Teaching foreign language to a 4 year old

Hello,

I am from German and my wife is Japanese and we have a 4 year old daughter. But of course since her mother only speaks Japanese and also her environment (grandparents, pre-school) is only in Japanese, she only speaks Japanese until now. Actually she also already start reading and writing in Japanese. I try always to speak in German to her, but most of the time she doesn't understand even easy German, so I switched sometimes to Japanese, which I always regret afterwards. Recently I try to teach her German vocabulary, so she can at least understand some words and also can say them, but she is not able to even say simple short sentences in German, although I think she sometimes understand what I am saying (not often, but sometimes).

I am not a teacher and therefore I am also a little bit out of ideas, what would be the best way to teach her the language better. In the hope that some other parents have perhaps similar issues or experiences, I would be happy about every advise.

Thank you.

As your daughter will be exposed to English lessons when she goes to school, would not that be a better choice at this point? Otherwise, learning Japanese, English and German simultaneously could be overwhelming, particularly as she does not currently appear to be over enthusiastic about German. If your wife does not speak German this would also make it difficult. I am a ESL teacher and in your case I would just teach her some basic words or phrases, without pushing too hard.
Anyway, just my thoughts and of course, it is your decision.
Cheers

It's a dilemma that every family with international background suffers from. And I am a person who would go for German instead of English, in this case.

But as a person who once was a child being forced to speak a language not commonly used in the place I was living in, I can understand that your child wouldn't want to pay attention to the German language.

Long story short, my advice to you is to get to know other multi-cultural families. Join or create a group of multi-cultural families if you can. Then you'll have a chance to share your dilemma with others experiencing the same thing, while exchanging information. You'll feel better and get tips at the same time.

Happy parenting!

I was born in and grew up in a multi (3) language environment. I can attest that younger is better and easier for learning a new language, but you don�ft necessarily have to �gteach�h in a structured curriculum. Being in a foreign language environment (like watching a foreign language TV program) on regular basis is very helpful. Kids pick up new languages unbelievably fast.

My advice is for each parent to speak to the child in your native language (German and Japanese). The child will learn the language by the normal learning method of children. Do not switch to another language. Just pretend she is very young and repeat the statement. She will learn naturally. Do not get frustrated.

There is a lot of advice out there and I am sure a lot of books have been written about the topic as well. It is not a specific problem of Japanese & German, but more a problem of a dominant language vs. a much less dominant one.

https://www.google.com/search?q=zweisprachig+erziehen&rlz=1C5CHFA_enJP...

I would also definitely go for German and Japanese. Yes, maybe English and Japanese is the more economical relevant combination, but seeing your child acquire your language and customs is more important. Plus learning from someone who speaks the language as a mother tongue is so different than learning it from someone who him/herself only speaks it (English in this case) as a second language.

There is a lot of advice out there and I am sure a lot of books have been written about the topic as well. It is not a specific problem of Japanese & German, but more a problem of a dominant language vs. a much less dominant one.

https://www.google.com/search?q=zweisprachig+erziehen&rlz=1C5CHFA_enJP...

I would also definitely go for German and Japanese. Yes, maybe English and Japanese is the more economical relevant combination, but seeing your child acquire your language and customs is more important. Plus learning from someone who speaks the language as a mother tongue is so different than learning it from someone who him/herself only speaks it (English in this case) as a second language.

I think it is not about which language will be more helpful (e.g. German vs. English...) it is about which languages are the native languages of the kid�Ls parents.
As the mother has Japanese as her first language and the father German, they are both experts on these languages, but mostly not on others.
As other users already mentioned, there is often a dominant language, very likely the language the kid is often surrounded by. While it is small, it is the language of the person the kid spends most of its time, later it is the language the institutions use, such as the kindergarden or the school.
The easiest way for the kid is to learn the native languages of the parents is when they use them always. In the beginning, it just happens. The kid learns the things it hears and imitates them. Very soon it learns to make a difference between the language of the mother and of the father. "Teaching at home" starts, when the kid should also learn to write and read in this language, but there is no institution taking care of it. So e.g., if the kids doesn�Lt attend a course for German, only the father can show how to read and write in German.
So speaking to the father, if you want the kid to use German, be consequent in only speaking German to the kid, even in front of non-German relatives. You are the one always speaking German, your wife is the one always speaking Japanese. Your kids will understand the difference. You should stay consequent and never mix languages in one sentence, better finish a thought in one language. Kids learn very quickly.
So get youd kid CDs with German radio drama, such as "Bibi und Tina", "Benjamin Blümchen" and various fairy tales. Get German books with lots of nice pictures, tell your kid stories and read them to it. Actually, the more it gets to know stories, the better it is to write its own stories later on in school.

Summary: Use German always when communicating with your kid, let it listen to German stories and Songs from CD or internet and tell your own stories.

Bilingualmonkeys.com has loads of very helpful ideas, resources, and advice and its companion forum bilingualzoo.com is also a great way to connect with others who face a similar dilemma. And not only English, but all kinds of languages.

Just went to the site now. There's an inspiring story on the home page about a father who's teaching English, Arabic, and Urdu to his son who is 5 years old. So you may be able to connect with people from all over the world trying to teach all kinds of languages. It's not impossible if you have the determination! I encourage you; it's not too late!

Also, make learning German absolutely fun. The German will be "competing" against the Japanese, so the more the German seems undesirable in the face of the ubiquitous Japanese, the more your daughter might resist. There are lots of wonderful ideas on the website on how to do that. Good luck!

Here's a great one to start with:

Bilingualmonkeys.com/my-best-tips-for-raising-bilingual-kids/