not all German books are expensive.
You can always find books and smaller titles that are under $30. This is comparable to most English books. This is comparable to most English books.
Consider compilations and collections.
While these books are more expensive than smaller volumes, you get many times the reading material. For instance, Das Grosse Buch zum Lesenlernen contains 4 stories and 110 pages compared with the individual Lesemaus zum Lesenlernen series which is half the price but contains 1/4 of the stories. Plus, compilations are usually hardcover which increases their durability.
Make sure the books you buy are ones that will interest your child
A favorite book will be read over and over and treasured by a child. Buying books in your child's favorite topics will help make it more likely that you'll pick a winner.
Request gift certificates
If you tell friends and family that you're building a German library, they may be glad to help you out with gift certificates for your children's birthdays.
Yes, furnishing your German library does take careful consideration and an investment of money.
But if bilingualism is your goal, than you're sure to find it an excellent use of your money.
Consider your home library an investment
First and foremost, understand that a commitment to a foreign language is going to require an investment in books. Most libraries don't have a selection of German books for children and so you'll probably have to build a home library yourself. Make sure that the quality of your library matches the priority you've set on bilingualism.
Plan for re-use.
If your preschooler demands to hear Der Buchstabenbaum 10 times, you've cut the cost / read to $1.34. If you play a Conni CD in the car twice a week for a month, the cost is negligible. If you have more than one child, you can pass on the books from one to the next.
Select quality over quantity
A few excellent stories published well-made books will provide you more value than a pile of cheap books that no one wants to read again.
Not all German books are expensive.
You can always find books and smaller titles that are under $30. This is comparable to most English books. This is comparable to most English books.
Consider compilations and collections.
While these books are more expensive than smaller volumes, you get many times the reading material. For instance, Das Grosse Buch zum Lesenlernen contains 4 stories and 110 pages compared with the individual Lesemaus zum Lesenlernen series which is half the price but contains 1/4 of the stories. Plus, compilations are usually hardcover which increases their durability.
Make sure the books you buy are ones that will interest your child
A favorite book will be read over and over and treasured by a child. Buying books in your child's favorite topics will help make it more likely that you'll pick a winner.
Request gift certificates
If you tell friends and family that you're building a German library, they may be glad to help you out with gift certificates for your children's birthdays.
Yes, furnishing your German library does take careful consideration and an investment of money.
But if bilingualism is your goal, than you're sure to find it an excellent use of your money.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Are your language goals sinking in the swamp of lost opportunity?
This year I fully intended to grow a vegetable garden.
Visions of juicy ripe tomatoes, crisp green beans and cool cucumbers filled my head. I perused the seed catalogs and checked out the large inventory of gardening paraphernalia in the garage. Winter turned to spring and spring turned to summer - what July already? Where had the first half of the year gone? And, you guessed, it, I was no closer to a vegetable garden than a lone potted tomato plant.
It's not hard to see where I went wrong.
I neglected to plan out my garden. All the dreams in the world won't plant a garden. It takes a little planning, preparation and timing to make it happen. The same is true when raising a bilingual family. If you don't plan your way to bilingualism, you may find time has slipped through your fingers and it's a lot harder to accomplish your goals than you expected.
Why should I plan?
To articulate your expectations, hopes and dreams.
When you say you're raising a bilingual family, what does that mean to you? Do you want your child to be able to converse as a tourist in a German-speaking country? Do you want him to be comfortable with German friends and family? Do you expect to move back to Germany in the future? Should he be able to read and write in German? Bilingualism has different levels and each family will have it's own set of goals. If you haven't thought about your goals, you may realize you're on a path that won't satisfy your expectations.
To get each parent's goals in the open.
If you haven't thought out and planned for your family's bilingualism, than how can your spouse know what you're working toward? When each parent participates in the planning process, you can work together to find the best expectations for your family. When everyone is on the same page, it's much easier to prioritize and budget for any materials you need, make decisions about schooling and plan overseas trips.
To see any gaps and fill them in.
It's a lot of work to raise a bilingual child and the more support you have the better. If there isn't a local community, you can plan upfront to substitute trips, German lessons or extra German language books. If you're not planning, you're just hoping that things will work out and you may be missing important work that you'll need to help your child progress toward your goal.
To give yourself and your family the best chance to achieve your goals.
If you write down a goal, you're more likely to make it happen. The act of writing it down makes your brain give it a whole lot more attention. When a goal is "on your radar screen" you'll be a lot more likely to work toward it.
OK - so how do I plan for bilingualism in my family?
Goal-setting and planning can be as simple as a conversation about hopes and dreams and a few sheets of paper. Pinpoint some language goals you'd like to see for your child's future. Consider reading, writing, conversation. How fluent would you like your child to be and can you realistically get them there? Then think about how to get there. Is there a German school nearby? Can you make regular trips to Germany? Do you have enough German books and CDs? Is there a German playgroup nearby or can you start one?
You should end your session with a few action items. Assign dates to them and give them top priority.
You may want to keep the notes from your brainstorming and planning session in a binder. You should update your goals and action items yearly. It's also nice to write up a progress report for your child every year or so. It will surely be fun in the future to look back and see how things have progressed.
But I hate to plan!
It can be intimidating to think about planning out such an important aspect of your family's future. But your plan doesn't have to be written in stone and you can always change it along the way to suit your needs. Remember, your plan is supposed to help you, not stress you out. In fact, this is another important benefit of a plan - it may bring up unrealistic expectations. If your goals and plan are causing you a lot of stress, you should revisit your plan and make some changes.
Think about it. If you are going on vacation, you don't just get in the car and drive in any random direction. No - you pick a destination, map your route, buy your tickets and pack your bags. Neglecting planning out your family's route to bilingualism is like going on vacation without a destination. You're likely to get lost.
How can I plan so far ahead?
You can only take your best guess. You don't have to write out a detailed plan for the next 15 years of your child's life. Your plan should fit your family and suit your needs. It can be as specific or as general as you want it to be. It will certainly change over time. But if you neglect to make a plan at all, you may not achieve your goals and you might not even realize it until it's too late.
Summary
1. Planning forces you to articulate your goals.
2. Planning gets parents on the same page.
3. Planning gives you a greater chance of success.
4. Look for gaps and fill them in.
5. Revisit your goals and plan yearly.
Planning now saves time later and rescues your goals from the swamp of lost opportunity.
