Just because I’m an English teacher, some of my acquaintances expect that we talk English at home and that my kids are English-speaking.
No, we don’t talk in English at home. And though my children can express themselves well in English, it is not our first language. I exposed them, though, to English movies and tv shows and we have a large collection of English books for all ages.
Right now, they have vast English vocabulary and are fluent in both oral and written communication in Pilipino (formerly Tagalog) language.
I have nothing against parents who train their children in English as their first language, but I strongly recommend that they teach their kids Pilipino as well, especially if they intend to enroll their kids in schools with Filipino subjects like the University of the Philippines or Ateneo de Manila University.
I guess it doesn’t matter much which is the first or second language. Since we live here in the Philippines, Pilipino is a must, but if we want our children to have a better chance in the future, English is the best language to train them in.
