Sweet Language Moments April 22, 2012

We just put Aleksander to bed. After a shower with Daddy (his new favorite thing instead of a bath), PER and I got him in his pajamas. Usually I read him a book and then say goodnight, and PER brushes his teeth and finishes the bedtime routine. But tonight, Aleksander wanted Daddy to read to him first.

Okay, the sight of Aleksander curled up with his Daddy is already enough to melt my heart But then Aleksander chose a Dutch book:Bobbi wort grote broer [Bobbi Becomes a Big Brother].

I love the Bobbi series – even though I can’t actually read it. They’re such sweet children’s books with wonderful drawings of a bear named Bobbi.

What really got me, though, was that Aleksander loves this book! I wonder how much Dutch he understands at this point? I know PER has been reading this book to him lately. And I can’t imagine a child would choose to sit through a book he can’t understand. Right? Then, I realized PER was leaving off the last word of each verse (the books is written in rhyme). And Aleksander was doing a pretty good job of filling in the missing word! Now, of course, we do this with him in English and German, but I was so surprised to hear him doing it in Dutch!! There were a few hard/long words he didn’t get. But most of the words sounded pretty close – to my ears, at least. Amazing! I sat there watching it with a big, goofy grin on my face

As for German, Aleksander is doing quite well. I just wish I could get him into more German-speaking situations and environments. He continues to be my little language police, letting me know that he knows it’s German time in the morning and English time after his nap. And he catches me every single time I slip into the wrong language! Sometimes he even seems annoyed when I speak English to PER during lunch!

When the two of us are alone, I notice him speaking some more German, too. He still mixes the languages a bit, though. Today he went running through the kitchen, giving his usual commentary. “Are you running?” he asked (as if I were supposed to be asking him the questions). So I translated, “Läufst du?” Then I heard him say, “Are you läufst du?”

Last week, our playgroup met at the park, so the boys could play on the slides and swings. But this time, Anika’s mom was visiting from Germany. She doesn’t really speak any English, so Aleksander heard a lot more German being spoken. The result was that he spoke a lot more German, too! Frau Kiehne was highly impressed, in fact, by the things he said – and so was I! When he first went down the slide, he went so slowly that I asked him, “Bist du eine Schnecke?” [Are you a snail?] Later on he repeated the same thing as Frau Kiehne watched him go down the slide. Then as she was about to catch Logan and said, “Ich fange dich” [I'll catch you], Aleksander followed and asked, “Du mich auch?” [me, too?]. I didn’t hear that one myself. I actually find it rather hard to believe! It sounds somehow very advanced to me – but maybe that’s the non-native speaker in me??? Ah well – the main thing is that he was speaking a lot more German!! And it continued as we drove home and then had lunch. I’ve been after Anika to start a German playgroup, but she’s been so busy teaching. Now that the semester is over, I’m going to have to start pushing again! I think it makes such a big difference!

On the other hand, my German story hour isn’t going as well. Attendance has been low these past couple of months, and I’m not quite sure why. Also, Aleksander is getting rather unruly. He’s starting to interrupt more and sometimes does not want me even reading a book. It’s very disruptive – not to mention embarrassing. He never behaves that way at music class, but then my full attention is on him, and I’m not trying to do the teaching. I’m thinking of having a babysitter come with me to see if that helps. My mom will be here for our next session, so she’ll come with us, and we’ll see how that goes. Otherwise, I’m not quite sure what to do….

I’m hoping the third time is a charm for finding a German-speaking babysitter! I have an interview in a couple of weeks with a college student who will be home for the summer. She grew up bilingually in the US. I’m curious to know more about that, too! I just hope it works out this time. It would be great to have someone else around who speaks German with Aleksander. Great for my German, too! Even if it is only for the summer.

One final German story…. Aleksander has discovered the stop sign. We live at the end of a long street and have been taking walks to the end and back – or to the stop sign. So now he points them out every time he sees one. Let me tell you, I had no idea there were so many stop signs around! In the mornings when are driving around (and speaking German), he calls out, “Noch ein Stoppschild!” [Another stop sign!] It’s awfully sweet

European Adventure? June 7, 2011

Last week, we finally applied for a passport for Aleksander! His picture looks like a mug shot, of course   By the time they took it, we’d been at the post office for almost an hour, and it was already past his lunch time. That’s a recipe for one cranky kid!

