Mandarin Speaking

[lisa_ng]

Wonder if any mummies speak to your kid in mandarin at home?

i speak to my girl in mandarin most of the times.
and now that she's 2yo and started to speak some sentences.
but some issues i've faced like she can't really communicate with kids who speak english.
getting kind of worried if i've taken the wrong step not to introduce english speaking at the same time.

some questions
1) will the kid have any problem in understanding when attend schools?
for what i've thought most schools speak and teach in english.

2) will the kid be slower in learning compare to others?

3) how well can a kid absorb 2 languages?

4) when enrol to any lessons, do you lookout for schools with a chinese teacher there whole day? or what will you lookout for.

thanks.

 

[mich_liu82]

Wonder if any mummies speak to your kid in mandarin at home?

i speak to my girl in mandarin most of the times.
and now that she's 2yo and started to speak some sentences.
but some issues i've faced like she can't really communicate with kids who speak english.
getting kind of worried if i've taken the wrong step not to introduce english speaking at the same time.

some questions
1) will the kid have any problem in understanding when attend schools?
for what i've thought most schools speak and teach in english.

2) will the kid be slower in learning compare to others?

3) how well can a kid absorb 2 languages?

4) when enrol to any lessons, do you lookout for schools with a chinese teacher there whole day? or what will you lookout for.

thanks.

My 2nd girl totally opposite.

She can't speak a word of Mandarin...

Now if she try to repeat after me to speak Mandarin, she sound like "ang mo kia"...

 

[Daddy D]

I speak/read Mandarin to my DD... my DW speak/read to DD in English.
So far DD can switch between both languages when she speaks to us.
She's 3 now... but she's more fluent in English bah... cos' my DW teaches better than me

some questions
1) will the kid have any problem in understanding when attend schools?
for what i've thought most schools speak and teach in english.
- I think u shld expose your dd to English now since English is still the core language used... it's never 2 late... kids absorb like sponge.

2) will the kid be slower in learning compare to others?
- Slow if the kid cannot comprehends what the teacher is saying, be it English or Mandarin.

3) how well can a kid absorb 2 languages?
- Kinda tough in the beginning though... cos' DD will get stuck with her limited vocab... but ok once she's used to it.

4) when enrol to any lessons, do you lookout for schools with a chinese teacher there whole day? or what will you lookout for.
- I think there's more English-based lessons compared to Chinese... but they still have 2 English/Chinese teachers around for nursery/kindergartens.

 

[CanCanMum]

Wonder if any mummies speak to your kid in mandarin at home?

i speak to my girl in mandarin most of the times.
and now that she's 2yo and started to speak some sentences.
but some issues i've faced like she can't really communicate with kids who speak english.
getting kind of worried if i've taken the wrong step not to introduce english speaking at the same time.

some questions
1) will the kid have any problem in understanding when attend schools?
for what i've thought most schools speak and teach in english.

2) will the kid be slower in learning compare to others?

3) how well can a kid absorb 2 languages?

4) when enrol to any lessons, do you lookout for schools with a chinese teacher there whole day? or what will you lookout for.

thanks.

讲华语运动 lols~~

i am also mandarin speaking at home, to my boy as well.

when he attended playgroup he did not manage to learn any proper complete sentences of english. And he dun understand as well.

now tat he is in nursery for almost half a year, he is picking up very well. And he has also learnt to converse in english with his malay and indian friends. I am surprised with his development, really. And sometimes he will practice his english with me lols.....i am worrisome like you last time but it has solved all my worries now and i am surprised and happy at the same time.

so i guess she will pick up sooner or later once u put her in nursery...have u started?

answering yr queries:

1) will the kid have any problem in understanding when attend schools?
for what i've thought most schools speak and teach in english.
yes singapore still uses English as the main teaching medium, unless playgroups coz its quite an ad-hoc basis i feel. If the teacher is Chinese and asked to teach English, chances are she will speak in Mandarin oso. IF teacher is Malay or Indian, then most likely all in english...... (Tats what happened to my DS last time lor....but hor he sings Indian Songs somemore~)

2) will the kid be slower in learning compare to others?
i dun think so becoz at this age their brain is very active and 'absorbent' like a dried sponge....anything u say or do, they remember and repeat....very fast learners at this age. Its also beta to start early

3) how well can a kid absorb 2 languages?
i guess they will rather relate who speaks what to him rather than bi-lingual to Mum and Dad. Becoz he will naturally speak mandarin to me + DH, cantonese to my Dad and little tiny winy bit of Hakka to my Inlaws....so yeah...tats the way lor. So TEACHERS = ENGLISH.

