Comments on: To Teach My Daugther to Read in Spanish First or Not?

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By: Renee

Renee — Thu, 10 May 2012 17:42:53 +0000

I love reading everyone’s replies. I myself am a bilingual teacher. Although I am not a native Spanish speaker I am very proficient. My husband (who is native) and I have been raising our daughter in a bilingual home since her birth. I find that she enjoys reading and listening to books in either language. I have been reading a book about called “Raising Confident readers”. Although it is not a book based on biliteracy I try to apply many of the ideas in either English and my husband in Spanish. I know that making our home a print rich environment our daughter will learn to read. For now, I really try to get my husband to buy in to reading with her in Spanish at least 2 -3 times per week, and I will read to her in English. I want her to hear reading in both languages. I even purchase some books on tape well CD or audio books in Spanish, so that we can listen together and she enjoys that as well.

She is in a bilingual preschool and right now 90% of her school day is in spanish,but I have noticed she recognizes letters and vowel sounds in both languages. I believe any exposure to literacy (drawing, writing, and reading) will lead our children to be confident readers.

By: Celebrating Bilingual Readers {Contest!} | SpanglishBaby™

Celebrating Bilingual Readers {Contest!} | SpanglishBaby™ — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 07:07:29 +0000

[...] one of the worries we’ve all shared in this blog is how to go about teaching our bilingual children how to read in Spanish. Or even whether we should do this or not. As you may remember, I worried about this quite a bit [...]

By: Anna

Anna — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:41:38 +0000

*any more… darn pregnancy brain.

By: Anna

Anna — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:39:31 +0000

I’m jumping in quite late, so you may not be in need of anymore advice. I just wanted to add my two cents! I taught second grade for many years, and in my humble opinion, you are stressing yourself out for no reason!! The fact that you read with your daughter and she has an immense love of books is wonderful, and is already a jump start for her as she reaches kindergarten. Kids enter school at SO many different levels. Unfortunately, for some it is their first real experience with books. I have no doubt she will pick up reading in English quite easily once she is being taught in a formal setting on a daily basis. Once she knows how to read in English, she will have no problem switching to Spanish, as it is much, much easier.

I’m now a stay at home mom and I look at learning how to read as just having fun with him. We read the same easy books over and over again and we point to the words together. We practice letter sound combinations in Spanish. I started with ma, me, mi, mo, mu. Then we changed the the consonants (ba, be, bi, bo, bu etc…) We also started working with two syllables, mama, papa, common words that he heard a lot. I use magnetic letters on the fridge or a cookie sheet. I also have letters on paper that we move around to make new words. I staple paper together to make a book and he practices “writing” and making up stories. I’ve also labelled things around my house, but I’m not sure how much he’s picking up on that quite yet. I only do the activities every once in a while though, because I don’t want him to think of it as anything but play at this point.

I only do all of this because I’m at home all day, and I have to get my teaching fix in somehow! You are doing an amazing job just by exposing her to literature every day.

By: Virginia

Virginia — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 05:02:29 +0000

My son just turned 5 and is learning to read right now; it’s very exciting! Pertinent background: my husband and I are both native English speakers, but I am fluent in Spanish as well, and have only spoken Spanish with my son and daughter (2) since they were born. They also have Spanish-speaking friends through church. We’ve been reading books in Spanish since my son was born, and our house is full of books in both Spanish and English. I am a certified teacher, in history and Spanish, but chose to stay home full time after my son turned 1; he was cared for by a Latina friend that first year while I taught. We’ll be homeschooling bilingually; we actually started in January “officially”.
Learning to read has been very painless for us. Mostly, we just read! About everything. I read to him only in Spanish, and my husband reads with him for about 20 minutes each night in English. The only “formal” training we’ve done is using the Larousse “Yo quiero saber” preschool workbooks Leer, A B and C, and I purchased the activity workbook that goes with the “De canciones a cuentos” curriculum (we did not use any other elements of the program, just due to expense). The activity book is just a collection of mini books my son cuts out, fills in a word or syllable on each page, and then is able to read on his own.
For Spanish reading, we concentrate on learning syllables rather than letter sounds, and this books works through syllables.
He has started reading in English, using his Spanish reading strategies. Given the lack of correspondence between some English letter combinations and their separate sounds, I have to help more with pronounciation than I do in Spanish, but he’s doing well.
I wanted him to read when he was ready, and he has done so, mostly on his own. I encourage it, but don’t push if he doesn’t want to read, or if he gets frustrated. I often ask him to read the heading of a chapter in a book, before continuing to read aloud.
I hope this helps! It’s a different process for each child, and some are ready earlier than others. I don’t think that’s a problem at all. We’ll see how the process differs when my daughter learns!

