Photo credit: pulihora
“Mami todavía no vamos a ir a home porque estamos buscando un treasure.”
This is what my almost 4-year-old said to me last week as we were heading back from our regular afternoon stroll to the duck pond by our house. I was floored. I know this is totally normal in the journey of those becoming bilingual. I’ve researched and read enough to know there’s nothing to worry about, but I can’t deny I was pretty surprised. I mean, I’ve heard her sprinkle her sentences with an English word once in a blue moon, but lately she’s been doing it a lot more. The thing is that I have never really spoken to Vanessa in English. The English she knows, she’s learning in preschool. In other words, she’s not even going to school on a daily basis and I still have lots of control in terms of the amount of exposure she gets to her first language, and yet we’re already seeing the influence of the majority language.
Over the weekend, while chatting with some of the moms from our bilingual playgroup, I mentioned what I had started noticing in Vanessa’s language development. At least one mom said she’d seen the same thing happen with her daughters. The main difference is that in their particular case, they use the OPOL method, so in my head, it actually makes a bit more sense that her daughters are demonstrating this way of speaking. In other words, they are exposed to both languages at home, whereas in our case, Vanessa is only exposed to Spanish at home. I guess what I’m trying to say is that more and more I see how unfounded my doubts about her learning English on her own were and how real the worries about English taking over really are.
Now, as you can imagine, my daughter obviously knows the word casa. I mean that one in particular has been part of her vocabulary from very early on. So she definitely didn’t use the English equivalent because she didn’t know how to say it in Spanish. It seems to me, and to the moms I was talking to this weekend, that in this type of situation it’s more of an automatic thing. I think it has to do using the first word that comes to mind regardless of whether it’s in English or Spanish. At the end of the day, let’s not forget that her young brain is processing two languages at the same time!
In terms of the word tesoro, I’m pretty convinced the usage of its English counterpart has to do with the fact that she probably didn’t know the word in Spanish. Although I’m sure we’ve used it in the past, we probably haven’t done it enough for it to stick. Meanwhile, she just spent a whole week learning about pirates and treasures in preschool.
So, what to do?
There’s a Difference between Correcting and Modeling
My initial reaction when I heard Vanessa say that was to tell her: “Así no se dice.” But I’ve read enough about this topic to know this would do no good. I used to tell her I didn’t understand because I spoke no English, but she’s almost four and she’s caught on. She now knows that’s a lie. Instead, I just agreed with her comment and repeated it emphasizing the words “casa” and “tesoro.”
Teach Them the “Right” Words
In an effort to make sure Vanessa learns and remembers the word tesoro, I’ve made sure to incorporate it in as many conversations and as often as possible. From stories about the tesoro we’re going to bury for her upcoming pirate-themed birthday party to a fun conversation about the awesome stuff to be found inside one. Remember, tesoro is the one word I’m convinced she used in English because she didn’t necessarily know it in Spanish. Or if she did, she just hadn’t used it enough to remember it.
Keep at It
Although it’s probably easier to just ignore it, try to make it a point not to. In my daughter’s case, I think the issue is still kind of mild, just a few words sprinkled here and there, but I know there will be a lot more mixing as her exposure to English increases, i.e. when she starts school.
Don’t Sweat It
Having said all this, I do want to emphasize that you try not to worry too much about it. Try to remember that mixing languages is part of the bilingual process. There is nothing wrong with your child if he does it. You’re not doing anything wrong. Just follow the steps I just mentioned and just make sure that speaking the minority language continues to be fun!
Has this happened with your children yet? What do you do?
Great post, Roxana. This is exactly what I’m noticing with my son, although he’s not in preschool yet. He speaks English with my mother and Spanish with me, but since he’s home with only me 90% of the time, I still consider that we use ML@H. From the time he started talking, I’ve used the same method you do: when he uses an English word, I acknowledge that he said it correctly and then repeat it in Spanish. I think this will make things less frustrating when he is older; he knows he can use the words he’s comfortable with but I’ll keep him familiar with the vocabulary he’s not using regularly. I’m going to take your advice about being sure to repeat the new vocabulary (i.e. tesoro) to reinforce it.
