Nina Reads the Alphabet Cards

[noona297]

nice name ...cute nina

[mrchriss]

Lol at the "Keys"-card :D Clever!

[szworld96]

So cuteeeee!

[inawhilealligator]

Hi, could you tell me the name/brand of the alphabet cards Nina is using? Thanks!

[sayu8795]

who the heck would dislike this video?

[jbluepalmz14]

She's very smart

[iLobSouthKorea]

umbrella ella e e e this kid is soo cute :3

[c313HH]

very nice

[unmermaid]

Hi, I've been watching a lot of Nina recently and I'm so sad you're not uploading any more videos (though I hope you'll let us see her for Christmas and such). Anyway, I have a question that's been kind of nagging me for a while. I was wondering, do any of your students watch your channel? Because you're a teacher and all.

[geofg]

@unmermaid I have had a couple students mention it, but surprisingly few seem interested.

[DivineDil]

... not only be one of the smartest kids, but when there's a problem with her homework or something like that, she has a great dad who will help and a mum who supports her. Congratulations about your whole family and all that! The way you already teach her things, it's amazing! And I'll really try to be the same when I'll have kids one day.

In the end, I'd like to say: Lots of greets to you Nina from Germany! Keep enjoying your childhood!

[geofg]

@DivineDil Thanks so much! Nina will start elementary school in April, so we'll see how it goes.

I see you are bilingual as well. I do think learning multiple languages improves thinking and awareness generally.

[DivineDil]

You know, and I guess I don't need to tell you, but - you're daughter is incredible smart and very, very intelligent. And with that I mean not (only) that she grows up with two languages or can read some letters at the age of two already. I've watched almost all of your videos yet and you really do notice how she sees the world.

I really, REALLY wonder what Nina will be as an adult - which job she will choose etc.

I imagine that when she goes to school in a few years, she will ...

[vuckyoulah]

she's so adorable with her japanese :)

[Slowindown50]

She's cute when she says "usagi? rabbit!" good work Nina!!!

[hellomillo]

Seriously, she knows how to sing Umbrella, lol. Ella, ella, e, e haha how cute!

[xXENINAJXx]

key=kiss --> CUTE!

i like jumping from nina's older videos to her recent ones and seeing how she's grown!

[TheGlossator]

Her accent is so adorable in this XD

[GangsTax5xGirL]

my parents used to teach me like that .. but English = Arabic :)

[geofg]

@GangsTax5xGirL It's a good method.

[SkySho116]

Did you and your wife teach words, at the same time?

[geofg]

@SkySho116 Basically, my wife uses Japanese with Nina, and I use English with her.

[socheata8]

Kore wa? Peashow! (pencil) so cute T_T!!!

[geofg]

@socheata8 ha ha It does sound like "peashow" the way she used to say it.

[dampfsusi]

Dear Geof!

Where did you get these cards from.

Best wishes from Vienna!

[geofg]

@dampfsusi I bought them in America.

[MaryJoMcCormic]

Nina, you're a very clever girl!

[dp22y]

Thanks for the credits at the end! It really helps!

[Thunder777m]

this video reminded me of Danny Kaye's "Popo The Puppet" Nina is precious child.

[o0LARCenCiel]

key = kiss :) loved that part when she did that

[MyHeed]

かわい。。。。

[LoveYamachan]

at 1:30~ lol i really laugh every time nina asks you to show her what she looks on cam~ ^^

[sickchild72]

usagi ! haaa cute! rawrrrr

[CDR1985ohana]

ニーナちゃん、可愛い(*^ω^*)

[JanaManga]

aww this is so great !!!!!

[Konekosan01]

Rihanna's got nothin' on Nina!! xD

[quengirl]

OMG so cute! keys and kiss! XD XD a very smart connection! bless her!

[geofg]

@LatinMichiru That's true, the pronunciation of Japanese should be easy for you. It's really hard for everyone at first because every word is new, so there is no easy way to remember anything. After awhile, it finally starts to get a little easier. Try looking at channels like Gimmeaflakeman or others that try to help teach Japanese.  There are probably internet sites that help you learn, too.

