SpanglishBaby » Lori Langer de Ramirez http://spanglishbaby.com Raising bilingual and bicultural kids Thu, 26 Mar 2020 06:38:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.2 Ask An Expert: I am not fluent in my child’s second language http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/expert-minority-languag/ http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/expert-minority-languag/#comments Wed, 13 Jul 2011 16:35:54 +0000 Expert http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=13180 Today’s Ask an Expert question was sent in by Carly, a mother whose in a difficult situation. With a daughter born in Brazil but now living in the United States, she needs to know how she can prevent her daughter from losing fluency in Portuguese. The problem? Her daughter’s father and the side of the family that spoke Portuguese to her are all back in Brazil and Carly isn’t a native speaker. Let’s see if our expert, Lori, can help!

“Should I speak to my child in a language not my own?”

I have a question that is similar to the June 1st week question – “Should I speak to my child in a language not my own?” however, my situation differs slightly, and so perhaps the answer will be too:  My daughter, Zaya, was born in Brazil a year ago and grew up among her father’s family and community hearing Portuguese.  At home, her father and I spoke mostly English to each other (my native language), and to Zaya, we each spoke our mother tongue. Now, at 13 months, Zaya is living in the United States and her father is still in Brazil. There are very few people in her life who are speaking to her in Portuguese except for the occasional Skype phone calls.  I would like to continue to use Portuguese words while building her vocabulary, since she already knows and responds to them.  I would also like to speak to her in Portuguese, even though it’s not perfect and I’m sure I’m making some mistakes. But I would hate for her to return to Brazil in a year to visit and not understand what her relatives are saying to her.  Do you have any advice?

Thanks,
Carly

Hi Carly!

This is such an excellent question, and one that plagues me and other non-native speakers of languages who would like to pass their languages on to their children.

I think the answer to your question: “Should I speak to my child in a language not my own?” warrants the timelessly frustrating response: “it depends.” It depends on your goals. If you are interested in exposing your child to the language, keeping the language fresh, maintaining a connection to the sounds and syntax of the language, then I think sí!, by all means speak to her in Portuguese.

However, your child will likely only develop a similar proficiency to your own, though likely not greater. You can supplement your child’s acquisition of the language (once she gets a little older, perhaps) with online resources like videos, podcasts and other web-based tools in Portuguese. Here are some good examples for kids:

  • MidiSegni – coloring pages, games, activities using basic vocabulary in Portuguese.
  • SoccerLingua – games and fun exercises to learn new phrases in five different languages: English, French, Portuguese, Swedish, and Turkish.
  • ClubPenguin – a fun and safe virtual world in which kids take on the persona of a penguin and travel to different areas to play games and “meet” other penguins.

And the best way for your daughter to speak and understand Portuguese well, is for you to keep your proficiency level high. I also think it’s good for her to see “mamãe” learning Portuguese alongside her daughter! Here are some resources for maintaining your own proficiency:

  • ieLanguages podcasts in Brazilian Portuguese.
  • LyricsGaps music videos with gap activities.
  • BBC Languages – vide-based language-learning tools online.
  • LanguageGuide – visual picture dictionary in Portuguese organized by themes.
  • Hello-Hello – learn English, Spanish, French and Portuguese in an interactive online forum from native speakers.

Boa sorte, Carly!

]]> http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/expert-minority-languag/feed/ 0 Ask an Expert: How Can I Encourage My Child to Speak More Spanish? http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-how-can-i-encourage-my-child-to-speak-more-spanish/ http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-how-can-i-encourage-my-child-to-speak-more-spanish/#comments Wed, 11 May 2011 16:13:34 +0000 Expert http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=12076 “I’m raising my daughter bilingually in Spanish and English. Her father is a native Mexican whose first language is Spanish. I speak to her in English. The problem I’m facing is that her father doesn’t really speak to her in Spanish. Instead, I have a nanny that only speaks Spanish to her. My daughter understands both languages equally, but she will only speak the tiniest bits of Spanish, and even insists on speaking English to her non-English speaking nanny. It’s as though she just doesn’t see the need to speak Spanish. How can I encourage my daughter to speak more Spanish? Also, where can I find a list of Dual Language Immersion schools? She’s going to be ready for preschool soon and I don’t want her Spanish to backtrack. Any advice is appreciated!

