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If you've been enjoying Lana Privitera's blog on teaching little Nickey Spanish and want to share you're own story, whether your native language is Spanish, Greek, French, Italian or Polish you're in good company here....

Post a comment, email me and be entered to win this beautiful book/cd combination for teaching kids Spanish.

Thanks, Stephanie, for creating this venue for us, parents -or future parents- of multilingual children!

We want to invite all our readers to share their point of view, their success stories and/or disappointments in this very hard task of raising bilingual children in a monolingual culture. We really want to hear from you! Your family story could motivate new parents and help them to get focused on developing their own linguistic strategies.
Please, feel also free to ask any questions or post any info regarding materials, proven methods and tricks to make children speak fluently a second language. We can all benefit from each other’s knowledge!

Lana
Nickey, 08/04,  English, Spanish

Hi guys- new here. As a native spanish speaking dad of  a 3 yr old and 8 month old girls I recognize I need help in this dept. I'm a fluent speaker, writer and reader of spanish. Both my parents really only spoke spanish to me, so it was a relatively easy thing for me to pick up both...(although I was born in Colombia, SA., so again it sort of came easy to me).

So my lovely wife doesnt speak spanish at all. We've tried lessons for her, food (although she's pretty good at ordering Colombian food in restaurants, hehe) and we've visited my home country (prior to kids). I no longer have either parents and have no 'abuelitos' that speak the language.

Here's what I do now. When in the car, we try the spanish alphabet which she enjoys! She can do many of the spanish colors and can do 1-10. But as far as speech...nada :(  

It's physically exhausting to try to speak and translate conversation to both my wife and daughter, although I have tried.

There are some good shows on tv (like Dora and Diego) but then I lose my daughter to the TV zombies. So what to do? any suggestions?

Last but not least, I found when I arrived in this country (at age of 6), I was placed in a bilingual program that really worked wonders. I picked up English rather easy, so does anyone know of any school or program that has spanish in it's curriculum...public or private?

Thanks

Hola! Bienvenido al Forum!

My first question –and the most important one. Does your wife fully support and understand your reasons for wanting to teach your children Spanish?
I ask because you are going to need her total cooperation in order to fulfill your dream.

If she isn’t completely convinced about the advantages of learning a second language early on, I recommend you visit the following link and show her some of the articles on it.  http://www.multilingualchildren.org/index.html

My husband doesn’t speak Spanish but fully supports the idea of raising our son bilingual. Even though he says that he’s hopeless with languages, he has picked up some Spanish in the last year, just from hearing me repeat myself all the time as I teach our son new vocabulary. I still feel that I need to translate for him sometimes but, in general, my husband can deduce what I’m saying by context.

I understand you perfectly when you say is physically exhausting to try to teach them: it requires lots and lots of talking even when you aren’t in the mood for it. It drains you both physically and mentally! But, I promise you: it’s worth it! Your older girl just needs that extra push and extra exposure to dare to try out her first words…..and don’t forget to praise lavishly whatever efforts she makes!

I would buy your daughters some music and language programs to expose them to Spanish even when you aren’t home.
Dora shows are a good start but your girls are going to need much more than that.  Since you, like me, don’t want your kids glued to the TV all the day, make count whatever TV time they actually get. If you can implement an “Only in Spanish” rule that’s going to help immensely. There is a Cable TV channel with quality shows for young kids in Spanish (sorry, but can recall the name right now). I can watch Boomerang cartoons in Spanish soundtrack (Dish) but they are geared to older kids. You can also buy tons of discounted price DVDs through Amazon.com (I only buy DVDs that have a Spanish soundtrack option) and I also rely on the videos I find on Youtube.

Here below is the list -and my personal opinions- of the products I’ve bought the last 2 years to help me teach my son –and my students.

BOOKS to learn
I highly recomend to buy "First Thousand Words in Spanish" by Usborne International. It's internet linked so you can check out the pronounciation of the vocabulary in the book (make sure the version you buy says it's internet linked) Great illustrations

WORKBOOK
My students love "The complete book of Spanish" Grades 1-3 by American Education Publishing. Over 300 pages full of fun exercises and games to learn Spanish. They also have the Pre-K version.

