In and amongst his lovely baby chatter he has a selection of words, some of which he has been using for a good month or so and others which have just started to appear ... all English so far ... So,. it's time to start taking a note so I don't forget!
So far he says the following:
Mama
Papa
Nana
Grandad
There
Bye Bye
I've also heard him say yes and no but he doesn't use either regularly as yet.
People have actually been telling me for over a month now that they have heard Little Man say certain words but I haven’t always been there to hear them. I've been quite surprised really as I had a secret fear that he would start to speak late because I haven't felt that I have had the opportunity to talk him enough. It's not as easy with your second child as you just don't get the same amount of one on one time as you did with your first. Another whip to lash myself with... except for the fact that it turns out my worries were unfounded...Phew.
He definitely understands French. e.g.
Va chercher ton ballon [Go get your ball]
Assieds-toi [Sit down]
Tu veux manger? [Would you like something to eat?]
Viens ici [Come here]
Non! [No!]
Now I'm just hoping that my other worry i.e. the fact that I don't have huge amounts of time to speak French with him apart from on a weekend (and him being in English speaking nursery five days a week), won't be detrimental and stop him from speaking French. Friends have pointed out that, as he has heard me speaking to Poppette in French since he was born and also hears the French cartoons that Poppette watches etc, that he has quite a robust French environment so will be picking up more than I think.
Fingers crossed.
Wow, that´s great! My daughter didn´t say much at all at 11 months and although she´s now been speaking for awhile,has only just learnt to say Granny!!!
ReplyDeleteI bet her Granny is over the moon!! I know my mum melts when she hears Little Man say Nana :D
DeleteSo great that he understands French, what a brilliant achievement! You can introduce a bit more French through storytapes, talking toys, French songs etc. Listening to all that French you speak with Poppette will be a huge boost too.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tallulah... He has lots of french speaking toys and I am making a real effort to read and sing to him and play our nursery rhyme CD's whenever I can - he loves music so loves it when i play CDs...Also, I only speak in French with him now and have done for the last several months so hopefully he's soaking it all up...It's so excitng waiting to see what his next word will be...and in what language :-)
DeleteBravo for all your efforts. I think if you are only speaking French with him you will be home free. My sources (and I realize there are differing opinions) said that 2-3 hours per day of quality French interaction (and also realizing "quality" is subjective) is enough to ensure at least some level of bilingualism. I have tried to follow this 2-hour minimum and Zach speaks in full sentences and while English is predominant, he is most definitely a French speaker (with a near perfect accent!) . I wouldn't call him fluent - but I'm determined to get there. I think you must just be patient as any language takes time -- especially as he is only 11 months! If you are regularly interacting with him in French- whether it's playing, singing, watching show, reading, etc. --I can't imagine how he won't be fluent. It is actually amazing that at 11 months he has such a vocabulary - in any language!!!
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