Thanks,

Rebekah”

Hi Rebekah. I have a very similar problem! My husband is Colombian and we are raising our son bilingually. Unfortunately, since my husband is perfectly comfortable in English as well as Spanish (and I suppose the same is true for your husband), it is very easy for him to slip into English when speaking with our son – especially since our son is more fluent in English and tends to want to speak more English than Spanish. Unfortunately, one of the best solutions for your problem is mainly in the hands of your husband. If you can get him to speak Spanish exclusively to your daughter, you would see her proficiency improve and she might feel more comfortable speaking the language. You don’t say how old your daughter is, but I would guess that her reluctance to speak Spanish doesn’t really have much to do with not seeing the need to speak it. She is most likely just more comfortable/proficient in English. You can also buy books, videos, toys and other materials for her in Spanish as a means of “sweetening the pot!” We offer our son “free screen time” (i.e., extra time on the computer) if he plays games or views videos in Spanish. Some of his favorite sites are:

SuperSaber: http://www.supersaber.com/

Club Penguin (in Spanish only!): http://www.clubpenguin.com/es/

Isla Megatrix: http://www.antena3.com/islamegatrix/

GoGoLingo: http://www.gogolingo.com/

BrainPOP Español: http://esp.brainpop.com/
As for Dual Language Immersion schools, I don’t know what area you live in, but you can research that for yourself with an excellent database from CAL – the Center for Applied Linguistics. The searchable database is called the “Directory of Foreign Language Immersion Programs: and it can be accessed online at: http://www.cal.org/resources/immersion/. Good luck!

Lori Langer de Ramirez.- -Bilingual educator who began her career as a teacher of Spanish, French and ESL. She holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics and a Doctorate in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is currently the Chairperson of the ESL and World Language Department for Herricks Public Schools, New York. Lori is the author of Take Action: Lesson Plans for the Multicultural Classroom and Voices of Diversity: Stories, Activities and Resources for the Multicultural Classroom, as well as several Spanish-language books and texts. Her interactive website (miscositas.com) offers teachers over 40 virtual picture books and other curricular materials for teaching Chinese, English, French, Indonesian, Italian, Spanish and Thai. Her areas of research and curriculum development are multicultural and diversity education, folktales in the language classroom and technology in language teaching. You can read her answers here and submit your own question for any of our experts here.

]]> http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-how-can-i-encourage-my-child-to-speak-more-spanish/feed/ 5 Should I Speak to My Child In a Language I’m Not a Native Of? http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/should-i-speak-to-my-child-in-a-language-im-not-a-native-of-ask-an-expert/ http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/should-i-speak-to-my-child-in-a-language-im-not-a-native-of-ask-an-expert/#comments Wed, 09 Mar 2011 07:01:02 +0000 Expert http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=10984 “Will it be a good idea to talk to my children in English even though it is not my native language? I live in Spain and I understand the importance of learning English. I am going to have a baby soon, and I am considering to talk to her in English, but I am afraid this might not be a good idea since it is not my native language. I think that I have a good level of English and I want to help my baby learn it easily. But I also understand that since it is not my native language, I will probably have some lack of language resources. Can you please help me and give me your opinion?

Thank you very much.

Irene”

¡Hola, Irene! This is a good question, and one that I often struggle with as a non-native speaker – and teacher – of Spanish. I think the question for you is how committed are you to English? In a couple in which one parent speaks one language and the other speaks another, the prevailing wisdom recommends that each parent speak the native tongue, thus producing a balanced bilingual. If you have someone else in the home who will be speaking Spanish with your child and you wanted to be in charge of speaking English, that would be fine – but it would take a strong commitment on your part to speaking exclusively English. If you were to only speak English from time-to-time with your child, it would likely not be enough to produce any real proficiency in the language – especially since everything around you (i.e., the media, family, friends) will be in Spanish.

