Have you seen the September edition of the Blogging Carnival on Bilingualism? Leanna at All Done Monkey is this month's gracious host. What are you waiting for? Go read the posts she rounded up about parenting in more than one language!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
visit the carnival!
Have you seen the September edition of the Blogging Carnival on Bilingualism? Leanna at All Done Monkey is this month's gracious host. What are you waiting for? Go read the posts she rounded up about parenting in more than one language!
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Claire's French family in Edinburgh: bilingual boys! (profile)
I'm delighted to introduce you to Claire, a mom from France married to a bilingual Englishman, whose experience raising their sons bilingually led her to create Justine et Sebastien, an educational website with her stories about two bilingual children.
Tell us about your family!
Bonjour, my name is Claire, I was born in France from French parents and raised in Paris. I am a teacher of French language for adults and currently an author in bilingual literature for children. Phil, my husband, has double nationality: English (by his father) and French (by his mother). He was born and raised in England and although English was the main home language when he grew up, I regard him as bilingual.
We met in Paris and spoke French from day one. We moved to Edinburgh in Scotland and carried on speaking French at home. Phil is an architect. We have two sons: Ben, age 7½, and Thom, age 5½. They were both born in Edinburgh. We moved to New York, United States when the boys were 3½ and 1½.We spent almost three years in Brooklyn, NY before moving back to Edinburgh in summer 2011.
Since the children were born we have always been living in an English-spoking country. We haven’t lived in France since the children were born; we’ve just visited my family and spent some holidays.
The last time we visited France was last summer; we stayed for three weeks.
Who speaks what to your children?
At home I obviously speak French to my sons, and we speak French together with my husband.He speaks English to our children. He can switch easily from one language to another. French is “theoretically” our home language. Sometimes, and I wish I could avoid that, I will speak English and translate into French (or the other way round) to my sons in front of their friends just to make sure everyone is comfortable and not left out of the conversation.
I think it’s a chance and a plus for children to be exposed to a second language. It opens their eyes to a different culture and way of living. I’m willing to think it gives them more opportunities for their future. It can also help them in their social life and give them more confidence.
What approach(es), method(s), or pattern(s), if any, are you using to raise your sons bilingually?
I would say it’s based on common sense; I don’t want to do school at home with my children. I’m exposing them to French culture through books, magazines, and films. When they were younger (from infancy until school age) my husband and I would alternate at story time. One day I would read a story in French, the next day it would be my husband’s turn to read a story in English. We stopped doing that when Ben started kindergarten in New York. At this time, he was learning to read in English by himself, and I wanted to avoid any confusion.
How well do your sons understand, speak, read, and write their two languages?
Both my sons understand the French language perfectly. My elder son, Ben, replies to me in French very frequently now and can initiate a conversation in French. He goes back to English if there is a word he can’t find. I would say, he speaks to me 50% French, 50% English! (In France, it was 70% French, 30% English, approximately!!) His reading in French is now correct. It’s interesting how there has been a parallel between the experience of learning to read in English and in French, with him not having been in a French classroom. The writing in French is more a phonetic process, though. One of my goals is to focus on reading more French books now that he has become an efficient reader in English.
Thom, my younger son, remains very shy in French. He understands everything; but replies to me in English most of the time. He has started to answer questions in French, though. He seems to follow a progression similar to his brother who was more or less at the same stage at an identical age. They both won’t speak French to me in front of their friends, as they don’t want to appear as different.
How have you been able to familiarize your children with French culture?
I’ve been using mainly magazines and books to expose them to French culture. When they express an interest on a specific topic, I try to emphasize its connection to France or share my French point of view. For instance, we had recently a discussion with Ben, who is at the moment interested in Formula1, about the history of French pilots, which led to a more general conversation about the French automotive industry).
What resources and materials have not been useful as you raise your boys bilingually?
French version of books originally written in English language haven’t been useful for them. They prefer to discover something unique or typically French and have no interest whatsoever in a French translation of a story written in English.
What challenges have you faced?
The most challenging task for me on a daily basis is to constantly speak a language different from the one spoken around us. It’s so easy to give in and speak the dominant language, but I think you have to stick to your mother tongue language all the time if you can when talking to your children.
Another challenge is also to make sure your children will understand the point of speaking another language, the fact that it’s something for their own interest, rather than something to please Mummy or Daddy. My younger son had a strong “Daddy phase” at one point and would ignore all my suggestions to say anything in French. He would worship my husband and therefore talking like Daddy was part of the process. All my efforts were useless during this phase and although I was still speaking French to him at the time, I knew I couldn’t expect him to respond in kind.
