Comments on: Why Raise Bilingual Children?

By: Ask an Expert: Help! My Husband Won’t Allow Me to Speak Spanish to Our Daughter « SpanglishBaby

Wed, 26 May 2010 07:02:52 +0000

[...] of us at Spanglishbaby know about the many advantages to the child that come from learning two languages. (I hope I made them very clear in chapter 1 [...]

By: Raising Bilingualism Awareness in Schools « SpanglishBaby

Raising Bilingualism Awareness in Schools « SpanglishBaby — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 20:14:02 +0000

[...] When my husband and I met our daughter’s preschool teachers during orientation last year, we made sure we let both of them know we were raising her bilingual using the mL@H method. We explained that although, at first, it would seem as if Vanessa was not very verbal, the truth was that her vocabulary was much more extensive in Spanish than in English, since we only speak to her in the former. We just wanted to make sure that they knew what was going on, but we also wanted to gauge their understanding of bilingualism and their attitude toward it and the fact that Vanessa’s first language is Spanish—after all, not everyone, including educators, seems to understand or believe in the tremendous benefits of bilingualism. [...]

By: Beth Ortuño

Beth Ortuño — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:43:40 +0000

I’m “typical” American. In the part of Ohio where my dad’s from, my family started emigrating there in the 1830′s and continued speaking their native language (a form of German) all the way up to the end of WWII, when the whole community abruptly switched itself to English only. So an extremely important part of our heritage was preserved for well over a hundred years and then willingly obliterated in just a few. Although people had the best intentions at heart, I think it was a mistake. I wish I had that strong connection to my own past. On my mother’s side we know some were originally Irish by their names and a small handful of family stories, but really there are very few details. My husband is from a place in Mexico where even the “new” Spanish culture is centuries old and there are many aspects of the indigenous culture still going strong. I want my son to feel comfortable in his own skin always. As he goes through the challenges of life I want him to be able to close his eyes and imagine the warmth of both Ohioan hot apple cider and Mexican atole. To do that he must have good command of both languages.

By: The Beginner’s Guide to SpanglishBaby « SpanglishBaby

The Beginner’s Guide to SpanglishBaby « SpanglishBaby — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 08:26:00 +0000

[...] Why Raise Bilingual Children and Even More Reasons to Raise Bilingual Kids: The Latest Studies and Yes, it is a Great Idea to Raise Them Bilingual [...]

By: A Closer Look at Why Raise Bilingual Kids

A Closer Look at Why Raise Bilingual Kids — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:24:13 +0000

[...] we launched SpanglishBaby almost six months ago, I wrote a post about why raise bilingual children. In the weeks and months following, we’ve tried to write about or at least mention the latest [...]

By: Alexandra Beneke

Alexandra Beneke — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 03:26:37 +0000

Ana, your sister Marilu sent me this site to review and I am very glad she did. I think this is a GREAT website that is going to help us all to be able to bring our kids up bilingual. I am a native Spanish speaker and my husband (from Ecuador) and I have made a great emphasis on making sure the kids (5 and 3) speak only Spanish at home. I am currently starting to teach them to read and write in Spanish and am facing several issues choosing the methodology to teach them. Maybe you guys can blog about that. Congratulations and keep up the great work! If I can help you guys in any way, let me know. Ale

By: Maria Isabel Romero

Maria Isabel Romero — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 17:35:11 +0000

It’s a very interesting and useful blog! It’s very rewarding to see how our nieces and grand nieces speak fluent Spanish. It would be very disappointing not to be able to communicate with them in our native language. In my case, it was a real blessing to attend a bilingual school. I´ll never stop thanking my parents for their vision of the future. The opportunities I have now are incredible. My whole job is related to bilingual knowledge since I teach English and Spanish to Mexican and American executives. Being bilingual also “prepare” your brain to learn more languages, I also speak French and are attempting to learn Italian. (Going well, so my teacher says).
Congratulations and good luck on this great blog!

By: SpanglishBaby

SpanglishBaby — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 22:56:59 +0000

Bienvenida, Gloria! Thanks for sharing your story with all of us. You are definitely already a pro!

By: Gloria

Gloria — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 05:23:48 +0000

Awesome website!!! I agree – the more languages/cultures one can absorb, the better. I just wanted to share my personal view on this issue. I raised (still raising) a bilingual child. My daughter is almost 18, and I am proud every time I hear her speak Spanish. Her accent betrays the fact she is not a native speaker; nonetheless, she can communicate very efficiently with all her Spanish-speaking family. Veronika spoke only Spanish until about the age of 4. She learned English at pre-school in a matter of days/weeks. While her written Spanish can still improve, she has no problem communicating with her Peruvian side of the family, as well as with her Cuban side. She has traveled to Peru several times, and she is never an outsider. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. Veronika is no longer a baby – but she’s definitely a Spanglish Teen.

By: Away With the Myths

Away With the Myths — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 05:29:15 +0000

[...] in the West that do not speak a word of Spanish. Newer research actually shows there are many advantages to being bilingual, including flexible [...]