This time next year, I plan to be harvesting a bumper crop of tomatoes. My garden planning will begin with plenty of time in the winter. But my planning for language goals has already begun. I want to give my kids the best possible chance at bilingualism that I can. How about you? Are you planning for bilingual success?
Visions of juicy ripe tomatoes, crisp green beans and cool cucumbers filled my head. I perused the seed catalogs and checked out the large inventory of gardening paraphernalia in the garage. Winter turned to spring and spring turned to summer - what July already? Where had the first half of the year gone? And, you guessed, it, I was no closer to a vegetable garden than a lone potted tomato plant.
It's not hard to see where I went wrong.
I neglected to plan out my garden. All the dreams in the world won't plant a garden. It takes a little planning, preparation and timing to make it happen. The same is true when raising a bilingual family. If you don't plan your way to bilingualism, you may find time has slipped through your fingers and it's a lot harder to accomplish your goals than you expected.
Why should I plan?
To articulate your expectations, hopes and dreams.
When you say you're raising a bilingual family, what does that mean to you? Do you want your child to be able to converse as a tourist in a German-speaking country? Do you want him to be comfortable with German friends and family? Do you expect to move back to Germany in the future? Should he be able to read and write in German? Bilingualism has different levels and each family will have it's own set of goals. If you haven't thought about your goals, you may realize you're on a path that won't satisfy your expectations.
To get each parent's goals in the open.
If you haven't thought out and planned for your family's bilingualism, than how can your spouse know what you're working toward? When each parent participates in the planning process, you can work together to find the best expectations for your family. When everyone is on the same page, it's much easier to prioritize and budget for any materials you need, make decisions about schooling and plan overseas trips.
To see any gaps and fill them in.
It's a lot of work to raise a bilingual child and the more support you have the better. If there isn't a local community, you can plan upfront to substitute trips, German lessons or extra German language books. If you're not planning, you're just hoping that things will work out and you may be missing important work that you'll need to help your child progress toward your goal.
To give yourself and your family the best chance to achieve your goals.
If you write down a goal, you're more likely to make it happen. The act of writing it down makes your brain give it a whole lot more attention. When a goal is "on your radar screen" you'll be a lot more likely to work toward it.
OK - so how do I plan for bilingualism in my family?
Goal-setting and planning can be as simple as a conversation about hopes and dreams and a few sheets of paper. Pinpoint some language goals you'd like to see for your child's future. Consider reading, writing, conversation. How fluent would you like your child to be and can you realistically get them there? Then think about how to get there. Is there a German school nearby? Can you make regular trips to Germany? Do you have enough German books and CDs? Is there a German playgroup nearby or can you start one?
You should end your session with a few action items. Assign dates to them and give them top priority.
You may want to keep the notes from your brainstorming and planning session in a binder. You should update your goals and action items yearly. It's also nice to write up a progress report for your child every year or so. It will surely be fun in the future to look back and see how things have progressed.
But I hate to plan!
It can be intimidating to think about planning out such an important aspect of your family's future. But your plan doesn't have to be written in stone and you can always change it along the way to suit your needs. Remember, your plan is supposed to help you, not stress you out. In fact, this is another important benefit of a plan - it may bring up unrealistic expectations. If your goals and plan are causing you a lot of stress, you should revisit your plan and make some changes.
Think about it. If you are going on vacation, you don't just get in the car and drive in any random direction. No - you pick a destination, map your route, buy your tickets and pack your bags. Neglecting planning out your family's route to bilingualism is like going on vacation without a destination. You're likely to get lost.
How can I plan so far ahead?
You can only take your best guess. You don't have to write out a detailed plan for the next 15 years of your child's life. Your plan should fit your family and suit your needs. It can be as specific or as general as you want it to be. It will certainly change over time. But if you neglect to make a plan at all, you may not achieve your goals and you might not even realize it until it's too late.
Summary
1. Planning forces you to articulate your goals.
2. Planning gets parents on the same page.
3. Planning gives you a greater chance of success.
4. Look for gaps and fill them in.
5. Revisit your goals and plan yearly.
Planning now saves time later and rescues your goals from the swamp of lost opportunity.
This time next year, I plan to be harvesting a bumper crop of tomatoes. My garden planning will begin with plenty of time in the winter. But my planning for language goals has already begun. I want to give my kids the best possible chance at bilingualism that I can. How about you? Are you planning for bilingual success?
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
How to teach your kids about German culture even if you didn't grow up there.
What do fireworks on the Fourth of July, baseball games, knock-knock jokes, the Pledge of Allegiance all have in common? They are all very typisch American things, and all things that you might not understand or fully appreciate if you didn't grow up in the United States. Cultural things like this allow us to have a shared experience even with a person we've just met.
A language learned without some cultural aspects is like a pancake without the baking powder.
It may have 99% of the right ingredients but without this key aspect, it will be flat. In the same way, if you want your children to fully understand the German language, you must also teach them German culture. Kids need to learn that learning German is not just another way of speaking - it's intertwined with a whole different world. Germany and Europe are different than the U.S. They have different values and norms. Kids need to know a bit about Germany's history within Europe, that pretzels are much loved in Bavaria, and about how stores and restaurants have much different hours than in the U.S. Things like this make a place so much more interesting for us and make the language come alive.
Culture is a tricky subject to teach, especially if you don't know a lot about it yourself.
If you've only spent minimal time in a German-speaking country, chances are good that you don't know a whole lot about German culture yourself. The good news is that you can seek it out and learn it together if you keep your eyes open and make it a priority to learn.
Holidays are a great place to start.
Food, music, crafts, activities - holidays are ready-made cultural learning experiences. You and your children can immerse yourselves in the sights, sounds and smells of traditional German activities. Take the time to ask a German relative or immigrant about their memories of a particular holiday or event.
When reading books, look out for cultural differences that you can point out to your children.
Even if you something is new to you, you can point it out and discuss it, perhaps making a note to research a bit later. The Lesemaus series is a great place to look for culture. In Ich habe einen Freund, der ist Bäcker, you learn about all sorts of baking and many traditional German baked goods are mentioned. The corner bakery is as common in Germany as a convenience store in America. These little bakeries are everywhere! Pretzels are produced piping hot on the hour. School children pick them up on their way home in the afternoon. This is a topic you can discuss with your children.
