언제 시작하는 것이 맞는 걸까요?
안녕하세요. 겅호입니다~
오늘은 한국인들이 영어교육에 대한 많이 궁금하시는 부분에 대해서 얘기하고 싶어요. 아이를 영어에 자연스럽게 노출해주는 것은 가장 좋다는 것을 알지만 언제 시작하는 것이 맞는 걸까요? 고민하시는 분들이 많으니 이 글을 쓰려고 했어요. 그리고 앞으로 영어에 성공하기 위해 아이를 영유로 보내는 것은 적절한 것인가요? 아니면 원어민한테 맡기면 되는 건가요? 아니면 그냥 미국으로 이민 가는 것이 날까요? 하지만 어떻게 생각해 보시면 이 모든 질문들은 답이 없는 질문들이 맞아요. 고민만 하는 것보다 일단 시작해보고 아이가 힘들어한다면 중단하는 것이 맞다 라는 것을경험했어요.
Hello, this is Gungho~
Today I would like to talk about the parts that many Koreans are curious about with English education. We know that it is best to expose our kids to English naturally, but when is the right time? Because there are a lot of people who are having a hard time with this, I decided to write this post. Also, to be successful in English in the future, is it appropriate to send our kids to English kindergarten here in Korea? Or, should we just leave our kids up to a native speaker? Or is it just better to emigrate to America? However, if you think about it, all these questions don’t have any real answer. Rather than just worrying about it, just start and try it, and if your child feels hard, then stopping is the right thing to do. This is what I have experienced.
일단 시작하고 무리가 괴면 그만둔다.... 알겠어요.
할까말까 하면서 시간을 낭비하느니 차라리 해보는게 나을것 같아서요. ㅠㅠ
I guess that you can just speak to them in English at home so that they can learn both languages @gungho
I remember staying at my grandmother's house for one month in their province when they went there to live after my father had bought this plot where our house stands now.
The boy that I was playing with is talking in their dialect that I could not understand. Maybe if I stayed there for a while I could learn their dialect too. But of course I am not the favorite grandson of my Grandmother and Aunts and uncles there so I never returned until I thought that I was going to die soon and thought of staying again for a vacation for four months so that I can be with them for the last time.
Well I didn't die unfortunately and telling this sort uninteresting story unto you :P
Your suggested way is the best way for learning a language, @cryptopie. The language needs to be spoken around you in order to pick it up. Just learning from books has its limitations. Talking requires communication back and forth.
Sometimes, I had difficulties in practicing English with my kids. We learn to speak mother language, listening to others and speaking with others. But whenever I tried to talk to my kids in English, I didn't know what I could say in English. You know what I mean? ㅜㅠ
Yes, I know and completely understand what you mean. Also, at a young age, a child tends to choose one language first before the other. Usually, as you mentioned, the child chooses the mother tongue first (but not always). We cannot avoid this. However, as mothers, all we can do is guide our kids in the right direction on how to approach a second language. How do we approach it? As I suggested in my post, I think we should try many different ways until we find one that fits our child best. Each child is different, and each child's reaction will be different to every approach. For example, some kids are outgoing and would love to go to America; however, on the other hand, some kids are shy and can't make friends well. Those kids would have a hard time in America and would beg to come back to Korea. Everything is perspective.