benefits

Editor’s note: During the next few weeks, we’re going to be doing things a bit differently here as Ana and I concentrate in meeting the deadline for the forthcoming SpanglishBaby book. We hope you bear with us. Because we’ve been around for almost three years (wow! when did that happen?), this week we’ll be sharing some classic posts from when it all got started. This post was originally published on February 3, 2009.  In most parts of the world, beingRead More ...

Given that workplace compensation for bilingualism is becoming more and more scarce in the U.S., I am grateful that I can reap the benefits of my Spanish skills as a self-employed tutor. While I do not get paid more per hour for being bilingual, I often book Spanish-speaking clients, whose business I would otherwise lose due to an inability to communicate. In Orlando (where I live) and all over Florida, there is a particularly great need for ways to bridgeRead More ...

Before Vanessa started preschool a couple of months after she turned two, I often wondered how she was going to survive for four hours surrounded solely by English.  I worried that others would think she had no manners because even though she already understood the concept of “gracias” and “por favor,” she knew nothing about “thanks” and “please.” I explained the situation to her teachers and they reassured me everything would be fine. You see, up until then, her lifeRead More ...