real stories

image credit: reading in the flowers, via flickr

As you may know, we at Bilingual Readers enjoy getting to know bilingual families from all over the world and hearing about their experiences. We started the “Real Stories, Real Lives” segment of our blog to create a space where families can share the ups and downs of life in a bilingual home. Today we’re so excited to hear from Kate, an American mother of three living in Madrid, about her struggles and triumphs. Kate also just finished her degree in education (to teach English at a primary school) so her perspective on the bilingual school system in Madrid is especially interesting. We hope you’ll enjoy her story as much as we did!

Tell us a bit about your bilingual family.
I’m American, and my husband is Spanish. I’ve been here eleven years now. We have three sons, ages 7, 5, and the youngest will be 2 in February. My husband and I usually speak Spanish to each other. The older two boys are bilingual, and the youngest hardly speaks at all yet but is very proficient in non-verbal communication!

Why did you decide to raise your children in two languages?
It seemed like the only thing to do, since we wanted them to be able to communicate with both sides of the family and participate in both cultures.

Did you sit down and make a plan as to who would speak in what language to your children or did it just come naturally?
Before having children, I looked into the topic and found the OPOL, One Parent One Language method, which seemed to make the most sense. We each speak to the kids in our native language.

Did you follow through with your plan or did you end up having to adapt it according to the needs of your family?
We have pretty much followed the plan.

How has speaking two languages affected your family dynamics?
Well, I am fluent in Spanish and my husband knows English, so we’ve never had the issue of not understanding what the other is saying to the kids. My in-laws are used to the fact that I speak English to the kids even in front of them, and they think it’s a great advantage that the kids are bilingual. (as do my parents.) Right now I can’t think of anything in particular that has been a problem or challenge in this respect.

What language do your children prefer when they communicate with one another? How has your oldest son’s role as a big brother affected your younger children’s language development?
This is an interesting question. They use both langauges with each other, depending on the circumstances. I usually hear them speaking in English, but I think that when they are with their father they are more likely to use Spanish with each other. But it’s quite fluid and they can switch back and forth whenever the fancy strikes. As for the influence of my oldest, well, they are only two years apart and the middle son is more verbal in general, so I think the influence goes both ways. When the middle son was learning to talk they were mostly around me, and I also encouraged the older one to use English with his brother, so maybe starting off that way set the general tone. But now, as I said, they switch back and forth.

What role does reading play in your household? How often do you read to your children and in which language(s)?
We read a lot, and have books everywhere. Most of our children’s books are in English, but we do have some in Spanish also. I only read to the kids in English– if it’s a book in Spanish I’ll translate as I go along, though I prefer to read books in the original language. My husband will sometimes read them a book in English. He’s the one who has worked with the kids on learning to read (the 5 year old is right in the middle of this and has to practice reading aloud every day.) Even though the oldest can read to himself now, I still try to read to them every day. Right now we are working our way through the Magic Treehouse books by Mary Pope Osborne, and the Secrets of Droon series by Tony Abbot. For me, reading to them has been a way for me to share the books I loved when I was growing up, and to help give them a window into American culture since they are living in Spain. They also retain and use words and expressions they hear in the books, which surprised me at first (they do this with TV and DVDs too.)

How did you approach teaching your oldest son to read? Did you focus on one language or try to teach him to read in both languages simultaneously?
We started by doing the typical pre-literacy activties (talking about sounds in words, rhyme, noticing letters, etc.) whenever the opportunity arose in books or on signs or whatever. We did this naturally, starting when he was a baby, and only as a game, not consciously teaching. When he was five and learning to read (Spanish) at school, he was working really hard at that so we didn’t push the English. We figured that having the skill of reading in Spanish would make it easier to apply the same skills to English. And, we were right– once he started reading well in Spanish, he automatically transferred those skills and started reading in English at about the same time. I think part of this success was due to having a strong foundation in both the idea of decoding letter sounds (he also watched videos of Sesame Street, Between the Lions, played Super Why games on the computer, etc.) and also a strong vocabulary base in English, from all of the reading to him we did (and of course, videos and DVDs in English as well.) Since he already knew so many words in English, it was easier for him to recognize them, even when the spelling didn’t quite match up with the sounds.

I see that your children go to one of the public bilingual schools in Madrid. Has this been a positive experience for them?
Actually they go to a “concertado” bilingual school, but it has been working out well. Since they are already bilingual, I can’t say that they are learning much English that they didn’t already know, but they are getting much more input in English. The five-year old has half the day in English, and the second grader has English class and Science and Art in English. In Science, they are getting to read a fair amount of text in English as well as learning the content in English. This is a great advantage for a bilingual kid.

I just finished my education degree here in Spain (teaching English in Primary school) and I taught in a public bilingual school, and it was a very well-run program. To participate, the teachers have to have a very good level of English, and I was impressed with the program overall. The one drawback is that if there is a student who is already struggling, having to learn the subject matter in English (they do Science and Art in English there too) can be an added hurdle. If parents want their child to attend a bilingual school, they need to commit to being involved and aware of how the child is doing, and may need to arrange for extra tutoring in English to make sure the student doesn’t fall behind.

Any advice for families who are planning to raise their kids bilingually?

Well, I think it’s really helpful to be able to trade experiences and compare notes with other bilingual families. I have done this through an online group, and it is great to be able to get suggestions or encouragement from others in a similar situation. It’s also a good idea to learn about the different methods and decide which one best fits your family, and plan ahead for potential roadblocks. And most of all, keep going– not only does being bilingual give your child a great advantage, but it also helps them to feel connected to both sides of their heritage.

