Much to my dismay, my 5 year-old daughter does not speak English. As an English-speaking (a.k.a ‘anglo’) Montreal native, this is really quite devastating.
How did this happen?
My 2 boys were born in the UK. Although we never really discussed things, it was clear: my French husband would speak to the boys in French, and I would speak to them in English. They grew up beautifully bilingual, with a gorgeous British accent that they have sadly lost since our move back to Canada 7 years ago.
Law in Quebec is such that kids must attend school in French except in certain exceptional circumstances. We would have sent them to French school regardless. So, at the time our daughter was born, the boys were speaking French amongst themselves, she started attending French daycare, and was spending a lot of quality time with her French grandparents. I can’t quite put my finger on it or remember why, but alas, I started to speaking to her in French, too. That was a huge mistake.
When I later realized the error of my ways and started speaking to her in English, she would look up at me with big, confused eyes, so I backed down and reverted to her familiar French. Mistake number 2.
When I decided, ok, bedtime stories would be in English, she would complain and cry that she didn’t understand. So I started doing simultaneous translation, in the hopes she would understand and not give up. Mistake number 3 (I think). From that moment on, I could not read her a story in English without hearing her ‘en français, aussi, maman!’ (in French, too, mummy!)
How heartbreaking it’s been for me to see her shy away from all the stories her brothers (and I!) loved to read together, simply because they were in English. What a disservice I have done her!
I recently bought this treasury of classic picture books, determined that, if anything, storytime was going to have to be in English.
How she loves Ludwig Bemelman’s Madeline! She has asked for it over and over, loves the illustrations, loves the rhymes, and stops me every once in a while to ‘recite’ it.
Pointing to the 12 little girls, she’ll say: 2 straight lines, with a funny accent I’m going to ignore for now…
For the last couple of evenings, she’s run to the Treasury, picked it up on her own without complaining ‘pas en anglais!!!’, and begged for Madeline. I am beyond thrilled. Her enthusiasm seems to be growing for a few other stories in the same Treasury, as well, so I feel we have accomplished something huge.
Hurray for Madeline, who says ‘Poo-poo’ to the tiger in the zoo! Thank you so much, M. Bemelman.
ReadAloudDad has a great post about Madeline here: http://www.readalouddad.com/2011/03/terrific-treasuries-mad-about-madeline.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ReadAloudDad+%28Read+Aloud+Dad%29
Hi Michelle!
Thanks for leaving such a nice comment on my web site!
By the way, I can’t believe how many common points we have.
First, would you believe now that I recently reviewed the 20th Century Children’s Book Treasury? Incredible. Yes, it’s a great resource for parents. You can see my review here: http://www.readalouddad.com/2011/01/how-to-save-money-buying-new-childrens.html
But the similarities don’t end there. We are also a two-language family – and the trick for success is the following: One Parent, One Language – Under All Conditions!!
If you slip up, or you start raising bilingual kids relatively late – the best crutch that you can use is – children’s books to support the weaker language. Exactly what you are doing! Do that consistently and with a great variety of books, so your daughter will WANT English. And from there it’s a downhill walk.
When we started the bilingual policy in our family, I was inspired by a newspaper article that I read. Let me share it with you:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/aug/15/bilingual-family-french-children
I’d love to know if it helps!
Read Aloud Dad
Thanks so much for your comments, ReadAloudDad. Of course I knew you had reviewed the Treasury, I bought it from your site after reading your great review http://www.readalouddad.com/2011/01/how-to-save-money-buying-new-childrens.html !
I did not realize you were a 2-language household, as well. What a great gift it is to the kids when it works! :-) I am working very hard, she is making much progress. And YES, storytime in English.
Look forward to more of your great reviews, and I think I am just going to have to buy that Madeline Treasury now!
Michelle!
Shame on me, I forgot my Canada Day! There is no explanation – how could I forget my first Canadian order?
“Afraid of a disaster, I’m typing fast and faster…”
Well, the Canada flag went up again today with a link to your blog!
This year it’s Canada Day x 2 on Read Aloud Dad
Read Aloud Dad sat in bed,
cried and cried – his eyes were red.
PS About the bilingual part, don’t forget its also great to use English also in situations that you may normally avoid it: when you are angry, in the middle of the night, outside the house, when your kid is sick, when guests are around…. The less exceptions you make, the better. It just proves to your daughter that it is a language that has equal footing in your house.
PS2 It get’s easier when they start to play along, after 5-6 months of your efforts!
Michelle,
I follow Read Aloud Dad’s blog, which is how I found my way to your blog. I’ve enjoyed reading several of your posts this evening. I think what you and Read Aloud Dad are doing to raise bilingual kids is fantastic. I wish that my husband and I had the language skills necessary to have done that with our three children, but my Spanish is rusty and my husband’s French is rudimentary. I was delighted when our local public elementary school here in Utah elected to start a French immersion program about a year and a half ago, just as our son was entering kindergarten. Half of each school day is taught in French. We have two younger daughters, one of whom is in the immersion kindergarten program this year. If you have recommendations for picture books in French that your kids have enjoyed, I’d be delighted if you’d send me some titles, as I suspect that I could track them down online. I’ve tried to fill our home with wonderful kids’ books in English, and it would be fun to have French books at my kids’ disposal as well.
I can relate so well to your desire to instill a love of reading in your kids. At least my kids can have no doubt about how much I love to read — to them and on my own!
Hi Kimberly,
Thank you so much for your lovely comments! How lucky you and your daughters are to have access to that immersion program. That is perfect! Although we live in a ‘bilingual’ city, my children go to an all-French school with only an hour or 2 of English a week. Immersion is a fantastic way for kids to learn a second language. Add a few French DVDs, picture books, and how about a sleep away camp when they’re older in the lovely province of Quebec? :-)
Mad rush this morning to get out of the house to work and school, but I will definitely send you some French picture book recommendations later on. Have a great day!
We love Quebec, so your suggestion of having our kids spend some time there when they’re older to practice their French is very appealing! My husband’s mother grew up in Quebec, but left when she was in her early twenties to work as a nurse in the U.S. She married a fellow from Ohio, and they raised their family in Los Angeles. For whatever reason, she opted not to speak to her kids in French routinely, so my husband relies on the little he can remember from his high school French courses. My husband has wonderful relatives living in and around Quebec City. We visited them two and a half years ago so that they could meet our children, then ages five, three, and five months old. It’s such a charming area that if it were not for the cold winters, I’d enjoy living there for a time!
Kimberly