By: BethO

BethO — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 13:54:10 +0000

I like Monica’s advice a lot too.
My son actually talks a lot more in Spanish than he does in English, but he knows his letters in English and is starting to sight-recognize words in English, and that’s because a.) he watches shows like Super Why in English and b.) I’m the designated person who speaks English with him and I’m the only one who’s regularly playing games with him to learn his letters, sounds, and words. It’s a blessing that you are a native Spanish speaker. Spanish phonetics are way more logical and that’s definitely an easier path for first learning to read, hands down. If I were more comfortable in Spanish that would have been the way I went. Just look for ways to make it a game and fun for both of you. In the end all you can do is reading READINESS and the reading itself sort of just happens. Remember kids are learning things in their brain at a much higher level than what they are able to verbalize, even a very verbal kid Just when you start think maybe they just aren’t grasping this concept, it pops out of their mouths some moment when you weren’t even asking. Um, and then sometimes, it seems to sort of disappear again… that’s all part of it.

By: Laura S

Laura S — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:47:06 +0000

Roxana – I know what you mean, there are a lot of resources at hand at advice from different people – yet sometimes the hardest part is just getting started! With my son, who is now 7, it was very fluid. At 4, he was very motivated to read, period, so he learned both alphabets very quickly from books we read and started stringing words together right away. I can personally say that once they are in school the English takes over and I have to emphasize the Spanish to offset the English he reads and speaks all day. So, even if the books he chooses to read at night are in English, I choose stories in Spanish, and half the time he will jump in and read as well or at least follow along in the story with me. With my daughter, who is 4, the process is very different. She is in a Montessori school that emphasizes phonics so that is what I am doing at home as well, sort of. We work in Spanish and they work with her in English and while she has made progress, it has been a much slower and more challenging process than with my son. With my daughter, I try to do different creative things I have read about (but not the labelling) such as making the letters with modeling clay and pipe cleaners, playing games with letters, etc. to have it be more fun for her. I’m certain that through trial and error you’ll find a way that works for you and your daughter.

By: Marcela Hede

Marcela Hede — Tue, 31 May 2011 21:17:41 +0000

I think the problem is that after getting older, kids tend to want to speak in English only as well as read in English only. I started with Spanish because I knew no matter what, he would have the support of the school. I saw a problem in the future because I could see our son not wanting to read in Spanish because of the English exposure.

I just think it may be a bit more difficult to get them to read in Spanish once they have started in English. I find now some resistance and I started with Spanish…

As per transferring the skills once you start in English I don’t see why not. In my case, our son actually read in English quite easily…Maybe he transferred the skills from learning to read in Spanish LOL I honestly don’t know.

In any case you know your daughter best…I feared our son’s lack of interest to read in Spanish once he knew how to read in English, and that is why I started Spanish first.

By: Roxana S.

Roxana S. — Tue, 31 May 2011 20:59:40 +0000

Thanks for your comment, Jennifer. That’s great! I am starting to wonder, though, if I’m the only mom out there who doesn’t really know how to go about teaching her daughter how to read? I’m starting to feel kind of lonely… and silly. Maybe I’m making it more difficult that it seems, but I truly don’t know how to get started…