[SUBuddha]

My parents spoke to us in Mandarin exclusively, so my sister and I have near native fluency.  It was never a question for my parents, and I'm glad they did it.  If anything, it made our English better because we learned English from native speakers.  My sister and I are the only Asian-Americans we've met that scored higher on SAT Verbal than Math.  I wonder if being bilingual also makes you better at language because your brain develops more facility with language generally.  There is also evidence that bilingualism enhances executive function in children.  For me, the greatest benefit was having a fuller relationship with my grandparents that did not speak English.

If any of you out there are wondering whether to teach your kids another language, do it.  Even if you are monolingual.  It's one of the best gifts you can give your children. My daughter goes to a Chinese language pre-school.  She has hapa, South Asian, Caucasian, and African-American classmates.  They all speak fluently.  I have full conversations with all of them in Chinese.  Some are already more fluent than their ethnically Chinese parents.  They can sign more songs in Chinese than I can.

I do feel closer to my ancestral culture because of my fluency in the language.  I do not feel less American for it.  Deeply understanding two cultures gives you additional insight into each one.  It is a struggle at times reconciling the contradictions.  Usually fun.  Sometimes maddening.

Publius,
Chomsky and a great deal of research would argue that, yes, bilingual education improves test scores, especially on verbal. This is why my kids, despite my lack of a second language, went to a Spanish/English day care. At 5 my daughter can speak in English, but code switches between Spanish and English with numbers, colors, body functions and animals. She asked for Spanish to English books for xmas last year.  8)

Ferarri,
My family's experience was much the same, my Nonie and Nono (great grandparents in my case instead of the typical grandparents) refused to let any of the family learn Italian. In my family my Nonie was actually stamped WOP on her forehead and told there were to many Itay's in New York when she reached Ellis Island, as she told the story, and shipped, by train, to Napa (Calistoga to be exact). Keep in mind she came across in 1903 for historical accuracy. My sister, ABD'd out of a PhD program in Sociolinguistics at LSJU and is the only person in 3 generations to speak and write the language. My wife's Nono who immigrated after WWII, in contrast, encouraged speaking the language and naming the kids with Italian family names, Omero (my nephew) is a 4th generation family name for instance. In fairness though, after being a resistance fighter in Italy, when he came to the U.S. he volunteered for Korea to speed citizenship. He is, like many of my Mexican American friends, one of the most ardent and proud "Americans" I have ever met.

[SUBuddha]

My parents spoke to us in Mandarin exclusively, so my sister and I have near native fluency.  It was never a question for my parents, and I'm glad they did it.  If anything, it made our English better because we learned English from native speakers.  My sister and I are the only Asian-Americans we've met that scored higher on SAT Verbal than Math.  I wonder if being bilingual also makes you better at language because your brain develops more facility with language generally.  There is also evidence that bilingualism enhances executive function in children.  For me, the greatest benefit was having a fuller relationship with my grandparents that did not speak English.

If any of you out there are wondering whether to teach your kids another language, do it.  Even if you are monolingual.  It's one of the best gifts you can give your children. My daughter goes to a Chinese language pre-school.  She has hapa, South Asian, Caucasian, and African-American classmates.  They all speak fluently.  I have full conversations with all of them in Chinese.  Some are already more fluent than their ethnically Chinese parents.  They can sign more songs in Chinese than I can.

I do feel closer to my ancestral culture because of my fluency in the language.  I do not feel less American for it.  Deeply understanding two cultures gives you additional insight into each one.  It is a struggle at times reconciling the contradictions.  Usually fun.  Sometimes maddening.

Publius,
Chomsky and a great deal of research would argue that, yes, bilingual education improves test scores, especially on verbal. This is why my kids, despite my lack of a second language, went to a Spanish/English day care. At 5 my daughter can speak in English, but code switches between Spanish and English with numbers, colors, body functions and animals. She asked for Spanish to English books for xmas last year.  8)

Ferarri,
My family's experience was much the same, my Nonie and Nono (great grandparents in my case instead of the typical grandparents) refused to let any of the family learn Italian. In my family my Nonie was actually stamped WOP on her forehead and told there were to many Itay's in New York when she reached Ellis Island, as she told the story, and shipped, by train, to Napa (Calistoga to be exact). Keep in mind she came across in 1903 for historical accuracy. My sister, ABD'd out of a PhD program in Sociolinguistics at LSJU and is the only person in 3 generations to speak and write the language. My wife's Nono who immigrated after WWII, in contrast, encouraged speaking the language and naming the kids with Italian family names, Omero (my nephew) is a 4th generation family name for instance. In fairness though, after being a resistance fighter in Italy, when he came to the U.S. he volunteered for Korea to speed citizenship. He is, like many of my Mexican American friends, one of the most ardent and proud "Americans" I have ever met.