I have a different language children ?

[Hatchlings]

I was just wondering how others would deal with this ?

I have had a lad over the past 4 months who has moved here from germany his english is great & he has been chatting away no problems however his little sister has started yesterday & were she is younger mum said she can speak very well in english & i am to incorrange them to talk it

Heres the problems if girl wants something she snaches etc when i speak to her she then starts talking in german to her older brother & they wont tell me what they are saying so i tried asking mum her reply

" my children are not talking nasty they are brother & sister & do that just ignore it & snatch the toy back"
I explained that's not how i should behave so she said do what ever you think ??

Any advice ?

(:p Boy is 7 yrs Girl is 5 yrs)

[sprinkles]

I have no experience of this so no advice but it makes me very uncomfortable/paranoid when people speak in foreign to each other and won't let on what they were on about!

With the children though, I would just explain to them that it's unacceptable etc as you would with any other child.

[Jiorjiina]

Also point out that she can't practise her english if she only speaks to her brother in german!

Would it be worth you learning some german words and phrases to help you explain things to the girl? If you go to google translate (https://translate.google.co.uk), you can type in a phrase in english, translate it to whatever language you need, and then get it to pronounce it for you by clicking the little speaker in the bottom right hand corner of the box, so you can say it properly.

There's also this leaflet (http://www.spielwelt.org.au/download/parenting_auf_deutsch_v2.pdf), for parents in bilingual families, which has some great parenting phrases in german. (No pronunciation, so you have to do the thing with google translate to find out how to actually say it!)

[FloraDora]

I think this little girl is not doing anything wrong. She is talking to her brother in her native, natural language, what any little girl will do. She will understand smiles so smile when she does things correctly and she will soon work out the right way to go about things.
She is young and is still learning, it must be difficult for her if her English isn't great.

Perhaps you could get her brother to translate and communicate that snatching is not acceptable.

[chriss]

I think it is just the instinct to talk in her home language, and I wouldn't be concerned about it. It might be frustrating for you, that you can't be part of their conversation or know what is being said, but you will probably just have to get used to it.

[Simona]

I think this little girl is not doing anything wrong. She is talking to her brother in her native, natural language, what any little girl will do. She will understand smiles so smile when she does things correctly and she will soon work out the right way to go about things.
She is young and is still learning, it must be difficult for her if her English isn't great.

Perhaps you could get her brother to translate and communicate that snatching is not acceptable.

I agree on that strategy Flora Dora...there is also signing that can help as you rightly pointed out...our face and hands can relay good messages

It is worth looking into bilinguism and how to approach this situation rather than seeing children as EAL...a label I do not like
I am bilingual myself and will go from one language into another including all children...I cannot remember a time in my setting when all children spoke just English...I find that very enriching as an environment

[Hatchlings]

I fully support that they have aright to talk in multi languages & thats fine the problems are i have others that get upset when she snatchs & now is spitting at them her brother sayes he tells her its not nice but mum said i have to talk to her are you all saying i should try learn german when her mum wants her to speak english ??:panic:

[jackie 7]

Ok this will be different to other people but you know she can speak English. Day this is an English speaking house if you have difficulty talking ask your brother to translate. Tell her that she must use her English words. Ask her parents to encourage her brother to answer her in English. German is her home language English is you'r house language. I used to visit my sister in Germany and her friends would speak german even though they knew I didn't understand them. I felt horrible.

[Simona]

I fully support that they have aright to talk in multi languages & thats fine the problems are i have others that get upset when she snatchs & now is spitting at them her brother sayes he tells her its not nice but mum said i have to talk to her are you all saying i should try learn german when her mum wants her to speak english ??:panic:

No of course not...sorry I may have given the wrong message...apologies
Use sign language, whichever way you can relay to her her behaviour is not 'acceptable' but also take account she may be feeling frustrated as she cannot make herself understood...a cuddle may help as well when she is behaving well so reinforcing her good behaviour.

[Helen79]

When she misbehaves I would take her away from the others for a few minutes for a time out sat with you so you can talk to her by herself without her being able to talk to her brother.
The brother might end up feeling like he is being the bad brother who has to discipline his sister which isn't fair on him.

Even though mum wants you to talk in English with them, I would still learn a few key phrases so that you can help her with her behaviour. Learning a few simple sentences like 'don't snatch' isn't going to hinder her learning English and will help her feel more comfortable and hopefully help with her behaviour.

[Simona]

I would suggest again that looking into bilinguism and behaviour associated with that would help...or you could ring the Speech and Language Therapy dept in your area and ask for general advice and leaflets...or your Health Visitor dept would suggest positive strategies you could use.

If the parent has told you that the child can speak English well than her behaviour suggests she is unhappy about something but 'unable' to express that feeling...in my view if that is addressed the problem is half solved

You don't need to give names or anything just ask for 'general advice' and information

You may wish to look into this..

bilingualism.co.uk (http://www.bilingualism.co.uk/)


Bilingualism is good for learning | University of Cambridge (http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/bilingualism-is-good-for-learning)

Good luck