Ally's Blog on Achieving Bicultural Competence and Biliteracy Excellence
Ally's Blog on Achieving Bicultural Competence and Biliteracy Excellence
This activity is again multipurpose. (1) It connects the movement of the arms with the legs; (2) the cross-body movement of the hand touching the opposite leg (right hand touch left knee, left hand touch right knee) helps the left hemisphere of the brain connect …
Have you had the experience that when you talk to your kids, it feels like they don’t have their ears with them? Or when the teacher asks them to do something, some kids look like they didn’t hear it at all? Or they would nod …
Yet, the brain and the eyes CAN be trained! Let’s talk about this.
但是！大脑和眼睛都是可以训练的。咱们还得从头说起。
While this is relatively rare, some kids do have problems with reading at the decoding stage. First of all, what is decoding? It is basically putting the sound of the letters in a word together to read the word. Most native speaker kids from 4 to 7 (given some individual differences) can learn to read (in English) pretty easily with phonics. But, some kids do need help.
大多数孩子并没有这个问题。但是有些孩子会在阅读解码的环节就遇到障碍。首先，什么是“解码”呢？解码就是英语（或其他拼音文字）为母语的孩子把每个字母的音放在一起可以读出整个单词的能力。在考虑到个体差异的基础上，大多数英语为母语的孩子在四到七岁之间都能用自然拼读法，比较容易地学会阅读。但是，有些孩子却需要更多的帮助。
So, how to spot whether or not your child has trouble reading? First, make sure that your kids are taught phonics (or the OG method that the schools use). When kids do not have complete phonics knowledge, reading may appear to be hard, but that’s not a learning issue. For example, when they knew the sound of all the letters and learned to blend sounds in three letter words (consonant-vowel-consonant), they should have no difficulty reading a little book containing only three letter words. If they do at this stage or at more advanced stages where they’ve learned more complicated rules, we need to keep an eye on them.
那怎么知道自己的孩子是否有阅读的障碍呢？首先，要看看他们是不是完全掌握了自然拼读法。如果孩子还没有较全面地掌握自然拼读规则，看起来他们好像是阅读遇到了困难，但是其实这并不是阅读障碍，而是知识不全。比如，当孩子会融合单个字母发音并读出三个字母的单词的时候，阅读完全由三个字母的单词写成的小故事，应该不成问题。如果他们学会了规则也没法阅读，那就要多多注意到底哪个环节出了问题了。
Is it because they haven’t remembered the rules? If this is the case, they don’t have a decoding issue. They just need to see more examples of the target words, read more, and try to remember the rules.
是因为他们没记住规则吗？如果只是没记住规则，就不是解码障碍。他们只需要不断见到类似的例子，不断阅读，就会记住规则，阅读就会更顺畅。
If they have trouble with p and q, b and d, w and m, etc., they are totally normal and this tendency will go away as their brain matures. There’s nothing to worry about.
如果他们把p读成q，b读成d，w读成m，等等，这些对于初学的小孩子来说，都再正常不过。随着他们的大脑在几年之内飞速成熟，这个问题就会逐渐消失。所以并不需要担心。
However, if they have one or more of the following occurred to them consistantly when reading, they probably have a learning issue.
NOT all of these kids are diagnosed with dyslexia. With the right help, NOT all of them even have a permanent condition, especially for young kids between 4 and 7 whose brain is still developing and has better plasticity.
但是，如果您的孩子出现了如下一种或者几种现象，并且基本上每次如此，他们可能就是遇到了阅读障碍。
不是所有这样阅读的孩子都会被确诊为读写困难症。如果得到了有效的帮助，这种状况并不会固化成为永久性的问题，尤其对于四到七岁之间的小孩子来说，因为他们的大脑在高速的发育中，可塑性很强。
If your child has this problem, there are activities that can help. (If the problem is so severe that every word that they see is “messed up” in random ways every time they read, please talk to a pediatrican to get professional help). But if your child can still read, just constantly gets confused, then trying at home some of the activities that professionals use may make a huge difference.
