English speaking 2 y.o in hebrew speaking gan

Gold Member Joined: Sep 22 2009 Posts: 1745

We live in Israel and since it is very important for both ds and I that our kids know english we speak to them only english everyone told us that they will pick up hebrew in gan and school. Well dd id 2 and started gan before rosh hashana after being in the U.S all summer. She doesn't know a word of hebrew and can not comunicate with her teacher or the other kids.
comunicating with the teacher doesn't bother me so much because she likes going to gan and does seem to pick up a little bit of what goes on there. The problame is with other kids she goes up to them and speaks english and they don't understand her and she doesn't understand them!

Should my husband start talking to her in hebrew (he is israely) or should we just wait for her to pick it up on her own?
When we are around other kids (like in the park or with neighbours) should I speak to her in hebrew or stick to english at all times so that I can be syre she will not lose t?

What I do now when we are in public is usually say every thing twice, once in hebrew and once in english but it gets a bit annoyng for me...

I would love to hear your experiances with your bylingual kids (or rather your hopfully-going-to-be-bylingual kids Smile

)

Posted: Tue, Oct 20 2009, 5:17 pm Post subject:

While it seems like your daughter has been in Gan for 2 months, with the Chaggim and all, it's more like only one month.

When we made Aliyah, we moved in July. My daughters were 6 and 5. By Purim they were pretty much fluent in Hebrew because if they wanted friends, they needed to learn the language. We spoke English at home.

I suppose it also depends on where you live and how many other kids in Gan speak English, but over all, I wouldn't worry. Give it time and she'll be fluent soon enough.

(I also think it is vital you keep the English speaking up at home or she'll end up losing the English. Both my girls read fluently and write so-so in English)
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Posted: Tue, Oct 20 2009, 5:22 pm Post subject:

All my children speak English at home and then enter gan knowing nothing. I'd say they began to catch on around Chanukah time. The ones that are already in grade school are absolutely fluent by now, but all of them started out in gan knowing nothing.

Honestly, I wouldn't worry about it. 2 year olds can play with each other without language. To cite an example that happened this morning, I dropped my son off in gan, another boy walked over to him and started rattling off in Hebrew. My son said, "Yeah. Yeah." to everything the boy said, and they walked off together happily. My son does not feel like some sort of social outcast, and when he does get it, in another few months, then great. The one thing that is a problem is that during story time, my son gets very fidgety, so sometimes they'll give him something to play with during story time.
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We also speak English at home. My then 2 1/2 year old started gan last February not knowing any Hebrew. At the beginning, I know she just followed what the other kids did, like if they were told to line up or sit down or whatever. By June, she was fluent (occasionally teaching me words) and it's what she speaks when she's playing, even though we respond in English.
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Gold Member Joined: Sep 22 2009 Posts: 1745

thanks so much for your answers everyone.
I will keep up the english at home and wait patiently for her to pick up hebrew from gan.

Its so great to have a place where I can hear other women's experiences Smile

I'm English and my dh is Israeli and our children only speak English, dd1 is now learning Hebrew at 4 1/2 for the first time (she was home until 2 1/2 and in English gan for 2 years), she has also only been in gan since Sept and is picking things up so quickly, my concern is conserving the English with her Ivrit, whether it takes 2 months or 6 months, I know she will have. Also my youner dd who is 2 1/2 and just started gan for the first time in English has a couple of kids in her class who don't speak English yet, just Ivrit, one of the boys lives near us and you should see how my dd and him were playing together in the park on shabbat, the language was totally irrelevant.

Moderator Joined: Dec 04 2005 Posts: 6172 Location: israel

My ds just started Hebrew speaking gan too age 2.5. He is not as verbal as your daughter at all, but he doesn't seem stressed by it. He makes his needs known by tugging the teacher to what he wants, or going to stand next to a teacher after he poops. They say he understands what is going on and is listening--it's hard to know because he doesn't talk all that much in English either. They've told me he's said a Hebrew word- "mayim" and he has never repeated it at home...so I'm also wondering how much is retaining/saying but not bringing home.

We are sticking to English at home.

Diamond Member Joined: Oct 29 2006 Posts: 4461

This is only a first child question as the rest grow up hearing Hebrew immediately from older siblings.

There is a variation but small. Some learn almost immediately but by Chanukah there should be no problem.
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There was a time when every brief saying one heard was regarded as a "Torah" (teaching, guidance), and everything one saw was perceived as an instruction in his avoda and conduct. - HaYom Yom

Silver Member Joined: Nov 07 2004 Posts: 848

My kids are actually bilingual already when they start a foreign language Gan (3rd language!).
One started at 4 years old when we moved, and it took her longer to learn the language than DS who started when he was 3. Give it a few months and she'll suddenly shock you by showing how much she knows!

I just wish that adults could pick up foreign languages as quickly as kids. My DD is 15 months old and already can follow directions given in any of 3 languages!

In the school I teach at in the US, I notice a similar time frame for Israeli kids to start speaking English. They usually understand it before they start speaking it. I envy their opportunities, too!

Gold Member Joined: May 09 2006 Posts: 1651

don't worry, he'll get the hebrew. my only concern would be that he knows the english and keeps it. make sure to only speak to him in english (and your husband) and that he speaks to you in english. he's very little, and many kids at that age don't have much of the expressive language without the language barrier, so I really wouldn't worry. if he can speak and understand english for his age level then I wouldn't worry about his hebrew acquisition.

Diamond Member Joined: May 20 2007 Posts: 2840

My parents spoke to me in Yiddish as a kid, and then when I was starting school they switched to English and I lost most of my Yiddish. I would say to keep speaking English if you want your kids to keep it.

Gold Member Joined: Sep 22 2009 Posts: 1745

thanks everyone you are all making me feel a lot better about this.
I am going to continue the english at home, so that she doesn't lose it.