It's tough, but stick with it!

[salakaya77]

i love the way you teach Nina chan.

she's so smart!

and adorable!!!!

[matchimrockdaworld]

ella ella lmao,, lil rihanna > <

[vijaymd44]

3:20 .. ella ella ea ea.. nice ..:)

[wannanow86]

she's so cute and smart......i cannot stop watching her video......luv nina..

[redisthehead]

forget rosetta stone, nina is way better!

[thezookeeper123]

that's such a very cute thing to do! to "kiss" the keys! haha HUGG NINA!!

[SammieLuxury]

How smart she is! What a precious little girl. I like how she sings "umbrella." Lol.

[IzyanAnver]

@One_Call she is one heck smart baby :D you should watch it hehe

[eyoshi14]

How long have you been in Japan?

[kakimedragon]

I'm totally learning japanese with her, as I go along. Amazing. Thank you.

[geofg]

I'm glad the vids help teach you some Japanese!

[superlasonic]

I wanna get a kiss too Nina's uber cute!!! When I become a mother, I wish mine'd be as smart as her :)

[pentipentipen]

woaah!!

umbyeya ela eh eh eh

ahahaha

[PlanetVerdia]

I think I'll learn Japanese with Nina :))

[Elocin]

Its awesome see how childs can learn differents lenguages so easy.. i have a friend's child who speak english, german, spanish and italian.. he is 4 years old, and he knows when he have to use each language. With me he speak spanish and italian, and with his mama speaks german or english.. so cute ^^

[NekochanNyanNyan]

How cute! ^^

my mommy is going to have a baby too i think i might try this with them :3

[sixbluemooses]

omg she is so cute! and very smart already!

my boyfriend is japanese and we plan to do the same thing

[stibhel]

ah....

the next Rihanna is coming!! Rihanna must be careful!! AHAHAHA.

[121f4]

Kawaiiiii ne......

I wanna ask u how can u teach nina until she's becoming that smart??

I dont think it is easy to mention objects in two language for 1 2 year old girl...

GOD! u must be very lucky to have her!

[geofg]

Arigatou! We don't do anything special to teach her. I speak English to her and her mother speaks Japanese, but that's it. I think when a baby hears two languages from the beginning, they can learn the different names pretty easily.

And, yes, we do feel very lucky to have her.

[mcs1775]

So cute, the first time she said umbrella sounded like Keira, she used to say umbrelalla. Love your cheeks, Nina!

[zwreckless1]

Wow I never realized that I"ve been ordering the best giraffe beer...see you do learn something new every day ..

[geofg]

Ha ha. Yeah, that's right, giraffe beer. I'm more of a Sapporo guy myself, though.

[zwreckless1]

Kow why ee....Oshite kusai very cute .. she's adorable ....my japanese is motto Wadd whee

[mizhannahluvzyou]

That's so awesome xD

So is it like you mostly speak in English to her and to her your wife speaks mostly Japanese?

[geofg]

Yeah, that's what we try to do.

Thanks!

[marinatoad]

nina is so smart and cute, when i grow up i wanna be just like her!

[geofg]

Ha ha! I'm hoping to one day achieve a Nina-like state of being myself!

[TheCorpseAngel]

umbrella ella eh eh .. lol. kawaii desu.

[Taiwun]

she's great. cool daughter, i like her rihanna umbrellaness haha

[geofg]

Thanks! We didn't know she knew that song, but I guess she heard it on the radio in the car, and then remembered when she saw the umbrella card.

[sherribabe]

Hi!  I'm not exactly sure how I came across your videos, but I'm so glad that I did. I've watched almost all of them, as well as looked at your amazing photo album - and just have to say, Nina is undoubtedly the the most BEAUTIFUL and PERFECT child I have ever seen! I can't believe how absolutely ADORABLE she is! Thank you so much for sharing so many of her special moments with us! Much love!

