Comments on: Money as a Barrier to a Bilingual Life

By: Jim Booker

Jim Booker — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:18:48 +0000

I work as a market vendor at a Farmer’s Market in Deland, FL near Daytona Beach. Money is tight here, and I would also like to find a way of selling new or used books, games etc., at prices the local hispanic community can afford, to promote bi-lingual literacy. The children here are fluent in two languages, but grow up reading English. Any ideas?

Jim
jbooker18@cfl.rr.com

By: Casey

Casey — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 10:37:01 +0000

Our state is the same, though there are a very limited number of vouchers for families makes less than $3.500 a month. Also making 3,600 means that instead of paying 10% of your income on tuition you then have to pay more than 30%, just because that is what the schools generally cost. Anyway, we’ve had great luck with finding an excellent school where I bilingual son can attend, that has been willing to work with us to get his tuition cost down to a reasonable level. Best of luck! My motto in looking for schools now has become, you never know until you ask, so ask for goodness sake!

By: Jennifer @ Spanish Playground

Jennifer @ Spanish Playground — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 17:04:49 +0000

This is such an important topic. We live in (relatively) rural Wisconsin where there are very few options in terms of dual language programs. The libraries do their best on small budgets, but honestly the collections and programming cannot be considered a substantial source of language. It takes lots and lots of exposure – quality exposure to comprehensible input – to learn a language. I think that recognizing that reality is essential so that families do not feel that somehow they are not doing enough (don’t we all feel that way anyway?!) and can instead plan ahead to be able to provide true immersion experiences. Saving is difficult, but time spent with family or friends in Mexico, for example, is the way that children will really learn the language. I understand that the logistics of arranging time in another country can be daunting, and the cost might seem prohibitive, but I think these experiences should be part of a long-term plan for families who do not have access to the language in their communities. There has to be a realistic conversation about what is necessary to acquire complete language skills so that parents can make informed decisions and use the resources they have to the best advantage.

By: Beth @ Languages Abroad

Beth @ Languages Abroad — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:23:34 +0000

Money is an important issue when it comes to language learning, particularly for children who obviously can’t do it by themselves. Hiring a native speaking nanny is a great way to do this – essentially killing two birds with one stone. There is also the option of videos/books etc in the native language. Whilst this might not give your child an insight into the culture of the language they are learning, it is a relatively cheap way to ensure they enjoy learning. I like Al’s suggestion too, of Skyping with their Mexican relatives if at all possible; it’s free, they learn, and can keep in contact with family at the same time.

By: Chelsea Torres

Chelsea Torres — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:52:34 +0000

That’s great to know about financial aid at private schools. I haven’t had much experience with that yet. I have been frustrated by the public school funding options in our state (like grants), since you have to qualify as “low-income” to apply and we are above that arbitrary income line but still not well off.

By: Chelsea Torres

Chelsea Torres — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:49:31 +0000

Jodi, I agree that seeking out these opportunities is all the more important when money is an issue. I have been quite disappointed by the cultural options in Orlando, though. Museums and children’s centers here are incredibly expensive, and we are usually left with street festivals (glorified parties) to expose our children to their culture. Our Spanish radio stations are fine, but not exactly kid-friendly.

By: Chelsea Torres

Chelsea Torres — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:37:12 +0000

You are right….libraries are great. However, for those who work full time, story time and frequent trips to the library may be impossible. It doesn’t offer quite enough to sustain bilingualism, in my opinion.

By: Casey

Casey — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 10:34:58 +0000

Chelsea, it is really great that you’re taking on this class divide. I’m a graduate student and have been for all of my son’s short life (he’s 3 1/2) and we use the ML@H method with him, so while our resources have always been stretched thin he has a very strong grasp of Spanish. Many dual language programs wish they could get more kids who are native Spanish speakers to balance their classrooms. That being said some of the expensive schools are willing to give scholarships to families who can’t afford the otherwise 1000-1500 a month in tuition, or at least we’ve found that to be the case. It can be quite humbling to ask for financial aid, but when it’s for your kid’s education you have to do whatever it takes to give them the best and most educators understand that and want to help.

By: Elizabeth (mom of two bilingual kids)

Elizabeth (mom of two bilingual kids) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 01:32:46 +0000

You said “aside from the public library,” but please know that the public library can offer so much – videos in Spanish, books in Spanish, Spanish story times…All free. We’ve also been lucky enough to be in playgroups conducted in Spanish in Boston for free. We don’t have cable either. There are enough videos in Spanish (or that you can change the language to Spanish) free at the library. If there aren’t a lot of books in Spanish at your local library, they can usually use inter-library loan to get more. The library is definitely an underutilized resource.

By: Marika

Marika — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:58:39 +0000

Thank you for broaching this topic Chelsea, such an important one