Three Strategies to Help You Raise a Bilingual Child – NBC 6 South Florida

Living in South Florida, we are used to hearing people speak multiple languages, and for many, it starts at a young age. However, bilingualism can come with challenges, especially for families from different backgrounds. However, there are benefits and best practices for raising a bilingual baby.

Bienvenidos at the Casa de los Wheelers. Here you can smell the Chilean culture, see the American influence and hear two languages ​​at the same time.

Cristina is from Chile and her husband Anthony calls her their “gringo.” He is American and was born in South Carolina.

“When we met, we slowly but surely started finding words and watching telenovelas together,” said Anthony Wheeler.

The Wheeler House is a reflection of many homes here in South Florida. A mix of languages, backgrounds and traditions. Cristina and Anthony live in Miramar with their two children and their in-laws.

Her children, now ages 13 and 17, grew up speaking Spanish and English, and as they learned, their father learned, too.

“It was a bit of a challenge at first, especially when the children were born. People always told me, ‘No, just teach them Spanish, but I thought I can’t because my husband is a gringo,’ said Cristina Wheeler.

“Children that young learn much faster than us adults because their minds are so flexible and malleable, so it’s better to teach them at a younger age,” said Jacqueline Lopez, who works as a bilingual speech-language pathologist in Miami .

She says getting a child to speak more than one language can be challenging, but it brings huge benefits.

“There is evidence that children and adults who are bilingual have better problem-solving skills and more creativity, and it also shows that there is a different appreciation and understanding of different cultures,” Lopez continued.

There are many approaches to achieving bilingualism, even if only one parent speaks the target language.

“One thing they can do really easily is mom sticks with one language, dad sticks with one language, and they get both languages ​​and both models,” Lopez encouraged.

It is called the One Parent, One Language (OPOL) method. Another approach is time and place.

“We talk in English all day, but at bath time we will talk in Spanish, and then that also gives them a lot of exposure to different common objects and common words,” Lopez said.

The goal is consistency and repetition, and even though Spanglish is the unofficial language of South Florida, Lopez warns that it can be confusing for little ones.

“We want to say, ‘Please get the cup in the kitchen, busca el vaso en la cocina,’ so that they learn that these are the rules and regulations, this is the grammar, this is the syntax, and then when they master it Then it’s OK,” Lopez said.

“I think this is important because we live in Florida and I want to be able to communicate really well with people and make really good friends despite the language barrier,” said 13-year-old Anthony Wheeler, who started learning grew up in both languages.

“I think it’s also important to include media like music and television in the background,” said Abigail Wheeler, 17.

It is also recommended to use resources such as books and programs in the target language. Although there are different ways to incorporate language, choose the best approach that suits your family and makes it comfortable, consistent and sustainable.

“I love being Hispanic, I love celebrating my Hispanic culture, I love bringing it to my kids,” Wheeler said.

Lopez says it’s a common misconception that teaching a baby more than one language can cause language delays.

Geovanna Soberon saw a need for Spanish playgroups, so she started one, and now it’s grown into something big.

“I started in the parks as a playgroup, that was just the idea of ​​just being a simple playgroup,” Soberon said. “Then people started demanding more. Let’s do events, let’s do this, let’s do that and it blew me away, all these families looking for this space,” she said.

Soberon has always been involved in the community, but she wanted that community to more fully reflect her culture, heritage, tradition and language while raising her two young children.

“We faced some challenges. I realized that talking to him wasn’t enough [son] That’s why I wanted him to not only be fluent in Spanish, but also to have an appreciation for our culture and the fact that he is bilingual. So I asked myself, ‘How can we help our son with this?'” Soberon said.

That’s when Groupito was born. The term means “small group” in Spanish and was introduced in June this year. El Groupito meets weekly for events and activities to teach children the Spanish language.

“For Mother’s Day there are a lot of events for mothers in English, but then we created one in Spanish for Father’s Day, which was our first event. So if we don’t find them, we create them. It’s not easy, it takes a lot of organization,” Soberon said.

While Geo’s three-year-old son and one-year-old daughter are learning, her husband Gary, who is Italian and Polish, is also learning.

“Hell [son] Speak English to me and immediately turn to my wife and speak Spanish and she will speak Spanish to him, I will speak English to him and it happens like rapid fire, like a back and forth, so it’s very interesting,” Geos said Husband. Gary Trojanowski

In September, the group hosted a bilingual storytelling event with a large turnout.

“It’s a great opportunity for her to be around bilingual children, especially in a world where she’s only surrounded by the English language,” said Sarah Morrison, who hopes to raise her 3-year-old daughter Lily like them was.

The parents and children participate in a monthly Spanish nature walk in Broward Parks called Niños en La Naturaleza. For these families, it is not only important to know the language, but also to be proud of it.

“My grandfather always said to me, ‘Hey, why don’t we speak Italian or Polish?’ And he was like, “During that time, his father said, you have to adapt, otherwise you can’t work, you can’t live, you can’t.” “I put food on the table, so it wasn’t desirable, a foreign language while this is the case today,” said Gary.

“The big goal of Groupito is to celebrate bilingualism in all languages, not just Spanish and English,” Soberon said.

Geo says she has been approached by mothers from all over the country who are interested in starting their own Groupito in their respective cities. Geo says these groups are important not only for the children, but also for the parents, who have to model the language for them.