Comments on: A Matter of Prestige

By: What the First National Spanish Spelling Bee Means to Latinos | SpanglishBaby™

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 19:17:29 +0000

[...] value in making an event like this a competition at the national level. It is undeniable than it elevates the status of Spanish so that those kids growing up bilingual — with Spanish as their mother tongue or [...]

By: Can Everybody Learn a New Language? « SpanglishBaby

Can Everybody Learn a New Language? « SpanglishBaby — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:52:39 +0000

[...] There is some evidence that when the second (minority) language has a lower status than that of the majority language the learning progress is slower. It’s undeniable that this still seems to be the case with Spanish in the United States. We’ve actually written about this here. [...]

By: Beth Butler

Beth Butler — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 20:05:19 +0000

What a wonderful sharing of two different stories. Gracias/Thank you.

How true, as you summed it up towards the end, that with children if you as the adult in their lives shows a sincere respect for other people, cultures and languages and demonstrate that the second (and third and fourth) language is around them in their everyday world, it is much easier for the child to embrace the new language learning.

Bravo to all!

By: Amy

Amy — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:12:52 +0000

A lovely story today ~ thank you! I have thought about this exact concept often and came to the same conclusion myself. As an American trying to raise children to know Spanish in an English speaking community, my new quest is to find greater peer support for my kids… In speaking Spanish. Last year, we spent 5 weeks in Mexico and plan to do so again. My hope is for them to discover the richness that two languages/cultures can bring… Via new friends and opportunities.

Anyhow, this is our quest and it can be a difficult one so I appreciate you sharing the word!

Best y gracias,
Amy

By: Eve

Eve — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 18:02:23 +0000

This is a great post explaining something I have also observed. We speak French with our children in the US, and as you say, in the US, it has some prestige. I am proud for my kids about that, but on the other hand, it makes me sad and uncomfortable that people in this country, due to prejudice and narrow thinking, often are critical of Spanish speakers. I hope that Spanish speaking families fight these negative misconceptions by some fellow Americans and continue their right to teach their children a second culture and language. Spanish-speaking children should not miss out on a wonderful advantage due to the ignorance of others.