Comments on: Ask an Expert: What’s the Best Method to Raise my Baby Bilingual? http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-whats-the-best-method-to-raise-my-baby-bilingual/ Raising bilingual and bicultural kids Thu, 26 Jul 2018 07:12:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.2 By: Gemma http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-whats-the-best-method-to-raise-my-baby-bilingual/#comment-12957 Gemma Fri, 29 Oct 2010 03:13:57 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=7432#comment-12957 My hubby and I are a bilingual couple and even though we neither of us speaks Spanish, we want our baby to learn three languages so we have bought a Spanish for Kids program. However, your points are also applicable to anyone who is in a bilingual relationship… ergo I give you big ups for the great post.

]]> By: Ask an Expert on Spanglish Baby! « Barbara Zurer Pearson's Blog http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-whats-the-best-method-to-raise-my-baby-bilingual/#comment-7260 Ask an Expert on Spanglish Baby! « Barbara Zurer Pearson's Blog Sat, 22 May 2010 03:07:56 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=7432#comment-7260 [...] to this link to see my response! Book Cover Book Description "Raising a Bilingual Child" offers both an [...]

]]> By: Ana Lilian http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-whats-the-best-method-to-raise-my-baby-bilingual/#comment-5956 Ana Lilian Sat, 20 Mar 2010 05:07:32 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=7432#comment-5956 It´s always amazing to read your comments. Thank you so much for being such an active member of this familia. We really appreciate every single comment on the posts and on the forum.
We look forward to connecting more with you…and ALL of you!

]]> By: Beth Ortuño http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-whats-the-best-method-to-raise-my-baby-bilingual/#comment-5948 Beth Ortuño Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:03:13 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=7432#comment-5948 I’ve found it very helpful to have these resources as a sort of ammo in those moments we all have as parents when we wonder, “Am I doing this right?” Keep Barbara’s book and Spanglishbaby at your fingertips!
For us the decision to use 2 languages at home was largely because the entire family on each side only knows 1 of our languages (my husband and I are the only ones who can converse in both). Additionally most of them live far away. We are also fortunate to live in a place where there’s LOTS of the minority language outside home (almost unavoidable, really).
I would not worry about any confusion for the child. Little human brains are really made for this and it’s just that our own specific culture has not always taken advantage of it. Our experience was that our son INITIALLY only understood/spoke certain words in a certain language and other words in the other. To me it is exactly like a monolingual child understanding “nose” but not really getting “mouth” until a bit later.
At age 21 months it’s still too soon for me to say he’s equal in both languages but that is very definitely the direction he’s going. And I would like to add that the level of his development is 100% completely normal, even looking at EITHER language compared to other children with only that language. No, he is not ready to tell me all about his day. But ALL kids walk, talk, ride bikes and everything else on their own timetables within a RANGE of “normal”.
So whatever you choose just keep getting that support and information to feel confident, and THAT is the best thing for your baby!

]]> By: Beth Butler http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-whats-the-best-method-to-raise-my-baby-bilingual/#comment-5931 Beth Butler Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:36:42 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=7432#comment-5931 I remember reading Barbara’s book in bits and pieces as I researched some things for my interactive Spanish/English Mommy & Me classes and then reading “The Bilingual Edge” also for even more current research and suggestions. I found the most comforting thing to be the underlying tone of “Good for you for wanting to raise bilingual children AND you will not cause confusion in your children’s brains by speaking more than one language.”

Go for it Jana – make it fun and natural in the process – organically your child’s language development will shine!
.-= Beth Butler´s last blog ..Terrific Tips on Teaching Tuesday from Boca Beth =-.

]]> By: Jana http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-whats-the-best-method-to-raise-my-baby-bilingual/#comment-5930 Jana Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:49:20 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=7432#comment-5930 Barbara and Chelsea,

Thank you both for the advice! Barbara, I purchased your book and it has been very educational and extremely helpful. I think we are now leaning toward both of us speaking Spanish as much as possible. But it’s good to know that mixing languages won’t confuse our baby.

Thanks again!

Best wishes,

Jana

]]> By: Chelsea Morales http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-whats-the-best-method-to-raise-my-baby-bilingual/#comment-5927 Chelsea Morales Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:50:20 +0000 http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=7432#comment-5927 Jana,
I was feeling the same way before my son was born and had nearly the exact same language situation as you do. No matter how fluent I felt, I thought I could never manage to speak Spanish all day every day. To my surprise, it just happened. I learned new vocab by listening to my husband, reading plenty of bilingual books to my son, and increasing the amount of Spanish music and television in our house. Not only was this a valuable challenge that took my second-language skills above and beyond where I thought they would end up, but it has made me feel like I’m fully involved in the process of raising him bilingual.

I encourage you to use as much Spanish as you can when your baby arrives, and don’t worry about whether or not you’re saying things “correctly.” Choosing a method is like many other parenting choices: we think we’ll stick with it, but reality often evolves into something entirely different (and altogether better). Make your own method, and have confidence that no matter how you introduce Spanish, it will be a positive influence on your child.
.-= Chelsea Morales´s last blog ..Bilingual Strides =-.

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