With the rise of dual language education in the U.S., have bilingual children become a commodity? In other words, are children who walk into the dual language classroom already speaking two languages possessing a highly valued commodity: bilingualism? The question, though, still remains, whose bilingualism is valued? Is it the “middle class” students bilingualism or is it those students who come from “lower class” homes?

To distinguish between “middle” and “lower” I’d like to clarify how I am referring to the two kinds of bilinguals. There are those whose parents have a formal education and belong to a certain (higher) economic bracket and those whose parents have a limited formal education and come from lower economic brackets, generally speaking. Both bilinguals are what we, in academia, call heritage-speakers of a minority language (like Spanish).

This past week my little girl completed her first year at Escuelita del Alma. At the end of each year the escuelita (little school) puts on a recital where each classroom dances to a Spanish song. The theme was “Los Insectos….and Other Little Critters.” One of the many reasons why I love and chose this escuelita for my daughter is because they value linguistic diversity. As you can see in the very title of the production there is a code-switch: Spanish and English are used in a single phrase. I love that because it reflects a common linguistic feature (code-switching) of the bilingual community we live in here in central Texas.

In an earlier post I wrote about my experience while visiting another Spanish immersion school before deciding where my daughter would attend. It was at that other school where I was informed “We don’t use Tex-Mex here.” What they failed to realize is the importance in being able to communicate with members of our local community, in addition to being able to perform linguistically in academic settings, like the classroom. For this reason I decided to enroll my daughter elsewhere, but also because they insulted a key feature of my linguistic repertoire!

My parents were or would be categorized as lower class Mexican immigrants and I was/am a heritage-speaker of Spanish, though when I was in elementary school in the 80’s dual language education was not an option. Now, I am a middle-class and highly educated parent of a daughter I am raising with multiple languages.

I presume her multilingualism will be a highly valued commodity as local schools try to fill dual language classrooms with “native” Spanish-speakers. What I will continue to strive for, as a parent and academic, is placing greater value in the varying ways people use Spanish and English like we do in central Texas!

A few months ago I let my Facebook friends know that Sabrina used three languages in one day for the first time! This, of course, was a milestone because we have been speaking entirely in Spanish to her, though she hears English daily, and is exposed to French in very contrived settings, like through read alouds and French children’s videos.

Before our daughter was born, almost two years ago, we decided to attempt to raise her with three languages. Most people we have met that are trilingual, in addition to the research I have done, either lived in different countries where they had the opportunity to learn three languages or each of their parents spoke a different language. Our situation is unique in that my husband and I are bilingual, yet we do not live in a country where a third language spoken is an official language. In other words, we decided to add a third language into the mix because, while there are social and cognitive benefits, we thought if monolinguals can successfully raise bilingual children, then why can’t bilinguals raise a trilingual child?

I have a clear plan in mind, although I have to admit I ran into some roadblocks. For instance, part of my initial plan was to enroll Sabrina in French immersion summer camps, although the only French immersion school I could find in our city requires full-time enrollment, which I am not ready to do yet. We continue to stay on their waiting list, though we realize Sabrina may not get full French immersion until she is at least three years old.

The following list are strategies we have incorporated to expose Sabrina to her third language:

1) Children’s Books in French! My husband reads them to her before bedtime. *He lived in Switzerland for 4 years and speaks some French.

2) Little Pim. We watch the videos in French and review the vocabulary flash cards.

3) Petralingua: We use their songs to learn vocabulary.

Though the list is short, she is picking up the vocabulary and using the words she knows in the appropriate contexts. For instance, we were in the produce section of the grocery store and she said “une fruit” while pointing to apples. She is also using the French word for teddy bear “nonours” and “poupée” for doll when referring to her toys. The next strategy we are going to implement includes attending French read alouds of children’s books. I learned that The French Legation Museum in Austin occasionally has a read aloud session in French for children!

There is a part of me that wonders how trilingual she will become and how many other limitations we will face since it is not a language we both know well, nor is it a language that is predominately spoken in our city, like Spanish. What I have come to realize is that becoming bilingual or trilingual is a privilege and that many children do not have that option. Worse yet, children who grow up speaking two languages and are not from middle or upper class backgrounds don’t seem to get the recognition for being able to speak, say Spanish and English, like those that do! I believe that part of my work as a mother and as an educator includes making sure all children have the option of learning another language in addition to making sure that those who grow up as heritage language learners are also valued for the language skills they bring to the classroom.