A dear friend of mine (also a non-native speaker of Spanish) has made this commitment to her son. She speaks with him 100% of the time in Spanish. The child is now four and it is becoming harder and harder for her to keep up with Spanish, especially given all the English to which the child is exposed to in pre-school, on TV, in the environment, etc. If you have good proficiency, and you are committed to being the sole source of English for your children, then go for it! I would recommend stocking up on a lot of picturebooks, music, videos, movies, toys, games, websites and other resources in English. This will help you to have conversations, play and have other social interactions with your child in English.

¡Buena suerte!

]]> http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/should-i-speak-to-my-child-in-a-language-im-not-a-native-of-ask-an-expert/feed/ 5 Ask an Expert: Dual Language Education and Reading Skills http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/dual-language-reading/ http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/dual-language-reading/#comments Wed, 09 Feb 2011 07:01:56 +0000 Expert http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=10568 “Hello. My 5 yr old attends a full immersion language school and is in the Spanish program. We practice reading English frequently at home, but I am concerned that she is not ‘catching on’ to reading English fast enough. Also, both my husband and I are monolingual. Is it a bad idea for her to be in a full immersion school when we are not able to help her in Spanish? Do most children really ‘catch up’ to their native language in reading in about 3rd grade? I am concerned that she may not be reading in English or Spanish by 3rd grade. Thanks!

Heidi”


Hi Heidi!

What good questions… We just started an immersion program in my school district, and I have heard very similar concerns expressed by parents in our schools. I can share with you what the research says, and I can share anecdotal information about what parents have reported from their own children’s experiences with immersion, but bottom line: immersion programs require a leap-of-faith on the part of parents! So don’t think you’re alone in this – I bet that every parent who considered immersion for their children has had similar doubts and fears…

Now, the truth is that every child learns to read at different rates, so it is hard to say if your daughter is catching on “fast enough.” Since she is no doubt doing literacy work in Spanish in school, those skills will transfer into her learning how to decode in English. I would continue to read with her in English, expose her to books at home, and visit the library frequently. It is also important to express your concerns to the classroom teacher so that s/he can keep an eye on your daughter and make sure that she is progressing at appropriate rate.

The good news can be reported both through research and anecdotally! Students in immersion programs may display a lag on standardized test scores, but usually score on grade level by around grade 3 and frequently above grade level by the end of grade 5. Here is a nice summary of one school’s summary of what can be expected in a total immersion program.

As for being monolingual parents, this should also not be a problem. Homework should be clear enough that students should be able to complete it on their own, or the instructions might be written in English (for the parents’ sake). Explaining what needs to be done in English to parents is often part of the homework experience for immersion students, so ask your daughter to explain homework to you and your husband. Then you can help with the content.

There are some excellent resources from CARLA, the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquistion – especially from the ACIE (American Council on Immersion Education). Here are some links that might help answer some of your questions:

•    What Parents Want to Know about Foreign Language Immersion Programs
•    Immersion FAQs
•    Parent Support

I hope this helps, Heidi! Keep the faith!

Lori Langer de Ramirez.- -Bilingual educator who began her career as a teacher of Spanish, French and ESL. She holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics and a Doctorate in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is currently the Chairperson of the ESL and World Language Department for Herricks Public Schools, New York. Lori is the author of Take Action: Lesson Plans for the Multicultural Classroom and Voices of Diversity: Stories, Activities and Resources for the Multicultural Classroom, as well as several Spanish-language books and texts. Her interactive website (miscositas.com) offers teachers over 40 virtual picture books and other curricular materials for teaching Chinese, English, French, Indonesian, Italian, Spanish and Thai. Her areas of research and curriculum development are multicultural and diversity education, folktales in the language classroom and technology in language teaching. You can read her answers here and submit your own question for any of our experts here.

