I'd like to teach my baby Spanish. However, I'll be living with my family who only speaks English. I guess I could speak solely in Spanish to the baby but will he get confused when I talk to others in English? How can I make sure he learns both languages?
2007-05-01 07:50:38 · 16 answers · asked by Freaked out 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
Speak to your child in Spanish as much as possible. My parents had the same problem with me. They wanted me to know Chinese, yet be proficient enough in English to do well in school . Your child will pick it up after a while if you talk to him or her without any formal teaching.
Confusing your child with both languages? Heck yes. I am 20 right now and I still stutter over finding the right words to use when I talk to people. But that only happens occasionally.
You can say that is the advantage or disadvantage of knowing two languages. You know three to five words to describe a single object in both languages. It's kinda like shopping for one thing but you are faced with a lot of choices.
You need time to think about what words to use or you use more than one thing.
Either that, or your child will be semi-bilingual. Being able to listen but not speak very well in Spanish.
But either way, you have to do one thing. You need to use Spanish while talking to your child.
Hope this helps.
2007-05-01 08:17:25 · answer #1 · answered by LittleDeathAngel 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
He shouldn't get confused! Get a book on having a multilingual family--it will give examples and what to do in ceratin situations. Most of all you should only speak the Spanish with child since most all other contact will be in English.
I've read that at 6 months a baby can tell the difference between languages by the sounds.
2007-05-01 07:53:57 · answer #2 · answered by Sassafrass 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
My personal experience, I decided to teach my kids English first because we are in United States and some people and some kids could be cruel to the other kids especially when they go to school. Star with just one language first, then, when the child is more comfortable, introduce him to the other one. There is always a way, TV, computers, newspapers, radio, books with pictures(this really helps), to help them learned the other language, besides, why not teaching all the people that live in the same house that language, it would be a whole lot better.
GOOD LUCK!!!! and have fun with it, is important to make it fun!!!!!!!
2007-05-01 09:23:01 · answer #3 · answered by A S 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've read so much on this. Basically talk to them in both languages, they'll pick up on it quiet easily. And the younger they're exposed to the language the easier it'll be for them to speak fluently both of it! You can always just speak to the baby solely in spanish and have the other people speak to him in english so that he's exposed to the languages
2007-05-01 07:58:16 · answer #4 · answered by 5475uj1/// 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try to take at least 30 minuets out of the day sitting and teaching him words and sentences. There are books with repeated line one in Spanish one in English. The younger they are the faster they will catch on. Speak to him in Spanish and English. Point out colors and objects tell him the name of the color or object in both languages. I hope I helped, good luck.
2007-05-01 08:06:59 · answer #5 · answered by monkeycdoggiedoo 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The way me and my sister learner how to speak foreign languages (we speak 6 fluently) is by watching foreign channels when we were little. Since we were 1 or so, my dad always put us in our game room and turned on cartoons in foreign language, and at age 4 we spoke french, arabic and italian. My sister did the same thing with her son and now he is 6 and he speaks french, spanish and english, and nobody in the family is from spanish background.
2007-05-01 08:53:00 · answer #6 · answered by vanillahighsky 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just talk to the baby in Spanish as much as you can, in the beginning he/she may be confusing both languages and make one sentence with half English and half Spanish but eventually he/she will understand and be fluent in both as well. My little cousin today speaks quite fluently both Polish and English and we used to speak both around him as he was growing up (he's 13 now.)
2007-05-01 07:54:39 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Children can soak up 2 or much more languages with little confusion. As they are going to be developing up in Greece, they are going to get an entire publicity to Greek, but when they simply use English at house, they would possibly not be taught an entire command of the language... they are going to be fluent, however their vocabulary can be a little restricted; so I might endorse that obtaining English-language TV might be a well notion at a few factor. Also, you are going to have got to coach the little one to learn English as good as Greek. Good good fortune!
2016-09-05 23:36:37 · answer #8 · answered by cura 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Don't worry, kids are great at learning several languages at the same time. Maybe start with reading or telling some Spanish bedtime stories, and later on learning your kid some Spanish nursery rimes.
2007-05-01 08:08:51 · answer #9 · answered by Erik Van Thienen 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, I don't think he will be confused. I grew up the same way... my dad spoke to me in spanish and my mom in english and therefore I grew up speaking both languages. I think it is good you want to teach your child Spanish and I think you should do it. I would! :)
2007-05-01 07:57:52 · answer #10 · answered by Christy 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