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!