Comments on: They Will Learn English…I Promise

By: Becoming Bilingual in an English Dominant Country | Latina Lounge

Becoming Bilingual in an English Dominant Country | Latina Lounge — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 06:39:18 +0000

[...] They Will Learn English…I Promise [...]

By: Roxana S.

Roxana S. — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 22:42:25 +0000

I truly believe that the more we share our stories, the more we can create a strong, supportive community. It can get a bit lonely out there sometimes and as parents, we tend to double-guess our decisions some times, so I really appreciate all the comments we get from all of you which help put things in perspective.

Mil gracias

By: Roxana S.

Roxana S. — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 22:40:33 +0000

Susan,

He’s going to be trilingual and that is truly amazing! Literacy is literacy no matter the language. So he’ll be able to transfer those skills to whatever other language he’s learning. Remember we only learn how to read once. That said, I totally understand about standardized test scores (and that’s one of the reasons why I don’t like them), but this will probably only be temporary until he catches up…

I’m not there yet, but it surely will be interesting to see how all this plays out with my daughter once she enters kindergarten…

By: Roxana S.

Roxana S. — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 22:07:09 +0000

Thanks for sharing, Adriana!

I too remember feeling a bit guilty about not speaking any English to my daughter, especially when I would take her to places like My Gym or the storytime at our local library. The only person in mi family who doesn’t speak English is my brother-in-law, so at least she has always been able to communicate with all the rest.

I have seen with my own two eyes how they do learn English, hence the title of the post

By: Fran

Fran — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:09:11 +0000

When I was growing up and being raised in a bilingual household (not Spanish though), I don’t think my parents knew that there was a name for the way they were teaching us. Basically, my mom spoke to us in her native language so we would learn it properly and my father spoke to us in both English and my mother’s language since he was also fluent in it. At home we only spoke my mother’s language though. I’m the oldest of the kids so when I started school there was some concern that I would be confused and not be able to switch to English at school, but apparently I had no problems and neither did my two sisters. So I can also tell you, “they will learn English…I promise!”
.-= Fran´s last blog ..New Lactation Room Law: Breastfeeding in the Workplace =-.

By: Susan

Susan — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 21:27:00 +0000

I worry that by not reading to my son in English, his literacy skills will not be as strong. We use the OPOL method and my sons rarely use English. I know that the schools test early and often group kids by their results on standardized test scores. I fear that his true academic ability will be masked by his weak English skills.

By: Adriana Villalobos

Adriana Villalobos — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 15:43:03 +0000

Our family also uses the ML@H method and there was a difficult period of time between when my oldest son (who is now four) began talking at around a year and when he turned three since he spoke 100% Spanish. My husband and I were, of course, thrilled that his Spanish was progressing so well. However, I could not help but feel a little guilty when he could not communicate with my English-speaking family members or talk to the children in our English-speaking playgroup. He is a naturally shy child and I was afraid that I was making it worse because he could not understand what others were saying. After making an English-speaking friend in our neighborhood just after his third birthday, his English just took off and I am estimating that by the time he is five, he will be equally fluent in both. So yes, they WILL learn English! .-= Adriana Villalobos´s last blog ..Toys my children ACTUALLY play with- Stamp set =-.

By: Marcela

Marcela — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 15:09:34 +0000

Lucky mama!!! .-= Marcela´s last blog ..toma leche y amigas =-.