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Aupairs Teaching Languages to their Charges
An easy way for kids to learn a new language
SOSChildCare.com interviewed Emily, a Brisbane mum-of-two, about her experiences hiring aupairs willing to speak their mother tongue to her children, Josh (5) and Ben (2).
How many aupairs have you had?
About 10 ... 10 plus. My first aupair was when Josh was about 6 months old. She was from Mexico, so she spoke Spanish to Josh. After that, we followed with other nationalities including French (Josh got very good at French), German, Belgium (who spoke French not Flemish) and Finnish. The Finnish aupair spoke English to Josh.
Why didn't the Finnish girl speak her native tongue to Josh?
The Finnish girl wasn't staying for long and I felt that it might be straying too far from the mainstream languages we were targeting like German, French and Spanish. Also, we were unlikely to progress with Finnish and so the consistency wouldn't be there. Ideally, we were keen on our kids learning Spanish but there are issues in the Spanish-speaking countries concerning working visas to Australia and so Spanish-speaking aupairs are hard to come by here. Overall, we have discovered that the German aupairs work best for us and so we have settled mostly on hiring German aupairs and learning the German language.
Why didn't you just take the kids to lessons, Spanish classes for instance?
Because I wanted them to learn in a natural environment and the most natural environment in which to learn a language (if you're not living in the actual country) is to have a native person speaking to you on a regular basis.
Were you worried that learning a foreign language might interfere with your children's understanding of their own language during the critical early development years?
No because children have such a good ear, that they can separate other languages from their own. They learn and hear the differences very clearly, so their native tongue isn't adversely affected. Interestingly, my younger son speaks English and German more clearly than my older son, but I put this down to differences in individual learning capabilities.
... and do they speak German or just understand it?
Ben understands and speaks it very well, within the context of a two year old of course! Josh understands well but is reluctant to speak it. That could be because he had different languages earlier on, unlike Ben who has been only exposed to German. It's hard to be sure but Josh used to speak French a lot, earlier on when he just had the French.
What is the quality of their accents when they speak a foreign language?
According to both the French and German aupairs their accents are excellent. I think it's said that up until six to eight years of age, if they learn to speak another language, they generally manage very well with the essence of the language in question like accents, pronunciation and colloquialisms.
Do your children speak to you in words you don't understand sometimes and does it cause confusion on the home front?
No. Generally, if they come to ask me something, they will speak in English.
How long does it take for them to learn a new language to a relatively good standard?
I think it depends on the individual child and the circumstances. For instance, the age of the child, how many children are being taught, how much exposure to the language is actually taking place. Is the aupair speaking exclusively in their mother tongue or mixed in with English? If the aupair is speaking only their mother tongue, then as a guide, I would say ... maybe six months.
Have you encountered any difficulties with aupairs not wanting to teach their mother tongue to your kids?
Yes, occasionally I have hired an aupair who doesn't have very good English and wants to maximise her opportunities to practice the language. To overcome this issue, I tend to only consider aupairs for hire who already speak good English. They're still happy, because they can speak English with me, practice the language and I can help them perfect their accent.
Do they expect to be paid more to compensate for speaking their language to the kids?
No.
Do they actively teach their native tongue or is it just a matter of speaking a foreign language?
I try to encourage games in German but most aupairs just speak in their mother tongue and carry on their duties as normal. Some of the aupairs are keener than others and I think that they prefer to deal with older children in this regard.
What techniques do the aupairs employ to ensure that the children are grasping the language?
Some of them, if they think that the child does not understand something, tend to then follow up a sentence with the English translation. It depends on the aupair. I generally encourage them to speak only in their mother tongue unless they really think there is a need to clarify. Most of the time children can contextualise if they're not quite understanding. Besides, they're having to contextualise all the time while learning English, their mother tongue. Quite often, they'll ask me what a word in English means, and I'll explain it to them. It's no different in German, they can just ask if they don't understand. A lot of the time, this happens in the context of playing games or looking at pictures. So they can also see what is being discussed and so usually they can work out what's being said and learn in that way.
Do you ever feel left out of the conversation when the aupair and your children converse in German?
No if we're not sure what the aupair is saying to our children, we just ask. Besides, most of the things I can see from the context of what they're doing. I can see what my children are eating etc so it's pretty obvious to me. I have also learnt a reasonable amount of German, I can understand when the aupair is saying "would you like another drink?", "time for a nap", "are you bored?", "have you got your sun hat?" and so on.
Are there any pitfalls other parents considering this option should be aware of?
The trouble with only one person speaking a foreign language to the children is that the children don't get to hear conversations. So they don't get exposed to the full flow of the language. To compensate for this, we play German DVDs which they adore. They don't treat them any differently to English videos. We also play German music and the aupair reads them German books. Of course, in books there are often people speaking and having conversations. Ideally, I would like to join a German playgroup but there are none available in my area.
Have they forgotten the languages of the previous aupairs?
Yes, pretty much. Josh learnt French when he was two, going on three, he's now five and has forgotten his French although he still has a nice accent if you ask him to repeat a word in French. So he still has a good ear for the language. It doesn't bother me though, because I think the benefits of learning languages early stretch beyond the retention of the idiom to other positive effects such as improved lateral thinking and a keen interest in world cultures. Josh has a phenomenal interest in geography and travel, where people come from, what different countries are like. He understands that people around the world are the same and yet they are different. He gets really excited about that and truly understands that language can be used in many different ways. A word that means something in our language can mean something different in another language. So it's far reaching, it's opened his mind at an early age. So even if he doesn't remember any of it, it doesn't matter! Its taken place in shaping him in a good way, regardless.
Related articles:
- Raising Bilingual Kids - we're all aware that having a decent knowledge of another language is a really wonderful life skill, that will not only prove useful on holiday, but can also open ones eyes to whole other cultures and ways of life, as well as bringing improved job opportunities ... [ full article ]
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