Bilingual Learning

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Easing the Bilingual Learning Process
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Learning to speak Spanish, an immersion adventure. Colombia 08.

Here I am posting resources I use with my son or that were recommended by readers like you. Through trial and error I found myself gravitating to the same places and aides.

Spanish learning songs for children, bilingual education articles, Spanish toys and games, and Latin travel became my bread and butter in the bilingual process. Here I contribute my 2 cents and I hope you feel inspired to do the same!

When I started to teach my son Spanish I thought it was going to be a piece of cake. At the beginning everything went smooth until...he started nursery school.

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When he started going to Montessori at 2 1/2 years of age, I noticed he started pausing to search for the right word in Spanish to speak to me.

Well... at that point his world was mostly in English. his teacher, his classmates, the majority of his friends, daddy's family and daddy spoke English. Ian started talking in English more than Spanish.

Red flags went up in my head. I looked for any reading material, game, toy, and activity to help my son be fully bilingual. I also concluded that to preserve culture the best vehicle is language.

Bilingual Resources I Tried

Spanish Learning Songs for Children.

Latin Travel

Bilingual Learning & Education Articles

Resources on the Web

3 Facts on How Children Learn a Second Language

Reading "Second Language Acquisition in Childhood" by Barry McLaughlin answered many questions I had about the second language learning process in Pre-K chidlren. Here are 3 important conclusions the book showed:

Language learning is not a uniform process. Children vary greatly when learning either a first or second language, as well as how fast they learn it. So learn to recognize your child's speed and help in the process. Be patient and don't correct him constantly, which may cause him to stop trying.

Our children show different learning styles. Some take language word by word literally, and others do it more globally using whole clues or phrases to express themselves. Pay attention to your child's style, re-phrase things for him without saying "you are wrong."

Cultural environments play an important role in language development. Depending on the environment, some parents expect more of their children and also give more input to their children in terms of language. Strive to provide a rich environment for your child to learn more easily. Take him to Hispanic art shows, musical events and festivals that enrich his environment and give him a chance to use Spanish.

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