What language do you speak to child?

Walala99

I'm aiming for international school for my girl, but Cantonese is my first language. Wondering if I should speak English to her? What do you speak to your child? Most IS conduct interview in English right?

acdad

U may check previous discussion on this topic . We speak Cantonese at home but sent the kids to int'l kinder.

http://www.edu-kingdom.com/searc ... mp;searchsubmit=yes

HKTHK

回復 Walala99 的帖子

Depends on which school you are targeting.  Just look up in what language they interview in.

Walala99

回復 acdad 的帖子

Thank you very much!!! The link you gave me is really informative. I think I will choose to speak Cantonese to her and read her English story books. I'm so happy that I made up my mind. ^^

acdad

回復 Walala99 的帖子

個人認為,毋须為入讀國際學校放棄本身的母語,英美通街都是以英語為母語的人,又代表乜口野?我成家都講廣東話,教個細路出來要我o地用英文同他溝通,唔係口卦?!

goodyma

acdad 發表於 13-5-4 23:26
回復 Walala99 的帖子

個人認為,毋须為入讀國際學校放棄本身的母語,英美通街都是以英語為母語的人,又代表 ...

evatsoihk

Walala99 發表於 13-5-3 23:35
I'm aiming for international school for my girl, but Cantonese is my first language. Wondering if I  ...

既然是国际学校，那么所有英语都会在学校学到的了，无须操心....你在家中保持跟她说自己的母语就好。

ABDADDY

I speak Cantonese, my wife speaks English  to our kids.

AggieBB

My kid has just been admitted by an IS. Our communication is in English but our first language is Cantonese. We will maintain this environment as the preparation for the second child.  The spontaneous response of English for interview cannot be build up from
Tutorial center or kiddy. Daily training is the most important.

HKTHK

回復 AggieBB 的帖子

I don't think I understand "Our communication is in English but our first language is Cantonese."  How does it actually work in your home?  Do you speak to your kids in Cantonese or English?

shadeslayer

原帖由 AggieBB 於 13-05-08 發表
My kid has just been admitted by an IS. Our communication is in English but our first language is Ca ...

If the child communicates only in English with you, then the child's first language becomes English not Chinese, right?

AggieBB

Since last year, my hubby and I hv talked to him in English. When there is conversation with Grand Mother or Maid, he speaks Cantonese.

HKTHK

回復 AggieBB 的帖子

Are you switching back to Cantonese then?  If not, how are you going to keep Cantonese as a first language?

viviwei16

I speak mixed of Cantonese, mandarin and english to my daughter and she reply back in mixed language as well. She will start her K1 in ESF this sept so I don't think it's necessary to speak full English at home.

FattyDaddy

viviwei16 發表於 13-5-12 19:33
I speak mixed of Cantonese, mandarin and english to my daughter and she reply back in mixed language ...

Mixed language (i.e. a mixture of words from different languages in a single sentence) is generally not a good idea, the reason is that the child may have difficulty speaking each language in full. For some societies this is common and accepted, like Singlish is a mixture of English, Malay, and Hokkien, but Singlish is not well understood outside of Singapore and Malaysia / Indonesia.

Mighty

viviwei16 發表於 13-5-12 14:33
I speak mixed of Cantonese, mandarin and english to my daughter and she reply back in mixed language ...

只看這文章、我覚楼主好似好PROUD OF自己OR自己個女可用幾種語言COMMUNICATE、BUT正如FATTY DADDY講左LA、這種教法一D都５籍得ENCOURAGE　LOR.　会造成言語障害GA.　我以上這堆話、相信只有香港人先明LOR.

minirat

ABDADDY 發表於 13-5-8 13:38
I speak Cantonese, my wife speaks English  to our kids.

Same in our family.  I am the only one who speaks to my boy in English, coz my first language is English.  My husband and the other family members speak to him in Cantonese.  He is 22 months old now and I can tell that he can understand Cantonese better and it will probably become his first language.  Even though I think English is very important, I still encourage my husband to speak to our boy in Cantonese, coz I do not believe in speaking to kid in any other languages apart from your own mother's tongue.

minirat

FattyDaddy 發表於 13-5-12 20:40
Mixed language (i.e. a mixture of words from different languages in a single sentence) is generally  ...

I share your views.  It will affect your communication ability.  However it won't go to that great extent of language barrier, unless exposed to more than 4 languages at one time.

davhui

I know families living in HK who speaks 4 languages(father from Denmark, Mum from japan, Helper from Philippines, English in School) and their kids have no problem at all. They will pick it up. Don't worry and underestimate your childs ability. Yes, there will be some barriers compare to single language environment but it is totally manageable.