[sak9645]

We are not a bilingual family. However, we are Jewish, and my daughter attends a private school in which Hebrew is taught by immersion for one-half of every day. Becca, now age nine, reads, writes, and speaks Hebrew about as well as any kid who's NOT raised in a home where one parent is fluent. (I can read and write enough to help with some of the homework, but that's about all.) She uses modern Hebrew in school, but can also tell you the difference between those words and the Biblical Hebrew she reads in the Torah.

I would love to have Becca learn Chinese. The problem is that she is already getting two hours of homework some nights -- in fourth grade -- and I really want her to spend some time on non-academic things. She is already a big book lover and computer user, and it's hard enough to chase her outdoors, except for her beloved horseback riding lessons. (For a kid who can't even ride a two-wheeler, she has turned out to be a natural rider, and she is currently in a jumping class, although she started riding less than two years ago.)

Hopefully, she'll develop a strong interest in learning Chinese at a later date. Meanwhile, I keep her involved in other China-related activities, and hope for the best. She is very proud of her Chinese heritage, but right now, she would rather die than give up Hebrew. The price of tuition at her school keeps going up, and when we moved to an area with a great public school, I asked her whether she would like to go. I got an absolutely shocked, "BUT WHAT ABOUT THE HEBREW?" Suffice it to say, we stayed at the private school.

I have seen lots of bilingual kids, however, even if my own is not one. We live in a very Asian neighborhood, for one thing. Although we have some Chinese friends, we are not fully accepted, because the first question out of every adult's mouth is not, "Does your child go to Chinese school?" It's "WHERE does your child go to Chinese school?" There is a lot of head-shaking about Becca not going to Chinese school!

The two Chinese non-adopted children whom Becca sees a lot are fully bilingual, and translate for their parents and relatives. They are excellent students and totally well-adjusted. Like most of the Chinese kids around here, they go to public school during the week, and Chinese school on Sunday. If their parents ever got too concerned about their Chinese language skills and cultural knowledge, they would be shipped off to relatives in China for a year. As it is, they visit China from time to time with their parents.

Up until this year, one of my daughter's classmates, also adopted from China, was a girl who was adopted by an American woman living in Israel. They moved to the U.S. only when the girl reached school age. The girl is totally bilingual in terms of Hebrew and English. She has a slight problem with her "R" sounds in English and is getting help, but I don't think it's related to being bilingual. She and her Mom decided to return to Israel this year, as they are both happier there, and we miss them very much. They do plan to visit the States pretty often, as they have relatives here, so we hope to keep up with them. I simply cannot afford to go to Israel right now, even if I were not concerned about safety issues.

In our Chinese play group, there are two kids who are growing up trilingual, at least to some extent. The Dad is of Chinese heritage, but grew up in Brazil. The Mom is a Caucasian, born in this country. Their two children, adopted from China, are hearing Chinese, English, and Portuguese at home.

One of Becca's friends, adopted from the same orphanage, has been living in Rwanda for the past two years, because of her Mom's work. She will turn nine soon. She is attending a Belgian school, where French is the language of instruction. The adjustment was tough for the child, because she knew a little Spanish but no French when she got there. However, she is doing satisfactory work and has made lots of friends. Her Mom speaks some French, though she does not consider herself fluent. While Becca and I miss Dottie terribly, I know that the exposure to foreign languages is good for her. Her Mom has worked overseas on and off for years, and hopes that Dottie will follow in her footsteps.

So I'm used to seeing bilingual kids. From what I can see, they all do just fine. From my reading, I get the sense that they may begin speaking a little later than monolingual kids, but that they catch up pretty fast.

Sharon