Introducing Maria...The Joys of Having a Native German Speaker in Our Home

I haven't blogged for a while. Sometimes, life is just so full of experiences that you just have to live them and enjoy them and there just isn't time to sit down at your computer and write a blog post. End of May and beginning of June are busy, event-filled weeks around our home. We've been busy with track meets, high school graduation, open-house, yard work, many fun family outings, mission calls, and so much more. And all this activity just hasn't left much time for blogging.
But all that said, I've been itching to blog about our special visitor from Germany. Her name is Maria. Her mother is a friend of mine, who contacted me a while back asking me if her daughter could stay with us for a month. So, after working out all the logistics, Maria arrived on May 22nd. We have been absolutely delighted to have her in our home. She hit it off with the kids right away! It was amazing to see how quickly the three little ones just fell in love with her. The very first day she was in our home, she developed a special bond with the three little kids...like she was their long, lost sister. She constantly reads them books, plays games (tag, board games, tickle games, etc) with them, and just hangs out with them. She also immediately bonded with the older kids. It's been fun to hear Maria and the girls giggling and laughing up in their room. They get along great and have had so much fun together. It's been amazing to see how seamlessly Maria has integrated into our family. She's probably been one of the easiest house guests we've ever had. She's sweet, gracious, obliging, considerate and helpful and a delight to have in our home.
Because Maria would like to improve her English while she's here in the states, I am trying to always speak English to her. I do slip sometimes and we fall back into German. But most of the time we communicate in English. However, she and the little ones always speak German to each other. So, basically, Maria is following our family's language habits: English among big people and German to little people. And the little people continue to speak German among themselves.
Language Help:
Maria has been a great help when it comes to correcting several of our ingrained German errors. Over the years we have come up with a few expressions and words which are not quite correct...and I am very aware of this. Because we are isolated from native German speakers and because none of us are actually "native born" German speakers, we have developed some incorrect language habits over the years. For example, if someone is silly, we might refer to them as "komisch". However, Maria pointed out that "komisch" has a much more negative connotation and suggested we use "lustig". She also (very sweetly) points out little errors that the kids are making. For example, they often get "wissen" (to know) and "kennen" (to be acquainted with) mixed up. They often say "Weisst du diese Frau?" (do you know (as in know about) this lady) instead of "Kennst du diese Frau?" (are you acquainted with this lady). These are mistakes that I am aware of and could easily correct, but sometimes I just don't make the effort. Also, I've noticed that when Maria corrects their German, they are much more enthusiastic about learning correct German, because "Maria weiss Alles!" (Maria knows everything).
We're sad that we only have a few days left before Maria leaves. It certainly has been a fun experience having her in our home. She has helped us all speak better German and, hopefully, we've been able to help her improve her English. But most of all, we're grateful to have forged a wonderful and lasting friendship. We will miss our Maria when she leaves.

Maria has her first piece of pie.

Maria experiences Dallin's high school graduation.

Maria and the twins hang out in the hammock. Clarissa loves to just sit and talk with Maria.

Maria is a great book reader. 

We take Maria on all our family excursions (including the beach).

French Fridays: Je mange une pomme! Fun with Little Pim!

For the past several months, my little kids have been doing half public school and half homeschool--meaning that I pull them out of public school two days a week so that we can work on our German and French. My goal in German is to have them reading and writing at approximately the same level in German as they are in English. This isn't really that hard, since they're using basically the same "reading skills" in both English and German. It just takes time...time which we can never find after they've spent a whole day at school. My goal for French is much simpler. Since my French is pretty limited, I basically just want to expose them to as much French as possible while they are young. Why French? Because it's the only other language I'm familiar with (I took a few semesters in college) and also because my husband also speaks some French. And why do I want to even teach them a third language? Well, I guess it's because they are at a great age to soak up languages. Being bilingual already, they totally understand the concept of "language". They understand that there are many different ways to express an idea. They are fascinated with foreign languages. They light up when they hear someone speaking Spanish at the store. They immediately recognize it as Spanish and start rattling off the five Spanish words they know in an effort to prove to me that they can speak Spanish. So, why not expose them to French right now? They're interested and they're primed to learn.
I have a French curriculum that I've been using. It's called La Petite Pierre. It's a French curriculum for German elementary students. But recently, I checked out the Little Pim DVDs from the library to supplement our French lesson on food. The Little Pim videos are very simple and repetitive. I really like them because they not only introduce and review vocabulary, but also help teach how to put that vocabulary into simple sentences so that the kids can actually use the new vocab.
Below, you can see my twins watching and interacting with the Little Pim video.  I've put out some food and drinks to help them practice some of the vocab. My goal is to get them to not only listen and watch the DVD, but also for them to produce language themselves. It's fun to see their little brains working so hard as they process the language. Although, they can only say a few things in French, they are under the impression that they can speak quite well. If you asked them what languages they speak, they would say German and French. They are quite proud of the fact that they have learned (some) French. And I'm thrilled that they are learning and enjoying languages.

