I volunteer in my boys’ classrooms when I can, and we make a point of going to school events. One of my favorite things to do when it comes to school, though, is just hang out. They’re still young enough to get excited when I have a day off and can come have lunch with them in the cafeteria, and when I pick them up at aftercare on the early side, I like sitting with them and the other kids at the table while they finish writing and drawing, or wrapping up games of chess and Connect Four.

In the beginning, I got a lot of strange looks from their classmates — because I would sit down and chat with my sons in Spanish. The confusion, though, immediately gave way to curiosity and I was peppered with questions. What language is that? Is that Spanish? I didn’t know they spoke Spanish. Where are you from? Do you speak any other languages? And they listened attentively to my answers. The boys and I only speak Spanish at home. I lived in another country when I was a little girl. I only spoke Spanish with my mother. My job is helping people who speak different languages understand each other. I learned French, too, in France and in Africa.

The part I didn’t expect, and the part I love the most, is that after the questions the floodgates open and I get to hear all about their experiences. My parents went to Costa Rica once! I spent the summer in Russia with my grandparents. I learned my numbers in Spanish in preschool. I love listening to them, and I love building on their questions. Okay, let me hear your numbers. Did you learn your colors, too? Do you know how to say “school” in Spanish? And on and on we go.

In their eyes, I have become The Mom Who Speaks Spanish, and I like it. There are a few children who I know speak at least some Spanish at home, and I’ve taken to only speaking Spanish to them, as well. I think of the adults who encouraged me when I was little and I wonder if some day it might make the tiniest bit of a difference. At the very least, I hope some of them might get excited about languages.

I was walking out of school one day last week and one of the second-grade boys came running after me. “Mrs. Lane? I forgot to tell you the other day that my grandmother used to be a Spanish teacher.” I smile at him and start asking questions. Do you know what grade she taught? Did she teach it in grade school or high schoolers? That is so cool, I’m glad you told me.

I am The Mom Who Speaks Spanish.

{Photo by woodleywonderworks}

Autumn is here, and that means it’s time to look at some of the issues facing parents of school-age bilingual children.

Our kids are in school, and every day we ask the usual question: “How was school today?”

Their unchanging reply: “Good.”

Keeping the Bilingual Focus

Like most parents raising their children bilingually, we always want them to talk more in the minority language.

Unless your children attend a bilingual or immersion school, their minority language probably isn’t used during the school day.

That means that the parents need to bring the language back into use as soon as the kids get home!

Open-Ended vs. Close-Ended Questions

Conversation with small children requires a lot of prompting.

Drawing your children out, especially in a minority language, requires you to understand the difference between open and closed questions:

• Closed-ended questions only have a limited number of responses. Yes/no questions are closed questions, as are questions that present limited options, such as “Do you want to read your book or go outside and play?”

• Open or open-ended questions do not have a limited number of replies. They require the child to imagine a new response of his or her own.

Most advice will tell you to focus on open-ended questions as a way to develop your child’s speech abilities. Making up a reply requires more language use than repeating something you’ve said to the child, so open questions are more interactive.

For bilingual children, however, it’s important to remember their limits and to use a mixture of questions. Simple, closed questions can be a good way of easing them into the use of their minority language.

How to Draw Your Child Out in a Second Language

Our system for asking our children about school is built around a mixture of closed and open-ended questions:

• First, we ask short, positive questions or statements for the child to confirm: “Wow, that is a lot of drawings you did!”

• Next, we offer a closed question that uses school-specific vocabulary: “Did you go to the special class with the art teacher or did you stay with Mrs. Hanes?

• After that, we stay on the same topic, but ask an open-ended question: “What did you like most about the art class?”

• When they reply using a mixture of languages or the majority language, I make sure to restate their reply entirely in their minority language: “Oh, the big picture of flowers on the wall was your favorite? I like flowers too.”

• Finally, we finish off with a positive, exciting statement: “What a wonderful day you’ve had!”

This helps start our children with easy answers, then moves them into newer and more school-specific vocabulary, and finally leaves them feeling good about their conversation in their minority language!

