Comments on: Ask an Expert::Should I Speak in Spanish to my Child if I’m not Fluent?

By: ArielleRDJ

ArielleRDJ — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:47:57 +0000

Thanks for the tips! I'm always looking for new ways to improve my Spanish and that of my kids. I happen to really like SpanishDict for brushing up on my Spanish in my spare time, so that I can help my children with their Spanish skills, too. They have great Spanish translation, and other good, free stuff. Good luck!

By: AnaGloria Rodriguez

AnaGloria Rodriguez — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 05:05:47 +0000

Interesting topic. I also agree with Melanie: “I think we need to make a distinction about what we mean by speaking Spanish to the child. Slipping in words and phrases in Spanish here and there is one thing; trying to interact for an entire day in Spanish when the adult is struggling to put together a sentence is a different issue. If the parent’s comfort level is more in line with the first scenario, I say go for it!”
My husband does not speak Spanish fluently and could not do it all day, but he speaks to the children what phrases he knows and that gives the children the message that speaking Spanish is important in our family.
I am the one who spends 90% of the day with the children and so they are hearing me speak only Spanish to them although it is not my dominant language. I want to pass on my Mexican culture to them through language, my husband passes on American culture. I teach them “Tortillitas” and he teaches them “Patty Cake”. I think that living in the US my kids are not missing out on anything “American”, especially since they go to school here. The struggle is making sure that they have enough exposure to Latino culture so that they can be proud of their Mexican heritage. Of course, I can see how this can be reversed, but American culture is so prevalent around the world…
I also want to give a shout out to parents who are not native speakers and who still do their best to teach their children another language. They really should be commended for their commitment, dedication, and hard work.

By: Learn Polish

Learn Polish — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 17:00:10 +0000

Hi! This topic is really interesting. I have never met this problem but I know that people should learn languages in a natural way. If you want to be good at a language you should listen to real language every day. I teach languages to children and adults with natural methods and it is so powerful. Children are able to acquire languages very quickly and they make fun of it. .-= Learn Polish´s last blog .. =-.

By: Melanie

Melanie — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:39:47 +0000

As a bilingual speech-language pathologist, I could not agree more with what was said about the importance being a good language model for your child, no matter the specific language being used.
“When you speak to your child in Spanish it is likely basic language, fairly simple sentences and a limited vocabulary. Your ability to communicate in English is much more advanced. You can speak using complex sentence structures and an extensive vocabulary. The language richness you can offer your child in English is significantly more advanced than what you can offer him in Spanish. ”

I usually see this issue from the other side – parents who are fluent in Spanish but speaking to their children in broken English because they feel (or were told) it will help them in school. Actually, the opposite is true. For a child to be successful in school with learning to read and comprehend, he/she needs to have been exposed to complex sentences, vocabulary and stories and conversations. This foundation, no matter the language, is so important for literacy development.

I think we need to make a distinction about what we mean by speaking Spanish to the child. Slipping in words and phrases in Spanish here and there is one thing; trying to interact for an entire day in Spanish when the adult is struggling to put together a sentence is a different issue. If the parent’s comfort level is more in line with the first scenario, I say go for it!

I really enjoyed reading this post that expressed so well the thoughts that many bilingual professionals are trying to communicate to bilingual families!