Teaching Amy to read and write English

[pne]

I wonder whether (and if so, when and how) to teach Amy to read and write English.

She'll be taught (and, presumably, learn) to read and write German at school, so that part's sorted, but I don't really want her to be illiterate in half of her native languages. And English spelling is complicated enough that I don't know whether just knowing how to read German will let you read English easily, let alon write it.

So I wonder whether to teach her to read and write English myself at some point (and if so, how).

I remember that in Bilingual Children: from Birth to Teens, the author made little reading and writing exercises for his children, in order for them to practise their second language, and I wonder whether I should do something similar eventually.

Suggestions for methods, time to start, or other things?

Comments

[alsatia]

A quick Google search indicates that German now uses entirely the same alphabet as English. If this is accurate, I'd wait until she's learned the alphabet and a little bit of reading in German from her school (or at home if you'll be teaching her early...I was reading and writing long before I started school), then start teaching her how the alphabet letters are pronounced differently in English. I suppose the exact timing would depend on how well she's doing with the reading in German and whether it seems like learning the differences would confuse her, but I'd imagine that starting within 6 months to a year after she learns the German alphabet will probably be reasonable.

I'm sure children could acquire both simultaneously, but it would make both go slower in the beginning and I think it would do her a disservice to slow down her progress in the language that she'll be expected to use in school.

[pne]

A quick Google search indicates that German now uses entirely the same alphabet as English.

Yes and no. German also has ä ö ü ß, which aren't counted as separate letters (they're usually sorted as "ae oe ue ss" - e.g. in telephone books - or as "a o u ss" - e.g. in dictionaries), so you could say German has 26 letters just like English, but to read and write, you'd still have to know how about those four extra "shapes". ("ß" is special in that it doesn't really have an upper-case version.)

I think it would do her a disservice to slow down her progress in the language that she'll be expected to use in school.

Good point.

[watersword]

I know nothing about this, but I do hope that you will post about the process, should you decide to do it! Bilingual education is something that fascinates me, and which I hope very much to be able to give my children, should I ever acquire them.

[pne]

Several of the suggestions I've received suggested I wait until she's started to acquire some initial proficiency at reading and writing German, which presumably would be when she's started school. So I'm currently trying to contain myself until then.

Bilingual education is something that fascinates me, and which I hope very much to be able to give my children, should I ever acquire them.

Then you probably know that it's something you can offer but that will not necessarily be accepted. (Or that may be accepted initially but later rejected.) So "hope" is the right word, I think!

Which is also why I'm so glad every now and then that Amy is accepting my offer, and is speaking English back to me. Especially since I've seen in my own family that not all children react the same way to the offer of bilingualism.