Teaching baby to be bilingual...

Question

I am hispanic & fluent in spanish & english, my husband is white/hispanic & speaks a little spanish. I want my daughter to know both languages. Would I confuse her if I try to teach her both from now (she is 10 months old) For example if I refer to one thing in english then later refer to it in spanish wouldn't she be confused on what it really is? My brother has a daughter who is 3 years old and understands & speaks spanish/english since she first learned to speak. My other nephew who is 8 years old will just plain out tell you he doesn't know what your saying when you speak to him in spanish & doesn't speak it even though he has been taught since he was little. Just wanted to know from others. Thanks!

Answer 1

I'm assuming you're living in a primarily English-speaking community, in which case your biggest challenge won't be confusing your daughter, but getting her to use Spanish when most people around her use English.

Kids have an amazing ability to sort out languages and learning two at a time is no problem, although they'll occasionally substitute words from the other language.

I'd advise you to use Spanish with your husband as much as possible at home to demonstrate the importance of Spanish in your family (it will be good for his Spanish, too). If you have other Spanish-speaking family members who will be willing to help reinforce the importance of Spanish, it will help.

If the surrounding culture is primarily English-speaking, your daughter will easily pick up English when she plays with friends and goes to school, so there's no need to use English and Spanish together. In fact, it's probably more important to establish the practice of having her speak to you (and your husband if possible) in Spanish. The real challenge will be stopping her from developing an attitude towards speaking Spanish like your nephew's.

Raising bilingual children is a challenge, but the ability to speak another language well is invaluable. Don't give up!

Answer 2

This is how my mother did it: whenever you point to something say it in both languages. For example, in my case, my mom taught me Hindi, and a rabbit in Hindi was "kargosh". So she would point to a picture in the book and say "rabbit: kargosh". There is a risk in this, though - they might refer to everything with both names, as I did, but that can be easily undone once they reach an age where they can understand.

Answer 3

ITS POSSIBLE

i'm not confused

it's perfectly normal

i have friends who can speak 5 languages

its easier to learn a language as a baby so start early

my mom taught me basic spanish/english by making charts with pictures

one side english one side spanish

here in america it's always like "we'll be too confused!!"

but in other countries speaking multiple languages is the norm

so go for it!

:))

Answer 4

They mix them up when they are little but they start knowing one from the other or others as they grow up!

it's easier to teach kids more than a language the adults

Answer 5

It won't really confuse her.  Speak to her in both languages.  Babies just learn by absorbing the language(s) around them.

I had a friend born and grew up in Japan then emigrated to USA.  His wife was born and grew up in Italy, and emigrated to USA.  They met in English-language class after they got here.  They had the most beautiful son!  He grew up fluent in three languages -- his father spoke to him in Japanese, and his mother spoke to him in Italian, and they spoke to each other in Engish which was reinforced for him in school and the neighborhood, so he had no trace of an accent in any of his three languages!

Answer 6

I taught my niece by saying it in english and spanish. She was born in California and lived with me until she was 5. After that she started school in Tijuana and lived there for 3 years. When she came back to live with me in California she was shy to talk in spanish in front of other people for some reason. She still understands spanish when I talk to her but she wont speak it.