You can’t always come up with an exciting question every day, but keep at it — and don’t be afraid to use toys or playtime to slip the questions in! Sometimes your child would rather tell Batman or Barbie what he or she did at school than talk to you about it. Encourage them to do it in their minority language, and then sit back and let them run the show.

Olena Centeno a Ukrainian who lives in USA, a happy mom of three wonderful kids ages 2 to 9 and a wife to the great man. She speaks three languages herself and is raising her kids to be multilingual in English, Russian, Ukrainian and Spanish. She founded Bilingual Kids Rock where she helps families on their bilingual journey. She also enjoys photography and video making as a way to preserve precious moments of life.You can connect with her at bilingualkidsrock.com

Editor’s note: We normally don’t publish anonymous posts, but considering the sensitivity of the issue discussed in the one below, we decided it was the best route to take. 

My son started kindergarten at our local school this September. When registering him for his classes, it was necessary to lie about our home language use. Being a teacher, I am well aware of what happens to children who are identified as English Language Learners (ELL). Students are often pulled out of their classes and tested repeatedly until they satisfy some requirement set by the state or the district. There is also the risk of ELL students being placed in dumbed-down English as a Second Language class or even a “slow” class. There is the misperception that students who speak another language at home are not as proficient in English and would be unable to keep up with the brighter students.

I am not advocating that classes for English Language Learners are not necessary. They can be very valuable and helpful for children who are new to the United States, but that is not the case with my children. Although our home language is not English, my children were born and raised in the United States and even attended pre-school in English. They are completely fluent in Spanish, English and German, but yet, had I been honest when registering my son for kindergarten, he would have been labeled an English Language Learner (ELL). He would be regularly pulled from his normal class to be tested on his English proficiency, and he would be tracked as an ELL student for years into his education. His placement in classes in subsequent grades would be influenced by his bilingualism.

To avoid of all this, I simply lied. I wrote that our home language was English, and until all of the myths and misperceptions surrounding the speaking of other languages are cleared up, I will continue to do so.

It is amazing how behind the United States is when it comes to foreign language education. It is absurd that the public education system often waits until the students are in high school to start learning a language, when it is often much harder for a learner. Young children have the ability to acquire language naturally without being forced to memorize vocabulary and analyze a new grammar system. More and more studies are emerging pointing to the benefits of speaking two languages.

Hopefully the recent publicity surrounding the benefits of bilingualism will change the public perception of speaking and learning another language, and the learning of other languages will become a desired skill to acquire. Maybe by then, the American school system will catch-up. Until that time, I will continue to lie about the languages we speak at home so that my children will avoid the consequences of speaking Spanish.

{Image by woodleywonderworks}

You are probably wondering what happens inside a dual-language classroom and how similar or different it is from an all-English classroom.

In every school that I have had the pleasure of working at, the first few days go in a predictable manner: excited and nervous students walking through the doors of new classrooms, parents worried about what the new school year may bring, and teachers wondering what his/her new class will be like. Teachers prepare for weeks by brainstorming ways to present new material and writing lesson plans. As a matter of fact, I spent countless hours trying to cover all areas before diving into my dual-language adventure. I survived my first week and I am both happy and excited for the days to come.

While many of my posts have been geared towards what parents can do at home to support their children in their bilingual and bicultural adventure, I thought it would be interesting to share something that happened in my classroom this week. I call it confirmation of an “a-ha moment.”

Coming back from lunch on Wednesday last week, my class was getting ready to work on science. Since I am a fourth grade teacher, I teach 60% of the day in Spanish and the remaining 40% in English. I have divided my schedule so that English instruction takes place after lunch.

After all my students settled in, I told them in English what our next hour would look like. All of a sudden, one of my students raised her hand and shared how relieved she felt about switching to English. While I did not ask my student to elaborate, her comment was definitely something that stuck in my head. Once school was over, and my students were getting ready to go home, I chatted with my student and asked what she meant by being relieved of receiving instruction in English. She did not hesitate for a second and replied, “Well, when we are learning in Spanish I just feel that my brain needs to work twice as hard… it is hard to explain, but I just feel like I am working really, really hard.” I asked a few more questions and our conversation ended.

