Progress Report January 2, 2011

I did okay over the holidays. One day in particular (Friday, I think it was), I spoke German all afternoon with Aleksander despite my parents and husband being around.

Then I got a little lazy.

The problem isn’t that it’s too hard. It’s more that I simply forget. I’m a seasoned code-switcher when talking to a mix of English and German-speakers. But code-switching with Aleksander is another situation entirely. He doesn’t offer any prompts! So when I’m speaking English with my parents or PER, I just continue on with Aleksander until I finally remember I’m supposed to be speaking German with him. Erg!

I guess the only thing to do is to carry on. So that’s what I do. I switch back to German with him and keep going.

I’m still using the time between naps for our German time. Turns out, Aleksander is keeping his second nap … at least for now. So we still have about a three-hour window for German.

Aleksander still seems to be talking less than he was a few months ago. Oh, he makes plenty of sounds, chattering away to himself in syllables I can’t understand. But as to intelligible words, those are few and far between. He often says a-deh (=again) and a-duh (=all done). Yes, they sound very much alike. Luckily, he offers a sign with “all done” so I know which is which.

Still no German words. But he certainly understands me when I speak German to him. This afternoon, I told him: “pass auf die Finger auf!” (watch out for your fingers) as he closed the gate at the top of the stairs. He moved his little hand right over, so as not to pinch it! Yes, I remain in awe of my little boy!

One final note: I took a little holiday hiatus from my blog, and so there have not been any new words of the day. I intend to get back on track with that!

Here’s to a wonderful new year filled with many language adventures!

Comprehension December 6, 2010

Aleksander is understanding an awful lot these days. I’m amazed when I ask him to do something and he does it!

He just figured out how to clap, and so I ask him to clap his hands when we sing a song. He claps away! This morning, he wanted to climb up into my lap while I ate breakfast, so I told him to go into the living room and play with his train until I was finished. And he did! Amazing!

He may not be saying much himself, but his language sure is developing.

It’s developing in German, too. Everything he understands in English, he understands in German, too. I tell him to sit down, give me something, clap his hands, or not to do something, and he does it. It’s very gratifying. My efforts are worthwhile! It’s very encouraging!

So far, he still doesn’t have any words in German that he says. But I’m being patient. (Heck, he still doesn’t even say Mama! When he starts making the m-sound, I ask him to say Mama. And what does he do? He says, “Dada”. Little stinker! But I digress….)

Actually, it seems to me he was “talking” a lot more at the end of the summer. I haven’t heard him say “dog” in a long time. He still gives a cheerful “hi” to both people and things, but he doesn’t say “Dada” as much. His other word – “again” – isn’t as clear to me as it once was. Tonight in his bath, I even thought he might have a new word: “done.” But then I wasn’t sure if he was saying “again” or “done.” I suppose this is a typical struggle all parents face with one-year-olds, and not just those of us trying to raise our kids with more than one language. We’ll just have to see how things progress!