Of course, I’ve been using “tricks” to make them speak in French without forcing them. For example, asking questions which offer choices has been working very well with my sons: Est-ce que tu veux le crayon rouge ou le crayon vert”? (“Do you want the red pencil or the blue pencil”) They will repeat the French words I used and give me an answer in French: “le crayon rouge.”
Children should think of learning a second language like playing a game. Parents and teachers should emphasize the fun aspect of acquiring skills in another language, and should teach the language using songs, drama, etc….It shouldn’t be seen as an additional school subject but more as an afterschool hobby in the early years.
What do you think parents, caretakers, teachers, and/or researchers need to know about teaching a second language to children? What do you wish you had known when you started? What, if anything, would you do differently now?
When my children began to speak, with me speaking French to them and my husband English, I took it for granted that they would develop their skills in both languages at the same pace and therefore speak both languages at the same level from the beginning, but it didn’t work out this way. It’s not something they did naturally and we had to work together on it.
If I could give a piece of advice, it would be not to hesitate to ask a professional who is not a member of the family to help you. Ben went to a French afterschool program in New York run by a brilliant teacher; this triggered something that allowed him to become more confident with the French language.
What I would do differently now would be to focus and stick to French 100% whatever the context we’re in and obviously to spend more time in France. As a friend of mine always said: ”Immersion in the country is the best thing to speak the language of this country.”
Answer your own question now--what did I not ask about that you would like to comment on?
The last question I would ask myself would be "What has all this fantastic experience brought me personally?"
Lots of rewards. The observation of this whole process inspired me in the creation of my literary project, “Justine et Sebastien.”
Tell us about your family!
Bonjour, my name is Claire, I was born in France from French parents and raised in Paris. I am a teacher of French language for adults and currently an author in bilingual literature for children. Phil, my husband, has double nationality: English (by his father) and French (by his mother). He was born and raised in England and although English was the main home language when he grew up, I regard him as bilingual.
We met in Paris and spoke French from day one. We moved to Edinburgh in Scotland and carried on speaking French at home. Phil is an architect. We have two sons: Ben, age 7½, and Thom, age 5½. They were both born in Edinburgh. We moved to New York, United States when the boys were 3½ and 1½.We spent almost three years in Brooklyn, NY before moving back to Edinburgh in summer 2011.
Since the children were born we have always been living in an English-spoking country. We haven’t lived in France since the children were born; we’ve just visited my family and spent some holidays.
The last time we visited France was last summer; we stayed for three weeks.
Who speaks what to your children?
At home I obviously speak French to my sons, and we speak French together with my husband.He speaks English to our children. He can switch easily from one language to another. French is “theoretically” our home language. Sometimes, and I wish I could avoid that, I will speak English and translate into French (or the other way round) to my sons in front of their friends just to make sure everyone is comfortable and not left out of the conversation.
I think it’s a chance and a plus for children to be exposed to a second language. It opens their eyes to a different culture and way of living. I’m willing to think it gives them more opportunities for their future. It can also help them in their social life and give them more confidence.
What approach(es), method(s), or pattern(s), if any, are you using to raise your sons bilingually?
I would say it’s based on common sense; I don’t want to do school at home with my children. I’m exposing them to French culture through books, magazines, and films. When they were younger (from infancy until school age) my husband and I would alternate at story time. One day I would read a story in French, the next day it would be my husband’s turn to read a story in English. We stopped doing that when Ben started kindergarten in New York. At this time, he was learning to read in English by himself, and I wanted to avoid any confusion.
How well do your sons understand, speak, read, and write their two languages?
Both my sons understand the French language perfectly. My elder son, Ben, replies to me in French very frequently now and can initiate a conversation in French. He goes back to English if there is a word he can’t find. I would say, he speaks to me 50% French, 50% English! (In France, it was 70% French, 30% English, approximately!!) His reading in French is now correct. It’s interesting how there has been a parallel between the experience of learning to read in English and in French, with him not having been in a French classroom. The writing in French is more a phonetic process, though. One of my goals is to focus on reading more French books now that he has become an efficient reader in English.