[geofg]

Wow! Thanks a lot! We obviously think Nina is pretty great, but we're her parents, so we're biased. I'm happy you've enjoyed her vids, and thanks for leaving such a nice comment!

[YkSayali]

Nina san wa kawaii des ne

[geofg]

Arigatou!

[orangemiss]

I can't wait to raise my own little krim midget!

[thelazyturtle]

Umbrella..ella..ella..eh eh eh.. Kawaii! :)

[elmoo88]

Ah.. Nina is just too kawaii!!

Small children learn multiple languages so easily, it's amazing! Still, Nina has got to be on a higher intelligence level when you hear her speak like that...

So you're raising her bilingually, eh? Some people say young children who are raised that way may, instead of having to first languages, never master either of the two perfectly... I don't know how big that risk is though...

[geofg]

Thanks! Yeah, we're trying to raise her to be bilingual, but we don't push it on her too much. Japanese is definitely her dominant language, so I'm sure she'll have no problem with that. As for English, I just speak English to her in the house, and she replies mostly in Japanese. It's not really enough, but if she is in an English environment some day, I think she'll pick it up.

[Ch1ka]

i think you should speak a lot of english at home, because once she is at school she will be speaking japanese even more.

also, she is so intelligent for her age so i wouldnt worry about her not "mastering" both languages.

i know this from experiance because i speak a different language at home, and english outside, and know many people who do the same, and they speak both languages fluently.

you guys are doing a great job btw!

[geofg]

I do try to use almost exclusively English with Nina at home. She's been going to daycare full-time since she was 8 months old, so, as you say, her Japanese is very strong. Thanks for the encouragement. She can understand everything I say in English, so I guess I should just have faith. What other language(s) do you speak?

[Ch1ka]

yee, she definately understand everything you say in english!

i speak turkish at home, and english everywhere else (and learning japanese lol). another example would be my cousins who are half turkish and half italian and they have always understood turkish, italian and english since they were very young! so yeah nina will be fine! shes so clever! also, its great she has someone speaking english with her now because its going to be sooo useful for her when she is older!

[HilaryHatesYou]

She is so sweet !~

she is soooooo cute.

[xiaoyi57]

Nina is really smart.

[geofg]

Thank you!

[MadFinn93]

she sang umbrella, that is so cute! I just want to much her up!

[MadFinn93]

i meant munch~

[geofg]

Thanks!

[likelullabiesx]

My mom says that Nina looks almost looked identical to me when I was a baby. She's so cute!

[geofg]

Are you of mixed nationalities, like Nina?

[likelullabiesx]

My mom's half chinese and my dad's Cambodian. I think you can consider it mixed. haha

[geofg]

Yes, you are definitely mixed. In a way, we are all mixed, but maybe you are more international than many.

[Lunaelf111]

exactly like me! when I was a baby I looked like to an asiatic baby. I can prove it! ^^

[hazbeen39]

すご～いね！まだ二歳なのけど、もう英語も日本語も読めるの？栴­檀は双葉より芳しいね！

[geofg]

まあ「読める」までは言えないかな。でもありがとう！

[lrosmond]

ありがとうにな日本語せんせい！

[geofg]

どういたしまして！

[Leanneishere]

i was watching your videos of her. shes so cute and brilliant.

LOL "umbrella ella ella ella"

[geofg]

Thanks for watching!

[FelineFantsy]

That's how I would learn Japanese. lol.

[j042x]

Hahah. NInachanwa Rihanno umbrellano uta shiteruno.. kyaawaaaii ! <3

[tasha14141414]

im a lot older than nina and i cant even work out french!!!!

[cheng1LA]

kids pick it up easier. the earlier they start learning a foreign language, the easier it is for them.

[tipsukon]

I can learn Japan language from Nina :)

Thank u Nina :)

[kenichiito]

She is so cute!

I had a host family in Japan and their daughter has a friend who has an American father and Japanese mother.

She's bilingual speaking-wise, though her English writing isn't perfect.

