What language to read in

[pianojazzgirl]

I'm not sure if I'm posting this in the right place, but because it is about "learning at home" I thought it probably belonged here.

My dd does go to school. She is an anglophone living in a francophone city, going to francophone school. This is her 3rd year of school (she's in first grade and did kindergarten and pre-kindergarten). She didn't speak any French before starting school, but now she is fluent. Not as large a vocabulary as she has in English, but still very, very comfortable.

So...

I've been working on reading with dd for years and years (since teaching the sounds of the letters when she was a toddler). By the time she started pre-k she could read simple sight words in English, and knew how to sound things out. Now she has started reading in French as well (starting this year at school). What I'm wondering is if I should be focusing on reading in English at home, because she's getting instruction in French at school (and no English instruction), or if I should also make sure to read to her in French at home, have her read to me in French, etc... esp since it's her 2nd language - and one that I'm not fluent in (!) so she doesn't have a lifetime of having been immersed in it under her belt.

I just don't know.

We already do French homework every night, which involves reading passages from various books. But if she was going to school in English we wouldn't just leave it at that, yk? I love to read, she loves to be read to and has really started "getting" and enjoying reading herself.

I've started reading her a French chapter book, and she loves listening to it, but we're currently taking a break to read a new English chapter book that the Halloween fairy brought her. She's so proud because she's able to read it herself (with help on the trickier words). She says that she prefers reading in English because she can read chapter books in English (ie. because it's easier for her to read in English). Maybe I should just focus on reading English with her? Argh... I don't know what to do, lol!

Anyway, sorry for this long-winded post!

Any thoughts greatly appreciated!

[moominmamma]

I would read more in French for a couple of years, until she's got her French literacy really locked up at school. Still some English, but mostly French if she's willing. There's no magic window for learning to read; many homeschoolers, not being bound to a school's curriculum timetable, learn to read their native language very easily and efficiently at age 8 or 10. I think that with her lesser experience with the French language, and her schooling "success" hinging more on timely acquisition of French literacy, that it should be the bigger priority for now. Then shift the focus more to English in a couple of years.

Miranda

(whose 16-year-old is hoping to move to Montreal next year)

[Tjej]

I don't KNOW, I have just always heard that you should read to your child in your first language/whatever you are most comfortable reading in. It makes for better reading (more expressive, better pronounciation, more stuff I don't remember).

I think your child will do fine either way, and I'd think that reading what she is interested in and enjoys is the best idea.

Tjej

[Dar]

I'm moving this to Learning at School because your daughter is in school - and I know there are at least a few regular posters here whose children attend immersion schools, who I think might have had similar issues. If you edit your title to reflect the fact that your daughter speaks one language at school and another at home, that might help ensure that people with similar experiences see this, too!

Dar

[whatsnextmom]

My DS is in Spanish Immersion and they heavily encourage English reading at home, especially in the early years. Until DS started getting English at school (2nd grade) that was our focus. Now that he's in 5th grade, he's above grade level in reading in both languages and he reads in both languages every night. We still read to him in English because we are not fluent in Spanish ourselves.

Of course, I should add that a big reason English reading is encouraged is because they start state testing in 2nd grade and the test is in English only.

[Valerie.Qc]

Reading in English is easier than reading in French, I understand your DD.

Since she's in first grade and "learning" to read in French, I would provide some practice to her. Reading to her in French is also a must since it will help her connect the written words and the sounds. A book on tape or CD could be a nice thing for that.

That being said, don't stop her from reading in English when she's incline to.

I think you can easily integrate both language in your daily life with books from the library or, to get something short and easy to read, a magazine subscription (Les Explorateurs is a nice magazine for kids - Les Débrouillards is the next one for older kids)

[ollyoxenfree]

You may also want to cross-post in the Multicultural Families, since there are some immersion families learning second (and third!) languages there too.

What you may find is that reading in French is slower at first than if she was reading in English. She may not have the vocabulary and fluency to progress to more complex stories or non-fiction information as quickly as if she was reading in her first language. If that is frustrating for her or she finds reading in French boring, I'd probably start introducing more English books just to keep her engaged. If she's enjoying the French books and you have a good supply (which can be a real problem with second language resources, but not if you are in a francophone city) then that seems fine.

[tatermom]

My DS is in French K and I encourage him to read in English at home after his French homework. He's already a fluent reader for his age in English but I want to make sure that he keeps up his reading vocabulary and exposure to English spelling and sentence structure at home. He'll be in regular public middle school and I want to be sure he can keep up in English (I know that's far away but I'm thinking ahead!). If I see him struggling to keep up with his class in French I will definitely switch to working with him in French at home, but for now I'm happy with the balance of French at school and English language at home.

[AllisonR]

I think you should read to her in the language that YOU are fluent in. The interest, the pronunciation, the tone, the true feeling will be there.

We have danish and english books at home. DH reads with them in Danish. I read with them in English. They do not want me to read in Danish - it sounds bad and since they know how the language should sound, it is not productive at all. In fact it is annoying to them. So if they want to hear a Danish book but it is my turn to read, I translate it in my head and then read it to them in english. DH goes the opposite way around.

[pianojazzgirl]

Thank you so much for the food for thought mamas! I'm going to revisit the thread after later to post more (dh is waiting so we can watch a movie).

BTW moominmama... I moved here from BC when I was 17 (to go to McGill). Worked well for me, maybe it would for your dd too?

[pianojazzgirl]

OK, I've been mulling it over and here's where my head is at...

I am not fluent in French, but I speak it fairly well, with a good accent. However, I am WAY more fluent a reader in English. I like Valerie's idea of getting some french books on CD. I'll also continue to read her things in French that are at a level I can deal with, lol. And, of course I'll continue to work on her French reading that she brings home from school (reading from her reader, practice sheets and library books).

I think a subscription to Les Explorateurs might make a good Christmas present too!

Besides that I'm going to follow her lead. Right now she's keen on English chapter books, so I'm happy to read those with her. I guess it's most important to feed the enthusiasm at this point, and if Junie B. Jones is something she loves then Junie B. Jones is something she should be reading, lol!

FWIW she's doing well at school, keeping up with her peers no problem. I guess that if she shows signs of struggling we'll need to switch the focus to more French reading at home, but for now we're probably ok to work more on English reading.

So, that's where my head space is right now. Any other thoughts or advice mamas?

[Rose-Roget]

We are in America, but my dh is French and ds is bilingual. We have always read TO him in both langauges. When he stared reading, though, we've let him get comfortable - like 2nd or 3rd grade level in English - before starting to do real teaching of reading in French. I figured allowing him to get one sound-system down first was helpful. Since your dd already has some background knowledge in reading English, it should come easily once you start. I'd probably allow her to get more comfortable in the school and community language first, though.