How To Raise A Bilingual Child [as a non-native speaker]
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Last Updated on June 19, 2020 by Reina Victoria
After trying to raise my daughter bilingual in Spanish and English, I decided I needed to find more resources to support her Spanish language development.
I went online and began reading all of the articles that I could find.
But so many of the things I read talked about parents who were bilingual raising their children to be bilingual and offered methods like, “One Parent One Language”.
I found resources for parents who were themselves bilingual and were passing on their native language and heritage to their child.
There wasn’t much information to support someone like me, someone who wasn’t bilingual or even close to fluent in a second language.
I began to ask myself, can a monolingual parent raise a bilingual child, without the support of a family or spouse that was a native speaker, without a nanny or language immersion school?
Yes!
And you can, too.
It’s not easy and there will be many challenges to helping your child reach true proficiency and bilingualism in a second language – but you can do it!
For more information on raising a child to true proficiency in a second language, check out this post:
The Challenges Of True Bilingualism In A Monolingual Culture
If you don’t speak the target language, you need to make language immersion happen in other ways.
Studies show that child acquire language by interacting with other people in that language.
As a parent teaching your child the target language, you need to find a way to make that interaction happen.
I’ve read about families who looked for caregivers in the target language or who found classes for their child in the target language. Both of these options weren’t possible for me and I had to find other resources to immerse my daughter and I in Spanish.
What I found were Spanish books, Spanish music, Spanish shows and Spanish podcasts/audiobooks.
There is a lot of research about the benefits of raising your child to be bilingual.
While studies often focus around families where one or more of the parents can already speak a second language, research also shows that children who receive an hour a day of engaged practice in another language, even though they live in a monolingual household, can reap the same cognitive benefits as children being raised by bilingual parents.
Through constant immersion and engagement, I was able to bring native Spanish language to my daughter and my own Spanish took off.
It’s been four years since we’ve been practicing Spanish together and my daughter is currently fluent in both Spanish and English and I am right behind her! If you’re looking to start your own language-learning journey,
Happy Learning!
check out some of these great resources!
Spanish Books
- Top Middle Grade Graphic Novels in Spanish
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Beginning chapter books are an important part of reading in any language. Depending on your goals, there are many ways to use easy Spanish chapter books. You might want to use them to practice your own Spanish reading, or perhaps you’re teaching your child to… - 5+ Great Spanish Graphic Novels
Last Updated on January 23, 2025 by Reina Victoria Graphic novels in Spanish are a great way to supplement language learning for so many reasons! When I started to learn Spanish I wanted to read Spanish books, but found that it was too hard to…
Spanish Music
- Popular Spanish Children’s Songs: With Jose Luis Orozco
Last Updated on September 7, 2022 by Reina Victoria Listening to Spanish music with children is one of the easiest ways to build Spanish learning into your day. You can have it on in the background, listen to it when you’re driving or practice singing… - Spanish Books With Sound Buttons
Last Updated on January 23, 2022 by Reina Victoria When I first started learning Spanish with my daughter, I was always looking for resources that had Spanish audio. As a non-native Spanish speaker, I needed ways for my daughter to be able to hear native,… - Wonderful Nursery Rhymes That Will Make Your Baby Bilingual
Last Updated on January 18, 2021 by Reina Victoria Nursery rhymes are a great way to enjoy time with your child and they’re also a great way to work on building language skills. Nursery rhymes are an important step in language development for kids. When… - 3 Charming Nursery Rhymes To Boost Your Baby’s Spanish
Last Updated on January 28, 2022 by Reina Victoria I’ve already talked about the importance of nursery rhymes in language development for children- but nursery rhymes are so important and such a great way to boost language and literacy, that I’m coming at you with…
Spanish Podcasts/Audiobooks
- 4 Secrets To Learning A Language With Audiobooks
Last Updated on September 20, 2021 by Reina Victoria Audiobooks, books on tape and books with CDs are an amazing resource when it comes to language learning. Listening to Spanish audiobooks allows you to listen to native speakers, learn on the go, and learn to… - How An Audiobook Can Help Your Child Speak Spanish
Last Updated on January 30, 2021 by Reina Victoria When my daughter and I are out in public and a native Spanish speaker overhears us talking, they often comment on how well my daughter speaks Spanish. They often wonder how her Spanish sounds so good,… - How To Improve Your Language Skills With This Interesting Experiment!
Last Updated on June 18, 2020 by Reina Victoria What’s one great way to learn a new language? To listen to it! When it comes to learning a new language, it’s important to hear it spoken. Listening to the target language helps you develop an…
Spanish Shows/Movies
- An Educational Spanish Kids Show That You Need To See!
Last Updated on January 23, 2021 by Reina Victoria Are there benefits to watching a show in a foreign language? You and your child won’t become fluent from watching a show in Spanish, but you can certainly get some benefit from it! Hearing a native… - Sneak More Spanish Into Your Day With This Adorable Show
Last Updated on June 19, 2020 by Reina Victoria While limiting screen time for young kids is important, there are ways that shows in Spanish can be beneficial for your child learning Spanish. Listening to a show in Spanish can build engagement and interest in…
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