[geofg]

Thanks! Nina's Japanese is definitely stronger than her English now, but hopefully hearing Papa speak English will imprint in her brain somehow.

[angga18]

THIS IS SOO AMAZING!!!!

涼しい

SUGOI!!! I hope my spelling is correct.

kawaii 赤ん坊. :p

I was wondering, if your not the Japanese. Your wife is? right?

[geofg]

Yes, my wife is Japanese. Nina looks a lot more like her than like me. :)

[RinoaHatake]

Your daughter was only two in this video? My kid is 4 and I have a hard time getting him to to speak one language. I would love to pass on my Spanish to him, but im just having a hard time getting him to start with English that im not really getting into it. How did you expose your daughter to both languages?

[geofg]

In our house, I speak to Nina mostly in English, and her mother (and everyone else in her life) speaks Japanese. She can understand me alright, but she doesn't really speak English. Kids that start speaking late usually suddenly speak in long sentences. By 4 or 5, everyone speaks pretty equally, so I wouldn't worry if your boy is taking longer. I would try speaking Spanish around him anyway.

[jiaoshen]

Your daughter is cute!

You teach her both english and japanese?

I wish my parents had done the same for me.

Instead, now I must struggle with one language more D:

Thankyou for your time!

[geofg]

So you grew up hearing mostly English? Are you bilingual now? I'm curious to hear your story, because I am worried about whether Nina will turn out bilingual or not. She can understand my English, but she doesn't like to speak it because we live in Japan, and everyone around her speaks Japanese except for me.

[jiaoshen]

Oh no english is my first language, neither is japanese really. but i struggle in my pronounce sometimes, so people that speak english think my first language is japanese, and same for japanese. but that is personal. I wouldnt worry because when she is older her thirst for english become more, it happened with me because as she get older, she will become more ("established"?). So more vocab in both language is used!

Do you speak fluent japanese?

[laxx2lady]

いつもニーナちゃんの成長を自分の子供の成長のように感じていま­す笑＊　私も将来ニーナちゃんみたいな素直で可愛らしい赤ちゃんが欲しい­とつくづく感じてます。

[geofg]

ニーナの成長を見てくれてありがとう！あなたはいいママに慣れそ­うだね。

[yumenotenshi07]

As a beginning Japanese student, I find these videos very entertaining... but not only that, also helpful! It makes me feel better to know that I can understand most of what all of you are saying. And the words I don't know become new vocabulary, hehe.

You have a darling little girl! I wish you and your family lots of happiness. :D

[geofg]

Thanks! I'm glad the videos are helpful. So far, I've been able to keep up with Nina's Japanese myself, but I can tell that her nihongo will overtake mine very soon. 

Anyway, keep with your studies. It does all kind of "click" at some point and gets easier.

[tanyaloca]

nina and the umbrella is my fave part.

how the heck will i teach my future kids to speak tagalog (filipino) if i'm the only one who speaks it at home. :D

[geofg]

Yeah, it's really hard. I'm in the same situation. At least Nina understands my English, so I'm sure your future kids will understand you, too.

[cupwithhandles]

Unless they attend a 100% English speaking school, it is nearly impossible for children to learn English in Japan, even with one English-speaking parent. If they attend a Japanese school, it is hopeless. I am not sure of the reason for this. It might be that Japanese and the other subject require 100% of their language learning faculties, or that there is a subtle cultural prejudices against Japanese with foreign language fluency notwithstanding the emphasis on eikaiwa. Its a mystery.

[geofg]

I guess it depends on what you mean by "learning English". Nina can at least understand me when I speak to her only in English. I don't think there is anything endemic to Japan which makes learning a foreign language here more difficult than, say, for kids in the U.S. whose parents are hispanic. The friends I have from such families can all understand Spanish. That said, I agree, just Papa speaking English is not going to be enough to ensure Nina becomes bilingual.

[OKMARINA]

she 's not 7 month old

asian babies very small she has all teeth , she's at least 2 years old

[geofg]

Nina turned two shortly after this video was made. Raynald is the 7 month old.