4) when enrol to any lessons, do you lookout for schools with a chinese teacher there whole day? or what will you lookout for.
- nope. I juz dumped him there and let him fend for himself.....lols

 

[lisa_ng]

My 2nd girl totally opposite.

She can't speak a word of Mandarin...

Now if she try to repeat after me to speak Mandarin, she sound like "ang mo kia"...

hehe.. tat's one of the reason i speak to my girl mandarin as i've seen some kids veri well spoken in english but not mandarin.
initially tots was since school teaches english so shouldnt be an issue.
now having second tots. hope not too late to make her speak and understand english.
whenever i try speaking english to my girl make me feel like the same tone as i'm toking to my dogs. :001_302:

now getting worried how well will she be able to adapt to school if she speaks mandarin.

 

[kuan]

Hi lisa ng, fret not - u have not taken a wrong move. in fact you would be glad to know that u have done the right thing.

I got this advise (speak to your child in mandarin at home) from my customer when i was pregnant with DD 1. She told me children will pick up english very fast - thru' watching tv prgm and interaction with other children. but they tend to resist mandarin if they do not have exposure. So i heed her advise, and sometimes also speak to my 2 DD in english. you would be glad to hear this - my 2 DD (now 10 & 6 yrs old) got no problem in both languages, though they may not be speaking totally perfect english - like most of us.:tlaugh:

 

[lisa_ng]

I speak/read Mandarin to my DD... my DW speak/read to DD in English.
So far DD can switch between both languages when she speaks to us.
She's 3 now... but she's more fluent in English bah... cos' my DW teaches better than me

some questions
1) will the kid have any problem in understanding when attend schools?
for what i've thought most schools speak and teach in english.
- I think u shld expose your dd to English now since English is still the core language used... it's never 2 late... kids absorb like sponge.

2) will the kid be slower in learning compare to others?
- Slow if the kid cannot comprehends what the teacher is saying, be it English or Mandarin.

3) how well can a kid absorb 2 languages?
- Kinda tough in the beginning though... cos' DD will get stuck with her limited vocab... but ok once she's used to it.

4) when enrol to any lessons, do you lookout for schools with a chinese teacher there whole day? or what will you lookout for.
- I think there's more English-based lessons compared to Chinese... but they still have 2 English/Chinese teachers around for nursery/kindergartens.

wonder does your girl speak a sentence with mixture of mandarin and english? hehe
my eng mo not so good, my hb worst. hehe
dun noe where to start oso.

had a habit of asking what nation is the teachers. not sure if this should be my concern in looking for some lessons or school my girl can attend.
went to check on a few playgroup and child care, seems like mostly only one chinese teacher and like not around the whole day probably a few hours during their chinese lessons.
most teachers are not chinese nation.

 

[lisa_ng]

讲华语运动 lols~~

i am also mandarin speaking at home, to my boy as well.

when he attended playgroup he did not manage to learn any proper complete sentences of english. And he dun understand as well.

now tat he is in nursery for almost half a year, he is picking up very well. And he has also learnt to converse in english with his malay and indian friends. I am surprised with his development, really. And sometimes he will practice his english with me lols.....i am worrisome like you last time but it has solved all my worries now and i am surprised and happy at the same time.

so i guess she will pick up sooner or later once u put her in nursery...have u started?

answering yr queries:

1) will the kid have any problem in understanding when attend schools?
for what i've thought most schools speak and teach in english.
yes singapore still uses English as the main teaching medium, unless playgroups coz its quite an ad-hoc basis i feel. If the teacher is Chinese and asked to teach English, chances are she will speak in Mandarin oso. IF teacher is Malay or Indian, then most likely all in english...... (Tats what happened to my DS last time lor....but hor he sings Indian Songs somemore~)

2) will the kid be slower in learning compare to others?
i dun think so becoz at this age their brain is very active and 'absorbent' like a dried sponge....anything u say or do, they remember and repeat....very fast learners at this age. Its also beta to start early

3) how well can a kid absorb 2 languages?
i guess they will rather relate who speaks what to him rather than bi-lingual to Mum and Dad. Becoz he will naturally speak mandarin to me + DH, cantonese to my Dad and little tiny winy bit of Hakka to my Inlaws....so yeah...tats the way lor. So TEACHERS = ENGLISH.