GAMES ONLINE (Age appropriate)
There are some nice games for the kids to learn Spanish online. Here there are the best. I think you and your older girl will enjoy them.
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/hispanic/pinata/game.htm
http://montessorihome.com/readingcards/common.shtml (Choose subject, then Spanish language, then the guy lifting the maximum weight. Animals seems to be the best)
http://www.montessorihome.com/ladybug_es_door.htm (body parts song)
http://www.storyplace.org/sp/preschool/other.asp (little stories)
http://www.literacycenter.net/lessonview_es.htm (infinite possibilities!)

ONLINE WORKSHEETS and resources
http://www.languageguide.org/espanol/   *****
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/themes/spanish.shtml
http://www.homeeducationresources.com/PrintableSpanish.htm
http://www.edhelper.com/Spanish.htm

SHOPPING
http://www.edu-station.com/
http://www.bilingualjourney.com/loterdadetlj.html

YOUTUBE
The other great discovery was to find “Pocoyo” on YOUTUBE. Once you find one show you like on YOUTUBE it’s easy to find links to others in the same language.
Here there are a few links.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QFfzI2tJDg&feature=related   (Pocoyo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF3MuGXPW38&feature=related   (Pocoyo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVSPeJbiro8&feature=related   (la gallina turuleca)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAbn0RW6MfQ&feature=related   (Susanita tiene un raton)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbfQ71hMr_k&feature=related   (Casimiro)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAvpPfXaoqQ&feature=related   (El mago de los suenos)

MUSIC FOR CHILDREN …that you can find easily in Amazon.com, Walmart, etc
1 - We are little Amigos
http://www.wearelittleamigos.com/
2 -Cantemos en espanol – Fisher-Price. Very good. Canciones Centro-American
3 -Colores, Formas y Numeros, by Tom Arma. Originales y faciles de aprender.
4 -Mis animalitos by Tom Arma
5 -Bienvenidos al Mundo by St, Clair Entertainment Group, Canada. Mezcla hispana.
6 - "Animales y Movimiento" by Jose Luis Orozco

INSTRUCTIONAL VIDEOS –to teach Spanish
“123 Cuentame un cuento (puppet type, live action, Mexican) Little kids like it.              
“Brainy Baby” DVD
Overall is a good teaching tool if a bit boring. It took several tries to finally get my 2 year old son to look at it for more than 5 minutes. Funny thing is that he seems to like it more now that he’s older and ask for it now and then. The slow pace seems geared for babies only, as the title suggest. Lots and lots of babies and tots doing every day things on the screen. Colors, numbers and shapes too.
I consider it a good buy for young kids. Good, professional quality. Subtitles in Spanish or English.
“Lyric Language, Spanish”  (Audio –cassette or DVD + CD) (Bilingual format)
I first got the shorter version on Audio-cassette. Most of the songs are catchy and they are repetitive enough so that are easy to remember later on. (It comes with a Lyrics booklet for easy understanding) Maybe 1 or 2 of them are too fast for beginners but the rest are slow enough for you to repeat the words alongside. The vocabulary is useful and up to date, the singing is good enough and even I -as a native speaker- am pleased with the artist's Spanish pronunciation, which is not the case with other products in the market.
Overall is great for people that has a degree of exposure to either English or Spanish. It will be tough at first for beginners but with repetition they will eventually learn an incredible amount of words and expressions in both languages.
The DVD is longer and has some interesting scenes of every day life (Zoo, Beach, 4 seasons…) The newest songs aren’t as catchy but my son stills enjoys watching it now and then.
Good, professional quality. Subtitles in English and Spanish.
“Professor Parrot speaks Spanish” (Video-tape) (Bilingual format)
My son, at age 2, loved the "bird" videotape! This video touches the basics in an entertaining way so it's engaging for kids. The acting and singing isn't top notch but it serves the purpose: my son used to belt out the "colores" song while visiting the supermarket!
I just wished they would make a whole series of it with more advanced vocabulary because this video is quite short and makes you want to see more!
I speak Spanish so I don't need subtitles, but I agree with other reviewers that it would be nice to have them. Overall: very engaging teaching material. It’s also available in DVD

INSTRUCTIONAL CDS
“Risas Y Sonrisas Program”  CD-ROM, Musical CD + BOOK. From www.spanishforkids.com
The CD-ROM is hard to install on Mac computers but works very well with PCs. I found it to be quite a complete program, from the basics up. Useful for teaching children and adults. Lots of fun images, charts and every day life situations. I just wish they had a video to go along with it! That's the program I'm following to teach my students.
“Hop, Skip and Sing, Spanish” by Ana Lomba (accent from Spain) is full of fun, catchy little songs and finger-plays. It’s pretty entertaining for little ones.
“Play and Learn Spanish” from the same author is great to learn everyday family vocabulary. Good for you to use it with your kids while refreshing your Spanish.
Both are Book-CD combo -and they had pretty good reviews
“Flip-flop Spanish” is another Book-CD program which, in my opinion, would suit better a family of non-natives. The shoppers’ reviews were quite good though.
“Muzzy”  can be a bit scary for little girls but it’s a good program. It’s way overpriced so try borrowing it from your local library first and see if they like it.

