young uns !

kevars · Member Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 75

hi all and happy new year , just after your opinions , my thai wife and 18 month old son are back in khonkaen escaping the british winter ( ha ha her face was a picture ) anyways we both want our son to have an english education but id like him to be able to speak thai maybe in the future he will live there , not sure if to leave him in thailand for a couple of years or let the misses teach him here ???

Norseman · Posted: Wed Jan 04, 2006 10:41 pm Post subject:

Why not stay in the UK and let your wife teach him?
Worked for me.
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ting-tong · Member Joined: 24 Jul 2005 Posts: 57

Hi Kevars! I have 3 kids with an english speaking woman.We decided when they were born that I would speak Swedish and she english with them.That worked out fine.Today they speak both swedish and english.
and Have top grades in both.
Dont think there is any reason to leave him in Thailand .The mother is the best teacher in that age.

good luck

kevars · Member Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 75

good ideas tx

kevars · Member Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 75

Jaime · Ace Joined: 14 Jan 2004 Posts: 1992 Location: Sh*t Creek

The most difficult thing about educating them in the UK and trying to give your kids a bi-lingual upbringing is making sure that you do have Thai spoken in the house. It is easy to slip into 100% English at home, especially if your wife is doing her damnedest to better her English. I personally would not advocate leaving the boy in Thailand for a couple of years - he would still be only 3 or 4 by that time and could easily lose all his Thai if you moved back to the UK then. You just need to make sure that your wife speaks to him in Thai, sings to him in Thai, tells him stories in Thai, reads him books in Thai, plays him dvd's in Thai etc. As you have probably realised, 'teaching' your son Thai is a non-starter - constant reinforcement is required, which should have started already if you are serious about the boy being bi-lingual. It is not easy - I have three boys - 2 step sons born in Thailand but living in the UK and another boy born here and they all have different degrees of bi-lingual ability but it's not for the want of trying. Everytime we come to thailand we stock up on Thai books, kids DVD's, alphabet posters, counting games etc. You have to immerse them in the language if they are to pick it up in more than a rudimentary fashion.
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kevars · Member Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 75

tx jamie what you say makes a lot of sense , she has managed to hook up with a couple of thai friends in our town with toddlers so when they get together its all thai for the day ! which suits me fine , good time to go to the pub ! she speaks good english but gets frustrated but i keep telling her to not worry and give it time , everyone keeps saying young children s brains are like sponges and not to worry to much if we keep teaching him , little sod cleverer than me !

buksida · Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2006 5:32 pm Post subject:

Interesting thread this, our little un is only 14 months and is fluent in pure gibberish. I talk only in English to him and the missus is purely Thai so I guess the two languages take longer to absorb at that age.

Since I have no desire whatsoever to return to the UK our situation is reversed, he'll get the Thai quick enough but how will the English develop?

I would like him to go to the UK at some stage to complete his education but am not sure what would be the best age to do this.
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Len · Amateur Joined: 28 Apr 2003 Posts: 41 Location: Here

21 would be a good age . . . Then he can pay for it himself . . . . .
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Jaime · Ace Joined: 14 Jan 2004 Posts: 1992 Location: Sh*t Creek

Buksida, for a comparison, our youngest will be 4 next month and English is very definitely his first language but he is exposed to Thai by his mum most of the time. As I posted previously, my wife slips into English or at least 'Thaiglish' quite a lot. He understands everything she says to him in Thai but usually responds in English. This seems to be the case with most of the other look kreung we know here. He is quite precocious and it is bizarre to watch a conversation being undertaken in two languages! Occassionally he responds in Thai but rarely initiates something in Thai except when we come to Thailand or, strangely, when he is tired. He knows the Thai alphabet but doesn't yet know the English one!

Our middle boy was born in Thailand but came here at the age of 6. He can no longer read & write Thai - he was only just starting when he left Thailand and English is probably his first language now, although he would probably be considered as 'fluent' in Thai. He is now 11.

Our eldest is 17 and his English is not as good as his younger brother. It is definitely his second language but he is able to read and write both Thai and English to varying degrees of proficiency.

Interestingly the three boys talk to each other in English out of choice and we have to keep telling them to speak in Thai (or more correctly the Lanna dialect) so they won't lose it!
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"The man who never made a mistake never did bugger all" - Old Welsh proverb

"Why limit yourself to the death of a crummy celery stalk when you can eat a giraffe?" - PWEETA

Big Boy · Legend Joined: 04 Nov 2005 Posts: 3591 Location: UK

As another example, my son is 15 and apart from holidays has spent his life in the UK. My granddaughter on the other hand is 8 and apart from holidays has spent her life in Thailand.

My wife has always spoken Thai to my son (and he has always seemed to understand), but he would never reply in Thai. As my granddaughter has got older, he has had to speak to her in Thai, and always made a fairly good job of it, although he was never fluent.

Earlier this year, he spent 4 weeks with the girls from the P&P Bar. That experience has seen him increase from pidgeon Thai to fluent Thai.

What I think I'm trying to say is if you talk to your kids in a language long enough, it is inevitable that they will pick it up sub-conciously (even though they might not speak it). Put them in to a situation where they have to communicate, and fluency will not take too long to show through.

Just keep talking to them.

Dangerous · Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2006 8:19 pm Post subject:

kevars · Member Joined: 04 Dec 2005 Posts: 75

to just pick up on the point made about thai mothers speaking thai but the child replying in english , we have a thai friend been living in uk for 15 years , she has a 6 year old daughter never been to thailand but understands her mum when speaking thai and responds in english, it is quite funny esp when shes getting told off , and to cap it all shes learning spanish ! maybe im worried when my son starts answering me back i wont understand ... i need a crash course in thai !

Norseman · Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2006 8:51 am Post subject: