http://picasaweb.google.com/hellotopeter/AvaAndDoubleC#5514623739748816738
這是Catherine,在故事屋聽故事已進入第五個月了,每次聽故事時Catherine總是靜靜地坐在一旁,幾乎不發言也不參與任何活動,注重美語教育的阿嬤也曾猶豫過,也曾幾次問Catherine:”不要聽故事了?” Catherine總是回答:”我要去”.就再最近,Catherine主動回答問題了,而她的第一個答案是: elephant. 就這樣,阿媽放心了…Catherine也突破心房,回答問題的頻率也越來越高了!
This is Catherine who has been coming to the story class for five months. During class time she usually just sits there quietly, but doesn’t answer any questions or join any activities. Catherine’s grandmother was quite worried for a while and had considered stopping the class. However, Catherine insisted on coming and just a few weeks ago she answered a question naturally and the answer was “elephant”. Grandma felt very relieved and since then Catherine has started answering a lot more questions.
http://picasaweb.google.com/hellotopeter/AvaAndDoubleC#5514623106311431346
有一天,我們正在點飲料…
Christina 說: “I want 多多綠”
Peter: What 多多綠
Christina: I want my 多多綠
Peter: Whose 多多綠?
Christina: My 多多綠, it’s my多多綠.
Peter: No, no, no. My 多多綠
Christina: No, it’s mine.
到這裡,我忍不住打斷他們的談話
我問Nana:”哇,Nana 你都到哪裡學英文呀?”
Christina: 我沒有阿.
The other day when we were ordering drinks Christina said, “I want duoduolu (多多錄, a kind of green tea with a special drinking yogurt added).”
Peter replied, “What duoduolu?”
Christina: I want my duoduolu.
Peter: Whose duoduolu?
Christina: My duoduolu. It’s my duoduolu.
Peter: No, no, no, my duoduolu.
Christina: No, it’s mine.
Until this time I had never really had a conversation like that with her so I continued later.
Ava: Wow, where did you go to study English?
Christina: I didn’t.
http://picasaweb.google.com/hellotopeter/AvaAndDoubleC#5514594243680313442
藉由這篇文章我想分享的是, 第二語言是需要長期,耐心投資的.
Nana今年四足歲了,生活中有媽媽和老師說中文,阿公阿嬤說台語,爸爸說英文.在這四年間我們從未拿著書或圖卡問Nana”這怎麼說” 或”這怎麼念”,我們就只是讓英文很自然得出現在生活中.
會有許多父母問:但我們不會說? 我想大人們必須先問自己: 是不會說還是不敢說?
如果是不會說那麼我會鼓勵您多買ㄧ些”有聲繪本” 或 “兒童美語生活會話教學” 甚至於美語兒童節目,例如: A B C Backery, 在小朋友聽的時候您也可以跟著看, 跟著學. 在加以運用在日常生活中.
每當有家長問我:”怎麼上了好幾堂課了,都還不會呢?”
我通常會說:” 每個Baby從在媽媽肚子裡就開始聽著母語到出生再一直到說出第一句話都已經十二~十五個月大,也就是說即便是母語,Baby們都用了將近20個月去累積和學習. 那麼更何況是沒有天天在生活中出現的第二語言呢?”
我贊同”生活美語”, “從小開始學美語”和”學美語不中斷”這三個學習美語的觀念,要強調的是,您的投資(無論是精神上或金錢上)ㄧ定會從孩子身上看到成果,但請不要急,Ava深信只要孩子對英語能保有”興趣”,那麼您需要的就是時間和信心囉!
Through this story, I’d to share that learning English needs a long term investment and with patience.
Christina is now 4 years old, her teachers and I speak Chinese to her, grandpa and grandma speak Taiwanese to her and her father speaks English to her. During these four years we’ve never asked her, “How do you say ___ in English?” We just let English happen naturally in her life.
There are many parents who say they can’t speak English with their kids, but I always wonder whether they really don’t have any English ability or if they are just afraid to try. If you really can’t then I suggest you buy English story books that come with a CD, English conversation CDs, or some children English learning series like ABC Bakery. Then learn together with your kids and use what you learn in your everyday life.
Whenever parents say that their kid has been to a few lessons and still can’t speak any English or read any of the vocabulary I will usually answer, “Every baby starts to listen to their mother language while they are still in the womb and even after they are born they only speak their first word after they are one year old. This means they have taken almost 20 months to prepare to speak. And if that’s how long it takes then how much time should we give when learning a second language?”
Something we have to realize when learning a language (in this case English as her second language) is that there has to be a lot of input and investment in learning before you see results. Many of my students’ parents ask why their kids don’t know this or that, or haven’t achieved some level of English proficiency yet. Christina has been listening to English from both of her parents for four years and only now we can see how much she has learned when she finally says something to us.
There are three main points I believe about English learning: learn daily English, start young and don’t stop once you’ve started. What I want to emphasize is that for your investment, no matter whether mental or economic, you will see the results in your kids. But don’t rush, because what I believe the most is that as soon as your kids have interest in learning English then all you need is time and faith.