Teaching a child to read (a Second Language)?

Question

We are an Indian couple currently living in UK. Our son is 3.5 years old. We talk our regional language (Marathi) at home and our son talks the same language. He goes to a pre-school where they talk in English. But our son doesn’t speak English yet (its just 6 months he is attending the school); he seems to understand it a bit (a very small bit) though.

We often read him the English books (and he quite enjoys it; in fact listening to the stories is his most favourite thing). Now, I want my son to start learning reading. He can read and write the ABCD. Next step is that he reads small sentences from book. We want him to learn reading English and not our regional language (because of various reasons, which I won’t go into).

I think that making him read English (the language he doesn’t speak much as compared to our regional language) would be tougher on him. Am I right in my thinking? Or is it OK to start teaching him English reading? Any tips for me?

Frm: Wanna be a good father

Answer 1

ok i was born to an indian family and was brought up in London uk. I went to school there and became bilingual. at a very young age i picked up english, bengali beign spoken at my home. i was fluent in both speakign and reading. this is a natural progression - yr child will pick up English v easily as he has alot to read around him. signs when he goes for a wlak, car number plates. we watch childrens tv. do flashcards for alphabet letters and there are a lot of resources on the web. google prek resources/ flashwards

the biggest problem that u will face, and that i faced is that he will be so immersed in english that readign and writing of the mothertongue will disappear in comparision. he will beging to dream in english.

beign fluent in 2 languages at home made me pick up very easily 3 languages at school - it was so easy!

u must keep pushign yr own tongue at home,esp with reading and writing, my mother made me write letters to distant relative who lived in india and i did not know- i sometimes think that she never sent them but just got me to practice.

i now have  a3.5 yr old son my self in america and have exactly the same problem. he is so immersed in the western culture that he rebels wantign to read bengali asn it is another alphabet he is unfamiliar with. he will speak it though.

at some stage u will have to come to some deep  agreement that the next generation is gainign another language but in the process somehtign will be lost.

so dont worry about the English, his accent will come to mimick the other kids and going to the library will fuel is love for language.

Answer 2

um... don't go forcing your 3 year old to start reading in any language. Let him be a kid and just listen. He'll be reading his whole life, and he'll learn in elementary school. I have a friend who home-schools. Her 9 year old is just starting to read; her 7 year old isn't really interested in anything but math, and her 6 year old is the one who is reading up a storm. Let him work at his own pace. He'll learn.

Answer 3

You are off to a good start in reading English books at home and he is beginning to grasp the English language in preschool. Don't force the issue. Children will pick up the language the more they are exposed to it and peers are a great teacher. It may take him most of the year before he begins to do any verabalization of his second language.

You can help by continuing to read books in English. You could also help increase his vocabulary by labelling items around the house. Write the word "bed" on a piece of paper and put it by his bed so he can begin to recognize the letters with the object. Same with "chair" or "fridge".

Language develops differently with each child and children who are working in two languages completely dissimilar from eachother may blossom a a little later than their peers who are just learning one.

Be patient. You never know when they are going to surprise you with what they have grasped. One day there will be an "explosion" of speaking and reading and you will wonder how that happened.