However, I could not stop thinking about the way she felt and how she described her ‘brain’ being in overdrive. Honestly — I loved it. If learning in two languages means her brain is working harder than it would just learning in one, then I have confirmed once again that dual-language is the way to go. Which takes me to my next couple of questions:

Have you thought for a moment what it is like to learn in a two-way immersion program?

Has your child shared with you how she/he feels about learning in this type of environment?

I would love to hear from parents/guardians/other family members about this. I am really curious about your experiences and conversations with your child.

Much love,

Kelly

{Photo by departmentofed}

When should academic centered schooling begin? This has been the question I have been grappling with for weeks. My daughter is not quite 3 and was accepted to a private dual language school for this coming fall where academics and inquiry-based learning is at the heart of what they do. This past January is also when we switched her to an “English school” where a play curriculum is at the heart of how children’s curiosity is nurtured. She is emotionally and socially thriving there and learning English fast, hence our interest to switch her to a Spanish school as soon as possible.

As I have gone to several observations at the dual language school I cannot help but compare the difference in the ways children are taught to think and socialize between the two schools. At the dual language school children are definitely being asked and taught how to be free thinkers, but at my daughters current child development center she gets to do what 2+ year olds love to do: get their hands dirty and have options of when and how they want to play no matter what time of day it is. In other words, if they want to paint all day, painting all day it is whether they are inside or out on the playground. I am not sure I am willing to give that playful and creative atmosphere up, yet. I am not sure she is either.

One of the struggles I have had on my search for the ideal foreign language school is finding one where there is both a strong foreign language program, yet flexibility in the options children have to learn. A trend I started to notice, at least in my city, was that the foreign language schools were stricter with children’s behavior. For example, it was impossible to find a Spanish immersion or dual language Montessori-based school. One has recently opened up, and I have yet to visit, although it is far from our home. In other words, the options are definitely limited.

I also started to notice how many parents seemed sold on a school based on the reputation it has and are willing to leave a hefty deposit not having visited a single classroom! Maybe I am over analyzing our school options, but what I have concluded that a parents main concern should be, how will the current school meet the needs of my child from an academic perspective, socially and emotionally?

For example, I have learned that my child learns best in a setting that offers lots of socialization and options. It is in those settings where she seems to be developing her intellectual curiosity and emotional well. That is to say, as parents we should be concerned about our children’s overall academic, social, emotional, linguistic and psychological development and in which context those elements are likely to prosper.  A challenging task but one I have decided to continue to try and fulfill even if it means deferring our acceptance to a highly sought out school until our daughter is a little older.

Have you grappled with a similar decision? If so, how did you decide on what kind of school to choose for your child? In other words, were you willing to give up a certain characteristic of a school for another?

{Image by  woodleywonderworks}

It was a Monday afternoon, my husband and I were in the kitchen watching an episode of House Hunters International, we turned to look at each other and our eyes said it all, at that moment we decided to grab our children and go on an adventure.

From the moment we knew we were going to be parents, my husband and I knew that our children would be bilingual. But at that time we did not imagine how challenging it would be to live and nurture our children in a multicultural and bilingual environment.

The language that my children learned first was Spanish, obviously, as they were with me all the time, little by little we started using the  OPOL method by chance, everything was fine until my oldest son started school and decided he did not want to speak Spanish anymore. When my second child made his appearance, the favorite language to communicate between them was English.

I didn’t stop reading to them in Spanish, putting music in Spanish and introducing Spanish to them as it presented in our lives, however, despite my efforts, English was winning.

When my husband and I decided to launch into the adventure of living in another country for a few months, we did not hesitate, we decided to go to Mexico. I left my country in 2001 and had gone back to visit only for short periods of time, the idea of living with family, enjoy the food and immerse my children in Spanish was very tempting, so we opened our arms to the world and sent out our desire…

After nearly eight months in Mexico these are three things I have learned from this experience:

Every child is different: a relative of ours and bilingual educator as well said “in five months your kids will level with other children their age and in their grade.” Yes and no, my oldest son started speaking Spanish in only five weeks! It took my younger son 5 months.

