FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Help, my toddler is not talking yet ! Are we asking too much of him?

It is quite normal for the multilingual child to start speaking a little later than the monolingual child and to muddle up his languages in the beginning. All you need is patience. You are not asking too much of him. In many countries multilingual upbringing is the standard.

Both parents come from the same country, but wish to bring up their children bilingually.

This, too is possible and it does make sense. After all, pre-school age is ideal for learning languages and nowadays it is practically essential for students to learn a foreign language sooner or later, so why not learn it sooner? Here's a relevant link from my collection : Bilingual Parenting in a Foreign Language

Our second language is a fairly "unimportant" language.

It is always worthwhile teaching your language to your child. When visiting relatives at home as well as when teaching your child about the culture of his 'roots', you certainly will not regret the extra effort.

Where can I buy foreign books, Videos, CD's etc?

The cheapest source might be to ask grandmother or auntie at home. If you are looking for English books in Germany, I have a recently opened an internet shop: http://www.superbooks.de . Maybe later I will include books in other languages.

My child is refusing to speak his second (weaker) language

This is usually just a phase, that will have to be overcome, if at all possible without loosing your usual routine of speaking both languages. Try to stay calm, you will not be able to force your child to speak this language. What you can do is to carry on speaking your language to him, if he is still small, offer good night stories, Videos, CD's etc only in this language. A holiday in your native country or a visit from relatives might just do the trick to get him back in the mood.

Should we teach our child to write in his second language?

I have often heard of German/British and German/American children who can speak perfect English, but at school it turns out, they cannot write the language very well at all. Should children be taught to write in their second language as soon as they learn to write at school?

Personally, I think everyone has to decide for themselves, whether their children are up to the extra work.

As for learning English in Germany, English is not usually seriously taught before secondary education. When our daughter was at primary school, she started to read simple English books. Now she has just started Grammar School half a year ago, she finds can spell most of the English words they learn (in their normal German EFL class), as she has picked up the spelling through reading. The few remaining words, she memorizes during class.