{Image by Patricia Oliveira} 

There are two things my mother-in-law and I had decided before Sabrina was born. The first was that she would be called Oma (abuelita in German) because she very much identifies with her German roots. Her family immigrated in the late 18^th century to the United States via Russia. Both her parents (Sabrina’s bisabuelos) first language was German.

The second thing we had decided was that she, being the Oma or second generation German-American, would speak to her in English and Abuelito would speak to her in Spanish. Recently, I noticed that my mother-in-law was starting to speak in Spanish and English to Sabrina. In the middle of noticing this it occurred to me that she might be worried about Sabrina not understanding her! When I asked her she responded, to my surprise, “I am afraid Sabrina doesn’t know me because she doesn’t understand English,” which is the very reason why we had decided to teach her Spanish! We want her to know her family’s roots. We want her to know that she is Latina. We want her to see and interpret the world with at least two languages: Spanish and English. We want her to embrace both her Mexican and Ecuadorian heritage, but in the midst of focusing on the minority language I, in a way, forgot that she, too, has a German history.

I think it is interesting to note that immigration in our country has always had different waves throughout history. At the turn of the century there were many immigrants that came from different European countries. During WWII German-speaking individuals were stigmatized for obvious reasons (i.e., holocaust), which resulted in German language schools to, essentially, shut down. In other words, many, many immigrants follow the same pattern of losing their native language by the second and third generations. I could go on about how the Latino immigration experience is very different and almost not comparable to the European immigrant experience at the turn of the century, but that would require a whole new post.

On our most recent trip to La Miranda (what we call la casa de los abuelitos) I found myself saying to Sabrina “La Oma habla inglés” or “El abuelito habla español” which was such a rewarding thing to have to say since we have been making a huge effort to only speak to her in Spanish. As my bebita continues to learn the intricacies of language-use, I am certain that what she is also picking up on are the messages we send, and to a large degree messages that take precedence over oral language, which are those we express with a smile, a hug, a kiss, or a caress — the language of love.

photo by: Enokson

I have made several moves to guarantee my daughter learns Spanish and French. To start, when I was pregnant I made sure to only buy books in Spanish or French. I was also happy to accept hand me downs of books, toys, or clothes from friends and family. One of the large boxes of inherited goods included books – very exciting, until, to my dismay, I opened it up and noticed they were all in English! I decided to keep them because I didn’t have many books, but also because Sabrina was only 3 months old when I got them. Now that she is 1 ½ years old her vocabulary seems to be developing at a rapid pace and she is starting to label objects she sees in books, like globo, bebe, and mama. She is also repeating words we say to her or with each other during our day-to-day interactions.

While at a social gathering recently I met a parent of one of the bilingual students I have been in contact with as I have been collecting data in a dual language school. I complimented the parent on how well her daughter seemed to speak Spanish and English. Although I know a lot of what it takes to raise a bilingual child, I had to ask her, what have you been doing to guarantee she speaks both languages? She said that one of the things, other than speaking strictly Spanish to her, she and her husband (a non-native speaker of Spanish) have been consistent about is only allowing books written in Spanish in their home.

Within days I had grabbed all of the English children’s books I had in our home (none of which were purchased by me) and placed them in a bag to be given away. I thought to myself as I was carrying the bag to my car, “English books be gone!” I started thinking that maybe I was being a little dramatic and that it also felt like I was banning books – not really something I believe in nor do I want to instill a negative attitude toward English.

That being said, within days of getting rid of the English books I found myself at a local book store searching for children’s books in Spanish or French to replace the ones I had given away. Here’s my rationale for what could be interpreted as an extreme reaction. English is everywhere. Sabrina will learn to speak, read, and write in English. There is not a single fiber in my body that doubts this. As she develops her sense of language and as she goes through school we will be fighting for the consistent exposure of Spanish (let alone French) in her everyday life. Removing books written in English from our home is only one of the many, and I would argue smaller, battles we will face in our attempt to raise a trilingual child.

How have you created an environment for your child that supports learning a minority language? Would you go as far as getting read of all children’s books in English?

photo by : USAG-Humphreys

If learning more than one language were a product, and some would argue that it is, I think the label would read something like this, Trilingualism: the key to the past, present, and future!

My bebita has reached the phase (17+ months) where the use of language is supposed to take off. That being said, I have gotten a little obsessed with trying to count the number of words she can say or comprehend but does not verbalize, yet. I learned that the majority of the words she can verbalize are in Spanish—success! The number of English words, French words, and words she can sign happen to be equal in number—hmm!