]]> http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/dual-language-reading/feed/ 4 Ask an Expert: With So Much Information Out There, Where Do We Even Begin Raising Our Bilingual Child? http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-with-so-much-information-out-there-where-do-we-even-begin-raising-our-bilingual-child/ http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-with-so-much-information-out-there-where-do-we-even-begin-raising-our-bilingual-child/#comments Wed, 26 Jan 2011 17:02:21 +0000 Expert http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=10327 “Hola. My husband and I are both first generation US-born Cuban-Americans. We moved away from all of our spanish speaking family but would like to raise a bilingual child. I’ve been researching how to accomplish this and I’m extremely overwhelmed with the amount of information I’m finding and have no idea where to start. There are so many products out there that claim to help teach a child English and Spanish that I don’t know which one to go with (or what combination to use). Any tips? Any starter kits that I should look in to? LOL!

Many thanks!

Roxanne”

Dear Roxanne,

I agree. There are so many resources available – and also many products that make exaggerated claims about how much language a child will learn while using a certain product, method or website. When I am looking for materials for our students, or great links to recommend to other teachers, I tend to consult people I trust – experts in the field, professional journals, master teachers and the like. The best way to access this information is through professional organizations: ACTFL – the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and NNELL – the National Network for Early Language Learning, and ListServs: FLTeach and Ñandutí. I am also always on the lookout for great resources and I post a new link (almost) every day on my Facebook page and in my Delicious bookmarks.

Some good online (and free!) resources for Spanish include:

There are also many commercial programs available – some are better than others. Of interest are:

Bottom line – you and your husband are really the best resources for your children. If you can commit to speaking Spanish with them, they will learn the language. Play word games with your children in Spanish, teach them vocabulary and read stories to them. You can supplement your input with some fun websites that your children will enjoy, along with picturebooks, videos, games and other materials in Spanish. Good luck!

Lori Langer de Ramirez.- -Bilingual educator who began her career as a teacher of Spanish, French and ESL. She holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics and a Doctorate in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is currently the Chairperson of the ESL and World Language Department for Herricks Public Schools, New York. Lori is the author of Take Action: Lesson Plans for the Multicultural Classroom and Voices of Diversity: Stories, Activities and Resources for the Multicultural Classroom, as well as several Spanish-language books and texts. Her interactive website (miscositas.com) offers teachers over 40 virtual picture books and other curricular materials for teaching Chinese, English, French, Indonesian, Italian, Spanish and Thai. Her areas of research and curriculum development are multicultural and diversity education, folktales in the language classroom and technology in language teaching. You can read her answers here and submit your own question for any of our experts here.

]]> http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-with-so-much-information-out-there-where-do-we-even-begin-raising-our-bilingual-child/feed/ 1 Ask an Expert: What is a good teacher to student ratio for a Dual Language program? http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-2/ http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-2/#comments Wed, 15 Sep 2010 07:02:42 +0000 Expert http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=9067
Today´s question was sent to our experts by Joe Rosati. You, too, can have your question regarding raising a bilingual and/or bicultural child answered by one of the experts on our panel.

My son is entering the 3rd grade of his Dual Language program. The school has three teachers for the program at 3rd grade, but only one for 4th grade and has suggested they might have a class size of 31 students for 4th grade. This sounds like too many kids for a complex program. Am I better off switching him to a normal class with lower class size? He is doing well.

Hi Joe!

Unfortunately, with the economy such as it is, many programs are increasing class size to be able to keep programs afloat – in this sense, 31 students is not too unreasonable, if it maintains the viability of a program. Since your son has been in a dual language immersion experience for 3 years already, I would definitely recommend that he stick with it for the 4th grade. All the gains in the language will be just coming to fruition now that he enters his upper elementary years – you wouldn’t want to lose all that momentum gained in his previous years!

