“Au revoir,” my daughter finally said to the owner of our neighborhood French bakery recently as we were leaving after getting our fill of the most yummy, buttery croissants and perfectly baked quiche Lorraine. I was beaming. She’s known how to say goodbye in French for a while now, but she always refuses to say it when I prod…I wonder why? We go to the bakery at least once every two weeks, after I pick her up from preschool .Read More ...
3 (Overlooked) Ways of Exposing Kids to the Minority Language
Using Music to Learn About Heritage
As I was rummaging through some baby toys and books getting them ready for Santiago, who just turned five months and is so much more interested in all kinds of things, I came across a CD of lullabies that I received as a gift from one of my mother’s sisters in Mexico. I immediately remembered how lucky my kids are to have family in South Latin America that can help them appreciate their culture even more through amazing examples. TheRead More ...
Loss of the Heritage Language
I don’t know why, but lately I’ve been bombarded by information related to the loss of heritage languages in this country. It probably has to do with the fact that I’m currently working on a newspaper story about how some second–or even third–generation immigrants who were not taught Spanish by their parents are choosing to do the opposite with their children. I recently found out my husband works with somebody who was born in Mexico, but moved to Colorado whenRead More ...
Video of the Week: Sid el Niño Científico
It’s extremely gratifying when I get word that a respected brand and/or company has taken the decision to create materials which are relevant to our Spanish-English bilingual children. It’s one more step towards creating the awareness that our children are growing up in a global and diverse community with its own set of needs. That’s why I was excited to find out that KCET, local public TV station for Central and Southern California, and The Jim Henson Company have teamedRead More ...
5 Ways to Promote Language Learning Outside the Home
This post was originally published on February 18, 2009. One of the biggest challenges we face in our bilingual journey is being consistent and finding ways to nurture the minority language outside the home. No matter which method your family chooses to use–OPOL (One Parent, One Language) or mL@H (Minority Language at Home)–it’s important to have resources and strategies to immerse your child in the second language in fun and playful ways. I know, for a fact, that my daughter,Read More ...
