To be honest, I wasn’t completely surprised. After extensively reading about trilingual development I learned that being consistent about the amount of exposure to each language is key to acquiring all languages at a nearly equal rate. Fortunately, we have a plan, but still, as any parent trying to teach their baby more than one language this can be worrisome. I wonder if parents in pursuit of more than one language are always as frantic about how much of the minority language their child is learning as I have been. I wonder if this will always be the case or maybe once I know that my bebita can actually speak Spanish better than me, I will finally be able to sleep at night.

There’s more to the ultimate and the ambitious goal of trying to raise a child with three languages. I’ve mentioned before that it is no different, in my opinion, than the parent who wants her child to learn how to play an instrument. There are cognitive benefits in learning multiple languages, just like there is in playing an instrument, but the reason I want my baby to learn more than one language, one I hold close to my heart, is because I believe that language is closely tied to an individuals sense of identity. I want my daughter to know where she comes from. I want her to understand, to a certain degree, one achieved only through speaking multiple languages, that her maternal abuelita crossed the border illegally many times to work in this country so that future generations, like her, could have a better life. I believe that knowing multiple languages can offer a window to the way other people see the world. It can offer a window to the past, to the present, and to the future.

My deliberate decision to pursue trilingualism for my daughter is firmly rooted in my experiences as an educator and as a bilingual individual. Spanish is the key to her past, French (which could be any other language but for practical reasons we chose it—key for cognitive benefits is more than one language, any language) for the cognitive benefits, and English, well it’s the local language.

Why do you want your child to learn more than one (possibly three) language(s)?

Well, actually when it comes to the word chupón that would depend on which Spanish-speaking country you are from. The initiative could easily be called, “hasta luego chupete o tete” (Argentina), “adiós chupo” (Colombia), or “basta con el bobo” (Puerto Rico).

After speaking to several friends about how they call the ever-powerful pacifier, I learned that in Puerto Rico, as stated in the previous sentence, and unlike all the other Spanish versions to say  pacifier, which come from the verb–to suck, they call it a bobo. Bobo can mean dummy, stupid, naïve, or silly in Spanish! In fact, even the English word doesn’t come from the verb—to suck. According to Dictionary.com, to pacify means to bring or restore to a state of peace or tranquility; quiet; calm. That definition brings a broader, more meaningful definition to an object many children form an attachment to.

What I find even more interesting is that some children, like my nephew, will even give el chupo a special name. He literally named the object bibi when we had only ever referred to it as chupón (Mexico, U.S.A, Nicaragua)! Amazing, that his strong attachment to the pacifier, which brought him much comfort, deserved a special name that only he could have come up with. I had the opportunity to watch the Sesame Street episode of when Elmo shares about giving up his tete. It reminded me of the time when my sister (and all those around) helped my little nephew put his bibi down. It was definitely a series of steps that finally led to him giving up the chupón. My sister used different tactics to help him with the transition. She literally had to wean him off of it in a similar fashion to weaning him from nursing. I can’t remember the exact order of events, but I do remember that, at one point, he could only use the chupón during naps and bedtime. Later, he could keep it in his pocket and if he really needed it he could choose to use it. Then, we kept it out of sight, out of mind. She reminded me that at one point in phasing the chupón out they even went as far as avoiding the aisle where all the pacifiers were at the grocery story—out of sight, out of mind. When I asked her how he reacts when he sees a chupón now, almost two years later, she says that he looks at it in a nostalgic way, grins, and then puts it down.

So, to all the parents helping their little ones get through this difficult and sometimes emotional milestone, I say, take it day by day, talk about giving up the chupete, and eventually, with time, your little one will put it down. You can also check out these useful strategies on the Sesame Street Bye, Bye Pacifier site.

Suzanne Garcia Mateus is the proud mami of a one-plus-year old little girl whom she is ambitiously trying to raise with three languages. Her research interests as a doctoral student in bilingual and bicultural education and life experiences growing up with Mexican immigrant parents inspired her to create a blog, Interpretations of a Bilingual Life, in order to better understand the rich nuances that living with multiple languages offers.

THE GIVEAWAY!

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to the winner:Yesi!

We’re giving away one copy of “Bye Bye, Pacifier! Big Kid Stories with Elmo” to one lucky winner.

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{Photo by: edenpictures}

What exactly is the role of language? Why do some of us only speak one, while others manipulate multiple languages in their everyday lives? I have been dwelling on the notion of whether language is considered innate or whether individuals make strategic moves to learn or acquire language(s).

