Habla Espanol?
We live in Arizona where the sun is always shining and we are blessed to be close to the border. This brings a multiplicity of bilingual people in our community. Our oldest son’s own Kindergarten teacher is Hispanic and is teaching the children Spanish in the classroom!
I had the opportunity in my early twenties to live in Venezuela where I learned to speak Spanish fluently. You may ask, am I teaching my children Spanish? – - a little, but not nearly as much as I should. What a leap ahead I could give them by teaching them when their minds are young and moldable. My own husband speaks Russian and I need to get on him to start teaching myself and our little ones that language as well.
Since I returned from Venezuela and before I began staying home full-time with my children, I was never without employment for the sheer fact that I could translate from English to Spanish and vice versa. My husband, who works in commercial construction, had many opportunities in Seattle to speak to several of his trade workers who were Russian. It was a huge help in communicating with them.
We live in a world where we are surrounded with many different languages and cultures. We most certainly can set our children up for success by encouraging the study of other languages while they are young. They may end up traveling the world with their employment, simply because they can communicate so well!
You can check out the Multilingual Children’s Association here. They have a plethora of information on how to get started. There are resources to contact people in your own area who are new to our country as well for a support system in learning English. The site is full of tips and tools and products. Enjoy!
