whatMsg?

Way to go me!  I change the format of my blog and then don’t write anymore.  Well, I’m back!  So, to catch everyone up in an effort to try to get to the present, I figured I’d start with detailing my oldest daughter’s, K’s, language development which was surprising and fascinating for me in how she dealt with learning two languages simultaneously.  I won’t include first words, as they aren’t really relevant, but the development was fascinating.

Much to Daddy’s dismay, K started out with mostly all Estonian words at about 11 months old.  This made sense as I am the primary caretaker and Daddy travels a lot.  I can completely understand him feeling left out.  Here K is saying all these new words and Daddy doesn’t know if it’s a word or just babble and here I am thinking that K is just saying the cutest things!  I had to remind Daddy (and still do!) that he has to give her words if he wants her to learn English as he is responsible for teaching our children the English language.  If he didn’t teach her, she won’t know the words.  Or so I thought, but more on that later.  Anyhow, I have and continue to make sure I translate any Estonian speech for Daddy when he is around.  I think I do a good job at this and want to make sure he doesn’t feel left out.  Though I do wonder what the kids think of me translating everything they say?  I can tell that K notices me doing this.  I think the time is coming that I will have to explain to her what I am doing.  K understands that we speak two languages, and I struggle to grasp what she would or wouldn’t understand about different people understanding or not understanding different languages.  It’s a complex concept for a 2 and a half year old I think.

OK, going back again, between 11 and 18 months K learned lots and lots of words in both Estonian and English.  According to our pediatrician, she was quite advanced in her word repertoire in just one language and she was about equal in two!  She had over 60 words in each language before I gave up counting.  The interesting thing was that she didn’t quite understand that she was speaking two languages and so she would say both the Estonian and English words for whatever she was communicating.  She was literally speaking double!  At least we all understood her, even Daddy.

At 18 month, all of a sudden the idea of speaking a different language with different people clicked for K.  She started speaking in Estonian with Emmi and Emmi’s parents and sister and English with Daddy and everyone else.  I can’t express how amazing this transition was and at such a young age!

K progressed in this manner well, until about 2 years of age when I decided she was old enough to be allowed to watch DVD’s.  I stick to DVD’s and have yet to let my kids watch any regular TV as I don’t want to have to worry about the commercials.  I also always make sure to watch the DVDs with K the first time.  Some shows upset her and in general she has a lot of questions the first time.  I generally make sure I explain what is going on thoroughly and talk our way through the shows.

A little list of DVD’s K watches:

• Little People (various)
• Angelina Ballerina (various)
• Bob the Builder (various)
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (various)
• Little Mermaid
• Cars
• Finding Nemo
• Mesilane Maya
• Lotte (various)
• Tom ja Fluffy

Consequences of TV viewing for K will be detailed in my next entry.  The impact on her language usage was significant and what it meant for both English and Estonian.