Current Events > If 2 parents speak different first languages, their children should be bilingual

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm in Japan. I work for my cousin. He has two children. He speaks to them in English while his wife speaks to them in Japanese. Their English isn't perfect but they can communicate.

My cousin has a friend. She married a Japanese guy. Both she and the Japanese guy can speak English perfectly, however they talk to their children exclusively in Japanese.

Aren't they doing a disservice to their children by not teaching them English?

wtf do you need to know english for
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Isaac1987 posted...

My cousin has a friend. She married a Japanese guy. Both she and the Japanese guy can speak English perfectly, however they talk to their children exclusively in Japanese.

It depends on where they live and stuff, like if it's an English speaking country they might think the kid will be better off this way because they will learn English elsewhere. I would worry that during the early childhood years that they might miss important development though if they are only around their parents and only hearing Japanese.

Generally speaking, parents should put more effort into teaching their children language, even if it's just English. Teaching your kid how to read, etc.
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at that age it's super easy for kids to pick up languages. they will be fine learning english more properly in a school setting, but it might help to make sure they have exposure to the basic phonemes of english to make the learning go by smoother
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Sativa_Rerose posted...

It depends on where they live and stuff, like if it's an English speaking country they might think the kid will be better off this way because they will learn English elsewhere. I would worry that during the early childhood years that they might miss important development though if they are only around their parents and only hearing Japanese.

Sure, they live in Japan so they don't NEED to be able to speak English. I look at it this way though. My cousin and his children visit the States maybe once a year to visit with family. How sad would it be if grandma couldn't get to know her own grandchildren because they can't communicate? I would assume the lady visits her family occasionally in the states.

EDIT: On top of that, my cousin is considering sending his oldest son to America in the future for school, so he's already prepared for that. The other family's children couldn't even hope for that at this point.

Isaac1987 posted...

Sativa_Rerose posted...

It depends on where they live and stuff, like if it's an English speaking country they might think the kid will be better off this way because they will learn English elsewhere. I would worry that during the early childhood years that they might miss important development though if they are only around their parents and only hearing Japanese.

Sure, they live in Japan so they don't NEED to be able to speak English. I look at it this way though. My cousin and his children visit the States maybe once a year to visit with family. How sad would it be if grandma couldn't get to know her own grandchildren because they can't communicate? I would assume the lady visits her family occasionally in the states.

If they live in Japan, they should be spending a significant amount of time and effort teaching their children English as well as Japanese. Not doing so is a huge disservice to them.
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This is kinda misleading since Japan teaches English extensively there and in similar countries anyway.

My mum knew English before my dad met her in the Philippines.
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My mother teaches at a school in the US that has a program where Japanese exchange students come and live here for a while. A lot of them have very weak English skills, also they tend to be very shy and introverted which makes teaching them even harder.
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thompsontalker7 posted...

This is kinda misleading since Japan teaches English extensively there and in similar countries anyway.

My mum knew English before my dad met her in the Philippines.

Where did you grow up?
In the Philippines?
How did your parent's speak to you?
Did they both speak to you in the same language?
Did they mix?
Are you bilingual then? I'm curious about this.

My cousin's wife speaks English as well, but it's more comfortable to speak to her children in her first language, which is fine. Likewise, my cousin knows Japanese but rarely speaks it to them.

Isaac1987 posted...

Where did you grow up?

Joisey

Isaac1987 posted...

How did your parent's speak to you?

English exclusively. People think I have a Southern drawl despite never have been down there.

My mum said her language wasn't really worth learning at the time. I'm semi-fluent in French but that's mostly just because I was curious. Funny enough my degree is in English Language
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Isaac1987 posted...

Aren't they doing a disservice to their children by not teaching them English?

Not if they live in Japan. They're exposed to far more Japanese than English. If they lived in America, they'd be fluent in English with spotty Japanese.
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Crazyman93 posted...

Isaac1987 posted...

Aren't they doing a disservice to their children by not teaching them English?

Not if they live in Japan. They're exposed to far more Japanese than English. If they lived in America, they'd be fluent in English with spotty Japanese.

Knowledge of English could still be extremely useful to them, much more so than knowing Japanese in the US would. English is the most international language ever.
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Doesn't work that way. On that note...I'm fluent in English. My family speaks Hindi. I can understand it fully. When family talks to me in it I know exactly what they're saying. But because of the dialect I can't really speak it. I can't pronounce words properly and when speaking it myself I mess up grammar and what no too. Am I still considered bilingual?

TheVipaGTS posted...

Doesn't work that way. On that note...I'm fluent in English. My family speaks Hindi. I can understand it fully. When family talks to me in it I know exactly what they're saying. But because of the dialect I can't really speak it. I can't pronounce words properly and when speaking it myself I mess up grammar and what no too. Am I still considered bilingual?

Assuming Bilingual means fluent, no.

Sativa_Rerose posted...

Knowledge of English could still be extremely useful to them, much more so than knowing Japanese in the US would. English is the most international language ever.

Most people in other countries understand English even if they can't or won't speak it. Though in Europe, knowing German is just as helpful since Germany and countries that speak German are a giant blob in the middle of Europe.
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