Hello from Mexico
Aug 18, 2015 3:25:18 GMT 9
Post by Jennifer B on Aug 18, 2015 3:25:18 GMT 9
Hello everyone. I'm so happy to have found this blog! I also think the forum is a great idea. I've already been browsing around a bit and I've found interesting conversations and ideas. Glad to be part of the zoo...
I'm bilingual myself. I was born and grew up in USA with my father (American) speaking English and my mother (Mexican) speaking Spanish. We moved to Mexico when I was nine and I've been living here ever since. So, my life is basically Spanish speaking, although I still communicate in English with my father (both my parents still live here).
When my daughter was born, I spent quite a few months deciding on what to do. On one hand, I wanted to teach her English in the same way I learned it. But, on the other hand, I wasn't prepared to let go of my Spanish speaking self. I'm a writer and storyteller (both things I do in Spanish) so language is a very important part of my professional life and I wasn't sure how I would feel by switching to English.
After much thought, I decided to speak English in the house and Spanish outside. My husband is Mexican but he has a pretty good level in English (and he likes the language), so he started trying to talk in English to her but he never felt completely comfortable. He ends up speaking Spanglish (which I think is the worst possible solution) so I keep telling him better to stick to Spanish. My daughter, who is 23 months old, just started talking a few months ago. She understands everything in English but her Spanish is developing at a very fast pace (I fear, leaving English behind). She keeps answering in Spanish when I ask her something and uses only a few words in English. A very big influence in my daughter's life is my mom, who helps me out a lot by taking care of her, so between my husband, my mom and the rest of her world, I'm beginning to see that she's hearing much more Spanish than English. She gets English from her grandfather (but he's not as talkative as my mom!).
So, my aim now is to switch from ml at home to speaking it all the time to her. We'll see how that goes, because after so many years in Mexico I feel strange and very self conscious about speaking English around other people. But I do think I'm at a very good time to make the change and hopefully start to create the need for her to communicate in English with me.
Are there any other English speaking moms living in Mexico City here? It would be great to get together!
I'm bilingual myself. I was born and grew up in USA with my father (American) speaking English and my mother (Mexican) speaking Spanish. We moved to Mexico when I was nine and I've been living here ever since. So, my life is basically Spanish speaking, although I still communicate in English with my father (both my parents still live here).
When my daughter was born, I spent quite a few months deciding on what to do. On one hand, I wanted to teach her English in the same way I learned it. But, on the other hand, I wasn't prepared to let go of my Spanish speaking self. I'm a writer and storyteller (both things I do in Spanish) so language is a very important part of my professional life and I wasn't sure how I would feel by switching to English.
After much thought, I decided to speak English in the house and Spanish outside. My husband is Mexican but he has a pretty good level in English (and he likes the language), so he started trying to talk in English to her but he never felt completely comfortable. He ends up speaking Spanglish (which I think is the worst possible solution) so I keep telling him better to stick to Spanish. My daughter, who is 23 months old, just started talking a few months ago. She understands everything in English but her Spanish is developing at a very fast pace (I fear, leaving English behind). She keeps answering in Spanish when I ask her something and uses only a few words in English. A very big influence in my daughter's life is my mom, who helps me out a lot by taking care of her, so between my husband, my mom and the rest of her world, I'm beginning to see that she's hearing much more Spanish than English. She gets English from her grandfather (but he's not as talkative as my mom!).
So, my aim now is to switch from ml at home to speaking it all the time to her. We'll see how that goes, because after so many years in Mexico I feel strange and very self conscious about speaking English around other people. But I do think I'm at a very good time to make the change and hopefully start to create the need for her to communicate in English with me.
Are there any other English speaking moms living in Mexico City here? It would be great to get together!