TV in Spanish
Since we have discovered that we can change Boomerang Cartoon Network to Spanish as we please, -a Dish feature- my son's Spanish is improving immensely.
MY DVDS IN SPANISH
“KIPPER”: Great to learn Spanish! So soothing and sweet!
Kipper Amazing Discoveries
Kipper helps out : great vocabulary
Kipper Tiger tales
Kipper Puppy Love
*The Andersen series is a European production (accent from Spain). Great quality overall! Adequate for children 2 and up – Egmont imagination
-H.C. Andersen – The fairytales: La sirenita y otros cuentos
-H.C. Andersen – The fairytales: El patito feo y…
-H.C. Andersen – The fairytales: El ruisenor y…
-H.C. Andersen – The fairytales: La Princesa de las Nieves y… ( a bit scary at times)
-H.C. Andersen – The fairytales: El soldadito de plomo
-H.C. Andersen: La princesa y el guisante
-H.C. Andersen: El traje Nuevo del Emperador
*The Good Times Entertaintment Series is lower in quality overall than a Disney movie would be but still pretty decent. Scenes are a bit scary sometimes for sensitive children. Adequate for children 3 and up. Centro-American accent.
“Cuentos Clasicos: Hermoso Negro”
“Cuentos clasicos: Pulgarcita”
“Cuentos clasicos: Aladino”                            
“Cuentos clasicos: El libro de la selva” – entertaining          
“Cuentos clasicos: Un Villancico” (Scrooge) – bit scary for younger kids
“La llamada del salvaje”
“Animal Stories: Awesome attitudes”  Spoken in rime.
“El gato con botas” by Phil Nibbelink (long version, cute & funny, mediocre visual quality) My son watches it again and again. He thinks is hysterical. It has James Bond-style scenes and music alternating with Wagner’s music.
“La cenicienta” –Golden Films. Nasty step-sisters.            
“Grandes heroes y leyendas de la biblia: David and Goliath” –Tundra Productions
FROM CURRENT TV SHOWS (or movies)
“ Disney’s Little Einstein’s : Mission Celebration”
“ Disney’s Little Einstein’s: The golden Pyramid
(The 2 DVDs above are our favorites because they are entertaining and we learn from them. They speak slow and clear. It’s great for learning new vocabulary too.
The MSB DVDs, below are also a big favorite with us for the same reasons)
“The Magic School Bus: Holiday special”
“The magic School Bus: catches a wave”
(All the dragon tales DVDs are instructional too so I give them a good rating too)
“ Dragon Tales: Easy as 1, 2, 3”
“ Dragon Tales: We can solve it together”
“ Dragon Tales: Whenever I’m afraid
“ Dragon Tales: Adventures in Dragonland
“ Dragon Tales: Don’t give up
“ Clifford-everyone loves Clifford / Good friends,Good times”  -Cute
“ Dora’s Christmas”  -the usual
“ Dora’s: We’re a Team” the usual
“ Dora and Diego:  Animal Adventure” the usual
“ Franklin and the Green Knight” about becoming a big brother or sister. Good.
“ Bob the Builder –Scoop favorite adventures” Nice.
“ Maggie and the ferocious Beast – Let’s play a game”  Nice.
“The Prince, The Princess and the Bee – Miss Spider’s Sunny patch” Cute movie, very gentle except for a couple spooky moments.
“ Growing up with Winnie the Pooh” (my son doesn’t care for Winnie and Co)
“ Caillou’s Holiday Movie”
“ Curious George” -the movie
OTHER MOVIES
“ Happy feet”-the movie.
“The Muppets take Manhattan”  (for older kids and grown ups)
“The adventures of Milo and Otis”  -live action, animals, charming! Girls love it!
OLDIES (Movies with not very good quality in image and/or sound)
“El caballito volador” (live action, Mexican)
“Aladino” (live action, comedy, Mexican, old, terrible acting)
“Woody el pajaro loco y sus amigos” (very old cartoons and too violent sometimes)
“Ahi viene Cascarrabias, vol. 1” (old-fashion cartoons but entertaining enough) Princess is chased by a bad guy in a dragon in every episode.
“Gran colleccion de 48 dibujos animados: set of 3 (very old cartoons: Bugs Bunny, Poppeye..) Very odd cartoons and too violent some of them.
“Mobby D*ck” –old, cartoonish, a bit scary for young kids.

