videos

Even though it’s a little embarrasing to hear yourself on camera, we thought we’d share this video about Bilingual Readers which will be airing periodically on esmadridtv. They interviewed us a couple of months ago, but we hadn’t see the video until now. Thanks so much to Mar and the great camera man (please forgive us for not remembering your name)!

Every spring thousands of children’s publishers, authors, illustrators, translators and other professionals come together in the world’s most important children’s book fair in Bologna, Italy. During four hectic days Bologna is transformed into a children’s publishing mecca, where the industry comes together to meet, greet, buy and sell rights, see new global trends, inspire and be inspired.

We’re so excited to announce that we’ll be participating in this year’s fair as part of the Spanish stand. We’ve booked our tickets and one of the few hotel rooms left in Bologna, so now we’re just counting down until March 23rd when all the fun begins. If any of our readers will be attending the fair, we’d love to meet up and get to know you face to face. Just send us a note to info[at]bilingualreaders.com or stop buy our stand (Pavillion 29, B19)! We can’t wait to meet you there!

image credit: school bus school bus school bus, via flickr

My husband is Spanish and I am from Australia. At home we always speak to our son in English because we feel it will be easier for our son to learn Spanish since we live in Spain. We are starting to consider options for when he starts school next year. Would it be best for us to send him to a foreign (American or British) school? Would he feel obligated to correct his classmates’ English? Could he have similar problems in a Spanish school?

Dear Parents,
From what I understand you have chosen the ONE HOME, ONE LANGUAGE (OHOL) model: only one language is spoken at home by all family members. This system has the great advantage of providing an important stimulus for the non-community language (the language which is not frequently spoken in the community you live in), which usually becomes weaker over time and often disappears from the child’s productive range (some children stop speaking this language with their parents on a daily basis when they feel more secure communicating in their “stronger” or dominant language).

You are right about one fundamental thing: your son will receive enough linguistic input to learn Spanish from the community outside your home (in the park, with his grandparents and cousins, on tv, in shops…). You are also right to be concerned about the next phase: the school you choose is a very strong linguistic stimulant so it is important to bear this in mind.

Your question addresses one of the most frequent matters affecting OHOL homes: Should we continue to give priority to the non-community language? How should we stimulate Spanish? What kind of repercussions would sending my child to a primarily English or bilingual school have on my child’s social development?

The first thing you need to know is that there is no “right” answer to this question, and there is no obligation to make a decision and stick with it no matter what. I always use a graphic example to illustrate this matter: achieving a balance between both languages. All bilingual parents want their children to develop a balance between both languages, so that they feel just as comfortable using both their languages. In order to achieve this goal there is just one secret: to design a scale on which the linguistic needs of each child in both languages balance one another out. Imagine a scale with weights for English on one side and for Spanish on the other. The weight we give to each language should depend on two variables: the time your child spends on activities in each language and the need for active communication during these activities (Watching TV does not require your child to speak, so it is just a source of passive input, while playing soccer with Spanish neighbors does require your child to speak and games like “Who’s Who” are even better for this sort of active language use.) The more balanced the scale, the more balanced your child’s linguistic activity will be.

Your child’s education is a major source of weight for this scale. Your child will not only spend many hours a day in this environment, but the school you choose will also define many of his social relationships, which are one of the strongest communicative stimulants, since a child truly develops his linguistic abilities when he has to convince others, negotiate, complain, show confidence, etc. A school where more than 60% of classes are given in the non-community language (this is not always the case in so called bilingual schools, but it is the case in schools like The American School, King’s College, British Council, etc.) are a great opportunity to preserve this language. This sort of education also helps with the development of literacy skills, which are of the utmost importance when defining linguistic abilities in any language.

At this point, your son has a lot of weight on the English side of the scale. For a few years longer (until he is around five), one of the most important weights is the communication in your home (repetitive activities like bathtime, eating, reading…), but soon your child’s friends and after school activities will become more important and it will be harder to maintain this balance. It can be difficult to gain admission to some bilingual schools when a child is older so, although you may not have an immediate need for this sort of extra English input now, you may want to consider looking into this option.

In any case, all bilingual families should bear in mind that  there are other ways of adding weight to the scales: after school activities (especially small group activities and team sports), contact with the community of origen (feel free to contact us if you need contacts in Madrid) and hiring an English speaking nanny are other alternatives. It’s hard to predict which way the scales will tip, so we should always be open to changing our strategy as we go along, putting more emphasis on one language or the other according to each child’s needs.

Of course we should also realize that creating this sort of linguistic environment for our child and even for ourselves as parents will define us to a certain extent as a different sort of family, and a unique child. Like it or not, our extended families and neighbors will have an opinion about this, and we will have to do our best to make this situation feel as natural as possible for our children so that they don’t feel awkward. If you begin to notice that your son’s Spanish level is affecting his social development, there is always time to move the weights around a bit and this can be done as you go along.

As to whether or not your son will feel obligated to correct his peers’ English, I wouldn’t worry too much about that. Young children don’t tend to correct one another because communication generally takes priority over correct speech and each child tends to correct himself in order communicate with others. Also, if your child begins to correct his classmates’ English, he opens himself up to criticism of his Spanish, so that sort of situation generally works itself out.

On the other hand, I believe there are other factors to be considered when choosing a school for your child, such as your economic situation, proximity, day to day quality of life, the specific needs of each child and family, whether or not you plan on moving to another country at some point, etc. I’m sure you are keeping all of this in mind, but it is just a reminder for all those bilingual families out there who are faced with similar issues.

