Raising a Child Bilingually

Hi H.! How lucky you are to have such an opportunity to give your son the gift of languages! Though I am not yet a mommy (just 6 months pregnant), I have a degree in psychology, and spent much of my study focusing on Child Development. Babies are "hard-wired", so to speak, for learning languages - many studies have been conducted examining an infant's ability to distinguish phonemes (individual sounds) from different languages and results have shown that the younger the infant, the easier it is for him to "hear" and attend to the differences. The older the baby gets, the more he will begin to pay attention to the sounds of the language primarily spoken in the home, and the less he will be able to actively observe sounds from languages not spoken at home. The studies were conducted over time (across the span of birth to 5 years) and first were done with electrodes monitoring the electrical activity in the brain while careful observation was done of the infant's gaze and attention to the sounds. As the babies got older, the studies were conducted in much the same way with the focus gradually shifting from monoriting brainwaves to observing actual "participation" in the language. Those babies with bilingual (and even trilingual) homes were found to be attentive to the sounds of all the languages spoken in the home equally, regardless of whether or not both parents spoke both languages, and regardless of the method by which the parents spoke both languages (some had one parent only speaking one languange, with the other speaking another; others had both parents speaking both, with specific times of day that they spoke a certain language; still others had no rhyme or reason between how they mixed the languages together). Those who only had one language spoken at home could only focus readily on the sounds of that language. This gives you the unique opportunity to get your litte love speaking both Spanish and English. He will learn quickly what sounds belong to Spanish and what sounds belong to English because his brain is programmed to learn that way. You may find it easier to only speak Spanish for certain times of day and English for others, or you might like to say most things twice, first in one languange then in the other. But whatever works for you will work for him, and he won't get confused!

You can get more info on these studies in the American Psychological Association's website, http://www.apa.org/topics/topiclearning.html.
There is one about babies and lanuage development: http://www.apa.org/releases/babylang.html
There is one study about the ability to learn languages: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/126839.php

If you search though the APA site for "Babies and Language Development", you will find a whole host of studies on this topic. Also, the Discovery Health Channel did a program on language development in babies about 6 months ago that was incredibly interesting to watch. I bet you could find it on their website. (Though I haven't searched for it.)

Good luck, and congrats on your new little boy! (I can't wait for my girl to arrive!)

1 mom found this helpful

I agree with Dagmar 100%! You must have rules, but you can easily establish them and follow them. Good timing too, because I am currently taking a professional development course on English Language Learners (as a second language) and I am a Speech Language Pathologist so I know all about language acquisition and development. The instructor today told us that teaching children to learn more than one language is to their advantage... but strangely, she told us that the best time for children to learn a second language is the teenage years, which I would NEVER THINK!! Don't fret though, she herself taught her son 3 languages (English, Portuguese, and one other - creole?) and he is only 8 years old now and does well in all 3. She said the reason behind waiting (the reasearch says....) that it gives the child a way to become proficient in the language of the culture they are LIVING IN, and then consciously learn a new one bringing the rules, sytax, semantics, etc. from the first language with him. Also, I guess the bones in your face "fossilize" after the teen years - in adulthood - into the native tongue positions you've always spoken, so that is why it's difficult for adults to sometimes produce sounds that are in other languages that aren't in their own... but teenagers are not fossilized yet.

Good philosophies for thought. I personally think it's easier for children to learn languages at a young age - but you have to do what is right for your family and what you decide will be the right answer! Just remember if you start young, to follow those rules that were posted earlier. Good luck!

Hi H.......my friends son speaks fluent spanish and was raised in this country. His wife is from Peru and so spanish is spoken a lot in their home. They also have a dog and the dog understands both languages. The younger they are the more they obsorb. Little Kyle will be 2 this month and he gets both languages already so don't be afraid Mom, just jump in.

Lovingly, P.

I don't think there would be anything wrong with you switching back and forth. or even if you only/mostly speak spanish to him and have everyone else he interacts with speak english. The only thing you might see in the beginning is delayed speech. My son didn't actually start talking till after 2 yrs old. he used some basic words but that was it. His pediatrician said that was completely normal for a bilingual home.

