Adjusting methods to fit needs
May 26, 2019 11:36:28 GMT 9
Post by Taysha on May 26, 2019 11:36:28 GMT 9
I have been occasionally active elsewhere on the site, but wanted to started keeping some notes here with all of you since I recently have begun a major change in our journey.
Background: I have spoken to our son in ml (Spanish) since birth as much as possible and flooded him with ml books and music and also other ml speakers as much as possible. A couple months ago he turned three, and his ml is way stronger than his ML (English). I stay home with him and my ML husband works, and we plan to keep that way for the foreseeable future. We probably will not send him to school until he is at least five, and if we do, they start in our area with a half-day kindergarten (2.5 hours a day). As my husband and I were both homeschooled (it is common in the US, though I am sure it sounds very strange to many people!), we are also leaning toward that option for our son, possibly after kindergarten. He is currently way stronger in ml than ML. In fact, when my husband and I picked him up after he stayed with his ML grandparents for a couple days, they commented that they had not heard him generate a sentence in ML the entire time.
That surprised me. He used to use a bit more English, especially when he was with them. Perhaps he had gotten into a mindset that Spanish is the right language for him to use whatever the time or place... Who knows!
Since the ml is not my native language, it has never been my plan to only ever speak it with our son. But the shift is happening more quickly than I expected.
So, I have recognized recently my need to shift gears and purposefully let more ML into our routines. I started a couple months ago by reading the English and Spanish in bilingual books. (Before, Dad would read the English when he was there, but I would just read the Spanish when it's just our son and me.) Then I inched toward bringing in a little English and bilingual music into our routines, singing songs in both languages rather than just Spanish. Less than a week ago, I took the next and biggest step and started repeating some of what I tell him in Spanish in English as well. Or saying similar things in English. So far, I have already seen some progress with his English as a result. He talks more in English to his Dad than he was previously, though he still talks to him in Spanish too. He has started using more English around other English speakers as well. Naturally, he has with me more too since I have explicitly been using it with him. I don't discourage his use of it, though I reinforce also the Spanish.
Example:
Him (singing): Monkey in tree.
Me: There's a monkey in the tree? Oh, ¿estás cantando cinco monitos columpiándose en el árbol? (Are you singing five little monkeys swinging in the tree?)
Him: ¡No, no, no! Sólo uno. (just one)
Me: Oh, okay, sólo un mono. Just one monkey. [We proceed to sing the song in English and then in Spanish.]
We don't use both languages all the time. We continue to talk just in ml a great deal of the time.
My current method probably sounds like a bit of a wacky mix. However, my son clearly distinguishes between the two languages, so I'm not worried about him mixing them up. He has just needed more reinforcement in the ML, and I don't see any ML monster (aka ML preschool) lurking around the corner.
At the same time, I really want to work hard to keep the ml rolling strong while also introducing the ML more. Thanks for keeping me accountable and any thoughts you have!
Background: I have spoken to our son in ml (Spanish) since birth as much as possible and flooded him with ml books and music and also other ml speakers as much as possible. A couple months ago he turned three, and his ml is way stronger than his ML (English). I stay home with him and my ML husband works, and we plan to keep that way for the foreseeable future. We probably will not send him to school until he is at least five, and if we do, they start in our area with a half-day kindergarten (2.5 hours a day). As my husband and I were both homeschooled (it is common in the US, though I am sure it sounds very strange to many people!), we are also leaning toward that option for our son, possibly after kindergarten. He is currently way stronger in ml than ML. In fact, when my husband and I picked him up after he stayed with his ML grandparents for a couple days, they commented that they had not heard him generate a sentence in ML the entire time.
That surprised me. He used to use a bit more English, especially when he was with them. Perhaps he had gotten into a mindset that Spanish is the right language for him to use whatever the time or place... Who knows! Since the ml is not my native language, it has never been my plan to only ever speak it with our son. But the shift is happening more quickly than I expected.
So, I have recognized recently my need to shift gears and purposefully let more ML into our routines. I started a couple months ago by reading the English and Spanish in bilingual books. (Before, Dad would read the English when he was there, but I would just read the Spanish when it's just our son and me.) Then I inched toward bringing in a little English and bilingual music into our routines, singing songs in both languages rather than just Spanish. Less than a week ago, I took the next and biggest step and started repeating some of what I tell him in Spanish in English as well. Or saying similar things in English. So far, I have already seen some progress with his English as a result. He talks more in English to his Dad than he was previously, though he still talks to him in Spanish too. He has started using more English around other English speakers as well. Naturally, he has with me more too since I have explicitly been using it with him. I don't discourage his use of it, though I reinforce also the Spanish.
Example:
Him (singing): Monkey in tree.
Me: There's a monkey in the tree? Oh, ¿estás cantando cinco monitos columpiándose en el árbol? (Are you singing five little monkeys swinging in the tree?)
Him: ¡No, no, no! Sólo uno. (just one)
Me: Oh, okay, sólo un mono. Just one monkey. [We proceed to sing the song in English and then in Spanish.]
We don't use both languages all the time. We continue to talk just in ml a great deal of the time.
My current method probably sounds like a bit of a wacky mix. However, my son clearly distinguishes between the two languages, so I'm not worried about him mixing them up. He has just needed more reinforcement in the ML, and I don't see any ML monster (aka ML preschool) lurking around the corner.
At the same time, I really want to work hard to keep the ml rolling strong while also introducing the ML more. Thanks for keeping me accountable and any thoughts you have!
