Must Reads

While some of you might have read these articles from the links we recently posted on our Facebook page or tweeted about from our Twitter account, I figured that, in case you missed it, it’d be nice to compile the latest media content regarding bilingualism in just one post. So if you didn’t get to read any of these, here’s your chance to find out what the latest studies say about bilingualism. (Hint: we’re on the right track!) From TheRead More ...

I’ve been doing some serious thinking about what will happen next year when Vanessa goes to kindergarten because there are basically no options when it comes to dual language education in Denver. Well, that’s not totally true, but the options that do exist are really not feasible for our family. Let’s see, there’s the private school she went to for the French immersion camp this summer. While I’d love for her to go there, unfortunately, it’s out of our leagueRead More ...

Hispanic—or Latino—Heritage Month, a celebration that runs until Oct. 15, started last week. Unlike years past and because of the influence of the growing Latino population, many more communities have special events and activities during this month-long celebration which are a great way to expose your bilingual children to our culture, food, music and arts. Our good friend Melanie, from ModernMami, has compiled an awesome list of resources to celebrate this month with your niños. In it you’ll find linksRead More ...

A friend of mine who is a Spanish teacher at a local elementary school said something over the weekend that got me thinking about whether or not everybody is capable of learning a new language. She said that in her years as a teacher, she’s seen with her own two eyes how some children struggle to learn Spanish while others pick it up with unbelievable ease. The most interesting part is that, some times, the students who struggle are the ones you’d least expect: theRead More ...

It’s been a while since the last time we took a look at the media buzz regarding bilingualism. In the past, we’ve let you know our reaction to newspaper articles, blog posts or videos related to bilingual education, Latino culture and the Spanish language. Now, we constantly share them on our Facebook page and strike up a conversation there. But what was in the news last week deserves a more in-depth look. The Los Angeles Times, printed three op-ed articlesRead More ...

Editor’s note: This post originally appeared on this blog in November 2009. I was recently talking to somebody of Hispanic descent who wasn’t taught Spanish at home, but learned it later on in life. She vowed she wouldn’t follow her parents’ footsteps, but ended up doing exactly the same thing with her kids who are now elementary school-aged. “And, now it’s too late!” she lamented. I immediately reassured her that it’s never too late – that’s just a common myth.Read More ...

This week my daughter and I met up with a Spanish-speaking amiga and her 3 and a half year old son.  Camila and him have a preschool, platonic-love relationship and are always looking forward to their play dates.  While at the park, my friend mentioned that the only other kid her son interacted with in Spanish is my daughter.  I thought that was a little odd since my daughter is still at a stage where she is sorting out bothRead More ...

I used to be pretty harsh on myself if I couldn’t finish a sentence without going back and forth between English and Spanish when speaking with other bilinguals, an action commonly known as code-switching among linguists. Like many bilinguals and monolinguals alike, I simply believed this was wrong. I thought it meant I wasn’t really proficient in either language—even when I knew this not to be the case—or that I was simply forgetting my Spanish. I was wrong! In theRead More ...