Having just written a post about how the boys are adapting to life in a different language (see post here), it is obvious that this week would be one of great change, particularly for Adam. He has now settled into nursery, trots off quite happily when I drop him off and is full of whose hand he held that day when he comes home, Ema and Melissa being the real favourites. But he hadn't really started communicating with anyone in Bosnian. His teachers said that he talks to the other kids in English and they talk to him in Bosnian. The children all seem to be quite happy with this arrangement and appear to understand each other no problem.
But then this week, I suddenly started to hear him saying more Bosnian words. When his friend, Edo, came round to play I heard Adam say Moje (mine), Pazi (careful) and ovdje (here). Then he started to correct our pronunciation (he does have a point there, it is dreadful). Then the teachers said that he was saying some Bosnian words to the other children in his class.
People overestimate the powers of children to pick up new languages. It is difficult for them and it doesn't happen overnight, particularly if the children are shy. Adam has been in nursery every morning now for nearly 5 months and spent the time laying down the foundations for learning a new language, but it is only now that we can see any audible signs that he is learning Bosnian. I'm incredibly proud of him and looking forward to watching his progress over the next few months.
In the meantime I also heard Edo shouting 'come on!' and 'lets go!' so it looks as if Adam's ambition to teach all the children English is also progressing nicely.
Friday 13 February 2009
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1 comment:
I think it is lot easier to learn a language as a child and when you are surrounded by it every day, they have a great opportunity to learn Bosnian and I wish them both the best of luck.
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