bilingual children: comprehension and production

Fri Feb 22 13:33:05 UTC 2013

Dear Elena, Laura, Annick, All,

I have been reading the recent messages on bilingualism with great (largely
personal) interest. My personal interest concerns my grandson who is now 4
and soon 5. I can give an answer relating to pronounciation, accent.

Elliot, my grandson, has heard English and German at home from birth. His
mother is German, his father British. He speaks German fluently. The usual
home language is English (they live in London). My daughter (his mother)
spoke in German and English to him for some time - about his first two
years. And German is spoken between my daughter and me when I visit,
usually once a week (both native speakers of German). As with Laura's son
Elliot's first words were German, but when he started with English and went
to nursery from 2 1/2 he did not want to speak German any more, sometimes
also complaining when my daughter and I speak German.

Last summer I did a German course for Kindergartners from Goethe Institut
with him. He enjoyed that and remembers the words and phrases very well. I
did not think he would. But he still does now although we have not
practised them.

What is very noticable is that he has almost no English accent in his
German. He has always been able to pronounce Umlaut and "ch" - the usual
difficulties English people have. As regards the schwa at the end of words
which is "a" with an English accent, he does this sometimes, but when I
repeat the word or answer him in German, and he repeats the word it become
the German schwa immediately. His pronounciation - if it does show English
influences - become native German in no time. I relate that to the fact
that he has heard German from baby onwards.

I am at a bit of a loss how to continue with his German now, and I would be
grateful if anyone has an idea.
He has started school - as they do in England at the early age of 4 years.
That means they do some form of writing. Elliot enjoys it. If I continue
with the Goethe Institue German course for primary school children, it
would require writing. But children don't start school and writing till 6
in Germany. I do not want to confuse Elliot's phonological - graphological
system. The relation between sound and letters is pretty straightforward in
German, whether there are any regularities in English and what they do at
school, escapes me. (They seem to start with some regularities. How English
children learn the relations between sound and letters escapes me, too).
However, Elliot wants me to write words in German, and it does not seem to
confuse him. He particularly likes the "eyes" on vowels with Umlaut. So, I
may be able to continue.

What my daughter and I do now is that we create situations - i.e. having
breakfast, playing with forest animals in a forest and speak in simple
German sentences. Elliot tends to answer in English, but does say single
words in German. He understands the actions. I also read from an attractive
book with pictures: first a phrase in German, then in English. As he enjoys
the characters and stories in the book, he likes this and answers to simple
questions in German by pointing or answering in English.

Regarding a total immersion, it would be possible next year in the summer.
But then he will be six. Just possible for Kindergarten in Germany. But
would it work at the age of 6?

Elliot definitely understands quite a bit of German. But he has a
reluctance to speak except for single words.

Does anyone have any ideas what to do? I would be grateful.

Elliot has a baby brother now, 7 months. My daughter wants to start with
German again and attend a German play group in London, once a week. We
think Elliot might join in (in some form) if we speak German with his
little brother, as he likes him a lot.

Regards,
Gisela

On Fri, Feb 22, 2013 at 9:58 AM, Elena Lieven <lieven at eva.mpg.de> wrote:

>  I am interested in what these children's accent was like in the language
> that 'suddenly switched on'.  Do they need to have produced it to sound
> initially like a native speaker?  One child I know also refused to speak
> English, though she was spoken to exclusively in English by her father who
> was the main carer from 1;0 - 3;0. But the family lives in Germany, the
> mother spoke German to the child, the child went to German daycare and both
> parents are almost native speakers in both languages.  She understood
> English perfectly but only started to be willing to speak it around the age
> of 5 or 6 - and she had, and to some extent still has, a German accent in
> English
>
> elena lieven
>
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-- 
Prof Gisela Szagun PhD BSc

www.giselaszagun.com

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