Special Report: How to raise a bilingual child

Being truly bilingual can give your child lasting advantages throughout life, but what’s the best way to help a child properly learn two languages?

Some early childhood experts agree: the earlier you expose your child to more than one language, the better.

“That is when they develop what we call the ‘bilingual brain,'” said Dr. Elena Izquierdo, with UTEP’s College of Education.

I have been trying to figure out how to raise a bilingual baby, fearing the familiar tale of border kids who forget all the Spanish they learned once they head to school. That is why I had a “Spanish-only” policy with my 10-month-old baby Jael.

Izquierdo, a linguist who focuses on early childhood education, made me rethink that.

“If he’s in a bilingual household, where he hears both English and Spanish, then the sounds in English and the sounds in Spanish become part of his inventory,” said Izquierdo. “That’s why children, when they are introduced to languages early on, don’t have an accent, they have been practicing it for a long time and it becomes part of their inventory.”

The Region 19 Head Start program has a different approach. Some of its educators teach a full week in English, then repeat the same lessons in Spanish the next week.

Teachers also alternate languages every day, but there is a strict rule: do not mix the languages.

“We need them to keep it pure,” said Ramona Huffman, with Region 19. “When you mix the languages and children are just waiting for you to say it in their language, they’ll tune you out.”

Huffman says it is okay to introduce children to both languages, but says parents should not switch languages during the same conversation with their children.

“If you want a truly bilingual child, don’t allow ‘Spanglish,'” said Huffman. “If you’re reading a story, if you’re talking to them, have a designated time when it’s just English or it’s just Spanish. Children are not going to get confused.”

I speak what’s called “Social Spanish,” basics I learned at home. I learned academic English in school, and even though I speak both, I have a hard time expressing more complex ideas in Spanish.

Experts say I can help Jael speak better Spanish by exposing him to more advanced vocabulary.

“It’s going to take more than just the words,” said Huffman. “You’re going to have to use your whole body, your hands, possibly concrete objects, to show them what you’re talking about.”

Here are some research-backed guidelines to raise a bilingual child:

– Start early when they are infants.
– Do not mix languages.
– Encourage children to express themselves exclusively in one language per conversation.
– Push yourself and your baby to speak beyond the basic, social way.
– Strive for bigger words to express complex thoughts.