Language acquisition

It's been so much fun to see the kids learn English. We have been so fortunate because Peter already speaks and understands so much. He's been a huge help with Gaelle and it's helped to ease our transition. However, it is interesting to see the types of words and language structures that he struggles with that just don't seem to be getting any better. In the above video he is talking a bit stilted but hopefully this will give and idea of how they are coming along with their English.

He refers to everybody as "he". Sometimes I'll stop him and ask if that's a girl or boy. He'll tell me it's a girl and I'll ask him "He or she?" He answers, "She". I'm starting to think it's just a habit that he needs to break... not a language difficulty.

Peter has difficulty not only pronouncing suffixes but also reading them.

Most ESL learners have problems with singular and plural words and Peter's no exception.

And there's the dreaded digraph "th". Why do so many English words contain "th"?

Gaelle on the other hand is doing just as well, but in a completely different way. She understands most of what we say and if we ask her something in English, she will respond appropriately with her actions. She repeats us constantly and it sounds like she's mocking us. It's quite funny.

The thing that amazes me is her ability to correctly use simple sentences and phrases. In my ESL class we were taught this idea and I'm certainly seeing it in action. I jotted down a few sentences that she came out with this morning. All used in perfect context.

I'll get it.
Mommy, cut it please.
You like yellow?
Peterson did it.
I don't know.
Let's go.

Probably the most entertaining thing about Gaelle is her made up language. She frequently babbles complete nonsense and she's not trying to be funny. It's as though she wants to speak English but can't quite get the correct words out. But it doesn't stop her from trying.

Peter and Gaelle still speak to each other in Creole quite a bit. And Robin talks to Gaelle in French which has been a huge lifesaver. We're looking forward to the next little while to see how long it takes for Gaelle to catch up to Peter and maybe even surpass him beause she's learning from scratch in a completely natural environment. But maybe not. Peter had such an excellent beginning and constantly amazes me with his ability.