"Je peut pas" ....

Unfortunately its not the kind of words I would prefer to be hearing from Tullula...
The reality is she often says it now in frustration and it stops her from talking further at times!

"Oh.....JE PEUT PAS".....its often followed  by a "I can't do it" (exact translation of "je peut pas" actually)
As she might be throwing herself on the ground, giving up as all is too hard!

It has been over 4 months that we are now back from our trip to France and the reality to be expected is that English has once again become Tullula's first language and only having me to practise her French means she is not getting much of it once more...I am still only talking to her in French exclusively, and its been interesting to notice that she will switch to French when addressing me where ever we are...Clearly meaning that she has no problems swapping from one language to the other!
Yet its the vocabulary that's the difficulty, she forgets words in French and it has sort of become a stutter as she tries to find her words and if they don't come she gets frustrated and its all over!

I often tell her to calm down and just say it in English, but she does not...She will ask me how to say this or that and continue...There are times when both languages are mixed and its done in such a natural way that I dot point it out and I don't know if Tullula actually notices!!!

I have noticed myself trying to use a more simple vocabulary, a more simple speech to use with her...But reality is I have to stop, as if I don't use the right words how will she learn?
And after all its good for me too to practise proper French!

The very sad part, and I hate to have to admit this...But I have noticed that Tullula has been also struggling a bit with her English...When she talks she has no problems, her speech is clear and she has all the right vocabulary, but she has a tendency to stay on one word for a bit at times before she moves on...Like a broken disc...And we sit there waiting for to to spit it out, say what she has to say....Its a bit strange...I truly believe that its due to her Bilingualism Brain!

One day when I picked her up from Day Care she ran to me as she does for a hug...then went back to the little girl she was playing with and said to her:
"You want to see my Mummy? Sheeeeeeee's Different!!!"

I sat there thinking what's that supposed to mean?? Now I am different?? What is my daughter trying to insinuate?
And I realised that it was because I speck French to her all the time, not like the other mummy's, making me different from the vast majority!
Ok, I can deal with that!!!

I have mentioned how the Topic of raising a Bilingual child often comes up, and the interesting part is that whats most spoken about is the child!
Well there is a lot that can be said about the parent as well.
But that will be for the next chapter!

Getting Ready!

Its amazing to think that this trip is only days away!
It seems like it has been such a long wait, yet a year has gone by and Tullula and I are about to embark on a long holiday to France.
It will be her first time in France, and doe me it has been 4 years since I was last there...On my last visit, Tullula was only a growing little thing in my belly!
Being in Australia make this trip out to be such a "big" thing, being so far away.
Yet I stop myself and think that its actually only a normal trip, going home for a visit!
For sure this visit is not one that I will be able to afford to do every year, as it maybe should be, but its something I hope to do many other times as my life in Australia continues!
Anyway, it has all become very exiting, and our bags are packed!

I have made myself a weekender bag to be used as our carry on luggage. Long gone are the days of travelling with way too many things that make any sort of transfer/bus/metro trip a hard sweating hassle!
So I am now travelling with mine and Tullula's things  in the same one back pack, and I have become so sane that I have actually down sized my back pack from a 77l to a 65l....This back pack I got came with a smaller back pack that attaches to its back, it has been filled with the gifts, thus will eventually end up empty and will be able to be used as a day pack!
I also found a small umbrella pram found at an Op shop for $25, thus Tullula will not have to walk all the time and I wont have to carry her, during our trip around and transfers!

What I am the most anxious about is the long 28hrs of travel time and how Tullula will go for such a long time, or maybe how I will go with her, alone...
We have travelled together a few times now, 3hrs to be exact...well there was that time we flew from Tahiti to here, but she was only 2 month old then...

Its funny because reality is that Tullula is a good little girl most of the time, so why should I worry?
The Unknown...
But like all parents who take long trips I am going prepared!!

I have a selection of things to keep her busy, like books to read, things to draw with, cards to play, playmobile little people and stickers and activity books! A lot of it actually comes from France...
I have also been telling her over and over again that we will sleep in the air plane, and am going to get her into her pyjama's at our transfer in china (hopefully after a shower) to get her into the mode!!
Hope it works.

As for our first two days in Paris, well we have nothing planned, just to relax and get into the local time of things!

The most exiting thing about this trip is how Tullula's going to go with the French Language?
Since this trip has been getting closer, we have been repeating to her that in France everyone speaks French
and that she too will have to speak French with her cousins and grandma and auntie...(they are all fluent in English, but have warned them not to talk in English with her). Yet she has sort of started to make a little bit of a switch, saying more things to me in French and moistly pointing out that she too can speak French; repeating "c'est bien" to whom ever showed any interest in her language skills!!

So this trip will be very interesting to see how she goes, what will happen, how fast and how well!!
I am very exited about it and if the transition works well i will finally be reaping some reward for my hard work talking to her exclusively in French!

En Francais!

I have been often asking Tullula to say things to me in French...As surly if she understands me she can say the words? But she says that she does not know, so I tell her in French for her to repeat, but all she says is "I cant" or smiles or makes a fake attempt!
Its clear she does not want to talk in French...
Now there are still some words she says Only in French, and others that she mostly says in French and Translates them to English if needed! But most of her conversations are in English.
I really wonder how she will go when we go to France, and am really hoping that she will make a switch to French....
DREAM DREAM DREAM....
I reassure myself by the simple fact that she still understands everything I say to her, as I am still talking to her exclusively in French!
Tonight as I put her down in her bed, she asked to more milk as I was saying "Bonne Nuit" to her, and as she replied "Good Night"...So I repeat "Bonne Nuit" and she just smiles...Cheeky thing, clearly she knows what I want. So  I say If you say "Bonne Nuit" (of course the whole sentence was more like; si tu dit bonne nuit en français je vais te chercher plus de lait!) I will get you more milk!
So she puts on the cheekiest of smiles and says" Bonne nuit"
Just like that, matter of factish way....Sort of I can say it but choose not to do so!