If you do decide to choose a primarily English school, it would be a good idea to include a few extra curricular activities to reinforce your son’s Spanish skills, although that will be easy if you live in Spain. If you decide to send your son to an all Spanish school or a bilingual school with 30% of classes in English (we’ll include a more detailed analysis of this option in a later post), you will have to make more of an effort to encourage your son’s English language development. Whatever you choose, you’ll be successful if you make sure to keep those language scales balanced. Good luck with your bilingual family. You already have two of the most important tools for success: intuition and the will to succeed.

Dr. Orlanda Varela is a Child Psychiatrist and the Coordinator of the educational project for Bilingual Families at SINEWS Multilingual Therapy Institute in Madrid. SINEWS organizes bilingualism workshops for parents in Madrid, as well as personalized speech therapy sessions to bilingual families with specific language development problems. For more information, please visit sinews.es.

image credit: reading is fun, via flickr

We all know that reading to and with children is one of the best things we can do to help their language development along. But not all children are born bookworms, and some are going to need a little creative push from their parents to help them discover the joys of reading. If your child isn’t as crazy about reading as you’d like her to be, don’t despair! Here are a few creative ideas for helping you discover a reading strategy that works for your child:

Let your child help you choose the books you read together. Your taste in books is specific to your likes and dislikes, so why should your child be any different? You may think a book about princesses is adorable, but if your daughter is into soccer or pirates, why not choose books that deal with those subjects? By reading books based on topics that truly interest your child, you are encouraging her to explore her own interests while setting the stage for a love of reading at the same time!

Use books as a springboard for playing with kids. Susan Stephenson at The Book Chook recently wrote a fabulous article on developing imagination through literature based play. She suggests for parents and children to “read a story together and then suggest making a game about it. If it’s your game, you get to grab the best roles like Pirate Chief or Ugly Witch. Be sure to involve the kids by asking questions, or suggesting parts for the play…Once the kids are coming up with ideas, gently withdraw until all you have to do is throw in the occasional nasty chuckle, or guard the treasure with your feet up, reading.” Making reading into a game is a great way to interact with your children and help develop their imagination.

Take advantage of your local library. I know that many of you who are reading this may not have set foot in a public library for years, so you may be surprised when you hear about all of the great children’s activities your library has to offer. Most libraries have specially decorated children’s sections, and many provide storytellers and craft sessions for kids. Besides being a great source for free fun activities for kids, you can also check out a wide variety of books to take home with you until your next visit. Many libraries now have bilingual children’s sections and even bilingual story hours, so why not give your local library a chance?

Seek out alternative sources for reading materials. While we are huge fans of the traditional children’s picture book format, not all reading material comes in a book-shaped package. Look for fun flashcards, word games and early literacy kits and have fun playing these games with your kids. (In October we’ll be publishing a kit called Easy Alphabet!/¡Abecedario fácil! which is perfect for this sort of literacy based play). There are also many on-line early literacy sites (click here and here for a few bilingual options) which help develop early literacy skills and get kids familiar with new technologies at the same time. Don’t be afraid to mix things up a bit and show your kids that reading is a part of many different aspects of day to day life.

With a little patience, creativity and trial and error, even the most reluctant reader can be turned into a book lover!

We were so excited to find two great websites full of free activities for helping parents develop children’s reading levels. Both sites are available in English and Spanish (one is available in French and German too!), and both are 100% free.

image credit: Alphabet Soup (via flickr)

The first webpage, Compact for Reading, is an initiative of the US Department of Education. Under the slogan “Connecting schools and homes to help children read,” the site goes on to offer four different level at home reading kits for kindergarten, first, second and third grade levels. According to the site, the School-Home Links Reading Kits are a collection of research-based activities designed to help families reinforce the reading and language arts skills that their children are learning at school.”

Sounds like a great idea to me, and I love the fact that the program also involves a pact between parents and schools working together to get kids reading in English and Spanish. Parent-child shared reading is one of the key factors in achieving early literacy, so any initiative which supports this goal is in high demand. Of course, the kits are geared toward US elementary school curriculum, but the activities are applicable for kids learning to read in English and Spanish all over the world.

The second free website, ReadToday.net (via Reading Tub), is run by the non-profit Literacy Center Education Network and contains emergent literacy activities in English, Spanish, French and German. This site is full of printable worksheets for practicing letters, numbers, colors, shapes and basic words. ReadToday.net addresses the specific needs of bilingual families by asking the important question, “What if every parent had the tools to teach their own children to read in a comfortable and supportive home environment? Not only would this give children a head start in life, it would enable every child to master basic skills in a first language before being dropped into a second language learning environment.”

What if every bilingual child did have the advantage of shared parent-child reading in both their languages at home before starting school? At Bilingual Readers our goal is to provide parents with the necessary materials to make this happen. Starting in October, we’ll be offering bilingual Spanish/English books, games and other activities for parents and their children aged 0-6 to enjoy together. In the meantime, stay tuned for more relevant articles and keep on reading!

image credit: TV Plushie (via Flickr)

Some of you may not know that Bilingual Readers has created its own channel on YouTube to provide you with fun and informative videos on a wide range of topics affecting bilingual families and communities. From bilingualism basics to early literacy to bilingual education, our channel will be a constantly growing library of helpful resources for our readers. In the near future we’ll also be including exclusive interviews with bilingual families who will share the ins and outs of their bilingual households, as well as fun kids videos for even the smallest bilingual readers to enjoy. Visit us here and stay tuned for new videos every week!

(via Foreign Language Fun)

With their new campaign Discover Languages…Discover the World the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages is getting the word out about why we should all learn new languages. Aside from being absolutely adorable, the kids in this video make some great points.