contributors

Editor’s note: We are so incredibly excited to be able to share the first in a series of posts which will document an LA family’s incredible adventure as they move to Mexico for a few months so they can immerse their three children in the culture and language of that beautiful country. I’m at the edge of a cliff with beautiful sparkling water below. The meadow is great where I’m standing, but I’m going to jump anyway – I haveRead More ...

“Yes we can” was the simple yet powerful campaign slogan used by, now President, Barack Obama, but long before the 2008 elections these words were used as a call to action. “Sí se puede” was the battle cry of farm workers fighting for fair wages in the 1970s. Organized by civil rights activist César Chávez along with Dolores Huerta, the labor union, United Farm Workers of America or UFWA, (which later became the United Farm Workers (UFW), initiated a boycottRead More ...

My varied experiences with the Spanish language have taught me that there is one thing bilinguals will always have a surplus of: questions. Fluency is a relative concept; everyone has a different definition of what it means to be fluent in a language, and my most pressing question seems to be Am I really fluent? At my son’s age (3), the questions are more basic, like Why do we say “his” and “her” en inglés, but only “su” en español?Read More ...

I have this extreme obsession with language. It can lead me to analyze almost every utterance that is produced although lately I have been scrutinizing the trilingual toys I have for my baby. I have been staring, analyzing, and pressing the button over and over to listen to the French, Spanish, and English words spoken. I can’t help it! They can sound so silly! For instance, the one in the car says “mo-rah-doh (purple in Spanish),” like the Anglo kidsRead More ...

When I was 22 and just out of college, I joined the Peace Corps and was shipped off to West Africa.  After a few months of training, a Peace Corps driver dropped me and my few possessions off in a remote village of 900 people, which was to be my home for the next two years.  Fortunately, I was able to talk to the handful of people of my village who spoke French, which was the official language.  Everyone elseRead More ...