how do I teach my baby to speak both Spanish and English fluently?

Question

I have a 4 month old baby and I would like him to learn both lenguages, but I don't want him to get them mixed.
any sugestions? my husband and I both speak spanish and english.

Answer 1

Speak to him in both languages. He will learn both and learn the difference between them, as well. He will *not* mix them up, even if you do nothing to distinguish between them in any way. Babies are smart, and they will figure it out based on the sounds.

When he first starts talking and up to the age of 3'ish, he may mix the 2 languages in his speech, but this is more likely to be based on vocabulary, not on confusion. In other words, he might say, "Quiero un peach" if he doesn't know the word for "peach" in Spanish, or if it's more natural for him to say it in English for some reason.

You do *not* have to distinguish between the 2 languages in *any* way. Some people believe (with no proof) that each parent speaking one language works better...or speaking only English in the kitchen and Spanish only in the living room...or other equally ridiculous things! Mixing words from both languages in one sentence *may* confuse the baby (especially if you pronounce the word with the accent of the other language), but even that will work itself out over time...

Answer 2

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Answer 3

When I took linguistics in College, my professor said that the best way to do this is to have one parent speak only English and the other speak only Spanish. This way, the baby will not mix them.

The principle can be altered. I have a friend who is from Spain. He and his wife only speak Spanish at home. They speak English outside the home (to English speakers). But the baby is in a day care center where everyone speaks English. This was a few years ago -- and he now speaks both languages fluently (English with an American accent and Spanish with a Spanish accent).

Answer 4

I think the baby will get them mixed up for a while, but that's totally OK. Just remind him. He will learn how to differentiate them soon. It may take a little longer for him to speak both than it takes another baby just to learn one language. There are also children's books that teach Spanish, you could get both English & Spanish books for him. Maybe one of you can speak Spanish to him, and the other English. Or, maybe only speak English during the week, and Spanish on the weekend (or the other way around). It's a great idea for him to grow up bi-lingual. My cousins' Mom is from France, and they speak both French & German now. Good luck!

Answer 5

I have heard you should speak, & read in only one language it is best as to not confuse the baby. If English is what he will be learning at school then speak Spanish at home. If he is fluent in Spanish and speaks very little or no English at home then he/she will qualify for pre-k at age 4, depending on the State and school district. I have a friend that was raised in Mexico everyone around her only spoke Spanish except her mom she only spoke to her in English.

Answer 6

Were you both taught from birth both languages? If so, talk to your parents about what they did to teach you both. You can also use both languages to describe the same thing - like yourselves, his food, his bottle, his blanket, his room, the couch, the cat... call each item in Spanish and English and he might just pick it up. And when he is old enough to understand (in a few months - to a year) make sure you tell him it is important for him to be able to speak English and Spanish.

Answer 7

My cousin's husband in Swedish. She speaks English exclusively to their kids (4 and 6) and her hubby has always spoken Swedish to them (at least 80% of the time anyway.) I don't think the kids even think of it in terms of different languages, just the way they talk with mommy (and almost everyone else) and the way they talk to daddy. Maybe you could take the same approach: one of you is the English parent and one is the Spanish... maybe that way they wouldn't get confused and be tempted to mix the two randomly (which would make it really hard for them to communicate with anyone else.)

Answer 8

Speak both around your baby & read books in both languages. Don't worry about him getting them confused, he'll figure it out by the time he is able to speak. What a wonderful gift the two of you can give your child!

Answer 9

I wouldn't use both immediately. I would wait about a year or 18 months and then start speaking the secondary language...I think two languages at once would be too difficult to grasp, but that's just my opinion.

Answer 10

Speak both languages to the baby now, will be much easier for him to learn now than when older. I am of Cajun decent and my parents didn't teach us French and I've always regretted it. Learned later in life and was very hard. Even though you are an American and proud of it, you can be proud of your heritage without being anti-American!!!