I would also recommend that you talk to the director of the program or principal of the school to investigate a bit why the increased class size. I would be curious about why the program goes from three classes in the 3rd grade to only one in the 4th? Attrition is normal in any program, but such a stark drop-off is troubling. It wouldn’t hurt to express your concerns and share your feelings with the school leadership.

Finally, the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition has a wealth of information about immersion programs and great resources for advocacy on their website: http://www.carla.umn.edu/immersion. This is a good site to have as a reference and to share with other parents of students in the program.

Good luck!

Lori Langer de Ramirez.- -Bilingual educator who began her career as a teacher of Spanish, French and ESL. She holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics and a Doctorate in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is currently the Chairperson of the ESL and World Language Department for Herricks Public Schools, New York. Lori is the author of Take Action: Lesson Plans for the Multicultural Classroom and Voices of Diversity: Stories, Activities and Resources for the Multicultural Classroom, as well as several Spanish-language books and texts. Her interactive website (miscositas.com) offers teachers over 40 virtual picture books and other curricular materials for teaching Chinese, English, French, Indonesian, Italian, Spanish and Thai. Her areas of research and curriculum development are multicultural and diversity education, folktales in the language classroom and technology in language teaching. You can read her answers here and submit your own question for any of our experts here.

]]> http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-2/feed/ 4 Ask an Expert: What is a good bilingual resource for homeschooling moms? http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-what-is-a-good-bilingual-resource-for-homeschooling-moms/ http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-what-is-a-good-bilingual-resource-for-homeschooling-moms/#comments Tue, 27 Apr 2010 07:01:42 +0000 Expert http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=7922 One of the biggest challenges for bilingual homeschooling families is the lack of resources and support systems. Today’s Ask an Expert question was sent by Monica, a Latina mom, blogger and entrepreneur who has taken on the challenge to homeschool her kindergartner

“I’m a Latina who started homeschooling my kindergartner this year. I would love, love, love to be able to incorporate more cultural lessons, but it has been a real struggle for me to find not only bilingual or bicultural lessons on-line, but to also find a source of support for being a homeschool Latina mom. Can you suggest ways or resources for supplementing my English curriculum? And are there any groups out there for Mamis like me?”

Dear Monica:

There are lots of wonderful resources for homeschool moms online. The problem is that there are SO many, it can often be an overwhelming experience to sift through all the rubble and find the gems! The best advice I would give to homeschool moms looking for great world language lesson ideas, materials and resources would be to sign up for the Ñandutí ListServ.

According to the official homepage, “Ñandutí is a comprehensive resource on foreign language teaching and learning in grades preK-8. Based on the premise that learning another language is beneficial and that students of all ages can learn a language, the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL), in conjunction with the National K-12 Foreign Language Resource Center at Iowa State University, offers a variety of resources on this site for teachers and parents interested in children learning foreign languages.”

Nandu, as members like to call it, is an excellent clearinghouse for ideas, materials and resources. A post to Nandu with a query usually yields responses within minutes from experts from around the country (and around the world). I am always more apt to heed the advice of my Nandu compatriots regarding good materials than I would be simply Googling or searching for material on my own. Nandu is also just excellent support for educators, parents and language learners. Its members are enthusiastic supporters and practitioners of early language teaching and as such, can provide wonderful advice and encouragement to anyone with similar interests.

Hope this helps! ¡Buena suerte!

Lori Langer de Ramirez.- -Bilingual educator who began her career as a teacher of Spanish, French and ESL. She holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics and a Doctorate in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is currently the Chairperson of the ESL and World Language Department for Herricks Public Schools, New York. Lori is the author of Take Action: Lesson Plans for the Multicultural Classroom and Voices of Diversity: Stories, Activities and Resources for the Multicultural Classroom, as well as several Spanish-language books and texts. Her interactive website (miscositas.com) offers teachers over 40 virtual picture books and other curricular materials for teaching Chinese, English, French, Indonesian, Italian, Spanish and Thai. Her areas of research and curriculum development are multicultural and diversity education, folktales in the language classroom and technology in language teaching. You can read her answers here and submit your own question for any of our experts here.

