Just wondering when to teach to read/ write a second language. Both of my kids are bi-lingual (my first language is Spanish so I spoke to them Spanish since they were babies) however, we live in California so they speak English (now at school, and with friends)
Both kids (5 & 3) speak Spanish fluently but my daughter seems to prefer English ALL the time now (maybe because of school)
I'd love for her to learn to read/ write Spanish at some point, my dad who cares for them while I'm in school does not speak English at all (although he is in ESL classes now)
When did you start teaching them to read/ write a second language? Was it confusing for them? Any tips?
If Spanish is the language spoken at home, continue to speak it in the home. The moment they start speaking english, they may get lazy and just want to speak english. It just has to continue in the home. It helps if you have grandparents to visit that will communicate only in Spanish too.
Learning to read and write a 2nd language is the same as learning to read and write a 1st language. The 2 kids are not going to be in the same place, but you can find plenty of Spanish learning aids at teacher supply companies. Continue to speak Spanish at home and encourage your father to continue in Spanish. It's normal for your older child to rebel a little - don't punish her or criticize her, but keep speaking Spanish. If she responds in English, fine.
Buy some great Spanish language CDs for the car or the house, or for the computer if you have one. Music is a great way to learn another language because rhyming is so helpful. You can get a lot of famous books in Spanish - such as Dr. Seuss and many others. Familiar tales in 2 languages helps build a bridge. And learning a 2nd language, especially a Romance language, helps with English vocabulary later on. (Examples: green = verde, which helpss kids learn the English word "verdant"; esperar (in the sense of "to hope", not "to wait) helps with "aspire"); and I could give you 300 other examples without looking anything up!
Give them the Spanish alternatives of many things: Sesame Street, popular movies (many available on TV), books from the library, etc. Most libraries have a program that lets you borrow from other libraries in their network - you request and return at your local library. Just read to them as you always do.
Don't push the writing now. It's too early for the 3 year old anyway, and the 5 year old should focus on becoming proficient in her letters. It's the same alphabet for Spanish, so leave that alone. Don't worry about tildes and accents for now. The advantage to Spanish is that 99% of the words are spelled the way they sound, which makes it WAY simpler than English.
Also try Spanish cookbooks for kids - they can make simple foods, whether ethnic or "American", but follow the directions in Spanish. This way, you make Spanish part of their everyday lives, rather than a separate "subject" that will make them rebel. If you are of Mexican heritage, make Mexican foods for Dia de los Muertos, Semana Santa or Cinco de Mayo as well as Navidad. If you are of Puerto Rican or Dominican, Peruvian or Spanish heritage, embrace those traditions as well. Don't be afraid to invite your non-Latino neighbors or the kids' school friends to celebrate and cook with you.
It's great that your dad is learning English in terms of his own development, but it's wonderful that they have the experience of full immersion in Spanish language with him! They can teach him English slang, and he can teach them Spanish.
Don't worry so much about the confusion - young kids have an amazing ability to switch from one to the other! The earlier they learn, the more imprinted it will be. And they will learn Spanish without an accent if they learn before the age of 10, so keep up with it!
You will find that, in time, some of their friends will enjoy speaking a little Spanish with you - even if it's just a few words. So you will be the "cool mom" if you don't push it too much and just let it flow!
Lots of kids picture books are in Spanish at the library. It's just like learning to read English but I would bet its going to be a bit confusing while doing the same for English.
Hola, yo estoy igual que tu. Los niños hablan conmigo en español y yo también les hago leer y escribir en español al mismo tiempo k aprenden a hacerlo en inglés. A veces se confunden pero seguro que terminan aprendiendolo todo! Mis hijos tienen 5y 7
We are English speaking and my kids started French Immersion in Kindergarten. They are in grades 2 and 5 now and doing very well in both languages.
Kids should learn their languages as early as possible, ideally from birth. The older a child gets, the less able they are to naturally learn and separate langauges.
If your children speak Spanish, teach them to read and write Spanish as they learn English. It will not confuse them. Most other cultures teach children more than one language. Typically they learn everything in their first language then take English as a second language. It is done from an early age--they don't wait until high school or college. Look to countries like Japan and India.
Your children will have an advantage being bilingual. In many cases once they learn a second language it is easy then to add a third or more.
My kids were in a bilingual Spanish-English immersion program. They learned both at the same time (with more emphasis on Spanish in the younger grades). They did some "Spanglish" at times but soon sorted it our. Their English spelling skills were behind for a bit. Spanish is more phonetic so the spellings are actually easier IMHO. I mean really, ate and eight? Who came up with that? ;)
My kids learned both languages, since they were born. My suggestion would be if one of your children prefers one language over the other it is OK, just have one of your relatives speaks Spanish ALL the time and another one (yourself or a native English speaker) to talk to your child ALL the time. I mean, games, talks, TV, radio, etc. Writing comes later, first let them listen and practice the language making soft corrections, just keep it simple, they will get it sooner or later. Participate in activities related to your language and heritage, keep diversity going and most of all, teach your children to love both languages, do not remark or focus on just one...
My kids are 6 and 12, both are fluent in Spanish and English, the older one is learning to write Spanish correctly now..It IS a NATURAL process. They will learn; kids are sponges..never forget that. Everything will come right in time. Don't worry.