如果您的孩子有这个问题，有一系列的身脑连结练习可以帮到他们。（如果阅读障碍非常严重，每次看到的每个单词都字母排列错乱，根本无法阅读，请看儿医寻求更专业的帮助）。但是如果您的孩子仍然可以读出很多的单词，只是速读缓慢并且经常看糊涂了，那么在自己家里运用这些专业人员使用的练习可能会特别有帮助。
I will be posting some important activities one by one. Today we start with the first one, “Thumb Eight.” This is one of a series of research supported activities that help (1) the eyes to track better in a liniar fashion and (2) the left hemisphere of the brain to make stronger connections with the right hemisphere. When the eyes can track better liniarly from left to right, reading problems caused by seeing letters and words in randomly wrong places will gradually resolve. The key is to stick with these activities every day for a longer period of time (1-2 years).
我会在这个博客上一个一个地发表这些练习。今天我们开始第一个：大拇指画八。这些练习是有很多科研支持的，他们会帮助孩子提高眼睛从左到右线性追踪的能力，同时也会帮助左右脑更好的连结。当眼睛能更好地线性追踪，孩子看乱字母或单词顺序的状况就会不断减少，阅读精准度和流利度就会不断提高。关键是要持之以恒，一般要坚持一到两年。
Strategy #3: Assign different language roles to different family members. This is different from “no English at home” in that specific people are assigned with speaking a specifc language. 方法三：家里面规定有固定说中文的人。这个方法和“家里不许说中文”不同，因为不同的家庭成员要承担起不同的语言角色。说中文要看是和谁说话。 Pros: This strategy works naturally well for younger kids especially when grandparents who don’t speak …
Many parents have this concern. We worry that our kids will completely stop speaking Chinese when they acquire fluent English. And this does happen to many kids. So as parents we all seem to get caught in this delimma. If we facilitate English acquisition and …
The answer is… Yes and No.
回答是：要看情况。(This is a bilingual post, naturally :D)
It depends on quite a few factors. First of all, what is the age of the child? If the child enters daycare before most of their native English speaking counterparts start to talk much (before 2.5), s/he is probably going to be totally fine. Assuming it’s a fully time daycare attendance, s/he will just acquire full fluency with the rest of the kids. It will be a great help both for the teachers and for your child to do the following two things: (1) give a posted note of a Pinyin version of a few crucial Chinese words for the teacher to try and understand/communicate with your child, such as Chi (eat), Shui (water), Hai Yao (more), Bao Bao (hold me, hug me), Hua Hua (go potty), etc.; and (2) teach your child a few English words to express most imporant and/or urgent needs, although at first when she’s upset she will most likely speak Chinese. For example, eat, water, more, hug/hold/carry me, potty. And also, teach your child the number 1 used word by toddlers (and preschoolers): “No!” in case her peer is doing something she doesn’t like. You are basically covered!
有很多因素需要考虑，并不能一概而论。首先，孩子多大了？如果孩子在两岁半之前，可能不太需要父母教什么。如果每周去五天全天都在幼儿园的话，大多数孩子都不会有问题。当然，如果您能做到下面两点，对孩子和老师都会很有帮助：（1）给老师一个小纸条，上面用拼音对照英语写上重要的日常用词，比如，吃Chi、水Shui、还要Hai Yao、抱抱Bao Bao、(尿）花花Hua Hua，以便老师能够明白孩子当下最急需的是什么。（2）同样教孩子这些词的英语怎么说，即使他一开始在哭闹的时候可能还是会用中文喊出需求。同时再教孩子一个小娃最爱的 “No!” 这样他就可以告诉同伴他不喜欢别人做什么。他会感到自己的环境是更可控的。这样就好啦！
If your child is 3 and above when they enter a daycare/preschool, you do need to teach them English at home in the beginning so that they can function well at preschool, because at this point, all other kids are already fluent in English. He may feel confused, left out, laughed at by peers (even when they don’t laugh), or simply feeling deeply embarrassed. The daily activity structure of kids age 3 and above is also not the same as toddler classes. The teachers talk more and in more “big kid friendly” ways. The kids may have a prayer routine (religious or not) before lunch. There will be morning circle time where the teacher lays out the whole day, reads stories, and gives instructions for the next activity. The teacher may start to train kids to follow 3-step instructions. Contrary to the popular belief that it would be a sea of English language input, many kids who don’t speak English yet find it really hard to fit in or process. Yes, there’s plenty of input, but, is that input *comprehensible* to the kid? Even those who learn fast and adapt quickly find it emotionally challenging — they are too young to verbalize the discomfort they feel, but they feel it, intensely. I’ve seen with my own eyes 3 or 4 year olds tearing up with unspeakable embarrassment and shame just talking about their experiences before they become fully fluent. It breaks my heart. So, as much as I am a bilingual, bicultural, biliteracy advocate, highly bi-educated myself, and a professionally trained language teacher with advanced degree, I do recommend that parents teach their 3+ kids at least some necessary survival and social English sentences and phrases as they start preschool.
