teaching my baby spanish(as a first language)?

Question

I am a native english speaker but I want my baby to only hear spanish in the house hold. I am majoring in spanish so I don't think this would be too difficult of a task. I read that your child can learn english from the school and else where outside the home. I want to know if this is a good idea, and how to go about doing this? (The father is hispanic also)

Answer 1

My family uses English and sign language. I believe that it helps them developmentally it also helps me to scold them from across the room without anybody knowing :). I think that you should use both Spanish and English in your house. English is part of who you are and that is also important for you children to know. It is also great and beneficial for your children to learn Spanish.

Answer 2

I had this same question with my children and I researched for quite some time. I was told that if both parents speak english, it is best to introduce the child to spanish around age 2 or 3. However, if one of the parents is Spanish speaking, than there is no problem teaching a child spanish as early as birth. I thought it strange at first, but after thinking about it, if a parent is already spanish speaking, they relate that language with that parent and can differentiate between the two languages. However, if a parent is a native english speaker just trying to teach a child spanish, the child gets the two languages mixed and will speak a hybrid of the two. But since the father is hispanic, the child should have no problem.

Answer 3

If u should decide to make Spanish the primary language spoken in the home it should be an easy transition for ur child to learn both languages fairly even. The child could get English at school and Spanish at home making it the primary language. In school, the child will be treated like an ESL (English as a Second Language) student. Allow no English at home, none what so ever, only Spanish. English out side of the home whenever. Stick to ur guns and the child will turn out Bi-lingual and master both languages guaranteed.

I don't know whether u want to put the child through that, it may confused the heck out of them as I have been told by my now adult child who went through this very same ordeal. I didn't realize what a mistake I made but in the long run she is fluent in four languages but doesn't attribute it to me putting her in ESL classes. I beg to differ. Who really knows but at least I'm comfortable that she is where she is because I made the effort while she was a baby.

Answer 4

I think it is a fantastic idea! Two fluent languages is such an asset. And as far as I know that is how most people do it. You could start English the year before and then she'll have some when she starts school. I have also heard of kids failing kindergarten because of the language problem, but that isn't really a big deal. They pick up on language so easily when they are young. I have also heard the expression "I wanted her to dream in Spanish" They spoke only Spanish until they were sure their child dreamed in the language, then brought in English. I thought that was very neat!

Answer 5

That is difficult to answer. You can hinder a child if you live in the USA by teaching him Spanish as a first language. I would choose English and then go with Spanish before he enters school. He will then be way ahead. Since your husband is Hispanic, it would be delightful to have your child learn both language fluently. I love the Spanish language, and only know a little, not very much. Good luck.

Answer 6

I had a ? about the best way to teach my daughter English and French since her father's side of the family are French, and had some people commenting 'This is America, speak English'. Ignore comments such as those. It is very important for many reasons to speak more than one language, and there are certainly more countries than just Mexico where your child can go to use Spanish. Oh, almost all of South America, Spain, etc...

Anyways, I would THINK if you are a native English speaker, it would come more natural for you to speak English to your child. I know it is for me, and even though French pops out of my mouth sometimes it is much more natural for me to speak in my mother tongue. Your child only needs one parent to speak Spanish for them to learn it as their 'first language'. In fact, your child wont have a first language, they will have two equally fluent languages if they are exposed to them as a baby. You can still have Spanish be the household language if you want, where you and your husband speak Spanish with one another, but you speak English to your baby. Apparently your child will not be confused at all by this, as long as you are consistent in speaking the same language TO them. A baby learns most of their language abilities in the FIRST YEAR so if you are going to be a stay at home mom that is especially important to expose your child to English in that first year.

Children really do pick up languages very quickly. I have a friend here in France (she speaks Spanish as first language, english as second) who's 5yr old became fluent in French after just 6mths. He learned it from his friends and the teachers at daycare/school. Very impressive, he was teaching us new words all the time! He did get confused sometimes though, and might answer in a language different than the ? asked, for instance, but that is just temporary. Waiting until they were to enter school at 6yrs is probably late to learn a language that they should be fluent in though.

Go to the website below, it gave me some good ideas. Buena suerte (umm, it's been absolutely ages since I studied spanish, that is suppose to be good luck).

Answer 7

A decade ago to learn English, you had to attend costly English classes or purchase course material like tapes and books. Now you can learn English for free from the comfort of your home using the Internet. The BBC and the British Council offer a number of on line courses, which teach written and spoken English. You can also improve your English by watching television programs and reading English newspapers. For more information, visit http://tinyurl.com/qnzpt

Answer 8

I agree with several people on here in saying that I think you should teach BOTH at once. I think that it's GREAT that you want your child to learn both languages, but from experience, it's much harder to go to school speaking spanish and ONLY spanish, and then be taught english. Schools can teach english to your child, but your child will be in seperate classrooms from the other kids because of the language barrier, and at a young age, it takes its toll, especially on self-esteem. A child needs to have playmates at a young age because it is good developmental skills for them in the future. The barrier between them would only hinder his/her ability to learn and grow with other kids his/her age. I think that if he/she was to grow up learning BOTH languages simultaneously, he/she will use them to their advantage later in life, and will inevitably prosper in the future. But starting a child out speaking only spanish will be harder for the child because they won't understand why they can't communicate with the other children... and inevitably why they are "left out" of the play groups.

Answer 9

young children can actually learn multiple languages at the same time, if you want your child to be fluent in english and spanish you should speak both to them, or you speak one and the childs father speaks the other. however you want to do it, it's easiest to learn a language when you are very young. your child may interchange them at first but will be able to learn which words go with each language and before you know it will be fluent in both. i suggest you teach them at the same time, not waiting until your child goes to school to learn english, it only gets harder to learn the older they get.

Answer 10

No offense but I think it would be pretty dumb to teach him spanish as his first language. We live in an english speaking country, think about it. If you wanted to teach him spanish as well as english there is nothing wrong with that. But you know that down the line, attending school he will need to be fluent in english so all you will be doing is impairing his ability to learn if he is being taught in a language that he barely understands (english). I just think it would be wise to teach him both languages if you are set on him learning spanish.