Keep an eye out for the opportunity to point out German culture
You may discover an aspect that is completely new to you, yet that is common knowledge to many Germans (and Swiss and Austrians) and have that much richer of an experience for it.
Would you like a headstart in discussing culture?
Our Trip to Germany Unit Study is a great way to introduce culture to your children. Books, lessons, activities, and websites are all coordinated in this extended unit study.
A language learned without some cultural aspects is like a pancake without the baking powder.
It may have 99% of the right ingredients but without this key aspect, it will be flat. In the same way, if you want your children to fully understand the German language, you must also teach them German culture. Kids need to learn that learning German is not just another way of speaking - it's intertwined with a whole different world. Germany and Europe are different than the U.S. They have different values and norms. Kids need to know a bit about Germany's history within Europe, that pretzels are much loved in Bavaria, and about how stores and restaurants have much different hours than in the U.S. Things like this make a place so much more interesting for us and make the language come alive.
Culture is a tricky subject to teach, especially if you don't know a lot about it yourself.
If you've only spent minimal time in a German-speaking country, chances are good that you don't know a whole lot about German culture yourself. The good news is that you can seek it out and learn it together if you keep your eyes open and make it a priority to learn.
Holidays are a great place to start.
Food, music, crafts, activities - holidays are ready-made cultural learning experiences. You and your children can immerse yourselves in the sights, sounds and smells of traditional German activities. Take the time to ask a German relative or immigrant about their memories of a particular holiday or event.
When reading books, look out for cultural differences that you can point out to your children.
Even if you something is new to you, you can point it out and discuss it, perhaps making a note to research a bit later. The Lesemaus series is a great place to look for culture. In Ich habe einen Freund, der ist Bäcker, you learn about all sorts of baking and many traditional German baked goods are mentioned. The corner bakery is as common in Germany as a convenience store in America. These little bakeries are everywhere! Pretzels are produced piping hot on the hour. School children pick them up on their way home in the afternoon. This is a topic you can discuss with your children.
Keep an eye out for the opportunity to point out German culture
You may discover an aspect that is completely new to you, yet that is common knowledge to many Germans (and Swiss and Austrians) and have that much richer of an experience for it.
Would you like a headstart in discussing culture?
Our Trip to Germany Unit Study is a great way to introduce culture to your children. Books, lessons, activities, and websites are all coordinated in this extended unit study.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Giving my children the bilingual advantage.
I've been speaking to my children in German and English since they were born. The reasons for this are many. My husband immigrated from Germany and we wanted our children to understand and embrace their roots. Their grandparents don't speak English. These are really important reasons. But beyond this aspect of culture and heritage, is the cognitive advantage bilingualism will give my children.
Being bilingual teaches kids to be more flexible in their thinking
Bilingual kids are familiar with two different sets of grammar rules (even if they don't explicitly understand them). They are used to perceiving more subtle differences and nuances than monolingual children and are found to be more aware of meaning and structure in language since they experience so much more language input. A monolingual child only has to deal with one set of sounds when she's learning to speak. Bilingual kids will eventually have to differentiate when to use a German pronunciation for a word and when an English one is required. All this boils down to a higher level of flexibility and awareness that kids may extend to other areas of their lives (math, logic, etc.).
Bilingual kids can see that the world goes beyond just the United States.
Children who speak more than one language inherently understand that there is a wide variety of people in this world and not everyone speaks English. Their bilingualism may make them feel a bit different at first but many kids soon realize that their knowledge of two languages is something special.
How can I help my children become bilingual?
The best thing you can do is to start as early as possible. An early start helps establish habits you'll be able to carry on as your children grow. If you already speak German (or another language), you have a huge headstart, but it's not an absolute requirement. Many parents decide to learn a language right along with their children. You can create an at-home immersion environment with books, CDs, DVDs in German. If there are other German-speakers in the area, find out about social opportunities, join a German school or join (or start up) a German playgroup.
How do I know that this will work with my child?
Well, it all depends on your own circumstances and the level of immersion you'll be able to provide your child. Children have been growing up with 2 or more languages for thousands of years! It's not a new trend and it doesn't require expensive software or advanced study. If you or a family member is bilingual (or even has some compentance), start conversing in German, reading books, listening to music. Let it grow from there.
Won't learning two languages confuse my child?
Children have an amazing ability to learn languages almost effortlessly. You see it in a language explosion of a monolingual child from ages 2-4. It seems they they learn new words and phrases every day! Some children may mix their languages together for a time and others differentiate from a very early age. Even if a child mixes languages, it doesn't mean that the child is confused. It just means that perhaps he couldn't think of the right word in the target language so he substituted what he did know. For most kids, this sorts itself out on its own. I recently interviewed a mother of bilingual toddlers and she noted that her children have always used the "correct" language when speaking (German with her, English with her husband).
Consistency is key
The most important thing to do is to be consistent with your language usage. If you choose to speak German 100% of the time with your kids, than try as much as possible to stick with that. Some families speak German at home and switch to English when they're out and about. Others speak German at breakfast and then switch to English for the rest of the day. Whatever you can do to ensure regular German input on a consistent basis will help to move your children along the road to a greater knowledge of German.
You won't regret it!
So to help kids think "outside the box" and gain a greater understanding of the world around them, help them to become bilingual. You'll be giving them a lifelong headstart in so many areas while providing connections to the past and other places. It is a great investment of time and energy but I guarantee that you won't regret it.
For more information on bilingual parenting, see 7 Steps to Raising a Bilingual Child, available from Alphabet Garten.
Being bilingual teaches kids to be more flexible in their thinking
Bilingual kids are familiar with two different sets of grammar rules (even if they don't explicitly understand them). They are used to perceiving more subtle differences and nuances than monolingual children and are found to be more aware of meaning and structure in language since they experience so much more language input. A monolingual child only has to deal with one set of sounds when she's learning to speak. Bilingual kids will eventually have to differentiate when to use a German pronunciation for a word and when an English one is required. All this boils down to a higher level of flexibility and awareness that kids may extend to other areas of their lives (math, logic, etc.).
Bilingual kids can see that the world goes beyond just the United States.
Children who speak more than one language inherently understand that there is a wide variety of people in this world and not everyone speaks English. Their bilingualism may make them feel a bit different at first but many kids soon realize that their knowledge of two languages is something special.
How can I help my children become bilingual?