4) when enrol to any lessons, do you lookout for schools with a chinese teacher there whole day? or what will you lookout for.
- nope. I juz dumped him there and let him fend for himself.....lols

haven't started any yet.
still looking around. tot mayb will be gd for her to start at 2.5yo or 3 when she can express herself better.
after having to think she might be able to express herself but in mandarin, the teachers can understand or not. since most of those schools that i'm keen to send my girl, teachers are mostly malays and indians.

after seeing your post, i think i'm too paranoid. hehe
mayb we should start to teach her some simple english these few months before she start. :001_302:

 

[lisa_ng]

Hi lisa ng, fret not - u have not taken a wrong move. in fact you would be glad to know that u have done the right thing.

I got this advise (speak to your child in mandarin at home) from my customer when i was pregnant with DD 1. She told me children will pick up english very fast - thru' watching tv prgm and interaction with other children. but they tend to resist mandarin if they do not have exposure. So i heed her advise, and sometimes also speak to my 2 DD in english. you would be glad to hear this - my 2 DD (now 10 & 6 yrs old) got no problem in both languages, though they may not be speaking totally perfect english - like most of us.:tlaugh:

wow.. glad to see this encouraging post. can rest my mind le.
i was pretty amazed my girl start to sing songs from her barney shows but was worried if she does understand what it means though. :001_302:

 

[Daddy D]

wonder does your girl speak a sentence with mixture of mandarin and english? hehe
my eng mo not so good, my hb worst. hehe
dun noe where to start oso.

had a habit of asking what nation is the teachers. not sure if this should be my concern in looking for some lessons or school my girl can attend.
went to check on a few playgroup and child care, seems like mostly only one chinese teacher and like not around the whole day probably a few hours during their chinese lessons.
most teachers are not chinese nation.

Ya! my DD does the mixture word/sentence when she was 2 yrs old... got us worried back then... me n DW also have to make a conscious effort not to speak in mixture... u know our Singlish pattern...now DD pretty ok... no mixture word/sentence... but got all the la/lor/le Singlish thingy... shucks.

I see alot of chinese nationals in PCF/Chinese enrichment leh... I find their slang a bit OVER in SG context... but wat to do... everyone wants to speak like China nowadays... even the Mandarin Speaking campaign... cannot stand that advert!

 

[lisa_ng]

Ya! my DD does the mixture word/sentence when she was 2 yrs old... got us worried back then... me n DW also have to make a conscious effort not to speak in mixture... u know our Singlish pattern...now DD pretty ok... no mixture word/sentence... but got all the la/lor/le Singlish thingy... shucks.

I see alot of chinese nationals in PCF/Chinese enrichment leh... I find their slang a bit OVER in SG context... but wat to do... everyone wants to speak like China nowadays... even the Mandarin Speaking campaign... cannot stand that advert!

i tot may be difficult for a young one to speak 2 languages in proper.
was telling my girl 车 is car.
i phrase as 车 car
hoping to make her understand that wat she always say 车 in english is car.
then after some time she will say both together 车 car.
i juz hope i didn't mislead her that it's one word de.

hehe.. i don't mind if she speak mandarin like beijing people ascent.

 

[snowbear]

Wonder if any mummies speak to your kid in mandarin at home?

i speak to my girl in mandarin most of the times.
and now that she's 2yo and started to speak some sentences.
but some issues i've faced like she can't really communicate with kids who speak english.
getting kind of worried if i've taken the wrong step not to introduce english speaking at the same time.

some questions
1) will the kid have any problem in understanding when attend schools?
for what i've thought most schools speak and teach in english.

2) will the kid be slower in learning compare to others?

3) how well can a kid absorb 2 languages?

4) when enrol to any lessons, do you lookout for schools with a chinese teacher there whole day? or what will you lookout for.

thanks.

Hi Lisa, lemme give you an answer from the linguistics point of view. When i was researching on children picking up language back in uni, you may be relieved to know that children pick up language very fast and it is an innate ability. In fact, this ability will last till they reach puberty. There is one main theory about this but i think i won't go through it here. Suffice to say that as long as children are exposed to the language sufficiently, they will be able to pick it up.

