Are you bringing up your kids as bilingual ?

[CEOCambodiaNews]

What language do you speak at home with your kids ? Is it the same language that your partner uses ? Are the children at ease in both languages ?

Raising a multilingual family is hard – what makes it work?
30 May 2018
Parents have many reasons for raising their children with multiple languages. Some hope for better career opportunities for their offspring, while others focus on the reported cognitive and intellectual benefits of learning an additional tongue, including better attention skills, improved memory, and a quicker decision-making process. Still others, such as the writer Ben Faccini in Aeon, want to fight against the worldwide dominance of the English language.

Finally, for countless families, multilingualism is simply a way of life, a tradition that they want to bestow on their children. But no matter what the motivation behind the parents’ desire for giving their children a multilingual upbringing, the questions and worries are the same. How can I manage to teach my child all these languages? What is the best method for achieving this goal? And how can I stand firm against the challenges and difficulties that inevitably come with raising a family that differs from ‘the norm’?
https://aeon.co/ideas/raising-a-multili ... es-it-work

[phuketrichard]

my daughter was raised speaking thai an english and than studied Chinese for 5 years in International school
since moving to the states, she has lost her Chinese but still retains her Thai
Speaking 2 or more languages in this day an age is great, as is holding dual nationality...

[kiwiincambodia]

My kids speak khmer and English. They also learn Chinese for an hour a day 4 days a week as part of their school curriculum.

[Barang chgout]

My eldest is bilingual, he speaks to his mother and myself.
The youngest has no such skill and only speaks to his mother....

Sent from my SM-G570Y using Tapatalk

[Kammekor]

Bringing up your kid(s) as bilingual is quite easy when they're young - just speak your mother-tongue to them and they will get it, but as they get older it gets more difficult because then it involves reading, writing, grammar, etc etc.

Since the day my kid was born I've always spoken my mother-tongue - so the kid speaks two languages now and learns English in kindergarten. So that makes three. Every afternoon we sit down for 30 minutes to read simple stories and write simple words and sentences. So far, so good, as long as there's time to sit down and study every day.

[phuketrichard]

Just an add on;
Daughter is Bilingual, but only now uses her thai in thai restaurants in the states

Was speaking with a good friend over lunch the other day...
How many of you all have had ur kids leave where they grow up, to go to uni
and come back?
Wont apply those with young kids......(Yet)

Out of all my daughters friends, ( or kids of friends of mine) that left thailand after HS graduation to go to UK, USA, Australia for uni, less than 10% returned to live/work. So, although on paper it sounds great to speak 2 languages in reality>>>>

One friend of mine raised their Canadian kids in HK and Phuket, speak, read, write perfect Mandarin, yet both remained in Australia after uni.

[Duncan]

All four of the girls that I have/am raising speak reasonably good English . I dont even try to communicate to them in Khmer so they get plenty of practice with their English. The second oldest , a 16 yo , has been taken out of the English school and has been studying Chinese for the last year or so, but still studies Khmer in the morning session, and when the two youngest 7 and 9 years get to about 15 yo I will do the same with them .

I think the one thing that has helped them a lot especially in English is the use of their Samsung Tablets. There is just soo much for them to do with them and with my 9 yo , English is becoming her first language of choice where she not only speaks it but you can have a good conversation with her.

[phuketrichard]

All four of the girls that I have/am raising speak reasonably good English . I dont even try to communicate to them in Khmer so they get plenty of practice with their English. The second oldest , a 16 yo , has been taken out of the English school and has been studying Chinese for the last year or so, but still studies Khmer in the morning session, and when the two youngest 7 and 9 years get to about 15 yo I will do the same with them .

I think the one thing that has helped them a lot especially in English is the use of their Samsung Tablets. There is just soo much for them to do with them and with my 9 yo , English is becoming her first language of choice where she not only speaks it but you can have a good conversation with her.

so; i assume their future, since they only speak reasonable english, is in Cambodia?
PUSH the Chinese if their gong to stay in Cambodia!!

Any of u all have ur kids in international school?
or are you all raising them to remain in Cambodia, where having english and Chinese would be fantastic.

[hanno]

My oldest daughter is fluent in VN and English, studying at a UK uni now. My other daughter, as well as the Missus' kids, grow up bilingual, with the two older ones going to Khmer school in the morning and International school in the afternoon.

[Duncan]

All four of the girls that I have/am raising speak reasonably good English . I dont even try to communicate to them in Khmer so they get plenty of practice with their English. The second oldest , a 16 yo , has been taken out of the English school and has been studying Chinese for the last year or so, but still studies Khmer in the morning session, and when the two youngest 7 and 9 years get to about 15 yo I will do the same with them .

I think the one thing that has helped them a lot especially in English is the use of their Samsung Tablets. There is just soo much for them to do with them and with my 9 yo , English is becoming her first language of choice where she not only speaks it but you can have a good conversation with her.

so; i assume their future, since they only speak reasonable english, is in Cambodia?
PUSH the Chinese if their gong to stay in Cambodia!!

Any of u all have ur kids in international school?
or are you all raising them to remain in Cambodia, where having english and Chinese would be fantastic.

Your assumption is wrong,, They are Khmer and speak Khmer.

At only 7, 9 and 16 years their English is way better than many uni students I have spoken to. Cannot comment on the 16 yo's Chinese , but she's in the top 20 % of her class in the test results.