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Esperanto for small children?

door Uzantonomo, 15 oktober 2011

Berichten: 24

Taal: English

Uzantonomo (Profiel tonen) 15 oktober 2011 14:42:12

First of all, greetings to everyone on Lernu, this is my first post. On topic though, my little brother is just turning three years old and I've been teaching him some basic Esperanto (pretty much all he can say after the first couple days is "Mia nomo es Joseph" and ask for "suko" or "lakti") and I'm having a little trouble. English is the only language my family spoke in the house until quite recently when I started studying Esperanto, so I don't really know anything about bilingual development for small kids. I know that children grow up bilingual all the time, here in Florida it's common to have a Spanish speaking household, but is it important to do that from the beginning? He's only three years old, and while he isn't what I would call fluent yet, his English is well ahead of the curve. I'm having trouble getting him to grasp the idea of another language that conveys the same information (For instance, Dad can't be his Patro in his mind) and I'm not sure if it's because English language patterns are already set in his mind. And I realize that I'm only in the first week and can't expect big progress yet, really it just boils down to the fact that I'm not sure how to approach teaching him. Thoughts?

hjhj (Profiel tonen) 15 oktober 2011 17:28:25

This is my first post as well, so hi everyone.

To give my onpinion, I think any exposure you can give your brother to a new language will benefit him. That being said, young children often have a hard time learning that one item (or action, idea, etc.) can have two names. As children get older (school-age) though, they usually figure out the difference between languages, and when to use each.

I agree with jean-luc in that he will probably not become interested right away. When he is older though, he will want to imitate you, so keep at it.

Kalantir (Profiel tonen) 15 oktober 2011 18:27:45

I would say don't actively try teaching him Esperanto, but instead just use Esperanto words around him. If he asks you what a word means, tell him. If you can, use the words in a way that he can tell what it means by context. Just make sure he already knows the English word because you don't want him to speak an English/Esperanto hybrid language.

I am not by any means an expert on linguistics, child psychology, or Esperanto, but that is the approach I would take if I were in your place.

darkweasel (Profiel tonen) 15 oktober 2011 18:31:07

i have some classmates with foreign parents who learned german in kindergarten, and now they speak it nearly perfectly.

so yes, it is possible to learn a language at that age. however i guess that in your case the circumstances are suboptimal. your brother will not link esperanto with you because he has heard you speak english, and he doesn't NEED it to communicate with you.

however i am not a psychologist.

erinja (Profiel tonen) 15 oktober 2011 20:11:27

My three year old nephew has a "Spanish teacher" in his pre-school who comes in and teaches the kids some Spanish words. Certainly kids of that age are capable of understanding that there is more than one language. My nephew is also able to understand that "Erin" and "Auntie" is the same person (me).

However, especially since your Esperanto isn't so good and you probably aren't in a position to give this kid immersion, scattered words is about all you can expect. A picture dictionary might be a fun way to point at pictures and talk about their names in English and in Esperanto. "Mil unuaj vortoj en Esperanto" is one that you can find online without too much trouble.

Since your Esperanto isn't fluent, this can expand your vocabulary, too!

marion22 (Profiel tonen) 15 oktober 2011 21:48:35

Hi
I'm not a native English speaker so please forgive my bad English.
I know many children who can speak Esperanto and they have learnt at very different ages. I speak Esperanto with my children from their birth on.
All I can say is: don't be afraid. If you have fun and your brother have fun, everything you can do is ok.
Of course children are not interested in languages just like us, but they learn in a very natural way. Just use the language, just play with him.
On the other hand, it's a long term invest. Don't expect quick results...
Here is a link for you in English:
http://www.nethelp.no/cindy/myth.html
And in Esperanto :
http://familioj.wikispaces.com
Greetings from Switzerland ! sal.gif

robbkvasnak (Profiel tonen) 15 oktober 2011 22:03:21

You're in Florida?!?!?! We just started an Esperanto Rondo here today. We are six Esperantists who found each other online. We come from the area between Coral Gables (Miami), Aventura, Oakland Park (Broward) and Park Land (Broward). We are planning on meeting again one month from today (today is Oct 15) but we haven't set a date yet. Wanna stay informed?

robbkvasnak (Profiel tonen) 15 oktober 2011 22:17:57

It just so happens that I teach Second Language Acquisition at Florida Atlantic University. My department is specialized in bilingual education.
Little kids have no problem sorting out languages and knowing whom to speak them with. Look at Stephen Krashen's 5 language acquisition hypotheses (google him).
There is a fantastic program on Youtube: Mazi en Gondolando. It is especially constructed for kids and it is self explanatory. You will probably like it too. I suggest that you watch it with your brother and that you repeat parts of it and ask him questions about it in Esperanto. It contains some nifty songs for kids in Esperanto.
Order some children's books in Esperanto either from UEA or ELNA and read them outloud to your brother. Discuss the content with him: La malgranda kato manĝas. Kion la kato manĝas? Ĉu la malgranda kato ankaŭ trinkas? Kion trinkas malgrandaj katoj? Mi volas manĝi. Ĉu vi volas manĝi?
Language is a social activity best learned from other humans but the Mazi cartoons and the books will help you make conversation.
Look into taking him to a kongreseto with other little Esperanto-speaking kids. Kids his age are not inhibited about making mistakes. They are great risk-takers in language and this helps alot. (At puberty we unfortunately loose this virtue, though that does not mean that we become bad language-learners.) Contact me if you need more info. If you live near FAU, you may gladly audit my courses for free.
BTW there is a wonderful film called "Speaking in Tongues" that would be of some help to you. Your local library may have it.

Kalantir (Profiel tonen) 15 oktober 2011 22:24:05

robbkvasnak:My department is specialized in bilingual education.
Little kids have no problem sorting out languages and knowing whom to speak them with.
To your knowledge, is it common for children to reject a second language due to lack of interest? What I mean is... from my personal experiences, I know that if someone tries to make me interested in something, sometimes that turns me off to whatever it is. But if I come to the conclusion that something is interesting myself then nothing can stop me from learning about it. I could easily see the same thing happening with other people, children especially. Obviously it'd be different if it was the parents teaching them the language...

erinja (Profiel tonen) 16 oktober 2011 01:04:08

Kalantir:To your knowledge, is it common for children to reject a second language due to lack of interest?
I think this is common, especially as kids reach an age where they want to blend in with their peers.

It also seems common to me that the kid listens to a question from the parent in another language, then answers in the language they're comfortable with (usually English in the US). I saw this with countless friends growing up. Normally the friends would be skilled at the second language (their parents' language) only if they had an active interest in the culture (watched its TV etc) or if their parents sent them abroad to spend a whole summer with relatives in the home country, or if the parents sent them to a Saturday morning language school. It's something the parents had to actively work at, to make sure the kid reached a good level.

Without these supplemental activities, in my experience the kid would have a passive knowledge only (able to understand questions in the second language, but answering only in English).

Lack of interest also plays a part. I had a friend who spoke fluent Chinese because she spoke it with her parents and loved watching Chinese TV dramas. Her younger sister spoke excellent Chinese as a kid. But then she hit middle school and she was embarrassed that her parents didn't speak good English, and she refused to speak Chinese with them. She lost most of her Chinese. She was so divorced from her culture, that by the end of high school, when I asked her what Chinese ethnic group she belongs to, she didn't know the answer. (I gave her a hint - "90% of Chinese are members of this ethnic group" - but she still didn't know the answer)

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