In the field of second language acquisition there exists the idea that language is either learned or acquired. For example, the first language a baby gets is considered acquired. Why? Well, because like many of us, when we speak in our native tongue it’s like we are driving a car in autopilot. It comes naturally to us. We don’t have to think about how we are going to structure our utterance(s) so that they are correctly formed. Language that is learned, on the other hand, is, many times, our second or third language. For those readers who have learned another language know exactly what I am talking about. Language that is learned is the language we struggle to communicate in when we are visiting a foreign country where it is spoken, for example.

Another interesting topic in regard to the role language plays and whether it is innate relates to what happens in foreign language schools. For instance, if we believe that language is innate then most of the instruction would provide students with nearly authentic settings where they could simply practice using the target language. Although, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that most people probably believe language is something we learn, hence, the common way to teach our children (and adults) another language is via explicit instruction that involves grammatical points and contrived settings.

As I think about the way I am exposing my bebita to three languages I find myself contemplating whether she is actually learning or acquiring her three languages. To a large degree, the different approaches are really out of my control, which leads me to something I keep coming back to: context. Where we live, who we interact with, who we are, are quite frankly, inherited characteristics. These characteristics are part of the beautiful nuances that make up our reality, which is the context where language is learned or acquired.

So, for now, I am very proud to say that in French Sabrina knows how to say au revoir and Petite Pim (Pe’pim, to be exact), she learned those words via French videos. In Spanish, she has acquired a few words to her vocabulary, which include: mama, papa, más, uvas, and ayuda. In addition to acquiring a few words in Spanish, she has also acquired some sign language. She knows the signs for ayuda, acabe, más, and lechita. Lastly, her acquired English words include: bye-bye and tickle-tickle. Then there are the words she understands the meaning of, but cannot say or sign in any language, YET.

How are you exposing your children to other languages? Do you consider them contexts that will help them learn or acquire another language?

{Photo by: basykes}

This past year I have experienced a transformation many of the SpanglishBaby readers are all too familiar with; I became a mother. Sure, it starts while pregnant, but the real transformation, in my opinion, occurs during the first year of motherhood. There are parts of myself I had to let go of and other parts I had to reinvent.

I had to let go of the way I was used to traveling and I was forced to reinvent my ideals about teaching my daughter three languages. I had to be realistic and sensitive to the people involved in my journey of motherhood, which obviously included both my daughter and husband. In many ways, it has been a difficult, yet rewarding journey because these two things, traveling and languages, are ones that I hold dear to my heart. Quite frankly, they are solid parts of my identity.

As I was making my way down the streets of such interesting cities like Miami and Quito this past summer, with baby and all the required gear, I took for granted how easily we switched from Spanish to English, vice versa. There was a sense of ease in being bilingual in these metropolitan cities. This got me thinking about what it means to be bilingual or striving to raise a trilingual child, for that matter, in a conservative state like Texas. I also thought about the work I am doing as a doctoral student in a dual language classroom and how being bilingual seems to be a highly valued commodity in a school community where bilingualism is the goal. Then it hit me: the CONTEXT where the languages are spoken is key! In other words, how much buy-in we have by the individuals in a society about learning multiple languages shapes the willingness of those around us to accept the need to be multi-lingual!

When I spoke in Spanish in Miami or Quito this past summer with my little bebita it came so easily. I was merely blending in with the background. When I speak in Spanish to her in central Texas, well, let’s just say that my comfort level and the insecurity of feeling like we are trying to display who we are, depends on whether I am on the east or the west side of town.

So, as I enter my second year of being a mother, I know that I will have to continue to reinvent and let go of certain parts that shape my identity. In fact, in a few days I leave to, what I am calling a “boob freedom” trip (a.k.a just-finished-weaning-my-14-month-old-from-nursing-trip) with some girlfriends. I can only imagine how that trip, my first time away from baby, will contribute to my ongoing transformation as a travel seeking, Latina, and bilingual mother.

Middle of the World - Ecuador {Courtesy of Suzanne Mateus}

This picture is a perfect reflection of how we are trying to raise our daughter with multiple cultures and multiple languages. One foot lies on the northern side of the equator representing her North American (Mexican-American) roots while the other foot lies on the southern side of the equator representing her South American (Ecuadorian) heritage. This may be a stretch, but I think it’s an appropriate one considering our meager attempt to add a third language, but her lack of balance and her look of bewilderment represent how she, at this point in her life, needs our support to shape her identity as a multilingual and multicultural individual.

As we prepared for our trip to South America, my husband and I were very unsure about how our baby was going to handle all of the changes. Not only were we stepping foot on a city with a greater altitude than our home in central Texas, but we were also immersing her into an entirely different culture for two weeks.

