https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 30 Apr 2026 08:04:19 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-bilingual-but-know-that-your-lo-most-likely-wont-be-bilingual#post-901240 Tue, 02 Jul 2013 12:12:19 +0000 cranberryapple 901240@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Wow, it has been four days and so many responses! :) </p> <p>@sarac: We do video chat a fair amount, but my family lives a six-hour drive away. You're right that some is better than none though! </p> <p>@Mrs. High Heels: Yep, I hear ya! I was considering immersion programs too in the future, but they're just too expensive for us. I was in Chinese school until "8th grade" too, and yeah, that turned out to be a bust! Oooh, well, at least your LOs will know Korean! And, I'm sure they will pick up some Chinese, especially with an immersion program! You sound more determined than I am, so I think it will be okay. :) </p> <p>@autumnlove: Me too, me too! Cantonese is harder to learn than Mandarin, in my opinion. (Cantonese also doesn't sound as pretty to me...Hahahaha) </p> <p>@Andrea: I agree that Mandarin is easier to learn! Same here with Chinese school. For some reason, they spoke in Cantonese but we learned to read in Mandarin. My Cantonese used to be really good, but since I moved away from home and hardly used it, it has gone down the drain! Does your DD go to Mandarin school during the weekdays or just on the weekends? </p> <p>@Mrs. Jacks: @yerpie110: Hahahaha, did anyone ever really love going to Chinese school anyways? LOL. I love how the cycle continues! Our Chinese school was Saturdays AND Sundays! </p> <p>@TurtleDoves: Focusing on only one language is the perfect way to do it! I'm sure I only knew Chinese until I went to pre-school. </p> <p>@Alivoo01: We're too poor for Chinese day cares! Plus, I'm a SAHM. :) Those Chinese TV series are fun to watch though! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-bilingual-but-know-that-your-lo-most-likely-wont-be-bilingual#post-898586 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 12:32:17 +0000 HabesBabe 898586@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I speak Vietnamese fluently (but can't read or write it)-- and the hubs is white/Caucasian. My mom comes over 40 hours a week and speaks to LO only in Vietnamese, and I speak to her in Vietnamese only when my husband isn't around-- but I know she will know less than I do, and it kind of bums me out! I'm hoping she will at least understand it and will look for Vietnamese Saturday schools around here. Most of them are run by Buddhist temples, though, so I'm trying to avoid those. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-bilingual-but-know-that-your-lo-most-likely-wont-be-bilingual#post-898281 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 11:03:13 +0000 Alivoo01 898281@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. High Heels: You described me to a T except my hubby is Cambodian. Ha!</p> <p>I've always been a fan of learning a different language so when I met my now hubby, I was all about learning Khmer. Even now at home, I speak Khmer to him and he only knows a handful of Chinese. I'm not saying I can have a full on conversation in Khmer, but I know a decent amount to get me by. And since I'm more exposed to Khmer than Chinese, my Chinese has been getting worse and worse. I plan on playing a bunch of Chinese tv series on the TV since that's how I learned a lot of my Chinese (canto) prior to going to Chinese school (mandarin) every Sunday for 8 years.</p> <p>There's also a Chinese day care near my neighborhood that I plan on sending LO to once he's old enough. Is there Chinese day care that you could send your LO to? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-bilingual-but-know-that-your-lo-most-likely-wont-be-bilingual#post-897552 Mon, 01 Jul 2013 07:29:50 +0000 looch 897552@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I learned how to speak a second language at home, but this is not the language that we will be using with our son. He's bilingual, but in English and German, with some Spanish thrown in for good measure.</p> <p>At some point, we will do a Saturday school in German. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-bilingual-but-know-that-your-lo-most-likely-wont-be-bilingual#post-894972 Sat, 29 Jun 2013 07:43:00 +0000 lamariniere 894972@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sarac: I agree, ANYTHING you can teach him could be useful someday even if it is just simple things like greetings and food. My dad speaks Thai and Chinese and never spoke either to my brother and I. I get so annoyed when we go to Thailand and I can't understand anything, not even food when we are out and about. I feel so helpless.