Thom, my younger son, remains very shy in French. He understands everything; but replies to me in English most of the time. He has started to answer questions in French, though. He seems to follow a progression similar to his brother who was more or less at the same stage at an identical age. They both won’t speak French to me in front of their friends, as they don’t want to appear as different.
 |
| Ben and Thom on the first day of school, August 2012 |
I’ve been using mainly magazines and books to expose them to French culture. When they express an interest on a specific topic, I try to emphasize its connection to France or share my French point of view. For instance, we had recently a discussion with Ben, who is at the moment interested in Formula1, about the history of French pilots, which led to a more general conversation about the French automotive industry).
What resources and materials have not been useful as you raise your boys bilingually?
French version of books originally written in English language haven’t been useful for them. They prefer to discover something unique or typically French and have no interest whatsoever in a French translation of a story written in English.
What challenges have you faced?
The most challenging task for me on a daily basis is to constantly speak a language different from the one spoken around us. It’s so easy to give in and speak the dominant language, but I think you have to stick to your mother tongue language all the time if you can when talking to your children.
Another challenge is also to make sure your children will understand the point of speaking another language, the fact that it’s something for their own interest, rather than something to please Mummy or Daddy. My younger son had a strong “Daddy phase” at one point and would ignore all my suggestions to say anything in French. He would worship my husband and therefore talking like Daddy was part of the process. All my efforts were useless during this phase and although I was still speaking French to him at the time, I knew I couldn’t expect him to respond in kind.
Of course, I’ve been using “tricks” to make them speak in French without forcing them. For example, asking questions which offer choices has been working very well with my sons: Est-ce que tu veux le crayon rouge ou le crayon vert”? (“Do you want the red pencil or the blue pencil”) They will repeat the French words I used and give me an answer in French: “le crayon rouge.”
Children should think of learning a second language like playing a game. Parents and teachers should emphasize the fun aspect of acquiring skills in another language, and should teach the language using songs, drama, etc….It shouldn’t be seen as an additional school subject but more as an afterschool hobby in the early years.
What do you think parents, caretakers, teachers, and/or researchers need to know about teaching a second language to children? What do you wish you had known when you started? What, if anything, would you do differently now?
When my children began to speak, with me speaking French to them and my husband English, I took it for granted that they would develop their skills in both languages at the same pace and therefore speak both languages at the same level from the beginning, but it didn’t work out this way. It’s not something they did naturally and we had to work together on it.
If I could give a piece of advice, it would be not to hesitate to ask a professional who is not a member of the family to help you. Ben went to a French afterschool program in New York run by a brilliant teacher; this triggered something that allowed him to become more confident with the French language.
What I would do differently now would be to focus and stick to French 100% whatever the context we’re in and obviously to spend more time in France. As a friend of mine always said: ”Immersion in the country is the best thing to speak the language of this country.”
Answer your own question now--what did I not ask about that you would like to comment on?
The last question I would ask myself would be "What has all this fantastic experience brought me personally?"
Lots of rewards. The observation of this whole process inspired me in the creation of my literary project, “Justine et Sebastien.”
Saturday, September 22, 2012
wee laddie and lassie in the Colorado Highlands
You are a non-native speaker of the language you're raising your children to speak, and you live far away from the countries where it is spoken. You know that the ideal way to learn any language is by complete immersion in it--just as you learned to speak your first language as a toddler. But you can't offer that to your children, at least not right now, without much vacation time off work for you and your partner and no relatives abroad who could host you.
(Plus, with two small children, it can be an ordeal just to get your family out the door for a picnic in the park with all the necessary supplies--and that's just a two-block walk away for an hour-long activity, not a series of international flights to spend days or weeks in a new place!)
You--that is, I--I know that my family will travel to France, to Belgium, to Quebec, to Martinique, to Morocco some day. But in the meantime, I will do my best to expose them to French and Francophone culture through books, DVDs, storytimes, and playdates.
And not just French and Francophone culture, for that matter!
Griffin and Gwyneth will grow up knowing that ours is just one of dozens and dozens of countries in this world--that some children eat noodle soup for breakfast, some speak three and four languages, some sleep under the stars, some take a boat to school, some don't go to school at all.
Unfortunately, my son and daughter will also have to learn that some children have to walk miles every day to fetch drinking water from a polluted pond, some are taught to use guns against others at the age when American kids are figuring out how to hold a baseball bat, that some children are born to mothers so young they are still children themselves, mothers who will go on to bear four or six or eight more--if they don't die in childbirth, that is.
But right now, with the kids at ages one and four, we can stay in the bright generalities of mountains vs. deserts, gigantic ocean mammals vs. bizarre marsupials, colorful dresses and towering skyscrapers and jungles and "Can you believe that some people like to eat chicken feet, or calf brains, or seaweed, or coffee beans that an animal ingested and then pooped out?"