Our little guaguita (which means baby in Quechua, the local indigenous language) seemed to have embraced all of the cultural nuances that came our way. Such as the numerous cousins that were always happy to hold, play, and entertain her. In fact, to our surprise she was more hesitant to have doting tios and tias hold her than the cousins, whom she willingly jumped into their arms with a smile.

Sometimes it was a little difficult for me to decipher what made her North American roots distinct from her South American roots other than the constant use of Spanish, of course. The one conclusion I came up with was the way children, such as cousins, seem to grow up in such close proximity to each other. For example, we were staying with my husband’s cousin who lives right next door to her brother and his family!

There’s also the luxury of affordable help in South America that seems to make the mundane day-to-day tasks of motherhood more enjoyable. I realized the amount of time and energy I expend day in and day out on chores that the “help” take care of for those that can afford them. I literally came back to the States telling my husband, “If we lived in Ecuador I think I would want at least three children.”  That being said, as a doctoral student with an interest in advocating for bilingual education for minority populations, I was also very sensitive to how privileged my daughter was compared to the majority of the population in Ecuador. This probably will and can become very much part of her multicultural identity.

I have realized the importance of making sure that I expose my daughter, not only to the rich cultures that she comes from, but to the fact that though she, to a large degree is considered privileged, it has not always been this way for her ancestors. I have realized that when it comes to raising multilingual and multicultural children we may also be referring to raising children with an awareness of differences in social class and education. What makes this especially challenging to teach is the pivotal role context plays depending on whether you are on the northern or southern side of the equator.

Photo courtesy of Suzanne Mateus

Anyone that gets to know my little girl will notice that she is very observant. Yes, even at the tender age of eleven months the girl soaks up her surroundings before taking the plunge to interact. To watch her reactions on our first family vacation was, as cliché as this may sound, priceless!

There are numerous stories about my time in Miami that replay in my mind each time I am about to visit the vibrant, colorful, Latino city! The first time I traveled there, over ten years ago, I felt as if I were somewhere in Latin America. For these two reasons alone I was extremely excited to immerse my bebita in a different culture: the Miami-Cuban culture!

I was looking forward to sharing the food, the music, the beautiful beaches (her first time ever to the beach) and the local language that make up a huge part of Miami’s Cuban identity. We were lucky to be in town when an annual event occurs to remember and experience Cuban culture. My mother makes it a point to attend Cuba Nostalgia (http://www.cubanostalgia.org/) as often as possible. I think it gives her an opportunity to indulge in a version of nostalgia for her native country of

Mexico. It is her excitement and my interest in celebrating Latino culture that motivates me to transmit the same spark to my bebita, starting now!

When we arrived to Cuba Nostalgia there was a cacophony of noise coming from every direction.  It reminded me of the buzz that seems to permeate around Miami from the chatter of the people (also referred by Cubans as the tiki, tiki) to the salsa music on every other station. I thought to myself that “…this, this would be a great city to raise a trilingual baby.” The use of Spanish certainly dominates, but my husband and I noted several languages being spoken almost everywhere we went.

What I loved most about my baby’s first traveling adventure was seeing the look on her face when she experienced something new. For instance, when she awoke from her nap at Cuba Nostalgia she saw a lot of people dancing and the noise didn’t seem to even faze her. In fact, at one point my mom brought her one of the maracas a local booth was giving away and she held it tightly in her hand while shaking it to participate with everyone else! In addition, her reaction when her little hand touched sand for the first time reminded my mom of how much I disliked it as a baby also. Lastly and most importantly, the opportunity to hear Spanish in a different context other than our home in Central Texas was pivotal, in my opinion, for her development as a Spanish speaker.

I like to refer to the Queen of Salsa, Celia Cruz, with this last point. She states in one of her songs sin clave no hay son (without the key, there is no rhythm). One of salsa music essential ingredients is la clave (the key). It’s a certain beat that many times I have seen people clap. Well, that’s exactly how I feel about becoming bilingual or trilingual. The key, or as Celia puts it, la clave is immersion and in multiple contexts. My bebita, I am proud to say, got to experience la clave, both figuratively and literally speaking. I must say that it will certainly be hard to compete with Spanish as she gets older and as we attempt to provide a remotely similar experience for the third language (French) we are teaching her.

Nonetheless, I think what my mom said about Sabrina’s experience at Cuba Nostalgia pretty much sums up her first travel experience and immersion in Latino culture, “It was like she knew exactly what her mama & papa love (everything and anything Latino), and went right along with the celebration!”