Do you want to share your story with us? Send us an e-mail to info@bilingualreaders.com and we’ll get back to you!

image credit: reading time, via flickr

Those of you who are regular readers of our blog know that we like to interview bilingual families to showcase their trials and triumphs because we believe we can all learn from one another. As bilingual publishers we get the chance to meet lots of interesting people, and we often feel the need to share their insight and stories with others who may be going through the same thing. So when I read a blog post by writer Jeannette Cook at ceci n’est pas un cuisine about how her nine year old daughter finally became enthusiastic about reading in English, I knew I wanted to hear more about this bilingual family.

I was especially touched by the following lines from Jeannette’s post, “But I have to say that with raising kids bilingually, especially when they are schooled in a language that is not yours, the pride you feel in their ability is tempered by a bittersweet feeling that they are missing out on something you enjoyed, and hoped they would one day share. I’m talking, I suppose, mainly about books, and reading in English. And specifically, reading children’s books in English…I get a pang in my heart when I see Clover’s older sister reading French translations of childhood classics. But of course she reads faster and better in French, and I’m glad she likes reading, so I won’t force the originals on her…But I wonder, did she not love Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books because she tried them in translation? I want her to love (eventually) the great wealth that is Anglo literature — Dickens and Austen and Catcher in the Rye; I want her to go through a Hemingway phase, and an E. E. Cummings one, and even (should they still be in print) a Judy Blume one.”

I’m sure many bilingual families have experienced similiar sentiments about their children missing out on part of their language and culture. I left a comment on her blog and Jeannette was kind enough to get back to me and answer a few questions about her bilingual readers.

Jeannette’s story in her own words:

In our own home, I’m American and my ex-husband, my girls’ father, is British (English).  So our home language is two sorts of English.   Our girls are being raised bilingually however because we decided to send them to local Belgian schools.  As we live in French-speaking Brussels, they have been immersed in French.

Brussels is a marvelous place if you are interested in the dynamics of bilingualism, or multi-lingualism.  Because of the European institutions, people from all over Europe come here, resulting in all sorts of variations on the bilingual theme:  mother and father with two different languages; mother and father with same language but the language of the place where they are living is different; mother and father with two different languages PLUS the language of the place is different.  This is in addition to the language friction which exists between the French and Flemish speaking parts of Belgium.  Brussels is officially bilingual, but the two languages divide themselves not only geographically, but socio-economically. There’s a lot of language going on here!

My own level of French is fair, though far from fluent.  I used to read to the girls mostly in English when they were very small — say, pre-school age — but once they were about 6 or 7 I didn’t push the English because I wanted them to be very solid with reading and writing in French, because that is the language they are schooled in.

I have no doubt that my oldest daughter (12) finds it easier to read in French at the moment and that is why she tends to read more in that language.  That being said, she has discovered that many books she likes have been translated from English and that she can get the latest in her favorite series faster if she gets it in English. So she’s motivated now to be able to do both with similar ease.  Because of the interest my youngest daughter (9) has shown in reading, and the positive reinforcement she gets from being able to read beginner’s books, I will keep encouraging her to read to me now.

Another thing about why my eldest leans towards reading French: her peer group is reading in that language.  If she wants to exchange books or talk about books with her friends, it’s going to be French language books, not English ones.

In general, reading is a big feature in our lives… books everywhere in the house, Amazon orders, hanging out in bookstores… It would have been hard for them not to be interested, one way or another.

Thanks so much to Jeannette for sharing her story with us, and we wish you the best of luck!

Jaime, (baby) Claudia and Sofía

As you may know, we at Bilingual Readers enjoy sitting down with bilingual families from all over the world to hear about their experiences. We started the “Real Stories, Real Lives” segment of our blog to create a space where families can share the ups and downs of life in a bilingual home. Sofia, Jaime and Claudia are the latest addition to our community, so we hope you enjoy their story as much as we did!

Tell us a bit about your bilingual family.
Our family is made up of a Spanish father named Jaime, a Portuguese mother named Sofia and a precious little Spanish girl named Claudia.

Why did you decide to raise Claudia in two languages?
Before Claudia was born we were already sure we wanted to speak to her in both languages. We thought it was very important and positive for her to be able to speak both languages.

Did you sit down and make a plan as to who would speak in what language to your daughter or did it just come naturally?
It has always seemed very natural. Mama speaks Portuguese and Papa speaks Spanish. Claudia speaks more Portuguese at this point since she spends more time with her mom, but she understands both languages.

How has speaking two languages affected your family dynamics? How do you think this could change as Claudia grows older?
I speak my first language more, but nothing has changed, we’re still the same family. The fact that I speak more Portuguese is actually helping Jaime because now he understands Portuguese better. We believe Claudia will have more opportunities in the future. Because she is learning two languages from such a young age, learning a third will be much easier for her.

Have you experienced any negative comments about you speaking to Claudia in Portuguese?
Yes, people have told us that she is too young to understand and this will make it harder for her to learn to speak in either language. Typical myths.

What role does reading play in your household? How often do you and Jaime read to Claudia and in which language(s)?
Almost all of the books we have at home are in Spanish, but I translate them so that I can read to her in Portuguese. We try to read to her every day or at least expose her to books so that she can see the illustrations.

Any interesting anecdotes about Claudia’s bilingual upbringing?
When Claudia wants more cookies and it’s almost time to eat, we always tell her “más no.” After hearing this so many times, she began to associate them with cookies, so now when she wants cookies she says “más no.”

Any advice for families who are planning to raise their kids bilingually? I would tell them to speak both languages at home and not listen to people’s negative comments because children can learn both languages naturally.

Do you want to share your story with us? Send us an e-mail to info@bilingualreaders.com and we’ll get back to you!