How To Get Your Child To Speak The Minority Language
When we’re at home, my daughter and I only speak in Spanish. This has been the best way for me to learn and practice my Spanish and the best way to make sure that my daughter gets as much exposure as I can give her.
I had heard parents saying that they sometimes had trouble getting their child to respond in the minority language when they were at home, but I didn’t experience this until my daughter started preschool.
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Spanish Language In The Early Years
Before my daughter started preschool she would go to my parents’ house each day for child care. My parents only speak in English and all of the materials at their house are in English.
Even though my daughter was spending her day there talking with them in English, when we were home together we’d naturally flow right back into Spanish.
At 3 years old, my daughter started going to a Montessori school for half a day and my parents’ house for the second part of the day. During much of her first year at preschool, Spanish remained her strongest language. Even at preschool she would sing to herself in Spanish and think in Spanish.
When her second year there started at age 4, I saw a change happening in her language preferences. As she became more comfortable and confident at preschool, her language preference began to switch to English.
Towards the spring of her preschool 4 year, she would come home and speak to me in English even when I was speaking and responding to her in Spanish. Suddenly I realized the concern that I’d heard other parents had.
Why My Child Might Not Speak Spanish
In my case, things quickly switched back to Spanish again because of COVID. Her school closed in March and we were home together doing learning and work all in Spanish and her language preference switched back.
However, with schools reopening for the fall, I fully expect that English will begin to take over again in the next school year.
I want my daughter to be bilingual, which means that I want her to be comfortable speaking, reading and writing in both English and Spanish. I’m glad that she feels comfortable and confident speaking in English since that is her community language and the language that our family speaks.
For more information on raising a truly bilingual child read:
The Challenges Of True Bilingualism In A Monolingual Culture
However, I also worry that it will soon eclipse her Spanish ability and that she won’t find a need to continue advancing with her Spanish skills.
In order to maintain my daughter’s bilingual ability, I need to always make sure that she has a high enough level of Spanish to be able to express what she wants to say, and that she feels like there is a need or want to speak in Spanish.
Build The Level Of Spanish Vocabulary:
One of the main reasons that my daughter was switching to English when she came home from preschool was that she didn’t have the vocabulary to tell me all about her day in Spanish. She was learning new things and using new Montessori materials that I didn’t know about or have words for in Spanish. If she wanted to tell me about how she used the binomial cube during independent work time, she needed to tell me that in English because she simply didn’t have any Spanish for it.
In preparation for her to be in full time school in the fall, I’ve been working on developing a higher level of Spanish vocabulary with her, especially in regards to academics.
I want her to be able to talk to me about things like, addition and subtraction, in Spanish as well as what she and her friends are talking about. She’s started doing a journal in Spanish and that has helped with her Spanish reading and writing skills.
We’ve also used a math app and switched the language over to Spanish so that she hears the directions and new concepts in Spanish. If you’re looking to increase your child’s Spanish vocabulary, here are some ways that you can start:
Suggestions for activities to increase Spanish vocabulary:
1. Read Nonfiction Books
Reading is one of the best ways to boost vocabulary in any language and that’s simply because we tend to write with a larger variety of words than what we speak with. Also, when we’re reading, we read about topics that we don’t always have a reason to talk about in daily conversation. In terms of vocabulary, reading nonfiction books are the best bang for your buck. There are so many words that are introduced in friendly ways when you read a nonfiction book that you are bound to learn new vocabulary.
While nonfiction books are harder to find in Spanish, they’re worth the effort. Reading about how animals camouflage, how Vikings lived and how volcanoes erupt are conversations that you may only have when you’re reading a nonfiction book.
If you’re a Spanish language learner like I am, then these nonfiction books are even more of an asset since they help build your own depth of Spanish vocabulary.
If you don’t have any Spanish nonfiction books, check out my review of Nonfiction books in Spanish for kids and see the ones that we liked.
2. Read Chapter Books
Now that my daughter’s level of Spanish is increasing past my own competency, I need to make sure that I’m exposing her to a wider range of Spanish words and a more complex level of grammar.
One way that I’ve been doing this is through chapter books. Each night before we go to bed we read a chapter in our chapter book and talk about it. Since my ability to read in Spanish is much higher than my speaking ability, this is a great way for us to get new vocabulary in.
We started with chapter books that were graphic novels and those that were geared towards beginning readers and are now advancing to chapter books that are for upper elementary school students.
Check out these posts to learn more about how to use graphic novels to support language growth and which chapter books to start out with:
Easy Language Learning With A Graphic Novel
Reading To Improve: Spanish Chapter Books
Reading The Illustrated Harry Potter Series In Spanish
3. Do Academic Work In Spanish At Home
When my daughter first enrolled in preschool, I didn’t spend much time doing academic work with her at home in Spanish. I figured she was getting all of the academics that she needed at school and I would continue to support her Spanish language development at home by reading to her.