</p> <p>I went on to learn French and since DH is French our son is being raised bilingual, so at least there is that. But I've always regretted my dad's decision. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-bilingual-but-know-that-your-lo-most-likely-wont-be-bilingual#post-894688 Fri, 28 Jun 2013 21:42:01 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 894688@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Chinese school, baby! Ruining Saturdays for thousands of kids in the US for generations! Just kidding. Chinese school is great. Can you find an immersion preschool? My friend's child goes to mandarin immersion. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-bilingual-but-know-that-your-lo-most-likely-wont-be-bilingual#post-894646 Fri, 28 Jun 2013 21:23:11 +0000 anewme 894646@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Hubby and I are both Cantonese speaking. I was born in the states, speaks English with no accent. I've also retained a lot of my Chinese that my parents exposed us to. I have no issues speaking or understanding, can even read a tiny bit. Husband was born in Asia but lived here since he was 4. His Chinese is even better than mine, he can speak mandarin very fluently also. So far our daughter (2 yo) strictly speaks Chinese to us.<br /> We pretty much only speak Chinese to her but she does get exposed to English through tv, iPad, games etc. I think she will be able to retain her Chinese but definitely not as much we me or my husband. It does make me sad because its always helped and never harmed me to know an extra language. And there's so many great Chinese proverbs and sayings that ring soo true but get lost in translation when explained in English. But that's just a reality were going to have to accept. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-bilingual-but-know-that-your-lo-most-likely-wont-be-bilingual#post-894553 Fri, 28 Jun 2013 20:35:45 +0000 CupQuakeWalk 894553@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>In your situation- i totally understand! its a huge bummer:( could you get children dvds and movies in your language?</p> <p>My LO WILL be bilingual...I don't see why not in our situation. We both speak fluent English and without accents, but we still both speak Arabic and so do our families.<br /> The plan is no English until kindergarten. They can learn it there, just like we did. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-bilingual-but-know-that-your-lo-most-likely-wont-be-bilingual#post-894541 Fri, 28 Jun 2013 20:30:06 +0000 mrsmate 894541@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm Korean and DH is a non-native fluent Spanish speaker. We speak to DD in our languages and she goes to mandarin immersion daycare. I don't really worry about whether or not she'll grow up fluent, for us it's about giving her the tools to explore her heritage and interests in depth as she gets older.</p> <p>My family doesn't live nearby so before DD was born it had been several years since I'd spoken Korean on a regular basis. It was awkward making myself speak to DD in Korean at first, but it came back shockingly quickly. I think it's never a waste of effort to expose children to different languages. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-bilingual-but-know-that-your-lo-most-likely-wont-be-bilingual#post-894457 Fri, 28 Jun 2013 19:32:04 +0000 yerpie110 894457@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I, too, am Chinese and I married a Korean. On top of that, our nanny is Spanish! So essentially, LO is going to be very confused. I really want her to know Chinese and I speak it to her as much as possible, but I doubt it is enough since I speak English when DH is around. DH doesn't mind if I prioritize her learning Mandarin, so I'm grateful for that. But, I live in a area highly populated by Koreans so a Korean immersion school is easy to find, but not a Chinese one. I hope I can find a Chinese one, and if not, at worst, she will definitely be going to Chinese school on the weekends! I hated it and always said I would never send my children there. Now look at me, haha! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-bilingual-but-know-that-your-lo-most-likely-wont-be-bilingual#post-894380 Fri, 28 Jun 2013 18:53:58 +0000 Andrea 894380@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@craneberryapple: How about Chinese school? My Canto accent is so horrible, too. It's really hard to keep a good accent without sufficient practice (I don't live by any family either). Mandarin is so much easier. I learned that in school, Canto at home. So I am currently sending my DD to Mandarin school. I think Mandarin is a more useful dialect anyway so I'd rather her learn that. DH is German/Polish and he's been going to the class with her (you need an adult present for the first few years) so he is picking it up, too. He's planning on taking adult classes once she can be in class on her own! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-bilingual-but-know-that-your-lo-most-likely-wont-be-bilingual#post-894301 Fri, 28 Jun 2013 17:57:50 +0000 T-Mom 894301@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. High Heels: @cranberryapple: same situation as you! Married a different Asian ethnicity so there is also the issue of whose language to focus on. I also want to do Chinese immersion but it would require moving to a more expensive area and also being in a lottery! My parents English has gotten so good that we don't even speak Chinese any more. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-bilingual-but-know-that-your-lo-most-likely-wont-be-bilingual#post-894299 Fri, 28 Jun 2013 17:55:01 +0000 autumnlove 894299@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yup, Cantonese! I might send her to Chinese school but DH doesn't see the point since I don't speak that well for practice at home. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-bilingual-but-know-that-your-lo-most-likely-wont-be-bilingual#post-894279 Fri, 28 Jun 2013 17:44:53 +0000 Mrs. High Heels 894279@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@cranberryapple: i think about this and struggle with it a lot! my husband and i are both 2nd generation - he's korean and i'm chinese... and i think our kids have more of a chance learning korean than chinese because his parents live with us and are fluent in korean.</p> <p>i really want to send LO's to a chinese immersion school, and try to practice with them at home if i can, but it's hard when i'm the only one in the household that knows the language, and since i'm ABC my chinese isn't the greatest (i can understand most of it, but i struggle with finding the right words when i speak sometimes. i forget more and more each year esp since i married a korean husband and we're both so americanized).</p> <p>DH doesn't even see the point in "wasting money" and sending them to an immersion school because he doesn't think they'll retain it anyway.</p> <p>heck, i grew up with adults who spoke chinese to me allll the time, and i went to chinese school every saturday and summer until i was in 8th grade and look at me now! so is there any hope for my LO's? i still want to try, but i wonder if it's even worth it a lot... </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-bilingual-but-know-that-your-lo-most-likely-wont-be-bilingual#post-894261 Fri, 28 Jun 2013 17:34:23 +0000 sarac 894261@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>That is a huge bummer, but it isn't too late to turn it around a bit. Can you video chat with them? Can you go visit more? Any exposure to the language (even your version!) will teach him more than none would! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-bilingual-but-know-that-your-lo-most-likely-wont-be-bilingual#post-894252 Fri, 28 Jun 2013 17:27:08 +0000 hummusgirl 894252@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes! Well not me but my husband speaks fluent Spanish and he's not teaching it to our LO! I think he sounds like a native speaker but he thinks he has a "gringo" accent and is just more comfortable with English. It makes me sad because Spanish would be so useful to have and I'm hopeful LO will somehow pick it up eventually. I would be so mad if my parents spoke another language and didn't pass it down to me, but I can't force my husband to do it! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/are-you-bilingual-but-know-that-your-lo-most-likely-wont-be-bilingual#post-894190 Fri, 28 Jun 2013 16:35:37 +0000 cranberryapple 894190@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>And are you okay with that? </p> <p>I'm first generation Chinese/Cantonese, and I consider myself bilingual as I can understand a lot of it but speak it pretty crappily - awful accent! DH is not Chinese, so I kinda consider our LO screwed in the second-language department. I also don't live close to any family where LO would get the exposure, so that's also why I think it's impossible. </p> <p>Problem is that my family and relatives are not well-versed in English, in fact, most can't speak a lick of it! So, unfortunately, LO will not be able to communicate with them! They ask me whether I've been teaching him Chinese, but my Chinese is too crappy for me to be able to bear hearing it come out of my own lips, plus, I don't think a few words here or there will make a difference. *Sigh* </p> <p>I kinda feel guilty that LO won't know any Chinese, but it's a fat chance that it's gonna happen through me! If it weren't for my family, I don't think I would mind though. Then when I see grandparents of other people's LOs speaking in a different language to them, no lie, I get jealous! Hahahaha. It sucks to not have family around. *Sigh* </p>