I don't have any experience with this but I used baby sign language with both of my boys to help them express their needs before they could verbally communicate it. I think if you switch back and forth throughout the day it should be fine or even as the other mom suggested have everyone else who interacts with your son speak english to him while you speak spanish. I used to sign things as I was speaking to my boys but you obviously can't do that with two verbal languages perhaps if you devote one half of our day to Spanish and the other part of your day in English. However you do it Good luck.

Hi H.!

I am bilingual. When I was growing up we spoke only spanish at home and English in school. Although I speak and write spanish well, I've lost a great deal living in a community where I am not exposed to the language at all. Unless your child is not exposed to the language on a regular basis whether you teach him the language or not he will loose it being exposed to mainly English. He may end up speaking "Spanglish" which is speaking some words in English and some in Spanish. In my way of thinking that would not be good. You can look into enrolling him in Spanish lessons if you can find a program for children in your area. I know many other nationalities who hire tutors to teach their children the native language. I hope this is helpful and wish you luck. I have 3 children and none of them speak Spanish fluently but they do understand quite a bit (my husband is bilinqual also). We didn't speak to them in spanish simply because we didn't want them to learn improperly.

My husband and I have been raising our three children in a bilingual environment for over 11 years and whole heartedly support the process, by example. Our primary language at home is French (my husband is French) and the children show no confusion between the two languages, and we do switch around quite regularly. You do not have to have one parent who 'only' speaks one language, etc. but you do need to speak in 'pure' sentences, i.e. don't throw English words into a primarily Spanish sentence, or vice versa. Having researched this issue several years ago, we found that educators and studies showed children in bilingual households had higher reasoning and analytical skills, in addition to a more natural apptitude towards math, art and music, which has been a proven correlation for sometime now. Do not worry that you will confuse your child's development or linguistic skills - you will be enriching him!

I am not bilingual, but I do know families that are. This is a perfect time to teach a child another language though. I think they'll pick up both if you speak both to him and it won't confuse him either. I have a friend from Brazil and she always spoke portaguese to her children and English. She will speak to my children all the time in her native language. My son who's now 1 really responds to her when she speaks to him like that. I don't think he's actually learning anything from her because he doesn't get it enough, but he enjoys hearing her talk and sing to him and he really sits up and listens to her. They are so receptive to language from a young age. You might find that when he does start talking it could be a mixture of both languages, but at that point you can always refine things a little more. I think it's an important thing for him to learn. Dora the Explorer teaches kids some Spanish. It's just the perfect time really to start this young.

M.

H.,

Your son will get enough English just by living in an English speaking country. It is best for you just to speak to him in Spanish and your husband in English. When you and your husband speak, I'm assuming it's in English so your son will hear this too. If you have friends that also speak Spanish it would be good for you to have conversations in Spanish so your son can hear how it sounds in Spanish.

L. M

Hi H.,

What better gift to be able to give your child than the ability to speak more than one language! Here in Montreal, families are often multi-lingual and they speak multiple languages at home. It may take the child a little longer to speak as they have to sort out the 2 languages, or they may say sentences with words of both languages in it, but it doesn't take long (by 3 or 4 years old) and they are perfectly bilingual and even know in which context to speak which language. My husband speaks only English & I speak English & French with my son, plus he gets both languages at daycare as well. Although he is stronger in English (he speaks it well), he understands when I ask him questions in either language and he is 2 years old. Go for it!

Hi! H.

My name is C.. I am a bilingual mother of 3, ages 12 year old 6 year old and 15 month old. My first language is Spanish. I speak both languages to them sens they wore babys. Now my oldes one if having problems in school with her Eglish she is taking ESL classes to improve her English. I would advice you to speak only Spanish to your son now that his only a baby and it would be easy for you and your baby. He would have the chances to learn English at school went he enter headstar. Remember that children learn faster than an adult. I wish you the best for your and your baby. God bless you and your family.

we're two anglophones living in Montréal. what we do is have a french-speaking daycare, and we speak English to the baby. we try to practice our french on her too. She is 10 months old. It is common that babies raised multilingually start speaking later, but that's OK with us.
I have also heard of doing a certain language at breakfast, when all the family is together. I know another family that alternates between french and german by week.
good luck!

H.,
We are raising our children bilingually (English and French), and I have had to study this at length. Please feel free to contact me with any questions :).

Hi H.,

I'm French and my husband is Spanish. Our son (as well as our baby to come) is an American citizen and we live here in USA.

