Scenario: A father is with his little daughter (around 3 years old) at the book store. The little girl is bringing her daddy books for him to read to her. All of the books are in Español (Spanish). Spanish books seem to be her choice today.
Little girl: Hands her daddy a board book.
Dad: 'Oh this book is in Spanish sweetie. Are you sure you want for me to read this one?'
Little girl: Sits beside him on a miniature bench.
Dad: 'The books you want me to read are over there.' He says as he points in another direction.
Little girl: Gets up and picks out another book. Another book in the same 'spanish' section.
Dad: 'Sweetie, this book is not English. I think you want for me to read an English book to you.'
Little girl: Looks at him as if she were saying 'shut up and read the damn 'Spanish' book!
Dad: Opens up the book. 'Vamos a cocinar una tortilla. (Let's cook a spanish omlette)' He CAN read in Spanish. Actually, he CAN speak Spanish. Then he stops reading and insists once again.
Little girl: Gets up and walks over to the 'English' books section and brings one back.
Dad: Starts reading the 'English' book.
Little girl: Grabs the book away from her Dad and says 'No, too much English.' and takes the book back.
My POV:
I sat back listening to this parent and little child exchange and watched how this father completely diverted his little girl AWAY from the Spanish books. Clearly, this father did NOT want his daughter to hear, speak or learn Spanish. Wah??? I mean really, what was wrong with this dude? His little girl was eager and curious to listen to something other than English. The interesting part was that the father WAS able to read AND speak Spanish. I don't get it. What was the problem? He was kind of saying 'Spanish sucks yo so don't waste your time?'
Right?
I cannot fathom a parent NOT wanting their child to learn a foreign language especially if they already speak one themselves. Huh???
I was born in the United States. My mother was born in the United States. My father was raised (somewhat) in the United States. My husband was born in El Salvador but came to the States when he was around 8 years old (1978) and ONLY spoke Spanish when he arrived. He learned to speak fluent English within 2 months, yes, 2 months.
When our first daughter was born I made it a POINT to ONLY speak to her in Spanish. Why? Because I want my child to be multilingual. I'm bilingual (Yes, I speak fluent Spanish). I was not raised speaking Spanish but I made it a POINT to learn it and learn it well when I was 16 years old. Why? Because it's important to me. Both my parents speak Spanish, as well as, the majority of the people in my immediate family. My husband speaks, reads and writes fluently in 4 languages (English, Spanish, French & Italian) and is getting closer to German now (no I'm not gloating, I'm stating a fact.) He's a language freak but nevertheless, I do admire his passion. I'm learning French (here and there). I suck at staying on track with it though.
I still speak to my girls in Spanish. I make them repeat phrases, sentences, read in spanish, and make them simply TRY. They 'prefer' to speak English. They pout and make faces when I ask them to respond to me in Spanish but I continue to do it no matter what. I KNOW that it will only benefit them in the future. They understand it PERFECTLY but are lazy about using it. It's still my responsibility to instill, engage and teach it to them. Period.
What is your take on teaching your child or children a foreign language? Do you speak a foreign language? If so, how do you incorporate it into your child's life? Please, tell me your thoughts.
Gracias amigos y familia!
