Location: Canada-Glorious and Free
Posted on: 02-10-06 15:37:34
I am not sure what the mother's beef was with the teacher. But if it was that the child was not getting hindi instructions 
then she is in LaLa land.
I would not worry about a child not being able to pick up english or french in Canada. My children did not speak English until they hit JK. Even then we insisted on our mother tongue at home. And I have yet to meet a teacher who has had a problem communicating with my children. Unlike some, I have nothing but respect for the teachers in Canada. They are truely professional. Considering the fact that they take in children of various backgrounds (socio, ethno, economic) and still manage to educate.
Looking at what you have said about the child (no friends, and the over-bearing mother, and instructions to say Thanks etc) I think the child has a problem socializing. Mind you, unlike adults, children do not need language to socialize. So you might be right about the child having problems in school, but I do not think the language barrier is really it.
BV
Quote:
Originally posted by Big Vee
Mind you, unlike adults, children do not need language to socialize. So you might be right about the child having problems in school, but I do not think the language barrier is really it.
BV
A shy kid will have more problems socialising, with or without language skills. Again this is from personal experiences with my kids and their friends(some of them who dont even speak English or French ). The language barrier will not be an issue in a couple of years. Its just 2 months since the school year and the kid will make friends sooner or later. Unlike an adult...kids are pretty forgetfull
and dont remember that ONE of them did not know English in grade 1. 
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Quote:
Originally posted by morning_rain
If a child is unable to make friends at a young age due to "language difficulty" even when they are born in Canada, I think it may lead to self esteem or confidence issues.
Its Grade 1. Kids are pretty shallow though resilient at that age
. The confidence has to come from the parents in those years.-----------------------------------------------------------------
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Location: British Columbia
Posted on: 02-10-06 16:00:03
Quote:
Originally posted by jake3d
Quote:
Originally posted by morning_rain
If a child is unable to make friends at a young age due to "language difficulty" even when they are born in Canada, I think it may lead to self esteem or confidence issues.
Its Grade 1. Kids are pretty shallow though resilient at that age
I dont disagree
My point however is that children can be taught multiple languages prior to school. Why are parents not teaching their children english? It is at this point in their life that they can retain languages more easily than if they learn them at a later age. My pups.. understand hindi/punjabi and english commands
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~ Morning rain
Quote:
Originally posted by morning_rain
My point however is that children can be taught multiple languages prior to school. Why are parents not teaching their children english? It is at this point in their life that they can retain languages more easily than if they learn them at a later age.
My pups.. understand hindi/punjabi and english commands
True kids can be taught different languages. In an Ideal canadian world kids would know french, english and their mother tongue. Of these the mother tongue is the one that is probably going to be least accessible down the line.
I'll give a cpl of example:
Polish friends of family: Kids only speak Polish @ home. Elder girl(grade3) write and reads in Polish. Go to french school so write and reads in French. Picked up english playing with other kids including mine. English is not so fluent as the other languages but then this is Quebec.
Bengali freinds of family: Kids speak fluent Bengali @ home. Kids picked up french from school. Understood English but not that fluent in the same. They have now moved to Ontario and kids are fluent(within a year) in English too.
My family: Kids speak English at home. French in school. Elder one fluent in both. Did not speak a word of french until she attended school. Now her writing skills are better in French. Younger one....in KG french medium. Knows no Indian languages.
See a pattern? Thats why I think its more important that the mother tongue be used at home since the kids are easily going to pick up Canadian languages.
Late Edit: On rereading my post....my own english seems to be slipping
. 'write and reads' wtf . Note to self: if you plan to write on forum...do not do it in a hurry.-----------------------------------------------------------------
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One good thing is that kids pick up things fast. But need some encouragement from parents. Spending quality time. Someone born in Canada and exposed to cartoons (such as Blues Clues) etc. should be able to say and identify some basic English words. If that is not the case, then there is some underlying problem.
From our side, we like that kid. As a joke, I asked them if we could adopt. The mom behaves as if she is in the LaLa land. Too busy in the rat race and comparing with others.
DIO
I have not seen kids in India going to decent English Medium schools face this problem. I mean my friends and myself went to school, learnt English, Hindi etc. Never spoke English at home(or Hindi) for that matter.. But we learnt all 3 languages just fine.. English, Hindi and our mother tongue. It is baffling to me that somebody(a kid going to school) here would face problems of being able to communicate only in their mother tongue. I think it reflects very poorly on the parents.