如果您的孩子已经三岁及以上了才上幼儿园，您的确需要在家先教一些基本日常用语，帮助孩子更好地在幼儿园生存成长，因为在这个时候，所有的其他孩子都已经能流利地说话了。一句英语都不会说也完全没有心理准备，他可能会感到困惑、没人理、被嘲笑（即使没人嘲笑他）、或者深深地感到羞耻和毫无面子。三岁以上孩子在幼儿园的活动和更小的孩子会很不同。老师会更多地用语言与他们互动，用更多适合大学前儿童的词句。午饭前可能有背诵感恩祈祷语的环节（不一定是宗教性的）。早上会有晨读时间，老师讲一天的安排、讲绘本、布置下一个活动的事宜。老师还有可能开始训练孩子们完成三步走的活动指令。人们普遍以为，把孩子放到这样的全英语环境，他们会得到非常充足的语言输入，这样有利于尽快掌握英语。但其实很多较大的孩子在能说流利之前，都感到无法融入或无法进入状态。是的，的确是充盈的语言输入，但是！这些潮水一般无穷尽的声音不断涌入耳膜，对孩子来说是*可理解*的输入吗？*可理解*很重要。即使是那些学得快的孩子，也觉得这种完全靠自己在黑暗中摸索的状态让他们心理承受了很大的压力。他们还太小，即使用中文也无法表达那种强烈的不舒适感，但是他们却在深切地感受着。我曾经亲睹三、四岁的孩子回忆自己能完全流利地说英语之前的经历，他们含着眼泪，尽力克制，却难以掩饰那些无法言说的羞辱感与无助感。每每想起，我都为之心碎。所以，虽然我支持双语双文化双读写能力的教育，我自己也是这方面的专业人员，但是为了孩子的心理健康，我仍然建议家长教三岁及以上的孩子在入园时就必备的生存和社交语句，帮他们尽快适应。
Another factor is language aptitude, complicated by child personality and emotional state (we call the latter “affective filter” in the field of second language acquisition). While many kids at a young age are highly adaptable and learn languages fast and easy, not all kids are the same. Some perfectly smart kids may find it hard especially at the beginning to understand and produce a second language without necessary help. The reason is pretty complex. Some of them may just not be that apt at languages. Some of them when new to an environment may be so scared and upset for much longer than we thought they would. In such an emotional state, their brain is less ready to process the language. Kids learn differently, too. Researchers found that kids who are outgoing and learns a second language fast may later on have trouble with accuracy (correct grammar and wording, too many fillers), because they can get by and have friends because of their happy-go-lucky personality. On the other hand, introverted kids may refuse to speak for quite a few months, being misunderstood as having difficulty or disabilities, only to later on open their mouth and speak perfectly accurate and fluent English.
