"When children acquire two languages prior to the age of three, it is termed simultaneous bilingualism (Baker, 1996; Goodz, 1994). This type of bilingualism is usually found in homes where parents speak two (or more) languages. Successive bilingualism refers to instances when children acquire their second language after age three. "
http://www.education.com/reference/article/bilingual-acquiring-two-language/
My children are now 3 yrs old and 7 months old. Looking back, I now wish most fervently that I had started speaking Spanish right away with our first child. Sadly, I was a little preoccupied at the time with thought of "What on earth were they thinking sending us home with this tiny thing? And why didn't they send a manual with it?" Then life continued and other than an occasional bedtime story in Spanish, the target language got pushed to the back burner.
Fast forward to today. It has been about a month since I started my campaign to integrate Spanish into our daily interactions and routines. Every night, our bedtime routine is all in Spanish, we read at least one bedtime story in Spanish each night, and I try to use Spanish in other places throughout the day. If I'm being honest, I'd say I've achieved quasi-consistency. One of my challenges is that right now, I am the main exposure to the majority language as well as the sole exposure to the minority language. So during the course of the day, I am switching back and forth often depending on the situation. If vocab is required that our oldest has heard before in Spanish, I will stay in Spanish. I will, however, use English if the situation requires immediate understanding such as today's, "Honey, remember we talked about throwing footballs at Mommy's head when she is not looking. That is not a good choice."
I have posted about our "Baby Steps" and about his new favorite book. I am excited to report that I am seeing improvement. He is remembering more of the animals in Spanish each time we read and he is understanding more and more when I speak Spanish to him. One of his favorite activities throughout the day is for us to make up stories together. I've started having him tell the story in English and I will translate it to Spanish as we go, prompting him in Spanish with questions for more detail. Is this a good strategy? I honestly don't know,but it seems to be working. If nothing else, it helps get him used to hearing me speak in Spanish and lets him hear a lot of the same vocab over and over. It's easy to feel like I should be doing more, speaking more in Spanish. I know the benefits of immersion, but I also know my child. If I were to jump in with both feet and only speak in Spanish or demand that he only speak Spanish to me, there would be a major meltdown followed by resistance to anything Spanish. (The joys of being 3!)
At this point, I am reminding myself that all exposure to the target language is more than he had before and that with our current process, he is showing less resistence to me speaking in Spanish. Those are good steps forward. I find that I have to remind myself that this is a long journey, not a quick trip. I have to define what success looks like for us. It's ok to have short term goals and long term goals. I am finding encouragement in the small victories and continuing to find resources and make connections with other parents in our community. I think that maintaining my enthusiasm (and patience!) and making the language fun for my kids are key to achieving our long term goal of bilingualism.
¡Hasta pronto!
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