Daily Blog

Last week, I posted a question to our Facebook page asking parents who use the mL@H method to raise their children bilingual to share some of the difficulties they’ve encountered with it. I wanted to write a post around those answers based on some of my own difficulties with the method. But then, one of the parents asked what mL@H stands for and I figured I needed to step back a bit. Inadvertently, I assumed everyone who’s raising bilingual childrenRead More ...

When Sign Language Influences Speech by François Grosjean on Psychology Today — I don’t know sign language, but this is an interesting read for those who do. Call of Duty and World of Warcraft Double as Language Class by Laura Kane on The Toronto Star — A strong case for the benefits of online video gaming when raising bilingual children. Statewide Shortage of Bilingual Teacher Recruits Controversy in Fox Valley by Emily McFarlan Miller on The Courier-News — Hopefully many of the kids being raised bilingualRead More ...

The holidays are moments when memories are made. As it is with my family, made up of immigrants and multigenerational Americans alike, we gather around a table of feast to live and relive our heritage. Memories kept through the love of our elders and joys of our youth, legacies of culture and thanks are built. No matter where my celebrations take place, my heart beats the Cuban heritage that has been passed down to me from the roots of myRead More ...

I’ve had baby names on the mind lately, and at this late stage of my pregnancy it’s kind of hard not to. Every sharp kick, jab and foretelling Braxton Hicks contraction is a reminder to stop procrastinating and decide on something, anything, before delivery day. For my first pregnancy four years ago, it was different, as most first pregnancies tend to be. I was so excited that I basically peed on a stick and ran to a bookstore to purchaseRead More ...

Before the age of 5, I had never spoken or heard anything but Spanish. My father was transferred within the Chilean Navy to Washington, D.C. just before my fifth birthday. It was supposed to be for two years and it ended up being five before we stepped back on Chilean soil. During that time, I began school and of course had to learn English. My father lived in a Spanish-speaking world due to the nature of his work, and myRead More ...

The bell rings and Santiago runs to get the door shrieking with excitement. He’s been waiting all afternoon for friends of ours to come over for dinner so he can play with their 7-year-old son. “Hi, Liam!” he says and hugs him as soon as I open the door. “Hi, Santiago!” Liam responds and off they run to play with Vanessa who’s in the playroom in the basement. A bit later, they all come up to the kitchen where I’mRead More ...

We just got word that the interview we did with Jorge Ramos for Al Punto about our book Bilingual is Better will be airing mañana! Al Punto is Univision‘s Sunday morning show and it airs at 10 a.m. ET/1 p.m. PT. The interview was taped about two months ago when we went to Miami for the press tour and I had just been wondering when it would air when we got notice that it was happening this Sunday. We can’t waitRead More ...

This Friday, November 23rd is the 5th annual National Day of Listening — a relatively new holiday created by StoryCorps. What is it? The National Day of Listening is a day to honor a loved one through listening – and your opportunity to capture the precious stories of your familia for your hijos, nietos and future generations. How does it work? You can have a chat with your mother, your abuelos, a great aunt, sister, tío, your esposo’s step-father, aRead More ...