Aaaaand we can take them to the Longs Peak Scottish-Irish Festival, the largest Celtic heritage event in Colorado! No, it has nothing to do with French, but until I find, say, a West African dance competition or a Tahitian pirogue-carving camp or a symposium on Swiss chocolate around here, we'll take them to a slice of Scotland in the Colorado highlands.
And they'll love it.
(Plus, with two small children, it can be an ordeal just to get your family out the door for a picnic in the park with all the necessary supplies--and that's just a two-block walk away for an hour-long activity, not a series of international flights to spend days or weeks in a new place!)
You--that is, I--I know that my family will travel to France, to Belgium, to Quebec, to Martinique, to Morocco some day. But in the meantime, I will do my best to expose them to French and Francophone culture through books, DVDs, storytimes, and playdates.
And not just French and Francophone culture, for that matter!
Griffin and Gwyneth will grow up knowing that ours is just one of dozens and dozens of countries in this world--that some children eat noodle soup for breakfast, some speak three and four languages, some sleep under the stars, some take a boat to school, some don't go to school at all.
Unfortunately, my son and daughter will also have to learn that some children have to walk miles every day to fetch drinking water from a polluted pond, some are taught to use guns against others at the age when American kids are figuring out how to hold a baseball bat, that some children are born to mothers so young they are still children themselves, mothers who will go on to bear four or six or eight more--if they don't die in childbirth, that is.
But right now, with the kids at ages one and four, we can stay in the bright generalities of mountains vs. deserts, gigantic ocean mammals vs. bizarre marsupials, colorful dresses and towering skyscrapers and jungles and "Can you believe that some people like to eat chicken feet, or calf brains, or seaweed, or coffee beans that an animal ingested and then pooped out?"
Aaaaand we can take them to the Longs Peak Scottish-Irish Festival, the largest Celtic heritage event in Colorado! No, it has nothing to do with French, but until I find, say, a West African dance competition or a Tahitian pirogue-carving camp or a symposium on Swiss chocolate around here, we'll take them to a slice of Scotland in the Colorado highlands.
 |
| now Griffin wants to toss cabers and joust too |
 |
| Gwyneth, in her tartan sash, enjoyed the Scottish music so much that.... |
 |
| she asked a piper if she could join the band |
 |
| Griffin bellowed "What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor?" |
 |
| ...before running across the competition field with wild abandon (in his kilt, handmade by Tatie Amy) |
And they'll love it.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
joining the alliance
So I'm a little embarrassed to admit that it took me 14 years of living along Colorado's Front Range to become a member of the Alliance Francaise of Denver. I mean, I was teaching French for half that time, I've been receiving their weekly e-newsletter all along, and I have even attended workshops for teachers that were held there--but never made the effort to actually join this branch of the worldwide nonprofit organization that promotes French via classes, lectures, cultural activities, and so forth.
So what was it that made me pony up that $45 membership fee, given that it takes me 40 minutes to drive there, thus ensuring that I won't be visiting regularly?
Their library.
Members can borrow novels, educational materials, CDs, movies, even board games--all in French--aaaaand children's books! Since Griffin is enjoying listening to me read easy chapter books to him now, being able to browse the Alliance Francaise's bibliotheque means I don't have to pay big bucks to order chapter books sight unseen from abroad.
Last week I attended an open house there, anticipating that after that I could stop waffling about whether or not to join--either I'd like what I saw or I'd decide it wasn't worth it. Here's what I learned:
1. It fills me with joy to walk into an unfamiliar place in another city and hear someone exclaim "Mademoiselle [Maiden Name]!" My former students are all over this state. (And some of them have even kept up with their French after graduating!)
2. People at the Alliance Francaise are tres impressed to meet an American married to an American who only speaks French to her children. (Having my adorable Gwyneth on my hip helped, of course.)
3. For basically the cost of two magazine subscriptions, I can borrow French materials to read and listen to (and also access other resources from their office, like an iPod loaded with educational podcasts and a television showing TV5, a 24-hour channel in French).
4. It would not be a good idea to enroll Griffin--or even Gwyneth--in the classes they offer for younger children. At the sample class I observed, the teachers explained that these classes are designed for anglophone kids who are learning French for the first time and that when a child from a French family attends he invariably gets bored. This is very good to know before I made the commitment to haul my kiddos back and forth to downtown Denver once a week!
