Being Multi Lingual is a Blessing

Language is one of humanity's main characteristics.  We can communicate with others by using a vast array of sounds and writings due to language.  There are more than 6500 spoken languages in this world. In India alone there are 365 recognized languages, not just dialects.

In the Bible we learn that languages were meant to split us up, to drive us apart.  For me, languages is the flavors of this world.  I can listen to the various music made by all the languages for ages. To me each language has its own song.  A rhythm, that when learned, helps you to communicate with a people other than your own. I call this rhythm a language's "sing-song".  You pick-up the "sing-song" and you'll learn the language.

In my family, we speak (at least) two languages to each other, but have a reason to learn a lot more.  My husband and I are Afrikaans speaking by birth.  When the kids came around we were already so involved in speaking English in our environment, that they got a dose of both.  To make life more interesting, we had Congolese tenants living on our property that spoke French and the boys picked some of that up.  Our full time domestic helper is Xhosa and teaches them Xhosa.  Dad works in Brazil, so he needs to learn Portuguese. And mom just like to learn phrases in as many languages as possible, especially from all the different countries we visit.  When we are on a role, we can really have fun with all the mixes of languages spoken between us all.

As for my kids, between the 3, my oldest is the most fluent in Afrikaans.  Since the middle one refused to speak it till recently, he has some catching up to do, but is getting on nicely. His Xhosa is far more superior than his brother's though. The last monster is still deciding which one she will favor, so she just uses them all.

One of the main reasons why I find languages so important to learn, is because of the respect you get when you talk to someone in their mother tongue. (Although, my poor kids probably won't know which one theirs is, for mom speaks a different tongue for every mood she has.  ;) )

I, myself, are quick to pick up a language and with a bit of effort, I can quickly learn enough to get my wishes known while traveling.  My husband struggle.  For him learning another language takes dedication and effort.  He struggles to remember what he learned yesterday, never mind about a year ago.  Funny, my kids are OK with picking up languages.  Not brilliant, but they don't struggle too much. 

If one of them would have struggled, it had to be the middle monster.  He only started talking at the age of 3!  The reason being, that he couldn't decide which language would be the easiest to communicate the most effective with.  That is why he choose English.  Until we started school and Afrikaans and Xhosa became part of his daily learning, he wasn't too keen on speaking it. I was worried that he might be one of those kids that you hear should be taught another language as it confuses them. (Not that I really believe that theory.)

Luckily, that doesn't seem to be the case.  He has developed a knack for learning languages.  Now he'll happily try to speak to me in Afrikaans and to my right-hand in Xhosa.   Every now and again he will remind himself of the Portuguese phrases he learned in Brazil or practice the Spanish he hears on some of their DVD's.  He is quick to get the pronunciation correct and remembers it well.  His biggest dream is to learn to speak Japanese.  Since we are off to Malaysia next week, he is putting in an effort to learn basic Malay phrases. Especially the one for "no chillies in my food please". 

My oldest has recently started to cotton on to the sing-song idea, and since then is picking various languages up far quicker than before.  Once he realized not to pronounce words in an English phonetic way, but in that languages own phonetic sounds, he is improving a lot.  Funny that, for I have thought that since he is so fluent in both English and Afrikaans, (and since he has been exposed to so big a variety of different sounding languages from a young age,) he would be able to sound languages easier.  He still struggles if he forgets not to sound words in English phonetics.  When I remind him of the unique sing-song of that language, he picks it up and remembers.  Currently, he is doing great in learning Malay phrases for the holiday.  Even though he struggles with it, he is still very keen in learning new languages and has a list of what he would like to learn.

Monster number 3 is diffidently a lot more verbal than her brothers, although she is not showing any signs as to what language she will consider as her primary one.  She learns the correct terms for everything around her in all three languages spoken as a family (Afrikaans, English and Xhosa) and seems to choose the one she finds the most comforting to say.  So with her, we have a whole new language developing, for she is a mixed-grill of vocabulary.  Would love to see what words she is going to bring back from our trip.

Things I have learned from my kids and our own experience is that for one, not everyone is gifted to learn languages quickly.  Two, it is not impossible to learn a new language, no matter what your age,  just as long as you have the motivation. Three, the more exposure you have at a young age, the more likely you are to pick-up on languages.  And Four, the more languages you speak, the more you can learn.  It is just to overcome that stumbling block of learning your second language.

As to how to teach your kids a new language?  Teach it to yourself with them.  Use it in the house.  Instead of using the home language phrase, use the new language phrase you learned today.  Make it fun.  We have tickle sessions where a certain phrase will make mom stop and anything else will have me tickling them.  Toss a beanbag, where the one who throws it says the phrase in your home language and the one who catches must repeat it in the new language.  (Obviously, limit the kids to learned phrases only.)

Start with basics:  Hello, Thank you, Please, Excuse me.  Naming myself, you, others, basic actions, basic needs. Think of questions you may ask when traveling in a foreign environment.

Most of all.  When it comes to learning a new language, learn to speak it first, Don't worrying about grammar and reading.  Just get communicating.  The grammar and reading will come later when you are fluent enough to hold a conversation.

And when everyone in the house has been blessed by being fluent in the new language, mom and dad will have to find a new language to learn.  Otherwise, you won't be able to give each other secret information in front of the kids anymore.  ;)

Enjoy communicating, whether in your own language or in a foreign one. 

Blessing to all of you from little old me.