The best thing you can do is to start as early as possible. An early start helps establish habits you'll be able to carry on as your children grow. If you already speak German (or another language), you have a huge headstart, but it's not an absolute requirement. Many parents decide to learn a language right along with their children. You can create an at-home immersion environment with books, CDs, DVDs in German. If there are other German-speakers in the area, find out about social opportunities, join a German school or join (or start up) a German playgroup.
How do I know that this will work with my child?
Well, it all depends on your own circumstances and the level of immersion you'll be able to provide your child. Children have been growing up with 2 or more languages for thousands of years! It's not a new trend and it doesn't require expensive software or advanced study. If you or a family member is bilingual (or even has some compentance), start conversing in German, reading books, listening to music. Let it grow from there.
Won't learning two languages confuse my child?
Children have an amazing ability to learn languages almost effortlessly. You see it in a language explosion of a monolingual child from ages 2-4. It seems they they learn new words and phrases every day! Some children may mix their languages together for a time and others differentiate from a very early age. Even if a child mixes languages, it doesn't mean that the child is confused. It just means that perhaps he couldn't think of the right word in the target language so he substituted what he did know. For most kids, this sorts itself out on its own. I recently interviewed a mother of bilingual toddlers and she noted that her children have always used the "correct" language when speaking (German with her, English with her husband).
Consistency is key
The most important thing to do is to be consistent with your language usage. If you choose to speak German 100% of the time with your kids, than try as much as possible to stick with that. Some families speak German at home and switch to English when they're out and about. Others speak German at breakfast and then switch to English for the rest of the day. Whatever you can do to ensure regular German input on a consistent basis will help to move your children along the road to a greater knowledge of German.
You won't regret it!
So to help kids think "outside the box" and gain a greater understanding of the world around them, help them to become bilingual. You'll be giving them a lifelong headstart in so many areas while providing connections to the past and other places. It is a great investment of time and energy but I guarantee that you won't regret it.
For more information on bilingual parenting, see 7 Steps to Raising a Bilingual Child, available from Alphabet Garten.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Announcing a Trip to Germany!
Have you been wishing for a trip to Germany this summer but it's just not in the cards? Well, why not join us instead?
No, this is not a real trip - this is a virtual trip that you take with your kids right in the comfort of your own home on your own time, and for way less than the cost of a plane ticket.
Grab your books and get ready to depart.
Grab your books and get ready to depart.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Non-native German with Hugo
Sarah interviews Laura Hoyer who is speaking non-native German with her two-year old son, Hugo.
Sarah: Hi Laura, thanks for taking the time to do an interview with me. So you have a two-year-old, right?
Laura: Yes, he just turned two in March. Hugo.
Sarah: Same age as my Jack pretty much…
Laura: Well, I have to say, I love your website! I don’t know what I would do without it.
Sarah: Really? Oh, fantastic!
Laura: Yeah, because before it, I guess you’d have to order it somewhere else, right? But yet you have it all there, it’s so organized, I love it.
Sarah: Oh, thank you! That’s fantastic. How long have you been a customer?
Laura: For two years. My mom found you actually. I don’t know how – she lives in New Jersey also and I think it was something to do with a New Jersey link or maybe you were in the paper… I don’t know what it was, but she found it, and she did the first order, and then I’ve been addicted ever since.
Sarah: Oh, wow, that’s so cool! Yeah, it’s undergone a lot of changes and we’re working really hard to kind of take it to the next level and really serve, especially people like you who are not native German speakers. I think that’s where we try to bring a lot of value – just to help you make things easy to find books that are going to be great and exciting, and you don’t have to wait for the stuff to come from Germany.
Laura: Exactly. And you give a good description, too, so it’s just easy. Easy shopping.
Sarah: Wow, that’s great to hear.
Laura: Yeah, I love it.
Sarah: That’s what I’m going for.
Laura: You’re doing everything right, so don’t worry.
Sarah: Oh, wow, well thank you. There’s always room for improvement, but thanks! So you said that you speak some German, your mom’s from Germany, is that right?
Laura: Right, so she watches him two or three days a week, and she speaks almost all exclusively German.
Sarah: Oh, that’s fantastic!
Laura: Yeah, so then I do half and half. You know, when I’m tired, I just give up. But my husband, he doesn’t speak any German at all. But I have to say he’s learning so much just from hearing me speak to him, having to read the books to him and everything. So it’s funny – he’s picking up a lot.
Sarah: Wow, that’s cool. So did your mom speak German to you growing up, or like half and half?
Laura: Not really. A little bit, and then, I have a younger brother, and when he came along, she didn’t do anything anymore really. I don’t know why, but yes, she didn’t, so she’s definitely making up with it with Hugo.
Sarah: Well, so how did you learn German then?
Laura: I guess it started with my mom a little bit, and then, in school. And then, even after school, then I joined like a little speaking group and reading group. It was small, there were only about four or five other people in there, so it was great. And I did that all the way up until Hugo was born. So that was the way I got my German exposure. And now that I don’t have that anymore I really notice. It takes a while to learn it, but then it goes away so quick.
Sarah: Right, definitely. Was that like a weekly thing or monthly thing?
Laura: Yeah, once a week. Once a week after work. Yeah, it was really fun. We’d have a bottle of wine, and we’d talk about – it was pretty much a reading group, you know, like a book club, let’s say, but in German.
Sarah: So you tried to conduct the whole thing in German, and you had a book that went along with it.
Laura: Yes. The leader of the group was from Germany. You know, she taught it pretty much as a class, too. She’d correct us during our conversation. I’d like to get back to it again one of these days, but I just don’t have the time now.
Sarah: Right, you’re working a couple of days a week?
Laura: Yes, I try to keep it part time.
Sarah: So how does Hugo respond? Does he answer in German?
Laura: Yes, he does mostly in German, but also in English too. But you can tell he understands it all, even when he answers in English. He definitely understands.
Sarah: Wow, that’s fantastic. What was his first German word?
Laura: “Nein”, of course! (laughing)
Sarah: (laughing) “Nein”
Laura: And it’s still a favorite word …
Sarah: Jack’s favorite word right now is “Wow.” He does that all the time – “Wow” – I guess I must say that a lot.
Laura: Maybe he’s easily impressed. That’s good.
Sarah: Yeah, I guess so. Maybe I’m kind of animated I guess when I’m looking at stuff, little kids are like, I might say that a lot.