You have to be patient and then more patient: My kids were happy the first week, when they saw family, enjoyed the delicious food (and pastries) and immersed in their new surroundings. The second week was more difficult, let alone the third, when they realized they would not return to California for a while, their reaction made me doubt our decision for a moment. Listening to Spanish all day long was tiring and they felt pushed aside, not understanding what was happening around them. But nothing lasts forever, and our patience paid off.

If opportunity knocks at your door, take it: I remember that when we shared our plans with my mom she told us, “Silvia, have you thought this through?” To which I replied “Of course not, Mom! If we think it through, we’d never do it. “And this is what I like to share the most. Sometimes you have to be courageous and take a leap of faith. If not, how would you know what will happen?

We also felt fear, doubt and uncertainty, and now that we’re only a few weeks from going back to California, all these feelings seem unfounded. This experience has given our children unbelievable memories, allowed them to experience first-hand their Latino heritage, their culture, their roots. They’ve eatenpan dulce, ice cream, tacos, tostadas, fresh orange juice, quesadillas with salsa verde to the max. This experience has made them feel they are part of a Mexican family, has exposed them to a lifestyle very different from the United States, but most of all, it has made them 100% bilingual. Every time I hear their beautiful voices speak to me in Spanish, my heart swells with pride.

¡Lo logramos!

{Photo by schlaeger}

Silvia Martinez is founder of award-winning Mamalatinatips.com, a Spanish-English bilingual blog, where she writes about kids, health, fashion, beauty, Disney and yummy Mexican food. She is also Editor-in-Chief of Disneylandiaaldia.com, the first Spanish-language blog in the United States covering the Disneyland Resort. Mom to two rambunctious, bilingual boys, Silvia’s recent adventures include taking close-ups of piñata smashing, photographing tostadas before they go soggy, celebrating Dia de Muertos in Mexico, and riding Toy Story Mania at Disney’s California Adventure…nine times in-a-row!

Editor’s note: We present you another informative post full of helpful tips on things to keep in mind if you’re thinking about immersion travel. Today’s post was written by Becky Morales, one of our regular contributors, who spends summers in Mexico with her four children and who participated in our SpanglishBaby Google+ Hangout on immersion travel earlier this week. 

Have you ever thought about taking your kids abroad for the summer, as an intensive language experience? Not only would they be immersed in day-to-day language, but also they would have the incredible opportunity to learn about the culture firsthand. Planning a summer abroad and preparing to travel with young children may seem like a daunting task to undertake; while it does take a lot of work, an organized plan can help make it less overwhelming.

The first step in planning a summer abroad is to determine the location. While some of us will automatically stay with family members or friends, others might choose a completely a new location. Through word of mouth and research, narrow your choices down to a country, region, or city. We normally go to Mexico City to stay with relatives, but this year we chose the Yucatán peninsula, because there are so many places nearby we would like to experience with our children.

Next, decide if you’ll stay with friends or relatives, pay to have a homestay (living with a local family), rent an apartment, or hop from hotel to pension around the region. Think creatively about lodging:

• Would you ever consider house-swapping? There are web sites (such as HomeLink, HomeExchange, or Intervac Home Exchange) for families who would like to swap their house with someone in another country for a set amount of time.
• Check expat forums on-line, or yahoo groups dedicated to specific locations for house-sitting opportunities, especially during holidays and summer when expats frequently come back home. We found an amazing opportunity to housesit a mini-farm near Alajuela, Costa Rica. Our children were too young at the time, though I would love to do so in the future!
• Look up a local real estate agent for monthly rentals. Though uncommon in the US and some areas abroad, there are some areas where families can rent apartments by the month.

Whatever you decide, consider your transportation, and factor in public transportation into the budget. For special, longer trips we have rented a car for the day — but mostly we use taxis and local buses while abroad.

Before going abroad, decide if your or your children will be taking classes, volunteering, or just doing some slow-travel. During the summer — but remember that summer in the US is not always summer break in other countries — there are many day camps and summer schools that might interest your children.

