0-1 yrs: Understands both English and German equally well.
1-2 yrs: Understands both languages equally well, starts saying words in both languages. Begins to speak in sentences in English.
2-3 yrs: Her German begins to lag behind, in understanding to some extent, but mainly in speaking the language. By the end of the year, she refuses to speak any German. Ever. Travels to Germany for the first time and continues to refuse to speak German, even when playing with her much beloved – and monolingual - cousins.
3-4 yrs: See previous year. Toward the end of the year, I start encouraging her to speak German more systematically than ever before and she slowly comes around. Speaks haltingly and with an accent. Definitely prefers English.
4-5 yrs: Encouragement continues and she starts making an effort. Although there are setbacks, she quickly looses her resistance and starts improving. Looses her accent, increases her active vocabulary and overall command of the language. Becomes proud of being bilingual and is interested in improving her German.
5- 6 yrs: Speaks fairly fluently, though with mistakes. Begins to have my regional accent and starts to read in both English and German. Starts learning French. Expects to speak German with me and looks at me funny when I speak English with her.
6-7 yrs: Continues and improves from last year. Starting to speak more English when she's speaking to both me and The Husband at the same time, since "Papa only speaks English, so I have to say it in English!"
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Punk 2/O:
0-1 yrs: Understands both English and German equally well.
1-2 yrs: Understands both languages equally well, starts saying words in both languages.
2-3 yrs: Continues to understand both languages equally well, mixes like crazy, but toward the end of the year begins to keep his languages separate. Makes an effort to speak German with German speakers. Notices when someone he knows speaks only a particular language suddenly speaks another one and finds it hilarious. Speaks in sentences in English, but is only beginning to do same in German.
3-4 yrs: Makes an effort to speak German when appropriate and gets better at keeping his languages apart. Begins to speak in complete sentences in German after a visit from Oma. Expects to speak German with me and fully understands OPOL.
4-5 yrs: Speaks German willingly, able to have full conversations. Speaks Germans with all German-speakers he knows, except Punk 1. Sometimes plays by himself in German.
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The Husband/Papa:
Has picked up some German over the years, but his understanding is much better than his active vocabulary. Tried to improve through German Saturday School, with mixed results at best. Sometimes he speaks German with the rest of us, initially to the amusement of the kids.
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