Was thinking after V's cast: In our home we don't speak in English. So I get told, mainly by non-English natives, this is a big disservice to my kids. My logic: a) They'll eventually learn in this day & age, b) other languages are harder to learn later. Is this dumb? Should English be nailed down to "unlock" more?
As long as your kids don’t land in kindergarten with 0 English I think knowing a different language is a big plus. We also don’t speak English at home and with my 8 year-old it’s already difficult to maintain because she is much more comfortable with English.
I’ve gone the opposite way - we speak English with the kid at home even though it’s neither my nor my wife’s first language. Kid goes to an English-speaking school, and I’d rather converse with him in a language we’re both fluent in during whatever limited time I have with him (given work, travel, etc).
if they're going to learn it anyway then do them the favor of giving them another language for free
my cohort of 1.5-gen immigrants to America was about 70% English, 30% native, in maybe the most multicultural AND blended city in the USA (Houston) as adults, we almost universally wish our native language skills were better. But about 90% are English first with kids (due to necessity of our own language skills)
To each their own. What we did & I wouldn't change a thing: -Wife is native Spanish speaking & I speak proficiently (we live in U.S.) -Spoke only ESP @ home first few years (my 🧠 🤯) -Introduced ENG close to age 4 + Preschool (ENG) -Mix of ESP/ENG @ home + ENG tv/movies -Eldest (6) is now A++ fluent in both 👇
A friend of a friend adopted two Russian sisters (~4 y/o and ~9 y/o) way back in the 90s after the collapse of the USSR. The kids didn’t speak a lick of English and their new parents didn’t speak a lick of Russian. Less than six months after moving to the US, the kids were fluent in English. Your kids will be fine
we live in the US and started (errr… my wife) speaking only in spanish. so my kids are solid spanish speakers and as soon as they hit pre-school picked up the english immediately. If you have the reverse you might try teaching them english and let them learn the language of the environment in school.