另外一个因素就是语言能力，以及与之交织的孩子个性和情绪状态（后者在第二语言习得领域，我们称之为“情感过滤”）。虽然很多小孩子都适应能力非常强，但是不是所有的孩子都有同样的适应能力。有些特别聪明的孩子在一开始的时候的确需要家长的帮助。其原因很复杂。有的孩子在新的环境里会害怕或者难过很长时间，在这样心境下，他们的大脑不会太准备好接受新的语言。研究人员发现，很多外向的孩子会很快开口并达到顺利交际，但是之后却在精准度上面产生困难（比如语法错误多、用词不准确、口头禅多）。这是因为他们欢乐的个性让他们不怕犯错且拥有很多朋友，但是他们也不拘小节、实用主义、不求甚解。而很多内向的孩子，一开始死活不开口，让老师误以为他们有学习障碍，但是好几个月甚至半年以后，他们一开口，就是一口字正腔圆流利精准的母语水平英语。
Some kids may be strong-willed and wish that if they stick with it long enough, their peers may learn their language. My daughter is a good case in point. She stuck with her guns for almost a year, in two different daycares! When I picked her up, many of the other little 1.5-2 year olds would run to us and speak “Chinese” to me! Well, not real Chinese, but what they gathered from my daughter to be “Chinese,” which was, by pronunciation and tone, pretty amazingly accurate! It was not until the day when we sent her to the ER for a health issue (which resolved over the night) where she observed some prolonged conversations between me and the doctors that she realized that sometimes you just need to speak English to understand each other! Once she understood, there was no stopping her. (Here you might start to wonder, what if my child forgets her Chinese? I will discuss this in detail in another post).
有些孩子可能很执拗很有主意，他们觉得如果他们足够坚持，其他孩子就会学会他们会说的话。我女儿就是这样。她先后在两个幼儿园都坚持跟每个人说中文。我去接她的时候，那些一岁半到两岁之间的小孩都会跑过来跟我说“中文”。当然他们说的并不是真的中文，只是他们从我闺女那儿听来的一些“语感”，但是那个四声和韵味真的超级有模有样！直到有次她生病我们去了急诊并在医院住了一晚，她看到我和医护人员长篇大论地用英语沟通，才服气了对不会说中文的人，你就是要说英语。一旦她明白了这个事情，她的英语飞快地成为了她的母语。（当然读到这里您可能有了另一个担忧：孩子如果忘了中文母语怎么办？我将在今后的文中详解）。
Whether the daycare/preschool and the teachers are able to offer support and accommodations is also important. Are they willing to try to understand your child when they are crying and speaking Chinese words? Are they able to connect with your child and build a trusting relationship? The daycare that we take our daughter out a few months into it didn’t have good support and the teachers were not able to make positive and secure connections with her. In some ways this further complicated the fact that she was stubborn about everyone else should learn her language (although being strong-willed is a great attribute). The daycare she finally settled in really well was able to provide her with great support in all aspects, not just language, and the teachers made every effort to connect with her in loving and caring ways. Not that anybody speaks Chinese there, but with the posted notes and my own parental help that I mentioned earlier, they were able to understand her and help her feel at home there and made lots of friends before she lowered her shield and started to be a stellar talker before she was 3.
幼儿园老师是否能够给孩子提供最初的支持和帮助也很重要。他们愿意配合家长在孩子哭喊中文的时候尽力理解孩子的需求吗？他们能与孩子建立互相信任的良好关系吗？我们退出的那家幼儿园就做得不好，没有支持帮助，更没有与孩子建立正面与安全的信任关系。这在一定程度上也让事情更复杂化了，因为她本来就很执著地认为别人应该都学她的语言（虽然有主见的孩子其实很好）。她最终留下来的幼儿园就是老师努力理解和帮助她，与她建立了良好的关系。她有了很多好朋友，有了归属感，放下了戒备，在三岁之前就很快成为了一个特别能说的孩子。
So, should parents be worried? Absolutely not. Should parents offer help wherever appropriate? Absolutely yes. Don’t be their “life buoy” as we need to teach them independence, but be their coach, understand them, teach them how to swim in what at first may seem to be an overwhelmingly huge sea of language input.
所以……家长需要焦虑吗？完全不用。家长需要给孩子恰当适量的帮助吗？完全有必要。不要成为他们的“拐杖”，因为我们要教他们独立自主。但是，我们要成为他们的教练，理解他们，教他们如何在新语言的汪洋里畅游。
Welcome to my blog for achieving bicultural competence and bilingual literacy excellence! As a teacher and a parent who is bicultural and bilingual myself, like all the parents with whom I have come into contact, I would like my child to be highly competent biculturally …