Laura: You don’t realize that until they repeat it back to you, right?
Sarah: I definitely heard myself there. It’s all over his speech, it’s so funny.
Laura: They’re little parrots, right? They just repeat everything.
Sarah: One thing that I had done with the older kids too, but I hadn’t done it so much with Jack… If they said something in English, I’d just ask them to repeat it in German.
Laura: Oh, that’s a good idea!
Sarah: If he says, “Look at this!” Then I’ll say, “Ja, sag’ mal – ‘Schaul mal, Mommy’ ” – and then he says it right back to me. He’s in this really receptive parrot stage, so that’s really cool to hear him use the German words and then sometimes he tries to use them again.
Laura: I’ve noticed that too. With Hugo.
Sarah: So why did you want him to speak German? What are your goals, what are you hoping for?
Laura: Well, I really just wanted him to be familiar with another language. Because I feel that then down the road it will be easier for him to learn another language. Plus, I figured it would be nice if he understands and can communicate when we visit our relatives in Germany, you know. And I figure, it’s the best time to get started when they’re young.
Sarah: Absolutely. It’s so much harder when you wait.
Laura: Yes, and it’s really working out.
Sarah: Really?
Laura: I wasn’t sure if it was going to work but I started from the very beginning from when he was a baby and I’d read books to him in German, so I don’t know, so far, so good.
Sarah: So do you speak German with your mom, then, when the three of you are together?
Laura: We try to. So then he hears that too. But it is kind of difficult sometimes, because my German is not so great, I stumble a lot, and I make too many mistakes. And then, like you said, he’s a parrot, he’ll repeat the mistake. Then my mom will come over and say, oh, no, that’s not right.
Sarah: You kind of have to back up a little bit.
Laura: That’s definitely the challenging part, but I’m trying to keep with it, you know.
Sarah: So that’s been your biggest challenge?
Laura: Yes, definitely my biggest challenge.
Sarah: Getting to the same level that you want to be at.
Laura: And then, I’m a little worried – what’s going to happen, you know, in the future, but we shall see.
Sarah: Yeah, well, and if you have your mom, too, then she can keep you on track. He’ll hear from her, too. I’ve heard that if kids have one model of a good accent and proper grammar, then they’ll pick out the mistakes. He might start correcting you in a couple of years.
Laura: I’m sure he will. A little blow to the ego, right? (laughs)
Sarah: Exactly. (laughs) Keeps you humble.
Laura: What about your kids too, are they all at the same level? For their age?
Sarah: Well, we’ve found that as they got older, more and more English is sneaking in.
Laura: I’ve heard that from a lot of people, that it’s hard, because of school.
Sarah: We’re homeschooling too, so I don’t know if that’s helping in some ways, but in other ways, it’s a hindrance. I have to talk to them in English when I’m talking about math, or our curriculum is in English so … I’m actually working to try and find ways that we can start to do more formal German because we’re really lacking in that area right now. We haven’t talked about grammar or spelling or anything like that.
Laura: So you haven’t found a good book for that? For their age group?
Sarah: Um, there are lots of good books, I just haven’t really started using them. I like to just really read real books. Look for whatever we’re interested in, we’re really into nature right now, so we’ve got lots of bug books, bird books, stuff like that. We try to read those kinds of things and pick up that kind of vocabulary.
Laura: And then you hope the grammar follows.
Sarah: Right, exactly. And I think we will probably do formal stuff, maybe starting next year. My eight-year-old will be nine by then.
Laura: That’s probably a good year to start.
Sarah: We’re just trying to formalize it a little bit more. Right now, it’s a little bit less structured than I think I want. Actually we have some new things we’re working on with Alphabet Garten to have more lessons, but with a theme, so kids can learn more. Our next topic is going to be a trip to Germany, so we’re going to have lots of things surrounding that – you know, what would you do if you took a trip to Germany, and looking at maps, and talking about the culture and the customs.
Laura: Oh, that’s really good. That’s also a nice on-going project, too.
Sarah: Right.
Laura: Yeah, that is exciting. I love how you’re doing outdoor stuff because spring is in the air, right?
Sarah: We’re outside all the time, it’s so fun. So, you know, there’s always room for improvement, right?
Laura: True.
Sarah: They do understand quite a bit, and they speak to the two-year-old in German, which is nice. They know that’s what he understands better. So if they really want him to respond, then they’ll say, “Nein, mach das nicht!” I’ve also heard some people, they’ll tell their older kid, when the baby is born, “The baby does not understand English, so you have to speak German to this baby.”
Laura: Oh, I like that!
Sarah: Yeah, then they grow up speaking only German, especially if they have a really strong base, they grow up only speaking German amongst each other. So that’s a useful trick to do.
Laura: I can imagine. There is a little girl in our class who only speaks German. And she hasn’t even really heard much English yet. So she’s really lucky in that way. Because you hear that once they start school or they join activities, then the English comes naturally.
Sarah: Right. Well, you want it to come eventually but you want to postpone it as long as possible
Laura: Yeah, definitely.
Sarah: To get the German a chance to take hold, really.
Laura: I have to say, those books have been so useful. Hugo loves books so I only buy books in German. He gets gifts that are in English, but when I buy them, I only buy in German. And so he relates to characters and he repeats what was read to him, so it helps him, and it actually helps me, too. I mean, it’s improved my vocabulary. For words that I would never even think about using before.
Sarah: Which are his favorite books? What kinds of books do you read?
Laura: Oh, his favorites. He has so many favorites. Recently, I just bought Eins, zwei, drei, Tier – do you remember that one? He loves it, he has it memorized, that’s how much he liked it. So in the car, we go through it, you know, so it’s kind of fun. You know the very first one, Erste Bilder, Erste Wörter book? Right from the beginning, and he still loves it. Because he likes to compare the pictures in the book to real life. And the Mini Lesemaus series – he loves those. Also the Max series, we have a few of those.
Sarah: Let’s see – Max und der Schnuller. Yeah, those are so cute.
Laura: Yeah, they’re very cute. Oh, what’s the one with Jakob?
Sarah: Schlaf gut, Jakob.
Laura: That’s also a favorite. There’s so many, but that’s definitely the top hits.
Sarah: Excellent. So you guys just read those over and over again? Pick up the words from there.
