tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-998204900912962092.post5966313887439668873..comments2023-10-12T02:33:56.490-06:00Comments on Buried in Laundry: No Habla EspanolQuadmamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12811147214370454309noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-998204900912962092.post-13447256380252303592009-09-09T11:16:29.297-06:002009-09-09T11:16:29.297-06:00Your daughter's preschool sounds great! I spen...Your daughter's preschool sounds great! I spent three years in France as a kid, and the public school we went to there required all children to speak two languages. It was a great school, and I still speak great French thanks to the teachers there. Your post is making me rethink trying to do French as my kids' second language - I speak French and Spanish (spent 3.5 years of my childhood in Central and South America, my parents move a LOT) but French is stronger so I was going to go with that. But then Spanish is more useful in the U.S...MaryAnnehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13253503049272771754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-998204900912962092.post-5881878422100040042009-09-04T15:50:09.814-06:002009-09-04T15:50:09.814-06:00I think it's really teaching them about the &q...I think it's really teaching them about the "melting pot" this country is. Mandarin.. now that's one I didn't realize was commonly taught here. Interesting.Quadmamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12811147214370454309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-998204900912962092.post-11697107657139344412009-09-04T15:38:22.551-06:002009-09-04T15:38:22.551-06:00Ryla is also learning Spanish in pre-school. She ...Ryla is also learning Spanish in pre-school. She has Spanish three times a week and Mandarin once a week. Her school actually brings in an outside teacher for Mandarin class. It is so cute when she says 'Ni Hao Momma'. I think it is great that they are able to learn other languages and such an early age!Roman and Tiffanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09801140013984762684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-998204900912962092.post-21010366716355263652009-09-03T22:24:10.479-06:002009-09-03T22:24:10.479-06:00It's very common for children to be bi-lingual...It's very common for children to be bi-lingual here in Malaysia. Although Malay is the national language, English is widely used both in the corporate world and higher education. Being a colony of Britain once upon a time, that is no surprise. However, I have chosen to also send my children to a Mandarin-medium elementary school, so they are tri-lingual! <br />-one of your Malaysian friends in elementary school- :-)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-998204900912962092.post-11793496285254792009-09-03T21:08:09.592-06:002009-09-03T21:08:09.592-06:00That's wonderful that you're getting them ...That's wonderful that you're getting them started in Spanish so young! I too regret learning French in school - but I figure it will be a great foundation when I do get my butt in gear and learn Spanish - it's not too late!!!Jacqueline Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01210236489920205357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-998204900912962092.post-19523142465232964452009-09-03T20:24:57.530-06:002009-09-03T20:24:57.530-06:00Actually, it's been proven that the younger yo...Actually, it's been proven that the younger you are, the most fluently you pick up languages. The "critical age" for developing a native-like grasp of a language is about age 7, although I'm actually one of those who started some of my languages quite a bit later and still gained monolingual-like fluency.<br /><br />I too took French; I thought I'd be attending university in the UK. I don't speak Spanish, although my Italian makes it easy for me to make myself understood.<br /><br />I've asked one of my neighbours to speak to my daughters only in Spanish, and they're starting to respond, in that they answer her in English.<br /><br />Just tonight, at dinner, Melly asked me, "What's purple in English?" meaning Bengali. Hurray!Sadiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04042551936789254047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-998204900912962092.post-82608809397943255032009-09-03T17:42:59.613-06:002009-09-03T17:42:59.613-06:00I think the younger you are the easier it is to le...I think the younger you are the easier it is to learn another language. Surprisingly I've actually had some French speaking customers lately, but I didn't want to embarrass myself by trying to muddle through the language.Quadmamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12811147214370454309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-998204900912962092.post-60208009381732501342009-09-03T12:01:52.513-06:002009-09-03T12:01:52.513-06:00That's great for your girls! It's so grea...That's great for your girls! It's so great to be exposed to another language at a young age. They'll probably pick up quite a bit. My oldest is in French immersion. I wish I'd continued with my French instead of trying Italian!jayewalkinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15589675407326690691noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-998204900912962092.post-45291725994208501282009-09-03T10:21:39.226-06:002009-09-03T10:21:39.226-06:00I've always thought it a pity we didn't le...I've always thought it a pity we didn't learn more about language and stress learning foreign ones as is routinely done in other countries. Not only is a healthy way to learn about other cultures, but you never know when you need it.<br /><br />Rather than worry about keeping the purity of our own language, perhaps we should remember that language is there to provide communication and, in the end, that's the real goal.<br /><br />I hope your girls learn some Spanish. I wish I retained more (and my French, too).Stephanie Barrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17772217449161603561noreply@blogger.com