The way we do it is that I (primary care giver) speak to my son in French and my husband in Spanish. All other people around us speak to him in ERnglish and English is the "official" language at home when we have international guests.

Our son is now 18 months. He understands everything in French and quite a lot in Spanish. In English, he also understands more than I would have expected (he easily recognizes around 100 words in English).

He doesn't really speak yet, except Mama and Papa but I taught him sign language and he signs more than 50 words, which makes communication much easier.

We don't have TV, but he can watch a signing video for 20 minutes every day (in English) and we have plenty of books and nursery rhymes CDs in French and Spanish.

Until now, this system seems to work (even though most kids f his age have more vocabulary) and I'm happy we did it this way,

I guess that whatever technique yoou decide on using, consistency is the key.
Hope this helps

it will not confuse him. my mother speaks spanish to my daughter when she has her but also speaks english. she understands both very well. when your husband gets home let him speak english to him. go for it! ~K.

My son is six and is bilingual with no problems in either language. I would only speak Spanish to him and when my husband would come home from work, he would speak English. As my husband doesn't know any Spanish, I would speak English to him but still Spanish to the baby. My husband's mother only knows English so he would hear English from that grandmother as well. My mother would only speak Spanish to my baby and still does today. He picked up both and would switch between the two (Spanish to me and my mother and English to his dad and other grandma) with no problems. They hear so much English all around that I wouldn't worry about only speaking Spanish.

Your child will learn English no matter how much Spanish you speak at home during the day.

Children learn language by absorption...the tv you watch, listening to you on the phone, at night and on weekends, and especially when he goes out into the world of pre-school.

The thing some people perceive as a "delay" is when a child is absorbing both languages, and then uses them interchangebly in a sentance or phrase... That happens because children learn seamlessly. When your son begins to master grammar, he'll also sort out which language is which.

Now...tell me how I can get my son to learn Italian from his father who is not here with us all day!!! (i'm also teaching him sign language which I'M fluent in)

Bilingual education is great, and most effective if done early. Even if you mostly speak Spanish at home, your child will learn English when you speak with his father, when his father speaks with him, when you are out in public (at the store, in playgroups), with other relatives and friends, and so on. He'll figure it out - they all do! Go for it!

Hi, H.!
wow! I congratulate you on your desire to teach/raise your son bilingual. In todays society speaking a second language is so important. My son is 2years old & we have only spoken Spanish to him. He understands it & speaks it very well. He is also exposed to English via TV & Big brother, aunts & uncles that only speak English. I know that he'll pick up English when he attends school in a couple of years. I was told by a pediatrician that when children learn multiple languages by age 5/6, you'll never know which is the 2nd language b/c they'll speak it so well. You & your husband can speak to him in different languages also & he wont get confused, he'll just learn them simultaneously!
good luck, N.

I encourage you to bring up your son bilingual. You are right in your thought. I am a mother of four children and what a gift and opportunity you have to give your son an advantage before he gets into school. We did not have that opportunity to do what you want to do but wish we did, our children would be so much more ahead if they had what you want to give your son.
Good Luck

Hi H.,
I congradulate you for efforts in raising youjr child bilingual. My sister has been successful by only speasking Spanish for the first 3 yrs. Your child will learn english so much so that he may eventually choose it by his 5th uear. I have been ananny for children who are multilingual and the basic rule of thunb that I have seen success in is 1 language per family member. Your child will speak the language you choose for them with you. But will also speak english with peoplke that he knows speak english.
Once my nephew started day care. The teachers tried to encourage my sister to speak english at home so it would make their jobs easier. This will not help your child. It will only confuse him. Stick to your guns, and your child will be smarter for it.
Good luck

I wish you more luck than my husband and I have had with raising our son bilingually. My husband is a native Spanish speaker and my son's infancy was spent in the Dominican Republic, but we moved back to my hometown when he was 8 months. Since then it's been almost all English. He knows basic words and understands some commands and phrases in Spanish, but he cannot carry on a conversation with my husband's side of the family (sadly). It takes a great deal of discipline. Since you are a SAHM, you could certainly schedule time and stick to it to immerse him in Spanish part of the day. Goodluck!