As for the schools, it depends where you live and how much money you are willing to pay. There is some Montessory school in New Paltz that teaches them some Spanish. But my son is going to be exposed this next year to the same amount of Spanish -or more- in a little school in Coldemham for just $125/month (3 mornings/week). To my knowledge, there aren’t any “Immersion” schools in the Hudson Valley area.

But, school or not, try to expose them to people that speak other languages, not just Spanish: that way they’ll realize that it’s OK to speak other languages besides the one Mommy speaks! (that helped my son)

Anyway. That’s about it for tonight. Please, let me know if you need any more info and keep us updated on any progress you and your little family make.
Buena suerte y, como decimos en Espana: Valor… y al toro!

Lana




   
 
 

Muchas Gracias Lana :)

Yes, my wife is completely supportive of raising our children at the very least bilingual. As I mentioned previously, she's even tried some spanish classes a while back but just didnt practice. We'll need to work on that.

I can't believe how many books and videos there are...wow...we're actually looking into a pre-k program at the Children's Country Day School in New Windsor as they have a spanish class/instructor.

What's interesting is we had spoken to a doctor a while back when my 1st child was only about 1.5 and she mentioned not to speak both languages to our child as it might confuse her and later result in development issues... I think that was our mistake!

I like your idea about the spanish TV programming. As it is my 3yr old currently enjoys watching futbol with me so I'm sure we can find other fun things together. I think whatshe'll  miss the most is watching/listening to the interaction between adults/kids speaking spanish. Mama does the play dates and I'm going to see if she can find other moms that are in the same boat and make it somehow interactive....hmmm, now the job would be to find those bilingual mamas/groups!

 Chao ;)

Luis

 Luis ,

I also wanted to mention that there are many other materials, such as Flash cards, (Dora’s, among others), bilingual books and charts that are readily available at Barnes&Noble and, sobre todo, at the “Education Station” (Rt 17K, outside Montgomery) You can check their website and see the huge amount of Spanish materials they carry. http://www.edu-station.com  The store itself is worth a visit with your girls. My son calls it “La tienda de los lapiceros” but it’s actually filled to the top with every kind of educational materials.

As for doctors, most have no clue about the pros of learning 2 or more languages at early age. By exposing your daughters to Spanish you’re actually multiplying the neuron’s connections in their brains, therefore raising their IQ levels. It‘s not proven that it delays speech at all. Siblings exposed to the same bilingual situation may develop speech at different level and speed….the same that happens in monolingual families!

Lack of information is the biggest enemy of bilingualism! I didn’t start teaching my son Spanish until he was 21 months because I read an article that said I should wait until my son had the “Language explosion” in English first (at about 24 months). Lucky me, he was an early talker and I was able to start earlier.
I have some Italian friend that had to stop speaking Italian to her son because the speech therapist said so. The poor kid lost all he knew already and has to work much harder now to become bilingual.
There is a book called “The bilingual edge” that everyone I know recommends. It’s ideal for parents new to bilingualism…..and, I guess, for doctors and therapists as well!

As for Spanish Playgroups… it’s hard to get people together when the kids have different ages -and the kids tend to communicate with each other in English anyway (Germans are SO much better at that!)
I meet some friends now and then at the OC park (Thomas Bull -Sally’s Dream), so we could arrange a playdate there if your wife has the time in the next couple weeks. Just let me know when is the best time for her and I’ll check my schedule. OK? (The "Wooster Grove Park" in Walden is also a very nice option with a great ice-cream place next door)

 Lana 

Como siempre..gracias

I'll definitely get some dates to see what would work best. We all have to start somewhere ;)

By the way, lol on this line " It’s ideal for parents new to bilingualism…..and, I guess, for doctors and therapists as well!"
...indeed!

Chao Lana

Looking forward to meet them!

Lana