Many of these cursos de verano are not on-line and must be found once in country. Fortunately, it isn’t always necessary to register the kids months in advance as is customary in the US. When you get to your destination, look at health clubs, park districts, community centers, dance studios, art studios, martial arts gyms, soccer camps- the possibilities are endless.

If volunteering is your goal, check out nonprofits in the area. We have visited orphanages, brought donations to schools, and this summer we’re excited to go on sea turtle patrol and participate in beach clean-ups. Volunteering gives your kids another perspective, develops empathy, and helps kids feel they are a part of something bigger.

Finally, in the months before we travel, we take out tons of guidebooks from our library to research what we want to see and do when we get there. Over dinner, our family discusses exciting day trips or cool places we want to visit while we’re there. We want to balance the different types of “field trips” because- frankly- kids get bored if you pack in all ruinas or all museos. Variety is the key: ecological/natural sights like bio-parks, river tours; places to see wildlife like reservas or snorkeling; cultural sights like a visit to a Mayan village; historical tours of an haciendas for example; pueblos, beaches, or ruins.

Are you planning an immersion travel trip this summer? What other planning tips do you have for families?

{Photo courtesy of Becky Morales}

There are two public dual language immersion elementary schools in my county, and there’s one school that offers everyday foreign language lessons, though it’s not an immersive setting. We applied for two of the three total options for next school year, when my son starts kindergarten, and just received word that he was not selected for either. We could choose to stay on the waiting list and wait for several months to have an official answer about that, but that doesn’t make it too easy to plan where we will send my stepdaughters to school (they are also at the mercy of magnet program decisions and the location of their siblings’ schools).

Of late, I have admitted to feeling that I’m slacking in the bilingual parenting arena because my son gets most of his Spanish input at his father’s house. I was hoping to at least be able to provide more support for his bilingualism by sending him to a school that emphasizes its importance, but it looks like he will have the standard school experience, at least for now.

Honestly, I’m perfectly fine with that, and even a little relieved. The more I step back from my attachment to my son, I see him as a boy that will grow into a capable man who, like all other adults, will ultimately choose if or how he wants Spanish to factor into his life. There is not necessarily a cause-effect relationship between going to a dual language school, or living in a bilingual family for that matter, and becoming a truly bilingual adult. Sure, there is a correlation, but none of us knows if our decisions directly make our kids into who they are.

I look at all my friends who were raised by parents that adamantly focused on one value or endeavor, such as a religion or a culturally derived belief. Those are the same friends who have deviated the most from the way they were raised. The more fanatical the parents were, the more curious the kids became about other ways to live. Granted, I haven’t done any formal experiments, but I have a hunch that this association is not imagined.

While I believe in bilingualism as one of the greatest gifts we can give our children, I think this same relationship may apply. We can promote the second language, model cultural acceptance, and fill their bookshelves with Spanish libros, but we certainly cannot guarantee the outcome. Some of us will be excited to see our kids gladly using Spanish every day in the future, while others may be a bit disappointed if they choose to steer away from it. Our efforts are not in vain, but those efforts need to have limits. For me, the limit is the waiting list.

There is a clear difference between exposing our kids to the things that are important to us and completely hooking our identity to their achievements. As hard as it is, I’m going to give up the fight for now and see where this random school decision will take our family. I need to follow my own instincts and not try to force Spanish into my son’s school life if it will create more stress for everyone. I’d rather stick to our regular goofing off in Spanish and letting his stepsisters read him Spanish stories for now. I never want to lose sight of my favorite parts of bilingualism – like being able to find humor in flawed translations. Little treasures like that are more valuable than any Spanish homework will ever be.

Photo from news.com.au

Lately, I have seen posts by our SpanglishBaby familia about whether or not a Spanish immersion program is the right fit for their child. Well, interestingly, it is a topic that has been something my little familia has also been debating.

