My intense interest for foreign languages started at the age of three when I was at the top of the Empire State Building with my parents and overheard a couple speaking Chinese. My fascination with these new sounds and communications abruptly came out when I began to babble to them as if I was speaking the same language. My parents say it was a little embarrassing for them and not wanting to offend the couple, they steered me in the opposite direction.
My mother still brags that she began teaching me sign language out of the Farmer's Almanac at age three. After putting the book away and leaving the room for a minute, she returned and I had reopened the book to the sketched hands of signs for the alphabet and was attempting to make the signs for each letter. My fascination for languages didn't stop there; I studied three languages in high school. I always found different cultures and ability to understand and communicate with different people very interesting. The fact that there are many different ways to say the same thing made me want to learn more. (It did not hurt that I happened to have a talent for learning languages.) A friend from high school spoke Italian at home, and I thought this was the greatest thing. I decided at that point that I too was going to be fluent in a language, if not several. And, through the years as I became more capable of speaking Spanish and Italian, I made the decision that I would teach my future children a second language.
My former Italian teacher at Irondequoit High School, Lisa Guido, was my mentor. I remember her saying that when her parents emigrated to the United States, they did not want their children speaking Italian because they wanted them to live the American lifestyle. "I grew up with parents who were born and raised in Italy but never spoke the language at home," Lisa explains. "They didn't want us to go through the hardships that they faced when they came to America so we only spoke English."
After studying both French and Italian in college, she decided that she wanted her children to become bilingual. There are many reasons why learning a second or third language opens our lives she says; it is not simply about the language. "It's the acceptance and tolerance of other cultures that is important," Lisa adds.
Familiarizing a child with a foreign language at an early age can be beneficial. Take Kathrin, whose 1-year-old daughter is being exposed to three languages: German, English, and Spanish. "My husband speaks only English to our daughter and she is very often in an English-speaking environment. I speak only German with her and German is also our family language because my husband speaks it as well," says Kathrin who is a native German and her husband is American who works as a US Foreign Service Officer in Venezuela. "Our nanny speaks only Spanish and is watching her three to five days a week. Later, she might also attend a Spanish kindergarten. Our daughter just turned one year old. Therefore, she is not yet speaking a lot. But she has already an amazing 20-word vocabulary mix of all three languages."
The benefits of Kathrin's daughter's exposure to many languages will be lifelong. Kathrin explains,"I hope it will help her to become an open-minded person who is able to communicate with people from different backgrounds in their own language. Hopefully it will also be an advantage in whatever career she chooses later in her life."
Our world has grown smaller and smaller when it comes to communication. As Americans we are spoiled because so many other cultures learn to speak English. Generally we are not forced to try hard to communicate when traveling abroad or meeting people of a different ethnicity. Even if you cannot conquer an entire language, it is helpful to learn some of the most common words and phrases and then focus on aspects of the culture. This shows respect for other people and reflects that their way of life and background is equally important and interesting.
I wish that our school districts would incorporate a second language into the curriculum at a much younger age than junior high. When children are toddlers, they have such an ability to absorb knowledge. Learning a second or third language at this age may prove to be more successful in making this skill a part of their entire life.
I am attempting to teach my two-year-old Italian. We say, "Ti amo" and "buona notte" every night (I love you; good night). He knows how to say, "I am hungry" and "let's go!" Teaching a toddler a second language may prove to be too difficult for me, so my back-up plan is to find a place where he can take classes for Italian, Spanish or any other language he may be interested in.
The lessons he will learn from opening his mind to other cultures will change his life. His bilingual skills may alter his path as he grows up or simply open his heart to the fact that we may dress different, speak different, and practice different religions, but we are all very similar in the fact that we love and want to be loved.
Erica Walther Schlaefer is married to A.J. Schlaefer. They are local, adoptive parents and co-founders of the non-profit, Parenthood for Me, Inc. Their mission is to provide financial and emotional support, along with educational tools to those starting families through adoption or medical intervention. For more information, visit their Web site and blog at www.parenthoodforme.org and http://parenthoodforme.blogspot.com