]]> http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-what-is-a-good-bilingual-resource-for-homeschooling-moms/feed/ 1 Ask an Expert: Can you suggest Spanish language books for elementary-age kids? http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-can-you-suggest-spanish-language-books-for-elementary-age-kids/ http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-can-you-suggest-spanish-language-books-for-elementary-age-kids/#comments Wed, 14 Apr 2010 07:01:46 +0000 Expert http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=7766

The topic of reading in Spanish to our kids is always a loved one. Today’s Ask an Expert is an excellent resource for parents with elementary-age children that need advice finding suitable books for them.  The question was sent by Lizette.

“My son is in a Spanish dual immersion school. He is in 4th grade and we need more of a variety of Spanish books starting at that grade level. Any suggestions?”

Hi Lizette,

How fantastic that your son is in a dual-language immersion school. We need more of those in the U.S.! There are many wonderful books and resources in Spanish that are available online and through specialty catalogues.

  • America Reads Spanish- On this site you can download a free pdf version of the excellent guide entitled: The Essential Guide to Spanish Reading for Children and Young Adults. This book contains annotated bibliographies for books recommended by teachers and librariarians. Unfortunately, the titles are organized alphabetically, but you can search the pdf by age/grade level. You can also download The Essential Guide to Spanish Reading which has a listing of librarian’s 500 Top Picks for a core Spanish collection (this volume might be helpful to share with your son’s school librarian).
  • Santillana USA- This publisher is another excellent resource for books – especially for dual language programs. Some of the recommendations for upper elementary school include:
  • Brocha y Pincel: Libraries offer a compilation of award-winning author Alma Flor Ada’s best-selling books in English & Spanish. Libraries include audio CDs with author readings and authentic music.
  • Colección Animales de las Amércias: Books in this dual-language series offer students a nonfiction article and an entertaining fictional story about an endangered animal of the Western Hemisphere.
  • Stories to Celebrate Dual-language Kit: Fiction/Nonfiction dual language kit for young readers. This collection develops respect and an appreciation for differences, traditions, and culture. Fiction and nonfiction selections help familiarize students with narrative and expository texts.
  • Children’s Book Press-This is one of my all-time favorite publishers of multicultural and bilingual literature for children (and they’re nonprofit, too!) They have fantastic books in Spanish and English.

My favorite bilingual titles include:

•    Friends from the Other Side/Amigos del otro lado (Written by Gloria Anzaldúa, Illustrated by Consuelo Méndez): Prietita befriends a boy who has crossed the border with his mother to find a new life. But what will she do when the border patrol cruises by?

•    A Movie in My Pillow/Una película en mi almohada (Written by Jorge Argueta, Illustrated by Elizabeth Gómez): This groundbreaking book addresses immigration during the Salvadoran civil war from a child’s perspective. A poet recalls childhood memories of life in his homeland and in his new home, San Francisco.

•    My Diary From Here to There/Mi diario de aquí hasta allá (Written by Amada Irma Pérez, Illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez): Amada’s family moves from Mexico to California, where greater opportunity awaits. As she and her family travel north, Amada keeps a diary of her hopes, fears, and dreams.

•    My Very Own Room/Mi propio cuartito (Written by Amada Irma Pérez, Illustrated by Maya Christina Gonzalez): Five little brothers, two parents, and a house full of visiting relatives make Amada feel crowded. She loves her family, but how can she get a little space of her own?

•    Super Cilantro Girl/La Superniña del Cilantro (Written by Juan Felipe Herrera, Illustrations by Honorio Robledo Tapia): What happens when a small girl suddenly starts turning green, as green as a cilantro leaf, and grows to be fifty feet tall? She becomes Super Cilantro Girl, and can overcome all obstacles, thats what!

•    The Woman Who Outshone the Sun/La mujer que brillaba aún más que el sol (Written by Rosalma Zubizarreta, Harriet Rohmer, David Schecter, From a poem by Alejandro Cruz Martinez, Illustrated by Fernando Olivera): There’s something different about Lucia, so the villagers treat her cruelly and force her to leave town. When the river follows her, the villagers realize their mistake.

