I have spoken to my children in Spanish since they were born and as a result that is the language they spoke first. That said, my husband is not a Spanish speaker so I also had to ensure that they knew English to speak to him. So my husband and I decided that I would speak in Spanish while he spoke in English to them. In theory that is great, however there is a challenge that arises when we have family conversations... English will win over Spanish.
Outside of the home I have secured friends for my children who have Spanish speaking parents so that they can see that other kids do speak Spanish, not just them. This works for a while until the children begin to play in English.
So as parents, how can we continue to encourage our children use the language? My children are 6 and 4. They talk to me in Spanish, most of the time, they speak to each other in English, most of the time. I read to them in Spanish, show them Spanish cartoons, and they talk to their grandma and other relatives in Spanish. I am running out of ideas... what are yours?
Cuando buscamos la balanza entre los idiomas... ¿realmente existe? En esta primera discusión el enfoque es la importancia de que nuestros hijos hablen español. Mis hijos aprendieron español primero pues yo soy la que estaba en casa con ellos y quien les enseño a hablar. Pero tuve que ver la manera de que aprendieran inglés ya que su papa no habla español. Aunque mis dos hijos dominan los dos idiomas bien, en las conversaciones familiares gana el inglés.
Fuera del hogar es más difícil controlar el idioma que hablan. Me hice amigas de mamas con hijos que hablan español también para que los pequeños vean que otras personas lo hablan también y así desear hablar y practicar su español. Por lo general funciona por un rato, pero siempre acaban jugando en inglés.
Entonces mi pregunta es la siguiente… ¿cómo mamas viviendo fuera de nuestro país, como podemos ayudar a nuestros hijos a seguir con el interés de hablar en español?
Well, I tried this with my 1st child, and it DIDN'T work. when he was little it went great, but once he went to school, he lost it. Now he's 17 struggles to speak spanish. I speak spanish to him, we go to spanish church, but still, no luck! I'm not making the same mistake again, my 3 month old (yes 17 years apart) hears spanish 24/7. It's my mission!
ReplyDeleteDon't give up on your 3 month old. :) There are a lot of resources out there for "learning" Spanish for kids that are a great refresher. If you have an iPod touch or an iPhone you can access many applications at a low price that kids can play and learn with... also there are cute cartoons for little ones on Youtube that you may not get on tv. Below is a sample:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_Lq9OQ_J9M
Our daughter is learning both languages as well. She seems to prefer English over Spanish but that's only because she hears it more, especially at preschool. We try to speak Spanish at home, she understands it all but responds in English, and she is only 3! She even translates it! I have found that when she's around other kids that speak Spanish she tries and when she’s forced into a situation where she has to communicate with a non English speaking person, she does with no problem, her Spanish is not perfect but I correct her as she learns it. I believe the only way for them not to forget their Spanish as they grow is to truly immerse them into the language and there’s no better way than to travel back to our countries and have them spend time with their non English speaking relatives…
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