Laura: Yes, it’s just amazing how quick he picks it up. I don’t know, just how he relates to it in real life. But you know what, I haven’t tried the DVDs yet because he just recently pays attention to TV – he never had any interest in it at all. So that’s going to be next on my list, I think. Getting a few DVDs.
Sarah: Now do you have a multi-region DVD player?
Laura: No, but I saw that you did, so I’m thinking I might as well get that one.
Sarah: It’s nice because if they’re going to watch TV eventually anyways, then they might as well watch in German, right?
Laura: Yeah, exactly. Oh, and also, speaking of DVDs, we recently discovered Sesame Street. I got those little Sesame Pixi books that you have.
Sarah: Aren’t they great?
Laura: Yes, those are really good. And he loves them. So yeah, any more Sesame Street, that would be great.
Sarah: There’s like a new Big Bird movie which I’m going to get. There have been some other Sesame Street ones but they went out of print. But there is a full length Big Bird movie. So that one should be coming. [Note: the German Big Bird DVD is now available.] There are a lot of Sesame Street fans out there.
Laura: They’re completely clued in to the kids. The first time he saw it, he was into it.
Sarah: You said that when you were shopping, you love the website. Did you have any hesitations initially about ordering?
Laura: Oh, no, I didn’t at all. But then again, like I said, my mom ordered first. And she passed it on to me.
Laura: When I placed my first order, no, I didn’t. And like I said, it was really easy to find, I went right to the board books, and the age group. And it was easy to scroll through.
Sarah: Did you have a hard time deciding which ones to buy?
Laura: I guess, at first. But now I’m so familiar with it, but it was a little overwhelming at first. And also, what’s really good for a baby? But now that he’s older, it’s definitely easier. But sometimes I glance at the other categories to see what’s ahead.
Sarah: Right, lots of good stuff coming up. Let’s see, now, you said he’s going to German school too, right?
Laura: Yes, on Saturdays. He loves it; they sing, do little dances, and they do crafts. He has a great time. That is also good for me as well. All the other mothers or grandmothers, fathers that are there, most of them are native speakers, so that is great for me to learn too.
Sarah: So you’re getting to use your German there too.
Laura: I think we’re lucky that we have this German school so close.
Sarah: Here’s a good question - do you have any advice for someone starting out – maybe again not a native speaker, a little hesitant about whether or not they can do this with their child – do you have any words of advice?
Laura: I just feel that when they’re so young they’re so receptive, and I feel that even if you don’t have a huge vocabulary or your grammar is not so great that anything you do know you can teach them and they will pick it up. And even if you aren’t, I see with my husband, he reads the books, and he picks things up. So even if you aren’t a native speaker or you’re not that fluent, there are still things for kids to learn.
Sarah: Absolutely. Well, is there anything that we could offer – anything that would be useful to you in terms of helping to either learn more German?
Laura: One thing that’s been good already is the list you put of what to do when you’re disciplining them, that was really good. I picked up some things in there. Anything like that. And I also love the flashcards, just keep on adding to that.
Sarah: Okay, absolutely.
Laura: That was really helpful. Or anything you find that you say a lot during the day.
Sarah: Yes, I like the lists, I need to do more lists.
Laura: The lists are great. Oh, and I told you the Mini Lesemaus is the favorite around here. Have you gotten feedback from anyone else on that series?
Sarah: Yes, everybody loves that one. It’s a total hit. It’s probably one of the favorites, because it’s so sturdy, and you have the words isolated.
Laura: It’s just the right length for their attention span.
Sarah: I think the size of the books is pretty good too.
Laura: Yeah, that’s true. You know, the Sesame Street Pixis, they’re almost too small.
Sarah: Yeah, the Pixis are paperback, a little more destructible. So what about CDs? Have you guys listened to any CDs?
Laura: No, we haven’t actually. You know, I should look on your site and see what you have.
Sarah: Those are so fun, and so easy, because all you have to do is listen. And then you have it on in the car and you listen to it, you know, ten times, and it just sinks into your head.
Laura: That’s great. Well, I hope I gave you enough information.
Sarah: Absolutely. Like I said, I’m so glad you like the site!
Laura: Yes, it’s great.
Sarah: Thank you for your time.
Bilingual Families Wanted!
We are always looking for new families to interview! Even if you are not a native speaker of German and don't consider yourself to be bilingual, we'd still love to chat. It's quick, painless, and lots of fun! Plus, we'll send you a free book for participating.
If you'd like to be interviewed on our blog, please send an e-mail to thea (at) alphabet-garten.com .
Sarah: Hi Laura, thanks for taking the time to do an interview with me. So you have a two-year-old, right?
Laura: Yes, he just turned two in March. Hugo.
Sarah: Same age as my Jack pretty much…
Laura: Well, I have to say, I love your website! I don’t know what I would do without it.
Sarah: Really? Oh, fantastic!
Laura: Yeah, because before it, I guess you’d have to order it somewhere else, right? But yet you have it all there, it’s so organized, I love it.
Sarah: Oh, thank you! That’s fantastic. How long have you been a customer?
Laura: For two years. My mom found you actually. I don’t know how – she lives in New Jersey also and I think it was something to do with a New Jersey link or maybe you were in the paper… I don’t know what it was, but she found it, and she did the first order, and then I’ve been addicted ever since.
Sarah: Oh, wow, that’s so cool! Yeah, it’s undergone a lot of changes and we’re working really hard to kind of take it to the next level and really serve, especially people like you who are not native German speakers. I think that’s where we try to bring a lot of value – just to help you make things easy to find books that are going to be great and exciting, and you don’t have to wait for the stuff to come from Germany.
Laura: Exactly. And you give a good description, too, so it’s just easy. Easy shopping.
Sarah: Wow, that’s great to hear.
Laura: Yeah, I love it.
Sarah: That’s what I’m going for.
Laura: You’re doing everything right, so don’t worry.
Sarah: Oh, wow, well thank you. There’s always room for improvement, but thanks! So you said that you speak some German, your mom’s from Germany, is that right?
Laura: Right, so she watches him two or three days a week, and she speaks almost all exclusively German.
Sarah: Oh, that’s fantastic!
Laura: Yeah, so then I do half and half. You know, when I’m tired, I just give up. But my husband, he doesn’t speak any German at all. But I have to say he’s learning so much just from hearing me speak to him, having to read the books to him and everything. So it’s funny – he’s picking up a lot.
Sarah: Wow, that’s cool. So did your mom speak German to you growing up, or like half and half?
