From the mouths of babes

I love to hear the funny musings and mispronuciations from my sweet 4 year old. As a bilingual child, he had a longer silent period and but when he did speak, he was proficient in both languages. I am happy to say that all is developing as it should be and we were never concerned about delays or confusion in regards to his language skills. He is still our "tremendo", wearing SuperHero costumes daily and harassing our sweet puppy. But my husband and I are constantly amused by some of the funny things that come out of his mouth! Here are some of our bilingual favorites:

* When talking about his excitment, he told me " i have have cerditos in my tummy". He knew that his sister has butterflies in her tummy and he has cerditos. Sounds logical. :)

*We conduct our family meals in Spanish, so he frequently tell us ' listo para helado'. One of the incentives we give for conversing in Spanish is dessert, so he starts the conversation by telling us he is ready for ice cream.

*The letter 'F'still alludes my son both in English and Spanish. When using his best manners, he tell us ' por savor' in place of 'por favor'. It is hard to understand, but we know he is trying to be polite.

* After a recent visit with Abuelita, he picked up on her favorite expression of " Ay Chihuahua". My son adds his own twist to the expression by frequently saying " Ay Chihuahua Captain Underpants'. Apparently this is to show extreme surprise. :)

*A big fan of Tom and Jerry, my son was thrilled to hear the phrase " toro, toro, ven aqui'. He uses this phrase for just about anyone. Recently when my brother in law was over, my son wanted to show him a new toy, so he summoned his tio by calling ' toro, toro, ven aqui".

Teaching Spanish to our children is a joy and at times a challenge. We are dedicated to keeping the language alive for them and offering them opportunities to foster their bilingual skills. Although my 4 year old son is ' contra la corriente", he keeps us smiling and laughing, as we know he is absorbing and retaining his bilingual skills.

Feel free to share some funny quotes! i love hearing what our sweet kids have to say!

Bilingual Fun and Charades

Who doesn't love a good round of Charades? I remember as a child, this was often a favorite wintertime game for the family. We would gather in front of the fire and act out silly things. My 5 year old received a kids version of Charades for Christmas this year. As always, we are looking for ways to make our children's bilingual development fun and natural. So after one round of English, we made a new rule: Spanish only.

Both my 3 yr old and 5 yr old had a blast! Using actions to reinforce language is a common technique I use in my language program. Otherwise referred to as TPR ( total physical response), you teach actions and movements that are associated with words or phrases in Spanish. When children are actively participating in the language learning, vocabulary is often absorbed more easily. My daughter picked out the cards, which had pictures only on them and acted them out. I guessed in Spanish, and this was an excellent reinforcement for her comprehsion. Then we switched and I acted out the words, and she had to make the guesses. Again, producing the words in the target language is more difficult, but she was able to do it with ease. Then my 3 yr old was able to act some out as well. We guessed in Spanish and he was able to tell us if we were right or wrong, showing his grasp of the language comphrension.

Charades for children is a perfect way to keep the language learning fun and relevant to their lives. The words we acted out were things that are common in their little worlds, such as truck, ball, dancing, ice cream, jumping rope, etc. Even if your child doesn't not have fluency in the language, they should be able to recognize and produce simple words and phrases with this game. It is good practice for the parents too!
This is going to be our new evening activity when we need some action and bilingual fun!

Bilingual Babies

I have been in awe and wonderment as my own children have developed so naturally with both English and Spanish. When they were very little, my husband and I spoke almost exclusively Spanish with them. As they have gotten older we have instituted certain routines and rituals into our daily lives. We have meals in Spanish, bath time in Spanish, and bedtime stories in Spanish. That is not to say that throughout the day we don't communicate in Spanish, which we do often. We have just decided to make particular times of the day Spanish only, and we encourage our children to communicate and develop their vocabulary. When we travel to Mexico or visit our relatives, my children are able to communicate effectively and effortlessly. It is amazing to watch their development, as they just absorb and retain the language. As parents however, we need to make an conscientious effort to keep the language alive, so that the children do not fall into the rut of answering in English. As a teacher, I have seen so many children that fully understand a second language, but are not able to communicate because it was never enforced that they answer in the target language. Being bilingual is such an incredible gift, and although it may take some family effort and participation, encouraging your children to speak and practice will pay off in the long run!

Raising bilingual children often comes with some triumphs and blunders. My children's personalities are very different and their learning styles were very different. My daughter merely absorbed the Spanish language and was speaking and understanding both languages well before she was 2. She also had the unique insight to know who spoke English and who spoke Spanish. She was very precise in who she addressed and in what language. My daughter also could easily switch from one language to another with an understanding of the difference between English and Spanish. My son, whom we affectionately refer to as ' el tremendo' was and is a different story. Most of his first words were in Spanish and he understood commands and discipline very well in Spanish. I was not surprised at 16 months, his babysitter asked for 'cheat sheet" of Spanish phrases that she could post on her fridge. I was so excited that she wanted to communicate with him and thought perhaps she wanted the basic ( colors, numbers, greetings, food). But no, she was interested in how to say " get down, no climbing, no throwing, be careful, etc". Apparently since we had not been disciplining him in English and he just didn't respond to her! My son also spoke to whomever he wished in Spanish, seemingly having no clue if they were Spanish speakers or not. I often had confused looks from the nursery workers in the church as I dropped him off and heard him shouting ' pelota!". Just as the language develops, everything begins to fall into place. Now at age three, he clearly understands the difference between Spanish and English and will respond appropriately when asked in each language. He still does respond better to discipline when spoken to in Spanish, but maybe that is because he is 'el tremendo'.

Why did you decide to expose your child to a second language? Are you having success? Are you having problems? Do you have any funny stories to share? Do you have any questions about bilingual development? I would love to hear stories, suggestions, feedback about your experiences.