[zyunss]

My son, Raynald is almost 7 months old now and I `ve been talking to him in Mandarin and sometimes in English too but the babysitter talks in Indonesian. Do you think he will get confused?? So far, I think he can recognize things that I said both in Mandarin n English because he looks at the thing that I mention whether I said it in Mandarin or English.

Can`t wait for Nina`s next videos!!!

[geofg]

Raynald already recognizes words in Mandarin and English at 7 months? That's great. What is your native language? Probably if you make that the main language you speak to Raynald in, and then use words in the other language as well, that would work best. Anyway, I wouldn't worry about him getting confused too much. I think it will turn out OK

[zyunss]

Its really exciting to see Nina1s development. These videos really give me good examples fo raising bilungual child.

[kemushichan]

HEHEH~!!!

(1) Loved the umbrella reference :P

(2) K for...not key...not kagi...K for Kiss!

(3) I've never heard "kore wa?" sound so cute <3 ~!

[geofg]

So, that's why she kissed the key!

[trulycassia]

Hi! Nina is really cute and so very clever. She has a fan in me :) You've set an excellent example of raising a bilingual child using the One Person, One Language system. I've read that bilingual children tend to be delayed in their speech, but Nina is just bursting with words! :))

By the way, "kiss" and "keys" sound alike, no? At her young age, Nina probably thinks they're the same thing :)

[geofg]

Thanks, Cami. Nina's Japanese ability is definitely "exploding" but she still doesn't really make sentences in English. I just have to have faith, though, that her brain is being imprinted and that it will come out at some point when she's in the right environment.

In Japanese pronunciation kiss (kisu) and keys (kiizu) are very similar, now that you mention it.

[EVEBABYLON26]

too cute for words

[Takeru1983]

⊰ฺ✤ฺ⊱

とてもかわいいですね。今のところ最もよいビデオ。Such a simple but amazing sequence of cute little Nina reading alphabet cards. So how's her English compared to her Japanese given she lives in Japan? これはあなたの花です。⊰ฺ✤ฺ⊱⊰ฺNINAฺ⊱⊰ฺ✤ฺ⊱

またね。Keep em comin Geof!

[geofg]

Thanks, Amir. And thanks from Nina for the "flower". Nina's Japanese is stronger than her English, of course. She understands most of what I say in English, but she only says sentences in Japanese so far. I think when we visit America, and everyone speaks English, she will start to use her English more.

[mahoutsukai67]

あ！　可愛いね　ニナは　日本語と英語が上手です！　頭がいい！

[geofg]

赤ちゃん（あかちゃん）はやっぱり、言葉がはやい。I'm sure her Japanese will be better than mine soon.

[geofg]

Yeah, we just heard the "Umbrella" song once in the car, and then after that, when Nina saw the umbrella card, she kicked in with the song.  Didn't even know she'd been listening.

[quanyin04]

skunk - it's butt stinks! LOL!

She is so smart! And beautiful. And cute.  Thanks for sharing this!

[345blue]

いつも癒されてます☆

まるで天使ですね。うちも早く天使がほしいです～。

写真もとても美しいですね。

[geofg]

ありがとう！自分の天使を作れるように頑張ってね。大変だけどや­っぱり、楽しいです。

[wmford65]

yes, Nina.  kiss begins with the letter K.

[JuniBlue]

Too cute and such an intelligent little girl! Thanks for sharing.

[AureyH]

LOL I swear I was totally wondering why you used 'Umbrella' as the opening. Makes me want to steal her O_O Watch out Geof, there are more people like me in the world lol

[geofg]

I'm glad you got the "Umbrella" reference. As for "people like you" out there, we keep Nina locked up safe in a closet any time we're not making videos of her. We may let her out when she gets to high school age.

[kittykattykoo]

わああ～になちゃんすごいね！自分でかたづけったね。いい子いい­子＾＾

[geofg]

片付けも一応するけどカードを一枚ずつあっちこっちに置いとくも­得意です。

[Gimmeabreakman]

cute.