Hi H., I'm from Czech Republic and my husband from US and we live here in US. Our daughter is now 19 months and she speaks Czech fluently and picking up on English very quickly. I'm at home with her and I've been speeking to her only Czech and my husband only English. If you do not want to speak only spanish to your baby, then you should pick some ours in the day (like 9-11am or so) and speak Spanish then - but it should be always the same time, that way it shouldn't confuse him. But I wouldn't try to mix it rendomly over the day. Good luck!!!

Pick one day for English and the next for Spanish. That way everything you do from dressing in the morning to getting ready for bed during the day is covered. Please don't forget the reading a writing as well when the time comes. A friend's son grew up in Italy speaking English and Italian but only reading and writing Italian. He came to the states for high school and really struggled with the language, not only in ESL classes but reading the directions in math and text books in all subjects.
Best of luck.
D. C
Mom of 4

I am 100% for a child being bilingual. I am British with a Mexican father who unfortunately didn't bring me up speaking two languages and I struggle so much with languages. I am married to a Dutch national and are bringing up our nearly 2 year old daughter up speaking Dutch and English. She is a little behind the other kids in terms of how many words she says but she understands fully both languages. It's fun doing nursery songs in two languages. I have a friend who's daughter is 2 and a half and she speaks 3 languages. I speak to my daughter in English and my husband in Dutch and because she goes to a Dutch daycare we do speak a lot of English. Also we repeat what we say in two lanugagues. It's a great excuse to help your husband learn.

Good luck!
PS It's been proven that children under 4 have the ability to learn 4 languages at the same time

Hi H.,

My brother married a Colombian and she was still perfecting her english when they got married. They have an 8 year old daughter now who is fluent in both English and Spanish. She grew up hearing Spanish from her mother and English from her father. She was never confused, my sister-in-law would teach her two words for each thing:

-Where is the ball?
-Donde esta pelota?

So she would teach her both languages for each new thing, and she picked it up quickly.

What was funny was listening to my bother and his wife fight, she would yell at him in Spanish and he would yell back in English and then they'd switch. Now THAT's confusing!

I don't remember her ever telling me that my niece was behind in her learning things either, she was right up there all the time and I always felt that learning another language from the beginning has helped that. She's also very fortunate now because she attends a private school that offers many classes in Spanish as well as English which is nice for her to learn things from other teachers besides her parents.

If you ever want to touch base with my sister-in-law for any questions you have, I'm sure she'd be more than happy to speak with you, just let me know!
Good luck,
L.

Hi H.,
As you can see from the advice you're getting, it's a great idea to speak to your son in Spanish. I say to go for it as well. I had a slightly different experience in that when my son was born we lived in Spain so I spoke to him only in English, which he understood perfectly (but didn't speak until we moved back to the U.S.). People might say things to you about your son's getting confused but that's not true, he'll keep it straight in his head even if aloud a few times he'll say things in different languages for at time. It's a gift for you to give him and now is the perfect time.

I'm not sure if others have said anything about the fact that your son might speak a bit later because of being raised bilingually. Nothing to worry about and not a developmental problem, it's totally normal when a child is learning two languages or more simultaneously. Have fun!

Hi H.,

My parents still do not speak english (sadly) after having been in this country 30+ years. My 5 siblings and I were required to only speak spanish while at home (since my parents didn't speak english) and nevertheless, we are all intelligent, well-spoken individuals today. None of us had any problems with english at school, and were able to pick it up, no problem. In fact, we all excelled in school, regardless of any help, or lack there of, from our parents. On the other hand, my siblings and I all speak spanish, whereas, I have friends who can understand spanish, have parents or grandparents who only speak spanish, yet my friends cannot speak it. I think, for myslef, my brothers and sisters, we came out with the best of both worlds.

I have 3 girls, 5, 2, and 1. My oldest, I spoke to primarily in spanish for her first 2 years, but when I moved away from my parents, I began to slack. Since she's in school now, it gets a little tough to stick to spanish, when I have to help her with her homework in english. What I try to do, is to talk with her in both languages at the same time. I first say something in english, then I repeat it in spanish. I've tought them how to ask for things politely, both in english and spanish. The basics are there, they just have to want to do it. My 5 year old actually asks me to talk to her in spanish, but my 2 year old is a little tougher to convince. Since my parents have not learned english, and probably never will, it's important to them (and me) that my girls are able to communicate with them. I hope to begin speaking primarily in spanish to my youngest, and since my husband doesn't speak spanish, I think she'll be fine too.

Good luck!

