Comments on: He Forgot his Spanish…

By: A Matter of Prestige « SpanglishBaby

A Matter of Prestige « SpanglishBaby — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:59:32 +0000

[...] and I had over Christmas when they were visiting from Mexico. (I wrote about their visit here and here.) Anyhow, this is a topic I’ve been wanting to write about for some timeâ€”especially [...]

By: A Matter of Prestige

A Matter of Prestige — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:17:33 +0000

[...] and I had over Christmas when they were visiting from Mexico. (I wrote about their visit here and here.) Anyhow, this is a topic I’ve been wanting to write about for some time—especially after [...]

By: Roxana S.

Roxana S. — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:40:46 +0000

We’re here to inspire, Beth, ha, ha! All kidding aside, did you sign Mathew up for the online tutor? I hope you did. It’d be a waste for him to lose his fluency after all the hard work. BTW, what exactly is this online tutor deal? I know nothing about it. Maybe they can help me with my French….

By: Roxana S.

Roxana S. — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:38:03 +0000

Wow, AG! I would’ve never thought that about your siblings. But why don’t they have fluency and you do? What do they think about the fact that you’re raising your kids bilingual?

By: Roxana S.

Roxana S. — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 17:34:56 +0000

This post created just a tad of controversy at home. My husband didn't agree with the title. "C'mon," he said. "He didn't forget his Spanish." I told him to read the entire thing. My stepson left a cryptic comment in our Facebook page. All it said was "Nice." I still don't know what he meant... Anyhow, of course he didn't forget his Spanish, he just doesn't use it all the time like he used to when he lived with us. I'm sure if he had stayed a bit longer, he'd been able to get back into the swing of things without a problem. I guess I was just surprised since I hadn't seen him in over a year...

By: AnaGloria Rodriguez

AnaGloria Rodriguez — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 07:19:17 +0000

What? Incredible that he forgot vocabulary after only a little over a year! Of course, my two older siblings who were born in Mexico and were native speakers don’t have fluency and so are very self conscious when speaking Spanish now (unless it’s to our parents). The sad part is that they didn’t pass on the language to their children.

By: Beth Butler

Beth Butler — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 16:22:05 +0000

This post of your personal story really gave me a kick in the rear Roxana, and I thank you for that. I continue to put at the bottom of my ‘to do’ list one of the most important things I could accomplish any day and that is to sign Matthew (our 17-year-0ld) up for an online Spanish tutor.

Since he successfully completed Spanish 4 in High School and refused to move on to AP Spanish, it has been our goal (mom, dad and son all agreed) to maintain Matthew’s fluency in Spanish with an online tutor.

See, Matt’s last name is Menes, which mine used to be for seven years until his biological Dad and I divorced back in 1993. He hears the Spanish and lives the culture (of which I am so thankful for) when he visits his Dad’s family for the many Latin celebrations and Holiday gatherings.

We all realize the many benefits to being (at least) bilingual in this global economy, and so today, thanks to SpanglishBaby and its continued commitment to help us all raise bilingual children, I AM going to get Matthew signed up to start Spanish online tutoring today!

Gracias/Thank you.
.-= Beth Butler´s last blog ..Music Monday Features the Spanish Alphabet – Say it! Sing it! Write it! =-.

By: Maria Retana

Maria Retana — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:25:22 +0000

I can relate to your article in many ways. As a teacher and a mother of three children born in USA it is hard not to experience what you are experiencing. To keep your child interested in any of the languages he or she is exposed to you need to keep speaking to him or her in that language. Also reward them somehow if they communicate with you in that language. Make it sound like a game not a punishment. And most important keep that reading going with bilingual children’s books. We know the advantages of knowing more then one language. Don’t we?