Here is the passport photo. Just to show the happy kid he usually is, here’s one of my recent favorites from his bath, too

Passport Photo

A Happier Aleksander

But who cares what the picture looks like?! This is our “ticket” back to Europe!! Okay, so we don’t actually have tickets yet. But now the possibility is there. We have a few other things to sort out before we can book a trip (getting PER’s permanent green card, making sure my in-laws are up for a visit after my father-in-law has surgery later this month, seeing if PER can actually take time out from work, and dealing with the possibility of buying a house and moving – no big deal!).  But we’re thinking about a trip at the end of July!! That’s so soon!!

I’m so excited about the prospect of taking Aleksander to the Netherlands. And I’m also completely freaked out! I flew with him once when he was 4 months old. But that’s it. And it was only a domestic flight to Florida. I’m also concerned about his sleeping patterns when we travel. Aleksander is a champion sleeper (I won’t elaborate, or you might never want to hear from me again!), but when we travel, it seems like all hell breaks loose. Of course, we haven’t been away since Thanksgiving, so I’m going to have to take a leap of faith that he’s matured since then and will handle it better. It will also help that we’re visiting family, so I’m sure my mother-in-law won’t mind taking over for a bit when we arrive, so PER & I can take a nap

Now, let’s get back to the excited part!! We haven’t been to Europe in three years. (I think that’s the longest hiatus I’ve had since I first studied abroad in 1996.) Marrying a European definitely came with the bonus that we would travel to Europe at least on occasion   It doesn’t hurt that the Netherlands just happens to border Germany! I’m just itching to get back to Germany. To hear the language, to be surrounded by the culture. And of course, I can’t wait to introduce Aleksander to Germany! I’m not so familiar with the region that borders the Netherlands, so I don’t know yet where we would go (any suggestions??). But I don’t know if it even matters. Just being there will be fantastic!! (Clearly I’m excited – just look at all the smiley faces in this post!)

Multilingual Challenge of the Week October 11, 2010

This week I am finding it especially difficult to speak German with Aleksander. His Dutch grandparents are visiting for 10 days. I would so love for them to speak Dutch with him, so he starts to hear more of that language, too. But we’re all floundering! No one wants to be rude by speaking a language the other doesn’t understand. And so we all end up reverting back to English.

So far, I’m still putting Aleksander down for his afternoon nap in German. I read him his German book and sing a German lullaby. But that’s very little language “input”.

I hear his grandparents speaking some Dutch to him, especially when I’m out of the room. But they seem shy and quiet about it. It comes out in soft little phrases.

As far as German goes, this little interruption is not going to hurt things in the long run. We’ll get back to our routine next week when it’s just the two of us during the day again. However, I find I really miss speaking German with him! I suppose that’s a good sign. And perhaps it’s also a sign that speaking German with Aleksander is starting to become more natural. Another good thing!

I’m still not sure what to do about Dutch, though. My husband spent most of his life living in the Netherlands. He moved to the States in 2005. But his English is perfect. Really, it’s both awe-inspiring and a little bit depressing to know it’s possible to master a second language so beautifully. But then, he grew up with a lot more English around him than I did German. Obviously it makes a difference. And now, he’s so comfortable in English and hardly speaks Dutch at all anymore. So it doesn’t come naturally to him to speak Dutch with Aleksander. (What must that feel like?! I can only imagine!)

It’s important to me that Aleksander get at least a little Dutch, though. If only so he’s able to pronounce all those difficult sounds! I consider myself to have very good pronunciation in a foreign language. Not just in German, but even the little bit of French or Italian that I can speak. But Dutch?! Ugh! I never seem to do it right. Then again, my husband is no language teacher, and can never really explain to me how to do it or what I’m doing wrong. Add “take Dutch” to the list of things to someday do in life….

But I think that even if Aleksander doesn’t learn to really speak Dutch from his dad, at least he can learn how to pronounce it better. And since my husband doesn’t want to do it, having his grandparents speak Dutch when they are here is the next best thing. The question is, how to encourage them to do it?!