Language Acquisition

Ellie is really enjoying German kindergarten. It's more akin to preschool than what Americans think of as kindergarten -- mostly free-play time as a socialization environment for 3-6 year olds. But more than that, it's a place where Ellie can learn how to navigate this German-speaking world we now inhabit.

I knew language acquisition worked differently for little girls than for me, with my hours of intensive language study, but I didn't really understand the magnitude of the difference.

Ellie came home today saying that the children sat in a circle at kindergarten and passed around a stuffed animal, with each child saying something about it before passing it along. Ellie reported, "When it came to me, I said something in German!" "What did you say?" her parents excitedly inquired. "Well, I don't know...it was in German." Ah so.

Getting to Kindergarten in Style

The Up-And-Coming German Student