Even before I had Sabrina I was scoping out our foreign language schools options. I got on several waiting lists and eventually got into all of them! In fact, I keep my nena on a rolling waiting list because you never know. I was so set on foreign language exposure that I did not even bother looking into English child development (aka day care options or mothers-day-out programs). I had my heart and eyes focused on the foreign language component that it, unfortunately, blurred my sense of vision. I lost sight of what was really important — my daughter’s well being, her happiness, and what she needed in school.

As I scoped out language schools I started to notice a trend. Most of them seem to have a stricter and more regimented program for teaching and taking care of children. I started to wonder if this had something to do with the ways children are taught and cared for in Latin American countries. I know that western/North American child rearing practices can be very different than other parts of the world, so surely this, too, affects the way children are regarding in Latin American day care centers and schools.

As I have mentioned in other posts, we love the little school Sabrina is enrolled in now. They value linguistic diversity and that, to me, is priceless. We have had to consider other options because it was now too far from our home, but to be honest, I was not entirely happy with the stricter and more regimented schedule they have in place. I won’t get into details, but I will say that I recently checked out an English school in town and walked into a whole new world.

The child was at the center of their “play-curriculum.” If my baby girl wants to paint, she can; if she wants to play with shaving cream in a water table, she can. The place seemed happy, the kids were happy, and most importantly, they were doing things that 2 and a half year olds should be doing—socializing and playing. In other words, they don’t have to wait for art time to happen in an organized, sitting in their chair, and waiting their turn fashion.

Read: Is Bilingual Education Right for Us?

Taking the initiative to look at English schools may have happened out of necessity, but deciding that sometimes Spanish does not come first was a process. We have been speaking in Spanish to Sabrina since the day she was born and have been really consistent about it. She probably knows about 90% Spanish and 10% English.

My heart was aching and tears were swelling up in my eyes when I was forced to take a closer look at the decisions we were making about exposing my daughter to Spanish almost 100% of the day. I realized that the decisions we had made were possibly costing her opportunities to just be a kid. All she wants to do is play, socialize with other kids, and do creative things. Sure she would stay in her seat, listen to the teacher, walk in a line with her hands behind her back, but she is too young to voice her opinion or even know that there are other schools available where being a 2 ½ year old comes first, then learning Spanish.

I’m curious, what are foreign language schools/day care centers like in your city? Have you compared English versus Spanish schools? If so, did you notice a difference like I did? How are you weighing your options?

{Photo by barnabywasson}

I would’ve loved nothing more than for Vanessa to have the opportunity to attend a dual language immersion program. Unfortunately, the options are few and far between in Denver, and after much debate and consideration, my husband and I decided our neighborhood elementary school was where our daughter belonged.

While I get a bit jealous every time I hear the amazing stories coming out dual language immersion schools, I’m convinced we made the right decision. Since Vanessa started Kindergarten last year, I have seen my daughter flourish in ways I never imagined. She has learned how to read and write. She has discovered math and science and believes both subjects are fun. Her curiosity has grown tenfold and her love of books has solidified. She has made a lot of friends and is excited to go to school every single morning.

But the one thing that has amazed me the most is to see my daughter become fully bilingual thanks to the amazing work of all the teachers she’s been lucky to have so far. You see, Spanish is the only language spoken in our house. It’s truly the only language my kids are exposed to when they’re not in school. While I like to say I’ve been raising bilingual children since they were born, I’ve been actually taking care of only one language: Spanish. And so, for all intents and purposes, my daughter owes her English — and thus, her bilingualism — to her teachers and her life at school.

Read more: My Bilingual Daughter’s First Year in an English-only School

I wholeheartedly believe that most teachers are unsung heroes. I owe some of my major accomplishments in life to a handful of exceptional teachers I was lucky to have along the way. Vanessa is only 6 years old, but she’s already been blessed with two dedicated and caring teachers at her elementary school who probably have no idea that Vanessa’s proficiency in English has been mostly their doing.

Whenever possible, I try to tell them how grateful I am for their selfless work. But in the wake of the unfathomable tragedy that struck Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday, I’m making a concerted effort to thank them for being so instrumental in my daughter’s bilingual upbringing… and so much more.

Have you thanked your child’s teacher lately? 

{Photo by  www.audio-luci-store.it}