It’s been a while since we’ve done this, so we think we’re due for another round of letting you be the experts. After all, you live in a bilingual environment day in and day out; that in itself makes you an expert–a voice to be heard. Sarah Kalert reads our site from her new home in Chile. She has enthusiastically agreed to let you weigh in on the issue she is facing while raising her son using the OPOL method.Read More ...
The following question was sent by Megan. You can also send your question to the Experts by clicking here. “Hi experts! We are expecting our first bilingual baby in August 2010 and would like to speak mostly Spanish in the home. (I learned Spanish as young adult and my partner was raised in a Spanish-speaking household in the U.S.). How can I convince my monolingual English-speaking mother that this choice is not rejecting “my side of the family” or closingRead More ...
The following question was sent by Susana Fernandez. You can also send your question to the Experts by clicking here. “I have been reading many interesting posts here and have found relief in knowing that no one way is the best to raise bilingual kids. I was also happy to see the evidence that supports that bilingualism does not cause confusion. My questions is, can bilingualism cause a delay in speech, though? I am an elementary teacher and a momRead More ...
We are a Russian-speaking family and my 2.5 year old daughter goes to an English-speaking daycare. She is bilingual, although her Russian is more advanced than English. We do not speak to her in English at home at all, so all her exposure to English occurs at school. This summer we planned on her staying at home with her Russian-speaking grandmother, but I am afraid that three months of complete immersion in Russian will make her loose her nascent EnglishRead More ...
“My son is in the third grade at a public language immersion school. He is at or above grade level in all subjects in English. He is below grade level in Spanish reading and comprehension. We are English speakers and try to work with him in his Spanish reading and comprehension but it is very difficult when we do not speak/comprehend Spanish. He refuses to read in Spanish for us. I don’t want to discourage his love of reading inRead More ...
Today we welcome our newest expert into the SpanglishBaby familia, Marcel O. Ponton, Ph.D. We are particularly excited for the incredible amount of knowledge he has on behavioral and development problems regarding bilinguals and because we finally have the male perspective on board! To submit your questions to Dr. Ponton and our panel of experts please go here. It’s amazing how fast and and how much of the Spanish language my almost 2 year old daughter Audrey is learning. WeRead More ...
“My wife and I have four wonderful sons ages 18, 16, 13 and yes, 2 years old. Both my wife and I are native English speakers, however, I also speak at a high intermediate level of Spanish due to my own language learning studies as well as being the son of a Colombian father and hearing the language a great deal through family. We raised our three older boys in a monolingual English environment. However, with the birth of ourRead More ...
“Hello, I was born and raised in Norwalk, CT. Both my parents are from Costa Rica. I met my husband in South Florida. He is American-born and raised in California. We got married and had our first baby girl on May 6th, 2009. Now he and I are arguing about what language to speak to her in. I suggested I speak in Spanish, and he in English, but he’s afraid that she will learn Spanish before English, and will notRead More ...