I hope this helps, Lizette. There are so many excellent books out there… Kudos to you for supporting your son in his language learning! Happy reading!

What are some of your kids’ favorite bilingual books?

Lori Langer de Ramirez.- -Bilingual educator who began her career as a teacher of Spanish, French and ESL. She holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics and a Doctorate in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is currently the Chairperson of the ESL and World Language Department for Herricks Public Schools, New York. Lori is the author of Take Action: Lesson Plans for the Multicultural Classroom and Voices of Diversity: Stories, Activities and Resources for the Multicultural Classroom, as well as several Spanish-language books and texts. Her interactive website (miscositas.com) offers teachers over 40 virtual picture books and other curricular materials for teaching Chinese, English, French, Indonesian, Italian, Spanish and Thai. Her areas of research and curriculum development are multicultural and diversity education, folktales in the language classroom and technology in language teaching. You can read her answers here and submit your own question for any of our experts here.

]]> http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-can-you-suggest-spanish-language-books-for-elementary-age-kids/feed/ 5 Ask an Expert: I want my child to learn three languages at the same time http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-i-want-my-child-to-learn-three-languages-at-the-same-time/ http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-i-want-my-child-to-learn-three-languages-at-the-same-time/#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:01:24 +0000 Expert http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=5847
Today on Ask an Expert we´re trying out something for the first time: We gave two bilingual experts the same question and asked them each to answer it from their specific area of expertise. The result is what we feel a broader piece of extremely useful advice. Last week Dr. Ellen Stubbe Kester, Ph.D. answered Leslie´s question through the lens of her expertise in bilingual speech therapy. Today, Lori Langer Ramirez answers the same question as a multicultural and diversity in the classroom expert.

“Does it hurt the child’s development to emphasize more than one language? I am bilingual in both Chinese and English and my husband only speaks English. My baby goes to a daycare that speaks Chinese to him. However, since we live in CA, I wanted to expose the baby to Spanish as well, which I am proficient in but no expert. We read Spanish story books as well as Chinese ones and I speak Chinese to him when I am alone with him (since my husband only understands and speaks a little Chinese, I was worried it wasn’t fair to him to speak it all the time around the house when he’s there). We also occasionally read other language picture books for fun – like French even though I can’t be sure of the pronunciation. Is being too exposed to multiple languages weakening his grasp of Chinese? I’m not worried about English since he’ll get that at school and around our friends since everyone but my family and at daycare speaks English.”

Dear Leslie,

It doesn’t hurt a child’s development at all to emphasize more than one language. In fact, many studies show that in the long run, bilingual children often out-score their peers on standardized tests in school! It is a wonderful gift that you are giving your son… keep speaking to him in Chinese as often as you can. In fact, it’s totally fine for you to continue speaking Chinese to your son even when your husband is around. Obviously, the common language of the home will be English.

As for adding Spanish, it is great to expose him to yet a third language, but you might want to do it through a third party – either a kiddie class or an online language learning/play website, and through YouTube videos. Research seems to favor the native speaker parent of a language speaking that language almost exclusively to the child. Since you are one of the main sources for Chinese in his life, it would be best for you to speak Chinese, your husband English, and then introduce Spanish through a website or even a Spanish-speaking friend.  Here are some fun websites to try:

And some great YouTube videos:

Good luck!

Lori Langer

Lori Langer de Ramirez – Bilingual educator who began her career as a teacher of Spanish, French and ESL. She holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics and a Doctorate in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University. She is currently the Chairperson of the ESL and World Language Department for Herricks Public Schools, New York. Lori is the author of Take Action: Lesson Plans for the Multicultural Classroom and Voices of Diversity: Stories, Activities and Resources for the Multicultural Classroom, as well as several Spanish-language books and texts (Cuéntame – Folklore y Fábulas and Mi abuela ya no está). Her interactive website (miscositas.com) offers teachers over 40 virtual picture books and other curricular materials for teaching Chinese, English, French, Indonesian, Italian, Spanish and Thai. Her areas of research and curriculum development are multicultural and diversity education, folktales in the language classroom and technology in language teaching. You can read her answers here.

