I'm Afrikaans, my wife is German, and we both speak English fluently. Here are our family's language contacts:
- Afrikaans: My native language and our main language at home and with family. Our son has extensive contact with his Afrikaans grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.
- German: My wife's native language. She tries to speak mainly German to our son, and his grandparent does too. However, outside our immediate family, very few understand German. (This complicates some interactions where inclusivity is key, like saying, "Show the nice lady your toy" in the lady's language.) One of our main language acquisition goals is for our son to be fluent in German.
- English: A language we're exposed to frequently. We have English-speaking friends, our church is English, and most media we consume is in English.
I'm currently learning German and cherish moments when I use German with our son—singing songs, reading books, or pointing out objects. Adhering strictly to the OPOL approach limits me to Afrikaans, which hinders my German learning journey—a language I'm passionate about and want to converse in, especially with my family. Being able to use German freely with my son would enrich both our experiences, but I want to know the risks involved regarding language acquisition.
My understanding is that OPOL is mainly to reinforce languages that might not come naturally to the child. Given that our son will likely be fluent in Afrikaans from various sources and German exposure is limited, would it be harmful if I continue my German interactions with him?
Any insights would be appreciated!
Your son's aquisition of German will be reinforced by your additional interaction in that language and it will not be harmful in any way.
I don't think so. It will actually help your son's exposure to German langauge. Assistance and scaffolding are important as he learns both languages.
I agree with the previous answers. I would add a point : language acquisition comes spontaneously and effortlessly until 5/6 year old. After this period, I would rather call it language learning and this is effective in different ways, even if the father is not proficient in the target language ( English teachers around the world are most of the times non native speakers, but they do their job in some ways !)
I would suggest you this article from Johnson and Newport (1989) " Critical period effects in second language learning"
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