As you may know, we at Bilingual Readers enjoy sitting down with bilingual families to hear about their experiences.  We can all learn from one another, so we hope you’ll enjoy our chat with  Rosie (British), Íñigo (Spanish) and their twelve year old bilingual daughter Clara. In our Real Stories, Real Lives section we generally translate all responses into both languages, but we loved these oh so bilingual responses so much that we decided to leave the text exactly like they wrote it.  Since we realize that some of our readers may not be fluent in Spanish, we’ve also included an English translation of the Spanish text in parentheses. We hope you’ll enjoy the experiences of this family of madrileños as much as we did!

Questions for Rosie and Íñigo

Why did you decide to raise Clara in two languages?
Rosie: It seemed sensible to bring Clara up with the two languages, since we are both native speakers. We thought she would pick up both languages effortlessly in this way and save herself time and trouble in the future. Also it seemed logical as she was going to have to communicate with relatives in both countries.
Íñigo: Lo mismo digo. [I agree].

Did you have a plan as to who would speak in what language before Clara was born?
Rosie: Before Clara was born, we decided that we would each speak to her in our own language.
Íñigo: Esto parece lo lógico y además lo recomendado por quienes dicen saber algo del tema. [This seemed logical and it was also what we were recommended by people who knew about this subject.]

Did you follow through with your plan or did you end up having to adapt it according to the needs of your family?
Rosie: We did change the plan because when she was about 14-15 months old and started to speak, it seemed that she was going to speak more Spanish than English. Also, she was in a Spanish environment, with a Spanish nanny, living in Spain, with Spanish friends, etc., so we decided that both of us would speak to her in English. We did that until it was obvious that Clara had acquired a very firm basis of English. Now we all speak Spanglish together.
Íñigo: That’s right.

Did your speaking to Clara in English affect your relationship? How?
Rosie: It wasn’t really a problem. Íñigo’s English is excellent, so I don’t think he ever felt at a disadvantage.
Íñigo: Hablar a Clara en inglés no fue un problema, aunque es cierto que es más difícil expresar emociones y sentimientos (positivos o negativos) en otro idioma distinto del materno propio. Por ejemplo, las nanas, en español; el mal humor, también (aunque reconozco que para reñir a Clara procuraba hacerlo en inglés, para no transmitir que el idioma “negativo” era el español). [Speaking to Clara in English was no problem, though it's true that it was a bit more difficult to express emotions and feelings (positive or negative) in a language that wasn't my first language. For example, lullabies in Spanish, when I was in a bad mood too (although I recognize that I did try to scold Clara in English so I wouldn't make her think Spanish was a "negative language.")]

Did Clara learn English effortlessly or did she put up a fight?
Rosie: Clara learnt English effortlessly. She was very quick to pick up both languages and I think she forged herself a personality in English. English was probably her stronger language until she was about 6-7 years old.

What role does reading play in your household? Did you read to Clara often when she was younger? How often and in which language(s)?
Rosie: My mother read to me a lot when I was a child (until I was about 9-10 years old and I started reading avidly myself). I have very fond memories of the books (mainly classics) that she read to me. I am still a keen reader and always have a book “on the go”. Even in today’s computer dominated world, I believe that books and reading are the source of most knowledge and that reading skills are a key to your future: comprehension, vocabulary, ability to express yourself… . I started reading to Clara, on a daily basis, when she was only a few months old. By the time she was about 15-18 months old, it was obvious that she had been assimilating all that I had been reading to her. I continued to read to her (in English) on a daily basis until she was about 10. We have read lots of the children’s classics and I have really enjoyed revisiting them with her. I occasionally read her into a new book still, but she always takes over after the first couple of chapters and finishes it off herself. She is a great reader herself now.
Íñigo: A mí no me leyeron tanto, supongo que cinco hijos no dejaban mucho tiempo para leer. Yo no soy tan lector. Salvo excepciones, toda la tarea de lectura a Clara la ha llevado Rosie. Además creo que tiene sentido que al niño se le lea más en el idioma al que no está tan expuesto. Una vez Clara aprendió a leer, todos los estímulos eran en español, así que parecía lógico reforzar la lectura en inglés. [My parents didn't read to me very often. I suppose five kids didn't allow for much time to read. I am not a big reader. With a few exceptions, Rosie has always been in charge of reading to Clara. I also think it makes sense for a child to be read to in the language she is less exposed to. Once Clara learned to read, all of her stimuli were in Spanish, so it seemed logical to reinforce her reading in English. ]

Any interesting anecdotes about Clara’s bilingual upbringing?
Rosie: I can’t think of any anecdotes, although she has come up with lots of priceless remarks, which we have incorporated into our family history, as all families do. Clara from being a tiny tot was able to change her “chip” and speak in English or Spanish as the situation demanded. One of her first words in English was “scissors”, we don’t know why!
Íñigo: Yo sí me acuerdo de una: aunque Clara hablaba en los dos idiomas y conocía muchas palabra en ambos, ciertas cosas las identificaba mejor en uno de ellos. Así, una de las primeras adivinanzas que aprendió es la de “oro parece, plata-no es, ¿qué es?” Respuesta de Clara: “banana”. [I remember one: although Clara spoke and knew lots of words in both languages, she identified certain items better in one language than in the other. So one of the first riddles she learned was "oro parece, plata-no es, ¿qué es? Clara's response: "banana."]

Any advice for families who are planning to raise their kids bilingually?
Rosie: I must admit that I have never read any literature on the subject. We just did what we thought best. For me it would not have been natural to speak to Clara in Spanish. If the child grows up in Spain, it is likely that he/she will learn Spanish, so maybe give more emphasis to English, although the circumstances of each family are obviously different.
Íñigo: Ya lo he dicho antes (pregunta 2): parece lo lógico y lo recomendado. A veces vemos padres de distintas nacionalidades que hablan a sus hijos sólo en un idioma, los hijos pierden una lengua, seguramente la entienden pero no la hablan, ¡una pena! Y si una de esas dos lenguas es el inglés, hay que tener en cuenta el dineral que te ahorras en clases particulares y veranos en Irlanda. [As I said before in question 2, it seems to be the most logical and recommendable method. Sometimes parents of different nationalities only speak to their children in one language, the children lose a language. They probably understand it, but they don't speak it and it's such a shame! If one of those languages is Enlgish, you also have to think about all the money you'll save on private classes and summers in Ireland.]

Questions for Clara:

Do you like speaking two languages?
Yes, I think it is a big advantage.

Do you feel more comfortable in English or in Spanish, or
Both, although sometimes in English I can’t find the words I need.

Do you like to read? What kinds of books do you like and what language do you prefer to read in?
I love reading and I like all sorts of books. Ones I have enjoyed recently have been : Harry Potter, Jane Eyre, all the James Herriot stories, Ghostgirl …I think I prefer to read in English but not for any reason, just that I have always read in English (although it is perfectly alright to read in Spanish).

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!