]]> http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-expert-i-want-my-child-to-learn-three-languages-at-the-same-time/feed/ 3 Ask an Expert:How Can I encourage my 11 and 9 year olds to speak Spanish? http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-experthow-can-i-encourage-my-11-and-9-year-olds-to-speak-spanish/ http://spanglishbaby.com/ask-an-expert/ask-an-experthow-can-i-encourage-my-11-and-9-year-olds-to-speak-spanish/#comments Mon, 17 Aug 2009 07:01:47 +0000 Expert http://www.spanglishbaby.com/?p=5302 Photo by allspice1

Photo by allspice1

No matter which method we´re using to raise our children bilingually, we all know that once the majority language takes over their lives we ´ll be facing the true challenge to keep them motivated to speak the minority language at home and when necessary.

Today´s Ask an Expert question was sent by a mom, Sandra Salazar, who´s facing the realization that she neglected encouraging Spanish at home with her two older boys once they started refusing to speak it and is concerned the same doesn´t happen with her little one.  This is an issue I´m sure we can all identify with.  We want to applaud Sandra for knowing it´s never too late to seek advice or to motivate the use of her heritage language with her sons.

Here to answer Sandra´s question is Lori Langer de Ramirez, bilingual educator who began her career as a teacher of Spanish, French and ESL. She holds a Master’s Degree in Applied Linguistics and a Doctorate in Curriculum and Teaching from Teachers College, Columbia University.  If you want to learn more about Lori please click here to read her previous entries and visit her interactive website, MisCositas.

How Can I encourage my 11 and 9 year olds to speak Spanish?

“I was happy to find you guys!!. I have three boys: 11, 9 and 20 months. My 11 and 9 year olds don’t speak Spanish, they only understand it. I hate myself to have let this happen. I only spoke Spanish to my firstborn but when he entered preschool he switched to only English and I let him. Then my middle would only speak English because his brother would speak to him in English. Now that I have realized my mistake I ask them to try to talk in Spanish but, of course, they refuse.  I would love to put them in lessons but they are too expensive. I am so sad and I hope it´s not too late. Also, I don’t want to make the same mistake with my little one. Please help me!!!. Both my husband and I speak fluent Spanish. Thank you so much!!!”

HI Sandra! I totally understand your feeling guilty about your sons’ proficiency in Spanish. I often feel the same way.

Lori Langer

Lori Langer de Ramirez, Ed.D

My husband is a native Spanish speaker and I am a native speaker of English. When my son was born we agreed to split the language duties: he would speak Spanish and I would speak English. Well… as you noticed in your own experience, it’s not that easy to maintain Spanish in an English-language environment. With strong influences like school, TV and friends speaking English, it’s easy to let Spanish lapse. At this point, our son understands Spanish perfectly, but his production is not nearly as strong as it is in English. What to do?

I would recommend that both you and your husband simply speak Spanish to all your boys – no matter what. The family language can be Spanish, even if the boys respond in English. Little by little, try introducing fun videos or TV in Spanish to the boys. If at all possible, try to spend a summer in a Spanish-speaking country (this is reported to do wonders for kids!). Praise your boys at any attempt to use their Spanish. Don’t be discouraged, it’s not too late!

In lieu of lessons, you can go online for fun activities and websites dedicated to language learning. For the 9 and 11 year-olds, try:

For the little one, just keep it up with Spanish, read to him, etc. Again, don’t be discouraged, it’s not too late! Buena suerte!

We invite you to click on the Ask an Expert tab in the navigation menu to meet the panel, learn more about their areas of expertise and to send us your question.

Do you have any thoughts or words of advice for Sandra?  They’re always welcomed!

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