Forgetting words?

[pear-shaped]

Twice today, dd couldn't remember a word that she knew and has used regularly in the past.

This morning she told me "I want this," as she pointed to the tv remote control...When I asked her what it was, she said, "It's...it's...it's...I don't know about that with numbers, Mommy."

Just now she was playing with one of her toys that has a horse that you pull and it whinnies. She said, "Mommy, that's a loud loud noise," and I asked her what was making the noise. Again she did the "It's...it's..." thing. So I said, you know what that is, tell me. She paused for about a minute and said, "It's a seahorse." Now, she knows the difference between a horse and seahorse and used to know both words.

I know that it's normal for them to stop using words they know when they're just starting to speak...but I'm wondering if at this point (she has a huge vocabulary) it's something to worry about? She is bilingual and English is her second language, but she has used both those words in both languages for a while now, so I really doubt it's the case of one language pushing the other out.

So normal, or troubling?

[pbjmama]

normal. she has alot of words in there, in two languages. her brain is growing and changing, sometimes it is hard to come up with the right word!

[hakeber]

My son is Bilingual, too (English and Spanish) and he went through phases like this, also sometimes he would just click better with the Spanish word or the English word and would use that no matter who he was speaking to (he loved basura instead of garbage and helicopter was helicoptoro for ages) I think it's a normal part of the process.

At 18 months compared to other friends his age he seemed to speak very little, but by the age of four he was fully bilingual in both and now at five he helps me translate into Spanish, and he corrects my pronunciation. I really wouldn't worry about it.

I'm a language teacher and I have attempted to learn four langauges other than my mother tongue (only successful to any real degree in one other language, but still...) so one thing I know about language acquisition is that it progresses in ebbs and flows. Sometimes it plateaus for ages and sometimes it even seems to get worse and that is usually right before the brain prepares for a HUGE leap in level...it's like there isn't quite enough space for all the words and structures (remember she is also learning to master complex concepts like gender pronouns, advanced tenses, and descriptive clauses, in TWO languages!) so some things fade out into the nether regions of the brain until the memory part of the brain can catch up with the development of the childs language skills. It's probably ten times as frustrating for her as it is for you.

I try to treat it like they counsel you to treat an alzheimers patient, instead of saying "you remember, don't you?" which can feel sort of shaming and annoying to the patient (because obviously they DON'T f-ing remember or they would have said it, dang it!) just give them the word or the memory if they seem to be struggling "Ahh the remote control. You want the remote control?" or "OOOH listen to horse? How cool!" and try not to make a big deal (not that I am suggesting you would, just as a reason to tell others not to) because the stress of trying to remember because they feel your pride in them is contingent on them remembering can actually cause a language learner to forget more words and regress linguistically (at least that's what I remember studying in my CELTA course.) I know it was true for DS when his teachers or his Grandma would badger him for forgetting words, and be all "c'mon you KNOW this word! Use your words!" he would just shut down entirely, afraid to disappoint people.

[just_lily]

I'm 30 and only speak English, and I still forget words from time to time. I think as a once in a while thing forgetting a word is totally normal.

[pear-shaped]

Thanks everyone. The first time she did it, I didn't think much of it. I remembered her response mostly because I was impressed by her use of prepositions, which is something she seems to be picking up right now. But when she did it a second time, I thought it odd. I was surprised that she didn't just tell me in Italian, but then again she has been very strict about separating the languages lately, correcting me when I slip into Italian and refusing to respond to dh if he tries to speak English to her. So perhaps that's why she was reticent about using Italian words with me.

I did think of how I forget words too, but they tend to be words I don't use, and now that I don't have many opportunities to speak English, believe me I've been forgetting lots of them! I think that's what I found most striking about it, that they were words that she used fairly regularly, horse moreso than remote control.

Anyway, thanks again everyone for helping me put it into perspective.