Laura: Not really. A little bit, and then, I have a younger brother, and when he came along, she didn’t do anything anymore really. I don’t know why, but yes, she didn’t, so she’s definitely making up with it with Hugo.
Sarah: Well, so how did you learn German then?
Laura: I guess it started with my mom a little bit, and then, in school. And then, even after school, then I joined like a little speaking group and reading group. It was small, there were only about four or five other people in there, so it was great. And I did that all the way up until Hugo was born. So that was the way I got my German exposure. And now that I don’t have that anymore I really notice. It takes a while to learn it, but then it goes away so quick.
Sarah: Right, definitely. Was that like a weekly thing or monthly thing?
Laura: Yeah, once a week. Once a week after work. Yeah, it was really fun. We’d have a bottle of wine, and we’d talk about – it was pretty much a reading group, you know, like a book club, let’s say, but in German.
Sarah: So you tried to conduct the whole thing in German, and you had a book that went along with it.
Laura: Yes. The leader of the group was from Germany. You know, she taught it pretty much as a class, too. She’d correct us during our conversation. I’d like to get back to it again one of these days, but I just don’t have the time now.
Sarah: Right, you’re working a couple of days a week?
Laura: Yes, I try to keep it part time.
Sarah: So how does Hugo respond? Does he answer in German?
Laura: Yes, he does mostly in German, but also in English too. But you can tell he understands it all, even when he answers in English. He definitely understands.
Sarah: Wow, that’s fantastic. What was his first German word?
Laura: “Nein”, of course! (laughing)
Sarah: (laughing) “Nein”
Laura: And it’s still a favorite word …
Sarah: Jack’s favorite word right now is “Wow.” He does that all the time – “Wow” – I guess I must say that a lot.
Laura: Maybe he’s easily impressed. That’s good.
Sarah: Yeah, I guess so. Maybe I’m kind of animated I guess when I’m looking at stuff, little kids are like, I might say that a lot.
Laura: You don’t realize that until they repeat it back to you, right?
Sarah: I definitely heard myself there. It’s all over his speech, it’s so funny.
Laura: They’re little parrots, right? They just repeat everything.
Sarah: One thing that I had done with the older kids too, but I hadn’t done it so much with Jack… If they said something in English, I’d just ask them to repeat it in German.
Laura: Oh, that’s a good idea!
Sarah: If he says, “Look at this!” Then I’ll say, “Ja, sag’ mal – ‘Schaul mal, Mommy’ ” – and then he says it right back to me. He’s in this really receptive parrot stage, so that’s really cool to hear him use the German words and then sometimes he tries to use them again.
Laura: I’ve noticed that too. With Hugo.
Sarah: So why did you want him to speak German? What are your goals, what are you hoping for?
Laura: Well, I really just wanted him to be familiar with another language. Because I feel that then down the road it will be easier for him to learn another language. Plus, I figured it would be nice if he understands and can communicate when we visit our relatives in Germany, you know. And I figure, it’s the best time to get started when they’re young.
Sarah: Absolutely. It’s so much harder when you wait.
Laura: Yes, and it’s really working out.
Sarah: Really?
Laura: I wasn’t sure if it was going to work but I started from the very beginning from when he was a baby and I’d read books to him in German, so I don’t know, so far, so good.
Sarah: So do you speak German with your mom, then, when the three of you are together?
Laura: We try to. So then he hears that too. But it is kind of difficult sometimes, because my German is not so great, I stumble a lot, and I make too many mistakes. And then, like you said, he’s a parrot, he’ll repeat the mistake. Then my mom will come over and say, oh, no, that’s not right.
Sarah: You kind of have to back up a little bit.
Laura: That’s definitely the challenging part, but I’m trying to keep with it, you know.
Sarah: So that’s been your biggest challenge?
Laura: Yes, definitely my biggest challenge.
Sarah: Getting to the same level that you want to be at.
Laura: And then, I’m a little worried – what’s going to happen, you know, in the future, but we shall see.
Sarah: Yeah, well, and if you have your mom, too, then she can keep you on track. He’ll hear from her, too. I’ve heard that if kids have one model of a good accent and proper grammar, then they’ll pick out the mistakes. He might start correcting you in a couple of years.
Laura: I’m sure he will. A little blow to the ego, right? (laughs)
Sarah: Exactly. (laughs) Keeps you humble.
Laura: What about your kids too, are they all at the same level? For their age?
Sarah: Well, we’ve found that as they got older, more and more English is sneaking in.
Laura: I’ve heard that from a lot of people, that it’s hard, because of school.
Sarah: We’re homeschooling too, so I don’t know if that’s helping in some ways, but in other ways, it’s a hindrance. I have to talk to them in English when I’m talking about math, or our curriculum is in English so … I’m actually working to try and find ways that we can start to do more formal German because we’re really lacking in that area right now. We haven’t talked about grammar or spelling or anything like that.
Laura: So you haven’t found a good book for that? For their age group?
Sarah: Um, there are lots of good books, I just haven’t really started using them. I like to just really read real books. Look for whatever we’re interested in, we’re really into nature right now, so we’ve got lots of bug books, bird books, stuff like that. We try to read those kinds of things and pick up that kind of vocabulary.
Laura: And then you hope the grammar follows.
Sarah: Right, exactly. And I think we will probably do formal stuff, maybe starting next year. My eight-year-old will be nine by then.
Laura: That’s probably a good year to start.
Sarah: We’re just trying to formalize it a little bit more. Right now, it’s a little bit less structured than I think I want. Actually we have some new things we’re working on with Alphabet Garten to have more lessons, but with a theme, so kids can learn more. Our next topic is going to be a trip to Germany, so we’re going to have lots of things surrounding that – you know, what would you do if you took a trip to Germany, and looking at maps, and talking about the culture and the customs.
Laura: Oh, that’s really good. That’s also a nice on-going project, too.
Sarah: Right.
Laura: Yeah, that is exciting. I love how you’re doing outdoor stuff because spring is in the air, right?
Sarah: We’re outside all the time, it’s so fun. So, you know, there’s always room for improvement, right?
Laura: True.
Sarah: They do understand quite a bit, and they speak to the two-year-old in German, which is nice. They know that’s what he understands better. So if they really want him to respond, then they’ll say, “Nein, mach das nicht!” I’ve also heard some people, they’ll tell their older kid, when the baby is born, “The baby does not understand English, so you have to speak German to this baby.”