This post is another example of how incredibly complex raising bilingual kids can be. It’s amazing how many unexpected challenges pop up in the various phases of development.
.-= Chelsea Morales´s last blog ..SpanglishBaby Update =-.
Ayyyy Roxana…how great of you to share your personal story of this walk home and your emotions, feelings, and thoughts about the whole bilingual learning process with your family.
Such a common happening in our bilingual homes and such a common feelings of fear and ‘what does the future hold’ you have shared with us.
Thank you for your honesty in this post and transparent love of maintaining your native language for your child’s future.
.-= Beth Butler´s last blog ..Learning a Second Language with Your Senses =-.
The societal pull to English is a very strong pull, isn’t it? As a bilingual speech/language pathologist diagnosing language impairments, I am keenly aware of this phenomenon. Although what you’ve described is typical behavior for a child exposed to two languages, and I’m not implying any sort of disability here however there are strategies that I find help with retention and retrieval. Aside from all of the things you’re already doing, I find that music helps “solidify” and “anchor” words. How old is she? I would make up a little chant and make it into a really fun game. I can’t think of the tune here but something like this:
¿Dónde está el tesoro, el tesoro, el tesoro?
¿Dónde está el tesoro?, yo lo escondí.
Mira para arriba, y para abajo,
Mira a la izquierda y a la derecha
¿Dónde está el tesoro?, yo lo escondí.
Hide the “tesoro” and when you find it make a big deal….”el tesoro”
I also use sign language as a way to anchor words. Although this sign is not as iconic as others, it does help with memory, and transfer from Spanish/English because the sign remains constant.
http://www.signingsavvy.com/
What a great idea, Gloria! Especially because my daughter LOVES to sing and she actually makes up her own songs all the time… Gracias!
Roxana, something similar is happening with my stepchildren, ages 6 and 8. They did not hear or speak English until starting school. It’s worrisome that now, when they are talking with someone in the family who does not speak English, they sometimes turn to me (a non-native Spanish speaker) to ask me a what a word is in Spanish. But I have noticed there isn’t much consistency in which words they get stuck on. One day they’ll have trouble remembering a word, but another day have no trouble with that one, and it’ll be a different word that doesn’t come to mind. The only thing that seems consistent is that they have a strong, strong determination to master English and a lot of pride when they can. They perceive speaking English as the “grown up” thing to do that allows them to interact directly with people outside the home, independently of their parents.
I hope by trying some of the family activities I’ve been reading about on Spanglishbaby I can help them understand the minority language Spanish is useful, important and downright cool.
I’m a grown up, and I chose to learn it, I choose to use it, and I keep trying to improve in it. This is I hope an example for them.
I think we have to stay flexible, but stay committed.
Roxana, ¡me encanta tu blog! Te cuento que si tenés la oportunidad de conseguir el libro de Roxana Keselman ¿Dónde está mi tesoro? de editorial Alfaguara, estoy segura de que les va a encantar. Te dejo un enlace con una guía de actividades: http://www.alfaguarainfantilyjuvenil.com/upload/ficheros/tesoro.pdf
.-= Deborah´s last blog ..La ventaja de formar un grupo de padres bilingües =-.
¡Perdón! La autora se llama GABRIELA Keselman. Y agrego que a mis chicos les encantaba este cuento cuando chiquitos (no te quiero decir por qué para no contarte el final
)))
.-= Deborah´s last blog ..La ventaja de formar un grupo de padres bilingües =-.
Gracias, Deborah! Me encantó el enlace que me mandaste. Ojala pueda encontrar ese libro. Estoy segura que a mi hija le encantaría
I will write my comment in spanish as it is my native language.
Creo que en este caso juega un papel importante la novedad. No sé que tan recientemente Vane aprendió la palabra “home”. Los seres humanos tendemos a usar lo nuevo, lo que tenemos mas a la mano, sobretodo cuando nos parece interesante y llama la atención. Es como cuando nos compramos un nuevo juguete o la nueva iPad o tenemos un nuevo auto o proyecto, amistad, trabajo, pareja etc… no queremos separarnos de ellos o los traemos a la mente con mas frecuencia que a otras cosas. Puede que este haya sido el motivo por el cual decidió usar home en lugar de casa. Pero buscar el porque me parece que no es el objetivo, no es lo que realmente importa en la enseñanza de dos idiomas al mismo tiempo.
