Suzanne

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, becauseRead More ...

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 idealsRead More ...

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 ofRead More ...

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! TheRead More ...

Call me crazy but I decided to complicate my attempt to expose my baby to multiple languages by adding another element: baby sign. Maybe it’s not too surprising given my level of interest in teaching Sabrina three languages. I wanted to keep teaching her sign language as simple as possible because it seems that our lives are already a bit chaotic. I contemplated between using American Sign Language (ASL) versus Baby Sign because ASL is actually recognized as a languageRead More ...