Laura: Oh, I like that!
Sarah: Yeah, then they grow up speaking only German, especially if they have a really strong base, they grow up only speaking German amongst each other. So that’s a useful trick to do.
Laura: I can imagine. There is a little girl in our class who only speaks German. And she hasn’t even really heard much English yet. So she’s really lucky in that way. Because you hear that once they start school or they join activities, then the English comes naturally.
Sarah: Right. Well, you want it to come eventually but you want to postpone it as long as possible
Laura: Yeah, definitely.
Sarah: To get the German a chance to take hold, really.
Laura: I have to say, those books have been so useful. Hugo loves books so I only buy books in German. He gets gifts that are in English, but when I buy them, I only buy in German. And so he relates to characters and he repeats what was read to him, so it helps him, and it actually helps me, too. I mean, it’s improved my vocabulary. For words that I would never even think about using before.
Sarah: Which are his favorite books? What kinds of books do you read?
Laura: Oh, his favorites. He has so many favorites. Recently, I just bought Eins, zwei, drei, Tier – do you remember that one? He loves it, he has it memorized, that’s how much he liked it. So in the car, we go through it, you know, so it’s kind of fun. You know the very first one, Erste Bilder, Erste Wörter book? Right from the beginning, and he still loves it. Because he likes to compare the pictures in the book to real life. And the Mini Lesemaus series – he loves those. Also the Max series, we have a few of those.
Sarah: Let’s see – Max und der Schnuller. Yeah, those are so cute.
Laura: Yeah, they’re very cute. Oh, what’s the one with Jakob?
Sarah: Schlaf gut, Jakob.
Laura: That’s also a favorite. There’s so many, but that’s definitely the top hits.
Sarah: Excellent. So you guys just read those over and over again? Pick up the words from there.
Laura: Yes, it’s just amazing how quick he picks it up. I don’t know, just how he relates to it in real life. But you know what, I haven’t tried the DVDs yet because he just recently pays attention to TV – he never had any interest in it at all. So that’s going to be next on my list, I think. Getting a few DVDs.
Sarah: Now do you have a multi-region DVD player?
Laura: No, but I saw that you did, so I’m thinking I might as well get that one.
Sarah: It’s nice because if they’re going to watch TV eventually anyways, then they might as well watch in German, right?
Laura: Yeah, exactly. Oh, and also, speaking of DVDs, we recently discovered Sesame Street. I got those little Sesame Pixi books that you have.
Sarah: Aren’t they great?
Laura: Yes, those are really good. And he loves them. So yeah, any more Sesame Street, that would be great.
Sarah: There’s like a new Big Bird movie which I’m going to get. There have been some other Sesame Street ones but they went out of print. But there is a full length Big Bird movie. So that one should be coming. [Note: the German Big Bird DVD is now available.] There are a lot of Sesame Street fans out there.
Laura: They’re completely clued in to the kids. The first time he saw it, he was into it.
Sarah: You said that when you were shopping, you love the website. Did you have any hesitations initially about ordering?
Laura: Oh, no, I didn’t at all. But then again, like I said, my mom ordered first. And she passed it on to me.
Laura: When I placed my first order, no, I didn’t. And like I said, it was really easy to find, I went right to the board books, and the age group. And it was easy to scroll through.
Sarah: Did you have a hard time deciding which ones to buy?
Laura: I guess, at first. But now I’m so familiar with it, but it was a little overwhelming at first. And also, what’s really good for a baby? But now that he’s older, it’s definitely easier. But sometimes I glance at the other categories to see what’s ahead.
Sarah: Right, lots of good stuff coming up. Let’s see, now, you said he’s going to German school too, right?
Laura: Yes, on Saturdays. He loves it; they sing, do little dances, and they do crafts. He has a great time. That is also good for me as well. All the other mothers or grandmothers, fathers that are there, most of them are native speakers, so that is great for me to learn too.
Sarah: So you’re getting to use your German there too.
Laura: I think we’re lucky that we have this German school so close.
Sarah: Here’s a good question - do you have any advice for someone starting out – maybe again not a native speaker, a little hesitant about whether or not they can do this with their child – do you have any words of advice?
Laura: I just feel that when they’re so young they’re so receptive, and I feel that even if you don’t have a huge vocabulary or your grammar is not so great that anything you do know you can teach them and they will pick it up. And even if you aren’t, I see with my husband, he reads the books, and he picks things up. So even if you aren’t a native speaker or you’re not that fluent, there are still things for kids to learn.
Sarah: Absolutely. Well, is there anything that we could offer – anything that would be useful to you in terms of helping to either learn more German?
Laura: One thing that’s been good already is the list you put of what to do when you’re disciplining them, that was really good. I picked up some things in there. Anything like that. And I also love the flashcards, just keep on adding to that.
Sarah: Okay, absolutely.
Laura: That was really helpful. Or anything you find that you say a lot during the day.
Sarah: Yes, I like the lists, I need to do more lists.
Laura: The lists are great. Oh, and I told you the Mini Lesemaus is the favorite around here. Have you gotten feedback from anyone else on that series?
Sarah: Yes, everybody loves that one. It’s a total hit. It’s probably one of the favorites, because it’s so sturdy, and you have the words isolated.
Laura: It’s just the right length for their attention span.
Sarah: I think the size of the books is pretty good too.
Laura: Yeah, that’s true. You know, the Sesame Street Pixis, they’re almost too small.
Sarah: Yeah, the Pixis are paperback, a little more destructible. So what about CDs? Have you guys listened to any CDs?
Laura: No, we haven’t actually. You know, I should look on your site and see what you have.
Sarah: Those are so fun, and so easy, because all you have to do is listen. And then you have it on in the car and you listen to it, you know, ten times, and it just sinks into your head.
Laura: That’s great. Well, I hope I gave you enough information.
Sarah: Absolutely. Like I said, I’m so glad you like the site!
Laura: Yes, it’s great.
Sarah: Thank you for your time.
Bilingual Families Wanted!
We are always looking for new families to interview! Even if you are not a native speaker of German and don't consider yourself to be bilingual, we'd still love to chat. It's quick, painless, and lots of fun! Plus, we'll send you a free book for participating.
If you'd like to be interviewed on our blog, please send an e-mail to thea (at) alphabet-garten.com .
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