A la parte del modelaje me gustaría agregar un poco de participación por parte del mismo niño. Creo que puede servir decirle algo como: “¿Qué quiciste decir con eso ahora?” o “¿A que te refieres?” Me parece que de esta forma le damos la oportunidad al niño de que busque en su cabeza las palabras adecuadas (si las conoce) para corregir su frase y así el aprendizaje surja de él, porque esto causa mayor impacto que si siempre es una voz afuera la que corrige. Con niños mas grandes también podríamos decirles algo así: “acabas de usar algunas palabras en inglés, ¿sabes o recuerdas como se dicen en español?”.
Rox: Es un placer leer tu blog. Ahora lo leeré mas seguido. Besos y abrazos para todos.
Gracias, Dani!! Totalmente de acuerdo con lo que dices acerca de como los seres humanos tendemos a usar lo nuevo, lo que tenemos más a la mano… y creo que eso es justamente lo que Vane hace con las palabras que conoce en los dos idiomas. La palabra home la aprendió hace mucho tiempo, pero es muy posible que ese mismo día la usó mucho en la escuelita, ¿quién sabe?
Lo interesante es que creo que esto de mezclar los idiomas tiene que ver justamente con el hecho que nos gusta usar lo que más tenemos a la mano y como es una decisión que se hace tan rápido, a veces cuando conoces bien dos idiomas, es inevitable mezclarlos.
Ojalá vengas a visitarnos más a menudo. Y si conoces a gente a quien se lo pudieras recomenda (en la escuela me imagino hay unos cuantos), te lo agradecería
Thanks for the great post! I think our kids are the same age– so, its interesting to hear you articulate the same experiences. My only comment would be– that its my feeling that modeling is not enough. If I hear my son start to mix I ask him to repeat the same sentence all in the minority language. If he really doesn’t know or remember all the words, then I’ll model the sentence for him and ask him to repeat again afterwards. My gut tells me that the words don’t stick unless they actually say them…
I totally agree with you, Ines. That’s why I think incorporating the words in question into our everyday conversations works so well. This gives her an opportunity to use and repeat the word over an over again in a way that makes sense and can be lots of fun!
BTW, I’ll be exploring the world of code-switching in more detail soon and since I know it’s one of your favorite topics, jajaja, be sure to stay tuned!
You hit me right on with this post! I actually sent an email question to you guys asking about this very topic!
Lately Audrey has been nonstop talking and learning new words. It seems she is learning both languages just as fast but I have found instances where she learns a word in spanish first and after hearing it from dad in english she will completely switch and start calling the object by it’s english name. I usually just reinforce the english with a “si ” and then say the name in spanish also. I have found that if she prefers the name in english she will stick to it and no matter how much I repeat or talk about the object in spanish she continues to say it in english.
An example of our conversation:
“como dice el gato?”
“cat, meow, meow”
“si, el GATO dice meow meow”
“cat, meow,meow”
Very very interested in this topic! Great post!
Marcela, in my experience with my own kids, who now are 14 and 11, what I did on those cases is to have meaningful conversations with them. And if you look at the literature about bilingualism you will see over and over again that one important factor in having success in this long road to bilingualism is to talk with them, not to talk TO them, but interacting in a real conversation. With this I mean to expand the dialog to hold her attention, like: “Sí, el gato hace miau miau en español, claro que sí, y sabés por qué me gusta el gatito?” (give her the time for her to answer) (And even if she doesn’t answer verbally, maybe she will look at you because she understands you will tell her something) “A mí me gustan los gatos porque son muy mimosos y les gustan que les hagan cosquillas…….” And there you just tickle her tummy, etc… And you have created a game from where you can expand, Mamá gata y su hijita Gatita van al parque, etc…You have to make it real for her. She has to feel the fun of having a mamá who plays with her en español, and that is going to be her special bond with you.
Hello. Great job. We didn’t anticipate this. This is a great story. Many thanks!
FYI, your weblog doesn’t look correct in Opera.