smokerblog

Learning from Each Other

So Ben's English is coming along, given that he's only been here for two days. He continues to mimic things that we we say and we continue to learn to understand each other a little better as we work toward a common language. He's using some very basic English phrases, such as "thank you" and "eat...yeah!" (The word "eat" is always followed by an entusiastic "yeah!") Almost of the very first English word he picked up and now uses frequently is "Buddy."

We're trying to teach him his letters and there is one DVD we have that has been a big help. He gets out his magnetic letters and finds each letter in turns as he follows along with the story.

Teaching him to say his numbers has been a little trickier only because he knows all of his numbers in Chinese already and is reluctant to switch. In fact, he's been teaching me the Chinese numbers faster that I've been able to teach him the English. Plus, it seems the Chinese have a totally different way of counting on their fingers, at least for numbers higher than five.

Oh, and do you think maybe he's become comfortable with the dogs yet?