Teaching my toddler a second language

I am a little embarrassed to admit....

... that my mastery of my supposed mother-tongue - Chinese (which includes Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, etc., etc.) - is sub par. To be fair, my parents did speak Mandarin to me when I was little. And I watched many Hong Kong TVB Cantonese dramas on television. However, my parents prioritised English in the family once my sister joined our family (I was about 4) and the rest is history. I speak and write in English. I think in English. I dream in English.

Therefore, I am not going to attempt teaching Sophie Chinese. I tried a little. But NAH.

The whole family (including my in-laws) have somehow fallen into the habit of speaking English to Sophie. Unless she overhears Ben and I conversing in Cantonese - which we often do - it has been English all the way from birth (with a smattering of Hokkien and Mandarin). Manglish too - although I tend to avoid it like plague.

Nevertheless, I have decided to teach Sophie a second language for the sake of a different cultural perspective, stretching her mind, and broadening her horizons. A foreign language. Something a little closer to the Chinese language/dialects just so that it won't feel too much like I'm uprooting her Chinese roots (at least to her Chinese relatives). Something that I am more proficient at so that I can speak it with her at home.

Guess which?

Anyway, this is how I am going to do it for now:

1. Active speaking and role-playing
2. Direct translation of the English words she already knows
3. Language games
4. Incorporating the language into daily routines - a bilingual running commentary of everything, wherever possible
5. Reading picture books
6. Videos (if I find good ones)
7. Flashcards (if necessary)

Here is to an exciting journey ahead for us.