I am still left with the question of how to advance their Spanish education where they get zero exposure outside the house? Thank you again for your comments, I continue to be fascinated by this subject.

Denise

I can tell you that my stepdaughter started kindergarten knowing no English. She got good grades in her “language arts” in Spanish, and although English at school was introduced bit by bit, in 3rd grade when she started having all-English classes she did struggle at first. However by the end of that same school year her grades in “language arts” in English were back up to the same level where they had been in Spanish. At age 10 she is still stronger in Spanish but I can see that this is not going to be the case for much longer. I say this judging by my nephews who have been in the same school system as she, who are now in middle school and getting to be stronger in English than in Spanish. However, they are still perfectly capable of communicating with anyone completely in Spanish.

My (younger) stepson, however, started kindergarten knowing some English and was put in all-English classes from the beginning. At age 8 he understands Spanish perfectly well, but cannot stay within Spanish when speaking no matter how hard he tries. He just does not have the grasp on it. I believe with a lot of emphasis on Spanish when he is with us, and vacations visiting family where no English is spoken, he will “click” with it eventually. But he definitely has a harder row to hoe than his sister or cousins.

The difference for these children is the fact that just about a year before my stepson started school, their mom started speaking to them in English at her home.

Not only does my stepson struggle with Spanish, his English is, frankly, difficult for someone who speaks only English to understand. He says things the same way as the very broken English he is hearing every day from his mom (they are at her house most of their time). My stepdaughter’s and nephew’s English, when they were the same age he is now, was so much stronger. I feel that my stepdaughter and her cousins had a better foundation in Spanish and then later they were able to just adapt to English with a little mental tweaking. It seems to me that my stepson has a hard time figuring out what is what.

I really encourage you to keep with the minority language with your son at home. Yes there will be an adjustment period at first when he has to do English at school, but it’s really amazing how they pick it up.

Thanks,
Denise