5a. On the other hand, the teachers seemed to think that a class for children who are already familiar with French would be welcome, and that if we could meet a minimum enrollment number that the AF teacher would come to Boulder to give the class!
5b. During that conversation, I also mentioned our French library storytime to the teachers--which really appealed to them. Perhaps I should start publicizing this program at the AF office and through their newsletter!
5c. Then I pointed out that as the AF offers activities for francophile adults such as wine tastings, art appreciation lectures, conversation groups, and parties, they could (should?) plan some analogous events for children! For example, arts and crafts workshops, dance parties, field days, Asterix cartoon viewings.... I would willingly drive down to Denver once a month to have Griffin hang out with French kids and, say, learn to play soccer in French or have a cooking lesson in French.
5d. The teachers, enthusiastic, then suggested that I contact the AF director and propose classes and workshops like those! I could even ask the families from French playgroup and storytime to write to him as well....
5e. It's been a week since the AF open house and I haven't done one darn tootin' thing about it (other than read Oui-Oui au pays des jouets to Griffin!).
5f. My to-do list (lists) will not get any shorter if I keep adding projects instead of finishing the ones that are already in progress! (And blogging about them only encourages me to procrastinate and pontificate rather than just do it. Get off the computer already and go sort Gwyneth's clothes, Sarah! She's 14 months old and her size-six-month dresses don't cover her tushie anymore.)
So what was it that made me pony up that $45 membership fee, given that it takes me 40 minutes to drive there, thus ensuring that I won't be visiting regularly?
Their library.
Members can borrow novels, educational materials, CDs, movies, even board games--all in French--aaaaand children's books! Since Griffin is enjoying listening to me read easy chapter books to him now, being able to browse the Alliance Francaise's bibliotheque means I don't have to pay big bucks to order chapter books sight unseen from abroad.
Last week I attended an open house there, anticipating that after that I could stop waffling about whether or not to join--either I'd like what I saw or I'd decide it wasn't worth it. Here's what I learned:
1. It fills me with joy to walk into an unfamiliar place in another city and hear someone exclaim "Mademoiselle [Maiden Name]!" My former students are all over this state. (And some of them have even kept up with their French after graduating!)
2. People at the Alliance Francaise are tres impressed to meet an American married to an American who only speaks French to her children. (Having my adorable Gwyneth on my hip helped, of course.)
 |
| Okay, so this my adorable Gwyneth in her father's arms, but you get the idea. |
3. For basically the cost of two magazine subscriptions, I can borrow French materials to read and listen to (and also access other resources from their office, like an iPod loaded with educational podcasts and a television showing TV5, a 24-hour channel in French).
4. It would not be a good idea to enroll Griffin--or even Gwyneth--in the classes they offer for younger children. At the sample class I observed, the teachers explained that these classes are designed for anglophone kids who are learning French for the first time and that when a child from a French family attends he invariably gets bored. This is very good to know before I made the commitment to haul my kiddos back and forth to downtown Denver once a week!
5a. On the other hand, the teachers seemed to think that a class for children who are already familiar with French would be welcome, and that if we could meet a minimum enrollment number that the AF teacher would come to Boulder to give the class!
5b. During that conversation, I also mentioned our French library storytime to the teachers--which really appealed to them. Perhaps I should start publicizing this program at the AF office and through their newsletter!
5c. Then I pointed out that as the AF offers activities for francophile adults such as wine tastings, art appreciation lectures, conversation groups, and parties, they could (should?) plan some analogous events for children! For example, arts and crafts workshops, dance parties, field days, Asterix cartoon viewings.... I would willingly drive down to Denver once a month to have Griffin hang out with French kids and, say, learn to play soccer in French or have a cooking lesson in French.
5d. The teachers, enthusiastic, then suggested that I contact the AF director and propose classes and workshops like those! I could even ask the families from French playgroup and storytime to write to him as well....
5e. It's been a week since the AF open house and I haven't done one darn tootin' thing about it (other than read Oui-Oui au pays des jouets to Griffin!).
5f. My to-do list (lists) will not get any shorter if I keep adding projects instead of finishing the ones that are already in progress! (And blogging about them only encourages me to procrastinate and pontificate rather than just do it. Get off the computer already and go sort Gwyneth's clothes, Sarah! She's 14 months old and her size-six-month dresses don't cover her tushie anymore.)
Sunday, September 09, 2012
so what does Griffin think about learning Spanish?
After such a positive start to his Spanish immersion preschool program, Griffin has continued to make occasional comments and ask questions that show his awareness of the mix of languages swirling around him.
