As a child, you are super flexible. Within a year, I was fluent in the language. I can still remember that proud feeling when friends and teachers said to me: hey, you really speak Dutch now!
'I was 8 when I moved from Germany to the Netherlands.'
What languages did you speak at home?
I was 8 when I moved from Germany to the Netherlands and had to learn Dutch then.
How did you experience it?
As a child, you are super flexible. Within a year, I was fluent in the language. I can still remember that proud feeling when friends and teachers said to me: hey, you really speak Dutch now! It felt like overnight. At home, I still spoke German until I was 16. Then we switched over there as well.
What do you see as the biggest advantages?
I can master languages and accents quickly. At school, I also really excelled at languages. You can't tell from my English where I'm from either.
What languages do you all speak?
Dutch, English, German and some chunks of French.
Would you also raise your own child(ren) multilingually?
I had wanted to do that very much. But it didn't work out for me. It takes quite a bit of discipline. I think it was also harder for me because I have lived in NL for so long. That's why we started using the app now. My eldest also really wants to learn German and English.
Do you have a funny anecdote you want to share?
It's funny how the first language you learn becomes the starting point in your mind. I have lived in Nl. for 34 years. And yet I still regularly use German words and sounds. Which my husband likes to joke about :)
About Chris
Hi I'm Chris, live in Haarlem, have two lovely girls and am originally from Germany. I am lean marketing expert for B2C startups.
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About jungle the bungle
With Jungle the Bungle's app, children aged between 2 and 8 can learn a new language in a very fun way. Why so young you might ask? Young children in particular learn a new language very easily.
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