speaking two languages at home

Hi my name is tash Iam 30 years old and I have a 7 year old and a 1 year old.. I speak spanish to my kids at home and there dad speaks to them in english.I think it is a gift for a child to learn another language, what do you think tash

What you are doing for your kids is great. I am currently doing a masters in Linguistics and there has been plenty of research to support this kind of thing. Does their dad speak spanish as well? If he does, you should consider having him speak spanish at home as well. They hear enough English through TV, radio and friends/relatives, at the shops at school/day care etc for them to learn english really well even if spanish is the only language spoken at home. I speak German, but am too lazy to speak it to my 6mth daughter. English is just so much easier. Keep it up!

Hi, my name is David and have a beautiful little 8 month old girl Monique. My wife is Indonesian and I am Canadian. We will be teaching our children both languages as well as Spanish and French when the time comes. My cousins in Canada have two boys and put them into French Emersion school from the start. They are only allowed to read/write and speak French at school for the first few years and then learn another language before they get to grade 4, then they learn to read and write English. They speak perfect English with a Canadian accent but also know how to speak French as well. This is what I want for my kids as it will give them that added edge in life. They will also be able to travel comfortably in most of the world. You are doing the right thing. Good Luck to you and your kids.

Hi tash,
i am a teacher and have worked with many bilingual and NESB children. I have also undertaken additional studies and training in this area and think your children are so priviledged to have the opportunity to speak 2 languages. One thing to keep in mind is that children who are strong in their mother tongue are also stronger in their second language. Some parents (not you, obviously) think it is best to speak to their children in english at home even though it is the parents second language because it is the language the children are learning at school. however, research indicates that this actually hinders language development as the children do not have very good early modelling of any language. It is far better for children to have good modelling of language, no matter what language it is. The skills learned can then be transferred to any new language learned. Keeep speaking to your kids in spanish as this will help them to learn english as well.

Hi , I have a 3.5 year old and a 6mth old, and we speak to our children in spanish. My son understands it more than English, but speaks both very well. He has learn't English from other children and from watching TV. I think it fantastic that our children have this opportunity!!!

keep it up!!!
Chey's mum