"Why is Pioneer [the school] so Spanish?"
"Do you know how to say 'red' in Spanish, Mom? I do!"
"Daddy, do you know how to count from one to eleven in Spanish?"
"No, I don't."
"Okay, well it's uno dos tres cuatro cinco seis siete ocho nueve diez once! Now can you say it?"
"No, I can't, Griffin."
"Why not?! I learned you how to say it!"
"I can't sing the adios song to you because I don't know the words yet."
[To a stranger in the grocery store] "I'm going to be trilingual!"
"Maman, why do you only speak French to me?"
Noticing me watching the film Coco avant Chanel: "Ce film est en francais!"
Hearing a new CD, Putumayo Quebec, at home: "What's that music?"
Maman: "C'est un CD du Quebec."
Griffin: "Pourquoi c'est en francais?"
Maman: "Parce qu'on parle francais au Quebec."
Griffin: "Oh, okay."
I've also started reading books in Spanish to him--my husband has never studied Spanish, which means that my several iterations of Spanish I and II over the past 20 years make me the default expert in our casa. (I'm not thrilled about this, because my Spanish is weak and because every time I use Spanish with Griffin is time that I'm not speaking French with him.) (Plus, I don't pronounce the R and RR correctly in Spanish--they come out very Gallic--and when Griffin repeats Spanish words after me he makes them sound French too! That, though, will certainly change as he spends more time in his Spanish immersion classroom.)
Anyway, we've been reading a trilingual alphabet book, ABCx3 by Marthe Jocelyn.
Each page shows a picture of an object that begins with the target letter in all three languages (including the LL and N that exist in Spanish but not the other two). Sometimes the words are similar, sometimes not. Some of them are actually spelled exactly the same in each language, which Griffin picked up on right away.
Griffin: "Why is jaguar 'jaguar' in Spanish and 'jaguar' in French too?"
"Why is Pioneer [the school] so Spanish?"
"Do you know how to say 'red' in Spanish, Mom? I do!"
"Daddy, do you know how to count from one to eleven in Spanish?"
"No, I don't."
"Okay, well it's uno dos tres cuatro cinco seis siete ocho nueve diez once! Now can you say it?"
"No, I can't, Griffin."
"Why not?! I learned you how to say it!"
"I can't sing the adios song to you because I don't know the words yet."
[To a stranger in the grocery store] "I'm going to be trilingual!"
"Maman, why do you only speak French to me?"
Noticing me watching the film Coco avant Chanel: "Ce film est en francais!"
Griffin: "We sang Je suis une pizza at school today!" [This is one of Griffin's favorites; it's by Charlotte Diamond.]
Daddy: "You sang a French song in Spanish class?"
Griffin: "No, silly Daddy! We sang it in Spanish."
Hearing a new CD, Putumayo Quebec, at home: "What's that music?"
Maman: "C'est un CD du Quebec."
Griffin: "Pourquoi c'est en francais?"
Maman: "Parce qu'on parle francais au Quebec."
Griffin: "Oh, okay."
I've also started reading books in Spanish to him--my husband has never studied Spanish, which means that my several iterations of Spanish I and II over the past 20 years make me the default expert in our casa. (I'm not thrilled about this, because my Spanish is weak and because every time I use Spanish with Griffin is time that I'm not speaking French with him.) (Plus, I don't pronounce the R and RR correctly in Spanish--they come out very Gallic--and when Griffin repeats Spanish words after me he makes them sound French too! That, though, will certainly change as he spends more time in his Spanish immersion classroom.)
Anyway, we've been reading a trilingual alphabet book, ABCx3 by Marthe Jocelyn.
Each page shows a picture of an object that begins with the target letter in all three languages (including the LL and N that exist in Spanish but not the other two). Sometimes the words are similar, sometimes not. Some of them are actually spelled exactly the same in each language, which Griffin picked up on right away.
Griffin: "Why is jaguar 'jaguar' in Spanish and 'jaguar' in French too?"
He even notices diacritical marks! On the A page, he saw that the French "avion" becomes "avion" [imagine an accent mark over the O] in Spanish. "Look, Mom! In Spanish, 'airplane' has an accent aigu!" (Ah, if only more of my college students had shown this eye for detail and excitement about spelling.)
Can you tell that I love, love, love watching Griffin's linguistic developments and discoveries? Yep, these 4+ years of speaking to him exclusively in my non-native French have been worth it!
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