I still find that on the days that we spend the whole day together, she tends to use a bit more French words, or repeats a bit more some of the words I say!

Having a nice little milkshake!

I have also started to wonder if her puzzle solving is due to learing two languages?

Does anyone know?

Tullula is really good at Puzzles, she can put together a 35piece puzzel, one that she know, but still it a  lot of pieces for a little girl of 3, or is it??

I have heard that being billingual was a great problem solving tool, so I am wondering if puzzle solving comes with it as well!

Thoughts.....

 

Becoming Billilgual

I guess it becomes some sort of big issue or discussion point when you are raising a child that way. For me, it has been something super interesting to live, watch and talk about!

On the Sunshine Coast, I am surrounded by Multicultural families.

A few have children the same age as Tullula so it’s a topic of common interest!

Now apart from a little boy whose parents are both French, the others are different nationalities.

It has come to my attention that I am doing really good, always talking to Tullula in French, no matter where we are or with whom. I know I have to, it’s the key factor to her learning, remembering and becoming bilingual at this stage!

I do know that it can be hard to do so, and I have at times felt like giving up and just talk in English. Some people are embarrassed to talk their native language when in public and I have been told that its “rude” to talk to you child in a language no one around can understand!

Well you see, I don’t think it is!!!

I am French, and I speak French! I am teaching my child to talk MY language, and Stephen, day care and every one else is teaching her English.

I mean; say you go on a holiday to France (or any other country of different language) and take your child to the playground; are you going to talk to your child in French???

Well if you don’t speck the language, you can’t, and even if you did, I bet you still would not!

Now, ok once Tullula will be older and actually BE bilingual, sure then I shall talk to her in the language of those around us, but until then I am teaching her something valuable, something that is part of her heritage, and now she will learn it much easer than at any other time in her life!

It just has to be done from the begging and never stopped until it’s achieved!

I have been frowned upon that Tullula will take longer to learn to talk, and maybe its true. Maybe she is a bit behind in the language stills, but then is she really?

Maybe she is now, but next year she wont be.

She will eventually talk, we all do! And when she does, she will talk two languages!

I think that’s being a bit ahead in today’s world! At least it’s the way I see it, and if I can give that to my child well then I shall!!!

As for now, haven spent 3 weeks in Fiji and being surrounded by French has clearly improved her French, and it makes me very proud to hear!

Tullula has a cold!

Whats your way of teaching your children to becoming Bilingual?

How is it working?

I would Love to hear your story.

Not Lost in Translation!

Naturally now that Tullula is learning two languages I have been really interested in the whole process of children learning two Languages at Home! It sure has been Interesting to see it all evolve, especially now that she is really only just starting to talk!

 I wrote about her asking if it was beach or plage in this post. Now what she has started to do it actually Translate for us, or to us I am not too sure yet!

So this is what she has been doing; what ever it may be that we are going, she will say to me "papa, Jacket; momy Vest"... really she is letting me know I this and he says that! Rather than asking me...
How cool is that??
She sort of looks for some affirmation, which we give her of course, and if we are both there and both listing, we tend to say our word in our language, that way she can see, yeah papa says it that way and momy this way!
It has been the case with many words:

Partez- Go
lait-milk
voiture-car

So she know fully gets it that Papa and Momy don't talk the same language. Know surly she must know (and knows) that I too can talk in English, as I do so with Stephen all of the time, and surly she hears me!!! Yet I find it funny that she accepts that I don't talk to her in English, and when she is with me and says something in English and that I correct her and say that same word in French, she repeats me. Full acceptance!!!
I guess she just is used to me talking her her in French, as that is what I have always done with her from the very first day she was born!

That is why I truly believe that when or if you are going to talk to your child in our birth language, it must be done at all times! Its one of those things 100% or nothing!

Right??
Has any of you had the experience? How has it worked for you? How fluent are your children?
I would LOVE to hear your story!!



 

Beach Or Plage?????

How interesting!!!!
The past couple of days I have noticed Tullula a bit confused!
Who wouldn't be when learning two languages at once!!! Poor thing.
nevertheless less it her confusion is very interesting.
I noticed what was going on as we were getting ready to go to the Beach...I was talking to her about it as we were getting the towels out, putting out bathers on, slip slop slapping sun scream and just kept on repeating, "Aller on vas a la plage" (Come on we are going to the beach)...She kept on saying "Beach" after me, and we both went about our business...But she must of been asking me all along, and how parents really do need to be on extra focus to note things sometimes that our children are desperately trying to tell us!

Once we were on our way, did I notice her shaking her head in a "NO" while she repeated "No, Beach?"
I looked at her....
And it clicked...She was confused, I was saying "Plage" she knew what that was, but then she also realised that she also knew the word "Beach" for the same thing, and basically she was saying
"so its not the Beach but the plage???"

I am new at this, ok, I am a Bilingual Child, but I don't remember AT all how it all went for me when I learnt English. All I know is that I just did!
But I just told Tullula, yes yes, Beach, Maman dit La Plage et Papa dit the Beach. En Francais ont dit La Plage et en Anglais ont dit The Beach....
get it???
Well she did...She looked at me in the eyes and what I saw was an :  "Oh ok!"
How Crazy is that???

 Well it  happened many time after that, now that I was aware of her confusion and curiosity to two words meaning the same things!
"Dog-Chien"
"Ball-Ballon"
"Milk-Lait"

It really amazes me to see her learn the two languages side by side!