English & Spanish @ the same time or one @ a time?

Question

My baby is 6 months, I speak English and Spanish, Spanish was my first language. Should I talk to her in one language first or is it ok if I talk in both......By OK I mean if it won't be confusing?

Answer 1

Definitely speak both to the child. The baby won't get confused--she/he will get *smarter*! Bilingualism actually rewires the human brain, making it easier for the child to learn languages more easily throughout her/his life, and making it easier for her/him to learn *everything*. The earlier you use both languages, the better it is for your baby.

You *don't* need to keep the 2 languages separate. Some Americans recommend only speaking one language (and having someone else do the other) or only speaking Spanish in the living room and English in the dining room, or only Spanish on Thursdays, etc. It's absolutely ridiculous. Yes, your daughter may speak a little "Spanglish", but she'll know the difference. All children will figure it out!!

When she/he starts talking, the two languages may be intermixed; by the time your child is 2, they'll be separate (possibly an occasional "wrong" word mixed in, especially if she/he only knows the particular word in one language). Your child will also know who to speak to in which language, and may be able to guess even with strangers.

Answer 2

Both, kids are like sponges and learn very well and very quickly.

Make sure she the English language, though. Spanish is great, it's beautiful and it gives her something to be proud of. However, if you live in the States, she will need English much more than Spanish. Even if you're not in the States, English is used universally. Fluency in English will be her blessing!

As some others above have pointed out, make sure you teach her Spanish and English rather than mixing it up into Spanglish. When you teach Spanish, teach it well. When you teach English, teach it well.

Answer 3

I taught my older daughter English first and after she learned to speak fairly well, I introduced Spanish to her. She is 11 now and does a fantastic job with both languages. With my youngest, I spoke to her in both languages equally thinking it would be a good idea. It wasn't the best idea I've ever had because it took her longer than usual to talk in either language.

After doing a bit of research, i found that teaching more than one language at a time will, sometimes, keep a child from talking as soon as they would normally.

By the way, my little one is now 8 and she, too, can communicate in either language.

Answer 4

This is a tough one because I have seen different outcomes. My boyfriends little brothers(Jonathon-8 and William-10) learned both at the same time and they are having a hard time with it. They speak "spanglish" all the time, their mom continues to correct them and tell them to speak one language at a time but it doesn't seem to be getting through to them. I don't think they realize that they are doing it. They also have a hard time reading and spelling, Im not sure that that is due to learning 2 languages at a time but it could be...
However, my cousins learned both languages at the same time(Jessica-18 and Marisa-16) and while Jessica has trouble reading and spelling in both languages, she speaks them well and always has. Marisa reads, spells and speaks English very well but has trouble speaking spanish and is not able to write or read it well at all.

Answer 5

Babies have the ability to acquire more than one 1st language, I personally know people who have 3 or 4 first language.
Please continue teaching your baby both, and she will learn both. There will be a stage where she will mix the languages, but this is a normal phase and soon sorts itself out automatically.
Please keep up the good work!

Answer 6

I have a Chinese coworker with a French husband, and they both speak to their son in their respective first languages as well as English. She tells me that they expected him to get confused, but he didn't. From what I've heard, speaking to your baby in multiple language may delay the onset of his speech slightly, but he will master both languages fully earlier than if you pick one and introduce the other later.

Children learn fast; I wouldn't worry too much about it, just do whatever is natural for you.

Answer 7

its ok to talk in both as long as you don't mix them into the same sentence. when speaking english use only english and the same for spanish. the younger you are the easier it is to learn languages. so I would encourage you to go ahead and teach her both.

Answer 8

Well some words in spanish are similar or identical in english. For example enormous is enorme in spanish, or traditional is tradicional in spanish. However, there are many words that are completely different. For example library is biblioteca, cat is gato and dog is perro

Answer 9

My coworker is bilingual - English and Spanish - and she teaches her babies in both languages. They are bilingual toddles, speaking and understanding both English and Spanish. Children are ripe for learning.

Answer 10

try speaking in English first. It's very confusing to have two names for everything, and your kid may end up speaking half-and half. "Como are tu" and stuff like that. Also, it's easier to explain Spanish than English, and better to let her grasp English intuitively.