Learning to read in two languages simultaneously has benefits!

As my first grader and two Kindergartners are learning to read, write and spell in English at our local elementary school, I am simultaneously working with them at home to teach them how to read and write in German. I ordered a 1st grade German school curriculum, Piri by Klett, which I really like. At home, during our German "homeschool" sessions, we are learning the sounds of the German alphabet and also how to sound out words and how to write sentences. It's fun to see them making progress. We're also working on reading skills.

Some people might wonder if learning to read in two languages is difficult for a child. Does one language system interfere with the learning of the other system? Does learning both languages at the same time delay learning in both languages? Well, I have found the opposite to be true. I can't speak for all languages, but I have found that learning to read in both German and English simultaneously has only helped my kids. There are so many reading skills that transfer between and strengthen both languages. To learn to read means that a child needs to make a connection between symbols, sounds, and meaning. That very process is happening in both languages. I have been amazed at how seldom my kids mix the two languages. If they are reading in German, they pronounce things in their German accent and according to how that letter is pronounced in German. Now and then, they'll get a little confused, but very rarely. For instance, the letters W and V are a little tricky. The German W is pronounced like the English V and the German V is pronounced like the English F. This can be a little troublesome and confusing. But, these incongruities haven't been huge stumbling blocks in their reading development. Once they're immersed in reading a certain language, their mind switches into that language's syntax and phonological rules. If they come across a word that is spelled the same in both languages, like Baby or Computer, they will pronounce it correctly for the language that they are currently using. 

I love seeing how the reading skills that they are learning at school are helping them read (in German) at home. As they learn how to better blend sounds in English at school, I also see their ability to blend sounds in German improve. And as we work on dividing big German words into syllables, I see them applying some of these same strategies with English words. 

I love this quote that I found on the University of Calgary website:

According to Rahat Naqvi from the Faculty of Education, “Research also indicates that elementary school aged children can benefit from reading in two languages at the same time without hindering their ability to be effective readers in English. Multilingual literacy interventions in mainstream schools, such as dual language books, build on children’s first and second languages.” - See more at: http://arts.ucalgary.ca/news/research-shows-children-can-learn-multiple-languages-simultaneously#sthash.FmiuGNLE.dpuf

As long as the kids are eager to learn to read, I suggest taking advantage of this desire. Encourage them to read in both (or all) languages that they speak. There are so many overlapping skills that they are able to apply to both languages. It just makes sense for them to be practicing these skills in both languages. Although there may be a small amount confusion or mixing of languages at first, I have found that it is minor and that it works itself out quickly. In the meantime, the kids are able to get a much better grasp of both (or all) languages and will enjoy all the benefits of biliteracy at an early age. What a great gift!

New Featured Non-Native Bilingual Family!

In an effort to try and connect the many families who are raising children in a language that is non-native to the parents, we are featuring some of these families on our new website:

Bringing Up Bilingual Babies

Enriching the Lives of Children and Families through

Non-Native Bilingual Parenting

This month's featured family consists of Tamara, Geoff and their daughter Kaya. They are very familiar to most non-native bilingual bloggers since Tamara has been blogging her non-native bilingual journey for many years now. Tamara and Geoff are both native English speakers residing in the United States. Tamara is successfully raising their daughter in her non-native German.

Tamara was kind enough to share some of her experiences and advice in an article that we recently posted. I loved her last piece of advice, which basically was to worry less and enjoy more. I think that is one of the best gems of wisdom that could be passed on to any parent who is
embarking on the journey of non-native bilingual parenting.

Read Tamara's article: Tamara and Geoff

Link to Tamara's Blog: Non-Native Bilingualism

It has been so enjoyable for me to learn about other families who are also raising their children in a foreign language. I love seeing the similarities. So many of us have worried, stressed and fretted about similar situations and have enjoyed the same feelings of success as our children have blossomed and have grown to love and understand another culture, language and people.