Also when i was doing my thesis, i found out that it is actually not so good for people not so proficient in English to try to speak or teach English to their children because that actually does more harm than good. That would merely aggravate the phenomenon of Singlish (that is not to say that Singlish is not good; just that children do not know that Singlish is not appropriate for use in class). (I apologise if anyone is offended by what i've written here. I'm just quoting research done on English in Singapore in the past 20 years.) :001_302:

Don't be too worried. Maybe you can let your child pick up English from educational tv meant for children. ancing_wub:Anyway i speak English, Mandarin, Teochew and Hokkien to my DD... hahaha...

 

[Daddy D]

Hi Lisa, lemme give you an answer from the linguistics point of view. When i was researching on children picking up language back in uni, you may be relieved to know that children pick up language very fast and it is an innate ability. In fact, this ability will last till they reach puberty. There is one main theory about this but i think i won't go through it here. Suffice to say that as long as children are exposed to the language sufficiently, they will be able to pick it up.

Also when i was doing my thesis, i found out that it is actually not so good for people not so proficient in English to try to speak or teach English to their children because that actually does more harm than good. That would merely aggravate the phenomenon of Singlish (that is not to say that Singlish is not good; just that children do not know that Singlish is not appropriate for use in class). (I apologise if anyone is offended by what i've written here. I'm just quoting research done on English in Singapore in the past 20 years.) :001_302:

Don't be too worried. Maybe you can let your child pick up English from educational tv meant for children. ancing_wub:Anyway i speak English, Mandarin, Teochew and Hokkien to my DD... hahaha...

Siao siao... u teacher 2?

 

[snowbear]

Siao siao... u teacher 2?

Used to be. but what has that to do with what i've written? My research was all done before i became a teacher leh... hee...

 

[lisa_ng]

Hi Lisa, lemme give you an answer from the linguistics point of view. When i was researching on children picking up language back in uni, you may be relieved to know that children pick up language very fast and it is an innate ability. In fact, this ability will last till they reach puberty. There is one main theory about this but i think i won't go through it here. Suffice to say that as long as children are exposed to the language sufficiently, they will be able to pick it up.

Also when i was doing my thesis, i found out that it is actually not so good for people not so proficient in English to try to speak or teach English to their children because that actually does more harm than good. That would merely aggravate the phenomenon of Singlish (that is not to say that Singlish is not good; just that children do not know that Singlish is not appropriate for use in class). (I apologise if anyone is offended by what i've written here. I'm just quoting research done on English in Singapore in the past 20 years.) :001_302:

Don't be too worried. Maybe you can let your child pick up English from educational tv meant for children. ancing_wub:Anyway i speak English, Mandarin, Teochew and Hokkien to my DD... hahaha...

this is a great info to know.
else har so inferior about my eng mo and to teach my girl my eng mo. *faintz* :001_302:

 

[Daddy D]

Used to be. but what has that to do with what i've written? My research was all done before i became a teacher leh... hee...

Orh... cos' u speak/write like teacher mah.... got INK

 

[snowbear]

Orh... cos' u speak/write like teacher mah.... got INK

keke.. i think i had more INK before i became a teacher!! ancing_tongue:

 

[snowbear]

this is a great info to know.
else har so inferior about my eng mo and to teach my girl my eng mo. *faintz* :001_302:

hee... no prob. dun kan cheong.. children will learn in their own time...

 

[lisa_ng]

hee... no prob. dun kan cheong.. children will learn in their own time...

i very worried my girl is not on the right pace/track.
my hb keep telling me let it be lah, kids at this age should be still playing and enjoying de.
at home, i'm very lost. dun noe what to teach her or what she should be learning.

 

[snowbear]

i very worried my girl is not on the right pace/track.
my hb keep telling me let it be lah, kids at this age should be still playing and enjoying de.
at home, i'm very lost. dun noe what to teach her or what she should be learning.

Let your child enjoy childhood la, dun need to over-stress yourself or your girl. Maybe you can read some books to her when she's in the mood to read? Teach simple words relating to parts of the body, food, colours, shapes... There're many books out there for these basic vocab. You can also make use of her toys to teach her colours, shapes... you can make playtime a window of opportunity to teach so that she doesn't feel stressed.