There’s so much floating around the internet about New Year’s Resolutions this time of year! I don’t tend to make resolutions, but I do love setting a few goals for myself and getting myself organized. As for my boys’ bilingualism, we’ve been chugging along the status quo has been working for us, but I thought I’d take stock of things this January and maybe formally set a few goals for myself in this area, too.

So here you have it, my list of resolutions for the year:

1. Number one is obvious:  keep talking to my boys in Spanish, all the time. They are 7 now, and I still speak to them — and they answer me — in Spanish.
2. Rule number one notwithstanding, I need to limit how much I speak to them in English. I do this in two specific kinds of situations. One, I’ll occasionally speak to them in English when we are around other English speakers in order to be polite, and I do so perhaps more than I should. This year I will try to be more mindful of this, because I’m aware of the fact that it can be a slippery slope and it isn’t always necessary. The second reason I sometimes speak to them in English is much more non-negotiable. My boys, like many autistic children, are often better prepared to deal with certain situations if they can use a script, or a stock question or answer. In the past year, I’ve often found it necessary to provide them with different scripts. I don’t want to leave any room for ambiguity by providing the answer in Spanish and letting them interpret it into English, I want to give them the exact words they should use. We often tweak our scripts together and they suggest good alternatives, but they’re always in English.
3. Keep up with Spanish school on Saturdays. This is an easy one, for now. They’re in their second year there, and still love it. They even think it’s special they have Spanish school and their other classmates don’t.
4. Keep speaking Spanish to the dog. A quirky Boston Terrier puppy is the newest addition to our family, and I speak to her in Spanish. Since I do, I’ve noticed the boys do, too…it’s funny hearing them use the same diminutives, commands and regañadas with her that I do. I don’t know that I’d recommend going to the extreme of getting a dog to motivate your children to speak a second language, but it’s a nice side benefit.
5. Keep my technology close. I’m hoping to find a few good, age-appropriate TV shows in Spanish, though the boys are much more into video games this year. The iPhone is still one of my closest allies. I have a great bilingual dictionary on it and look up vocabulary for my boys when they ask me how to say something in Spanish, several times a day. Their interests are becoming so specific that I often can’t come up with the words they are looking for — piranha shoal, pyroclastic flow — on my own.
6. Take advantage of more cultural events in our area. We’ll see how I do with this one — again, autism makes it kind of tricky. Last year I came home with a flier for a Hispanic Heritage Month festival and excitedly showed it to the boys. Music! Singing! Traditional foods and games! After I finished telling them about it, Secondo said, simply, “No quiero ir. Habrá mucha gente y demasiado ruido.” And when I think back to the days of speech delays and unexplained tantrums and remember feeling like I would give anything if only they could tell me what was wrong in any language, well, I’m just so blown away and happy that he can express himself so clearly that I respect his wishes. Sometimes they can be persuaded if I prepare them in advance (our recent ice skating outing, for example, was a huge hit), but I tend not to push the issue.
7. Find more good books in Spanish. We had such a wealth of wonderful picture books in Spanish when they were going through that stage, but they’re moving on to chapter books now, and though we have many translations of English classics, I’d love to find more books written in Spanish for older children. And although they’re really into nonfiction, I feel like none of the books we have in Spanish can compete with the many beautiful National Geographic books of facts and atlases we own.
8. Give myself some credit. We all should. I know it’s easy to think that I’m not doing enough, that there’s always something else I could do to ensure my boys bilingualism, that I know people who are doing more. But I’m doing what I can, and so far, so good.

{photo by Esparta}

En el nuevo año, vamos a hablar más español. Vamos a cantar canciones en español. Vamos a leer más libros en español. En el nuevo año we are going to bring español into each part of the day, even if it means we are speaking Spanglish, even if it means we are little bit confused, even if it means we have to consult Google Translate.

It is so easy to forget to speak Spanish when I am the lone native speaker in the house. After a long day of working in English, my mind gets stuck in the rut of English and my palabras en español are nowhere to be found. But in 2012, I saw that unless I remain committed to OPOL, it doesn’t work. This “one parent one language” thing is not easy, but it’s also not that hard, and it’s free, so while I can, I know I need to get las palabras flowing, no matter how tired I am.

For 2013, there are some things I need to recommit to in order to foster our bilingualism:

• Español primero: When naming something for the first time, I will do it in Spanish. Kids seem to remember that initial naming more than any other. So if I name the “frog,” it seems to be much harder to rename it “sapo” later on. This means pausing for a moment to find the right palabra, but it is so worth it!
• Español en la calle: Living in Los Angeles, it’s easy to find places where Spanish is spoken. We need to spend more time in those places.
• Spanish play: There are good options for summer immersion camps and classes. This summer, those will be at the top of our list.
• Model in Spanish: Our kids watch what we do. I’ve gotten much better at speaking in Spanish to Spanish-speakers outside of the home, but sometimes when I can’t find the right word, I slip into English. I’m trying to get more comfortable with my stumbling Spanish. If they don’t see me willing to stumble, they won’t be willing to either.
• Revive the Spanglish playgroup! Even in situations with Spanish-speaking moms and babies, we forget to speak Spanish. I’ve got to remember to make Spanish our default language.
• Settle for felicidad! Sometimes I get bummed out that we aren’t as fluent as I had hoped, but it occurred to me the other day that a lot of people don’t learn a second language until high school and still reach fluency. As long as my girls are getting a taste of Spanish and developing positive association with Spanish, that’s okay.

 
What are your Spanglish Resolutions for 2013?

{Photo by  Keneth Cruz }