Dev is one of those children whose mother always keeps complaining about his "hyper-active" nature. At his kindergarten we got the same feedback. Infact, till recently his teacher in school was doubtful if she would allow him to go to his next class! She said, he learns, he is intelligent, but he doesn’t have patience to sit and WRITE! Then she went on to add. He is very expressive. In his class there are children from various nationalities - Italian, Spanish, German, English, American, Scottish, Turkish, Indian and all these children didnt speak much amongst themselves till Dev joined them this January. He could not only converse in English but interact with everyone in his class and seniors with equal ease and that she found very commendable in a child of 3 yrs. Here, I’m here to present to you, my son, Dev Acharya Menon who completed his 4th yr this March.
In this cross-cultural and multi-lingual environment, the child is exposed to more than one language especially in a country like India.
In India, apart from the mother-tongue, a child has to learn English, as the medium of studies and then a second language is introduced as early as 6-7 yrs, be it Hindi or the language he already speaks. The concern of "teaching" a language is very prevalent in the mind of parents if they do not speak much English or Hindi at home.
My writting is based on my experience with my child just to assure you that its easier for a child to communicate than you can even imagine.
It might be hard to believe that a 4 yr old can understand partially/completely English, German, Bengali, Hindi, Malayalam... so Ive attached a few vedios which randomly recorded at different ages.
Dont worry too much about "teaching" a language to your child. They pick up things so fast that you would start wondering, where & how they learnt this! Main point is, to learn any language, first a child should be able to express in his MOTHER TONGUE - the first language or the language he speaks most with his parents.
In my case I spoke Bengali with my child from the very beginning. My husband speaks Malayalam and Tamil, but he chose not to use either with the child in an attempt not to confuse him too much with different languages. The languages spoken at home was mainly English, Bengali and Hindi amongst ourselves. Krish was exposed to all the 3 from the first day. While conversing with my in-laws my husband still maintains Malayalam. So, he knows thats a different language and now at 4 yrs he is inquisitive about this language too.
In this cross-cultural and multi-lingual environment, the child is exposed to more than one language especially in a country like India.
In India, apart from the mother-tongue, a child has to learn English, as the medium of studies and then a second language is introduced as early as 6-7 yrs, be it Hindi or the language he already speaks. The concern of "teaching" a language is very prevalent in the mind of parents if they do not speak much English or Hindi at home.
My writting is based on my experience with my child just to assure you that its easier for a child to communicate than you can even imagine.
It might be hard to believe that a 4 yr old can understand partially/completely English, German, Bengali, Hindi, Malayalam... so Ive attached a few vedios which randomly recorded at different ages.
Dont worry too much about "teaching" a language to your child. They pick up things so fast that you would start wondering, where & how they learnt this! Main point is, to learn any language, first a child should be able to express in his MOTHER TONGUE - the first language or the language he speaks most with his parents.
In my case I spoke Bengali with my child from the very beginning. My husband speaks Malayalam and Tamil, but he chose not to use either with the child in an attempt not to confuse him too much with different languages. The languages spoken at home was mainly English, Bengali and Hindi amongst ourselves. Krish was exposed to all the 3 from the first day. While conversing with my in-laws my husband still maintains Malayalam. So, he knows thats a different language and now at 4 yrs he is inquisitive about this language too.
At 2 yrs he was trying to tell this story in Hindi with the actions of a lion pouncing on everything around, till we got the camera to record!
Krish is narrating a story in Hindi
Krish spoke only Bengali initially, say upto 2 years with a very little English. Then when we shifted to Germany, as I knew he would visit kindergarten at 3 yrs, I started to speak to him in English, little did I realise that his kindergarten would use German as their first language. He didnt want to go there and would cry his heart out, as he had never heard the language before. He couldnt converse with them but then within 3 months or so he would speak German with me at home and his Papa would come pleading to speak in English. It was extremely humorous watching father and son speaking to each other and then me being interpreter most times. I had my share of pleasure of acting pricey at time.
Krish reciting Bengali poem - Kathberali at 3 yrs.
At 3yrs 9 mnths he started with his International School with English as first language. I was amazed at the ease he shifted from German to English. Now at 4 yrs he doesnt use much of German, sadly neither Bengali or Hindi, but he speaks beautiful English replicating the accent and style of his Scotish teacher, Anna.
Intially he used to mix up English and German, though he knows they are different when he cant remember a word in either or even slip of tongue.
Now he is amused at the way his father seaks to his Ammuma & Appupa and wants to be a part in that. He has started singing in Malayalam and says a few words too.Infact, he speaks both Hindi & Malayalam in Bengali.
Any idea how he manages?
I shall record and post that.... its hillarious..
Krish singing Malayalam lullaby for Appupa-Ammuma at 3 yrs. (composed by his father)
Just discovered he is made a close friend at school. She is an Italian girl, Melissa. Not sure if he has picked up a few Italian words.
I would love to see him do that :-)
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