Direct Translation/Retelling a Story in My Native Language from a Foreign Book
While books in English, French and German are easy to find at the libraries and book stores in the US and Germany, children's books in my language are rare. We stock up whenever we are on a holiday in my country or ask somebody to bring them for us. Yet the supply is never enough.
To beat this small obstacle, I've been translating stories directly into my language when reading foreign books since we were still living in the US. I read the books in my own time to get some feelings on the story which helps to interpret smoothly and keep the story line interesting. To make sure they understand that the book is not in Indonesian, I let my kids know that mama is just retelling the story.
As some friends asked me to show how it works, below is a clip where I directly translate a French baby book into Indonesian when reading to Louise. For French speakers, you might be able to hear Louise's French words (like when she was saying 'le fleur' when pointing at the flowers) between her Indonesian 2-3 word sentences.
Joseph is now crazy about the Ancient Egyptians. When he borrows a book in French or German from the library, he will ask me to 'read' it in Indonesian, which is a very good addition to the little information he gets from his Indonesian world encyclopedia. Below is a sample of me retelling a story in Indonesian from a German book.
This trick might not be perfect compares to the real reading, but from what my kids and I experience, translation/retelling/interpreting foreign books into my language is useful for everybody. I learn new words and get to understand (simple) texts in French and German besides enhancing my translating-on-the-spot skill. Kids know the Indonesian words of things they like which enables them to come to me whenever they have a question. Books in some languages might be difficult to find when we're living abroad, but there is always an alternative to fill in the gap.
Does any of you have similar stories or other ways to share? I would love to hear them. Thank you in advance!!!
To beat this small obstacle, I've been translating stories directly into my language when reading foreign books since we were still living in the US. I read the books in my own time to get some feelings on the story which helps to interpret smoothly and keep the story line interesting. To make sure they understand that the book is not in Indonesian, I let my kids know that mama is just retelling the story.
As some friends asked me to show how it works, below is a clip where I directly translate a French baby book into Indonesian when reading to Louise. For French speakers, you might be able to hear Louise's French words (like when she was saying 'le fleur' when pointing at the flowers) between her Indonesian 2-3 word sentences.
Click to viewJoseph is now crazy about the Ancient Egyptians. When he borrows a book in French or German from the library, he will ask me to 'read' it in Indonesian, which is a very good addition to the little information he gets from his Indonesian world encyclopedia. Below is a sample of me retelling a story in Indonesian from a German book.
This trick might not be perfect compares to the real reading, but from what my kids and I experience, translation/retelling/interpreting foreign books into my language is useful for everybody. I learn new words and get to understand (simple) texts in French and German besides enhancing my translating-on-the-spot skill. Kids know the Indonesian words of things they like which enables them to come to me whenever they have a question. Books in some languages might be difficult to find when we're living abroad, but there is always an alternative to fill in the gap.
Does any of you have similar stories or other ways to share? I would love to hear them. Thank you in advance!!!