Comments on: Ask an Expert: Should I Start Teaching my Child to Read in Spanish? http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-should-i-start-teaching-my-child-to-read-in-spanish/ Raising bilingual and bicultural kids Thu, 26 Jul 2018 07:12:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.2 By: feldküche gulaschkanone http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-should-i-start-teaching-my-child-to-read-in-spanish/#comment-10818 feldküche gulaschkanone Thu, 30 Sep 2010 00:57:17 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=5195#comment-10818 gday howdy ikaragarriak web . Eskerrik asko! ko edozein web . !

]]> By: Ana Lilian http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-should-i-start-teaching-my-child-to-read-in-spanish/#comment-2518 Ana Lilian Thu, 13 Aug 2009 07:42:37 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=5195#comment-2518 I am constantly amazed by all your stories and inspired beyond belief. I will now focus on teaching my child the basics of reading seeing the success that so many of you have had at such an early age.
@Marcela-welcome back! Thanks for the ebay books bundle tip..great one!
@Kristen–I agree with you that attitude has everything to do with it. Gives your child the confidence and the positive role model.
@Sisi–2-year-old reading at a first grade level? I definitely want to read more about that if you´d like to share.
@Siobhan–that´s exactly why we have the Ask an Expert series..so we can all feel encouraged by what we already instinctively know to do. Please let us know how he does.

]]> By: AnaGloria Rodriguez http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-should-i-start-teaching-my-child-to-read-in-spanish/#comment-2515 AnaGloria Rodriguez Thu, 13 Aug 2009 06:12:00 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=5195#comment-2515 Kristen, I think you hit the nail on the head when you talk about your attitude.
You are doing an awesome thing!
Marcela also has it right, have lots of Spanish books around.
Sisi: You’re awesome. I love you.

]]> By: Marcela Hede The Hispanic Culture Lover http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-should-i-start-teaching-my-child-to-read-in-spanish/#comment-2514 Marcela Hede The Hispanic Culture Lover Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:28:58 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=5195#comment-2514 I started Ian in Spanish first. He is 41/2 and I would say he reads basic sentences in both languages almost at the same level. I did not emphasized English since I try to speak in Spanish all the time to him.

He learned the sounds of the letters at a very young age in both languages (20 months) and at Montessori he worked with the teachers in English only.

I did not pressure him, but I read to him in Spanish most of the time and several times a day. Spanish is very simple because, as Ellen says, it is a transparent language. Very few letters have double sounds like the g or c , that change the pronunciation depending on what vowel follows it.

Best advice? Buy tons of books in Spanish from Ebay in bundles of 25, they end up being inexpensive and simply wonderful to have around. I love “Nacho Lee” a basic book that teaches how to read in Spanish. Also bring Spanish books from the library every 2 weeks so you and enrich their vocabulary.

]]> By: Kristen http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-should-i-start-teaching-my-child-to-read-in-spanish/#comment-2474 Kristen Tue, 11 Aug 2009 23:11:32 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=5195#comment-2474 I agree, but with one condition. My daughter is going into 5th grade at a bilingual school in Mexico. I (mom) am a native English speaker. Her father speaks fluent English, but is a native Spanish speaker. While she was young, I watched some of my English-speaking neighbors struggling with their kids learning Spanish. Most of these parents were also struggling themselves, not so much with the actual language, but with their attitude towards it. I decided to throw myself into my Spanish learning as much as possible in front of my daughter and always keep a positive attitude. When she started preschool (age 3), I signed up to be a homeroom mom even though my Spanish wasn’t great. I think this attitude really helped her in her confidence. Finishing 4th grade, she received the 1st place medal for academic excellence in her class in both languages.

My best recommendation to any parent who wants their child to be successful in a second language is to learn it alongside your child. READ, WATCH, SING & PLAY in the second language! And always have fun!

p.s. – Audiobooks are great, too! It’s a great way to listen to the language and have discussions about them afterwards.

]]> By: Sisi Martinez -Purfield http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-should-i-start-teaching-my-child-to-read-in-spanish/#comment-2460 Sisi Martinez -Purfield Tue, 11 Aug 2009 06:51:55 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=5195#comment-2460 Having been a bilingual kindergarten teacher for 16 years I was really afraid of confusing my 2 year old who already reads in English at about a first or second grade level. A friend assured me that because he was so smart and bilingual in other ways (speaking, singing etc.) that he wouldn’t be confused at all and she was right. He’s not quite as proficient in reading in Spanish as he is in English but he wasn’t at all confused by the alphabet or the sounds . He just knows that he does stuff in Eng and Spa including reading. I love the flexability that being bilingual gives your mind.

]]> By: Valuable Internet Information » SpanglishBaby-Ask an Expert: Should I Start Teaching my Child to … http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-should-i-start-teaching-my-child-to-read-in-spanish/#comment-2459 Valuable Internet Information » SpanglishBaby-Ask an Expert: Should I Start Teaching my Child to … Tue, 11 Aug 2009 06:33:05 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=5195#comment-2459 [...] Here is the original post: SpanglishBaby-Ask an Expert: Should I Start Teaching my Child to … [...]

]]> By: Tricia http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-should-i-start-teaching-my-child-to-read-in-spanish/#comment-2458 Tricia Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:20:23 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=5195#comment-2458 Siobhan, we were in exactly your situation last year–my youngest son was in his first year of Montessori school, working with the letter baskets and English language sounds. As reading “clicked” for him in English, I started having him do some of the reading in our Spanish picture books at home. It really only took a week or two before he had figured out the differences in sounds (and syllable divisions), and now he reads quite well in both languages! Every once in a while he’ll read an English word “Spanish-style,” but he almost always catches himself and self-corrects. It’s really fascinating to watch, I think.

]]> By: Siobhan Moffitt http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-should-i-start-teaching-my-child-to-read-in-spanish/#comment-2457 Siobhan Moffitt Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:40:28 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=5195#comment-2457 So great! All this info is coming at the perfect time! My son will be starting Montessori preschool in a few weeks and will soon be being introduced to sounds and writing there in English. I wanted to parallel at home in Spanish but was feeling unsure about the decision. After the info you’ve offered this week, I don’t feel unsure at all! Thank you!

]]> By: Multilingual Mania http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-should-i-start-teaching-my-child-to-read-in-spanish/#comment-2456 Multilingual Mania Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:31:00 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=5195#comment-2456 Excellent! I am so glad that she used the term “influence”, as opposed to “interference”, which many people use to describe when students may make errors as a result of the influence of one language on another. It’s excellent that she also states that learning to read bilingually is a developmental process–students will initially make errors and possibly overgeneralize rules from one language to the other language, but the errors will start to iron out upon increased exposure to literacy!!

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