Once the pandemic hit our area, this changed. While I was working from home and helping her through her preschool activities at home, I noticed how much Spanish vocabulary she lacked in areas of academic work.
When the summer started I continued to do a little work each week with her to keep up her academic Spanish skills and I plan to continue this going forward.
To encourage her writing in Spanish we started a dictation journal. Each day my daughter would draw a picture and tell me what was happening in the picture and I would write what she said in Spanish. As she developed stronger phonics skills, she started writing letters and sounds for what she wanted to say. Now she can write sentences in Spanish that match her pictures in her journal.
Another way I encouraged Spanish academics at home is with the math app that we occasionally use. I switched the language settings to Spanish so that she heard the concept and activity explained in Spanish. This has really helped both of our Spanish math vocabularies!
Recommended: Math Practice In Spanish With Khan Academy
Creating A Need For Spanish Language
My daughter knows that Spanish is not my first language and that I’m learning it along with her. She sees me look up words in the dictionary, point out new words in books that we read, and practice pronouncing them correctly.
She also knows that I speak English and she hears me speak English when we’re out in the community or around family. I can’t make it seem as though she ‘needs to speak to me in Spanish or I won’t understand her’ as some families choose to do. However, I try and make a need for her to speak in Spanish when we’re at home.
Creating a need to speak Spanish will help your child feel like this is an important language to speak and know. Without that need, they usually convert to the community language of their peers.
A need could be as simple as they have family that only speaks Spanish, or they will be travelling to a Spanish speaking country and will need to speak in Spanish. Since my first language is English, I have to do my best to create that ‘need’ for my daughter.
Suggestions for ways to create a need to speak Spanish:
1. Media Is All In Spanish
In our home, all of the media promotes Spanish. Media is inherently engaging for children and it’s easy to interact with so it naturally encourages the minority language development. One of the easiest ways to create a need for Spanish is to have all of your household media in Spanish. When children go to interact with the media, they’ll need to switch over to Spanish in order to use it.
Every single book that my daughter has in her library is in Spanish. We love reading and every single time we engage with a book, we’re building our Spanish language skills. The books provide a great level of Spanish input and a strong ‘need’ for my daughter to use her Spanish.
We have very limited screen time in our home, but when my daughter has the opportunity to watch something, it is always in Spanish. While children don’t develop strong language skills just from passively watching a show, having her only screen time be completely in Spanish increases her desire to learn the language and provides some more language input in Spanish, therefore creating another layer of need in our home.
Music is another way to use media to create a need for Spanish language. It can help children develop an ear for the rhythm of the language and allows them to memorize catchy phrases and words that they can use later on. All of our audio is in Spanish; that includes music, podcasts, books on tape, etc. Every single time we’re in the car and turn something on, that audio is in Spanish.
By using media in Spanish, you’re creating a need for your child to use and interact with the minority language. Currently, this is my main method for creating a need for my daughter to interact with Spanish on a daily basis and it has worked very well for us.
2. Spanish Babysitter Or Tutor
If you’re hiring a babysitter for your child, find one that can speak Spanish! When you introduce your child to the new babysitter you can explain that they can only speak in Spanish (even if that’s not the case) creating a need for your child to communicate with them in Spanish. This is an easy way to increase Spanish ‘need’ and also fulfill a babysitting role.
The same can be true of a tutor. If you’re looking to hire a tutor for your child, regardless of the topic, see if you can find one that also speaks Spanish. If your child is taking piano lessons, find a Spanish piano teacher to also speak Spanish with your child. Introducing native Spanish speakers is one of the most effective ways to build a natural need to speak the language.
We have not used this specific approach since we don’t have a babysitter and my daughter doesn’t have any tutors, however, we have taken advantage of this on a smaller community level. For example, my daughter’s pediatrician speaks Spanish and encourages her to speak in Spanish with him whenever we’re in the doctor’s office. There is a woman who works at our closest grocery store and she makes a point to always speak to us in Spanish if she sees us. By speaking in Spanish with community members, I’m able to foster some need for Spanish language with my daughter.
Recommended: Online Spanish Classes With Homeschool Spanish Academy
3. Spanish Meet Up
Check in your area and see if there are other families that speak Spanish. Meeting at the park, having play dates, and spending time with other Spanish speaking families is a great way to encourage your child to speak Spanish!
While this can be challenging in times of COVID, there are plenty of online groups. Using WhatsApp and Facebook are great ways to connect with other families that are looking to practice their language skills and would love to be penpals or Zoom pals!
When you’re raising a bilingual child, there are always going to be times when your child’s language preference fluctuates. This could be due to their perception of need, their exposure or their own personal preference and comfort with each language. If you want your child to be truly bilingual, it is important to create an environment where they have a high exposure to each language and a chance to expand their growing language abilities.
| What have you done to increase your child’s Spanish vocabulary or to create a need for Spanish? Leave a reply! |
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