Why Does Spanglish Get Such a Bad Rap?
Last week I was pretty taken aback when I heard someone say that “el Spanglish es una aberración” (literally an aberration, an outrage). The craziest thing is that this person — an old colleague and friend of my husband’s who is Argentinian, but has lived in Miami for a long time — said this as he admitted to using it himself! Then I realized I got exactly what he meant because I used to be one of them: the anti-Spanglish,Read More ...
Spanish is a Muscle
As a devout gym rat, I am closely acquainted with the process of building and losing muscles, tweaking strength, hitting plateaus. For me, Spanish is like a muscle. If I use it at a time of day when I’m energized and have adequate fuel, or when I have the motivation of fellow exercisers, I can speak at a good pace and never get tired or tripped up. If I am forced to use that muscle unexpectedly, though, or am simplyRead More ...
Bilingual Bear Books {Giveaway}
As you might remember, my daughter and I embarked on a trilingual adventure toward the end of last year when we partnered up with Little Pim to document her progress learning French during three months. While that partnership is over, I’m making it a point to continue this journey by looking for ways to get my hands on other products, materials, books, toys, and music in French to make it more of a fun ride than a chore. One of the thingsRead More ...
Crepas de Cajeta Made Easy
My husband, my girl and I all have a very sweet tooth. Our weekend breakfasts usually consist of pancakes, waffles or crepes that my girl and I make together. It’s become a bit of a special routine. The one thing that is always present in our sweet breakfasts, thanks to my husband’s obsession with it, is Mexican cajeta; similar to dulce de leche, but made with goat’s milk instead of cow’s milk. I’m sure when my daughter is older andRead More ...
My Bilingual Daughter
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFV_c5MZ23Y One of the biggest fears for those of us raising our bilingual children using the mL@H (minority language at home) method is that they won’t get enough exposure to the majority language, in this case English, and will be behind once they enter preschool or Kindergarten. It certainly was one of my very real worries and, from the Ask an Expert questions, comments, and emails we’ve gotten from you, it seems like it’s something that’s been on your mindRead More ...
4 Reasons Why Every Child in the United States Should Speak Spanish
Last week, Chelsea Kyle shared on our Facebook page an excellent opinion piece by New York Times columnist, Nicholas D. Kristof, titled Primero Hay Que Aprender Español. Ranhou Zai Xue Zhongwen (First learn Spanish. Then study Chinese.) The point he cleverly, and even bravely, makes is that even though Chinese is growing in popularity as the language of choice for parents who want to give their children an educational advantage, Spanish is the language every child in the United StatesRead More ...