Mari

My suggestion is to speak only Spanish to your child. They will pick up the English from others, from TV, from playgroup, etc. You will also find that as hard as you try, you will probably slip into English sometimes.
Don't worry too much about it - my kids are bilingual (ages 3 and 5) and we just tried our best to speak the second language at home. We now speak almost only English at home because the kids answer us in English and we automatically switch to English, but when we visit with family who only speaks the foreign language they do just fine.

Do it!

I have three kids, all being raised bilingually and everything is fine. I honestly didn't do much research on this - just went with my gut instinct, and we've never looked back. Everyone here has made good suggestions.

My advice to you though is that if you'll be the only one speaking Spanish to your son, try to find some other sources that he can learn from - videos, circle of friends / playgroups, etc. I say this because although you may be proficient, there are always things / phrases / specific words that you might "forget" to use. Besides books, the TV and now my daughter's KG, I'm the only English source my kids have, but when the speak with or we visit my family, I notice that their vocabulay increases. Just one example, I think my first child didn't learn the word "pretty" until she was about 2 years old when a friend brought flowers. "Pretty" just wasn't a word I regularly used.

Good luck with it. Btw, the book What's Going on in There? by Lise Eliot, Ph. D. has an interestesting and informative section on how a baby's mind develops regarding language and how you can best "speak" to your infant, starting with 3 months.

Hi H.,

we are raising our kids English/German (they are almost 3 years old and 8 months old). We have many friends that are bi- and trilingual. We have read 4 books on this. We have lived in the US and in Austria since our children were born. My husband and i are both fluent in both languages, with my husband's German being a trifle weaker than my English (due to the age at which he learnt it and his limited first hand experience). So that is our background.

Here is what we do: I speak my mothertongue to both children (German). My husband speaks his mothertongue (English). When we were living in the US, we spoke German at home, when all of us were together (so called "family language"). This was meant to provide some balance to an overwhelmingly English speaking environment. Now we live in Austria (where German is spoken), and we have switched our family language to English, for the same reason.

As far as i understand and experience, and as the research i read about has shown, there are only a few rules about raising kids bilingually, but these are important.

And the first rule is: stick with one language. Don't alternate what you speak to your child, when you are speaking one on one. If the primary caregiver mixes languages for no reason apparent to the child, a kid can end up knowing no language fully at all.

Next rule: Choose a consistent family language.

Next rule: Don't mix what language you speak within sentences or paragraphs.

Next rule: Don't be afraid if your child only speaks mothertongue (whatever the primary caregiver speaks) at first. With different stages of life (daycare, Kindergarten, moving to other countries), the other language(s) will easily be activated and may easily become a primary tongue later.

Last rule: If you speak to your child in a tongue that is not your mothertongue you need a good reason. A language is not only words, but comes with a culture. That culture belongs to the language. Which is why we celebrate German, Austrian and American holidays at home. It's ok if you speak a non-mothertongue to your child if you also embrace that culture. It helps very much if you find others who will speak that language (in your case Spanish) as a mothertongue to spend time with your kid. Also you should spend time in a spanish-speaking environment, if you can. Books, songs, games and films in both languages are really helpful in our experience.

Our son (the older child) speaks mostly German. After we spent a week with his English speaking grandparents, his English got kick-started. He now mostly speaks English with my husband, and German with others. When we are together as a family, he will make jokes about "how papa speaks" and "how mami speaks", and he is able to say the same thing both ways. He may even know there are still more languages (asked me to read a french book we have in french), but maybe he was just being a parrot and repeating something he heard us say. Hard to know what's in his head! We didn't expect him to talk so well and in both languages yet, but of course we are happy. It could also have been that he wouldn't have spoken English until much later. Also, he will probably only be able to really differentiate languages at the age of four.

A friend of mine raises her daughter "in spanish" though she is Austrian. She does this, because the girl has an Argentinian father (divorced, lives there, not in Austria like mom and daughter), and because she is absolutely literate in latin American culture, and also knows the language very well. The girl speaks to her mom in Spanish, but to all else in german. The mom is the primary caregiver, but she and her daughter live with their Germanspeaking mother/grandmother.

Oh, sorry, this is probably more than you wanted to know. It's just so nice to "talk" to others about this. Literature is just taking off on this. I mean, young parents today are not the pioneers in bilingual education, but not far from it!

good luck!

D.