Hellobee Boards Topic: Non-Native Speakers Teaching a Second Language to LO

Hellobee Boards Topic: Non-Native Speakers Teaching a Second Language to LO https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 29 Apr 2026 08:15:07 +0000 CupQuakeWalk on "Non-Native Speakers Teaching a Second Language to LO" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/non-native-speakers-teaching-a-second-language-to-lo#post-532194 Mon, 28 Jan 2013 16:24:53 +0000 CupQuakeWalk 532194@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @mrsjazz: it's awkward for the human mind to switch languages like that sometimes:/ I think it will be easier for him if she already knows & likes Spanish. Then he will feel like its their thing;) maybe order the "full Spanish" DVDs of Dora the Explorer for her to watch? Then she will speak it and it will encourage your husband to do so too. If my kid spoke to me in Spanish I would def encourage it & learn some to enforce it! matador84 on "Non-Native Speakers Teaching a Second Language to LO" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/non-native-speakers-teaching-a-second-language-to-lo#post-530006 Sun, 27 Jan 2013 12:33:15 +0000 matador84 530006@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @mrsjazz we also have uncle goose blocks in spanish mrsjazz on "Non-Native Speakers Teaching a Second Language to LO" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/non-native-speakers-teaching-a-second-language-to-lo#post-530005 Sun, 27 Jan 2013 12:31:57 +0000 mrsjazz 530005@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @TurtleDoves: This is what I've been trying to convince my husband. He'll say a word, like "gato" instead of speaking in full sentences. I mean, I can handle and reinforce vocabulary with her, but since he's fluent, he can speak to her. I think it's just weird for him because he's not actually having a conversation with her? @matador84: @TurtleDoves: I am going to buy some Spanish books and order some music so that DH can at least start with that. @Foodnerd81: I speak basic Spanish to her for vocabulary, I'm just trying to get DH to speak regularly to her. I will have him read this thread! I am going to see what TV shows they have in Spanish for little kids, maybe shows I can order when she's ready for TV viewing. It will be funny if she speaks like DH though. I prefer Latin American Spanish and he speaks Spain Spanish with the lisp and I hate that! But better for her to know another language. Dapple Grey on "Non-Native Speakers Teaching a Second Language to LO" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/non-native-speakers-teaching-a-second-language-to-lo#post-530000 Sun, 27 Jan 2013 12:26:08 +0000 Dapple Grey 530000@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I believe they have come out with a study recently that suggests, even in the womb, they start picking up the pitches and vowel sounds and stuff of the native tongue. I'm pretty sure its imperative to have a Native speaker be the teacher ( if you want perfect fluency) because all the proper sounds of the language are something that non natives usually can't obtain because they did not absorb it as a child. But like some others have mentioned, don't let it deter you from sharing other languages with LO , I don't think it can hurt if its not perfect! matador84 on "Non-Native Speakers Teaching a Second Language to LO" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/non-native-speakers-teaching-a-second-language-to-lo#post-529989 Sun, 27 Jan 2013 12:18:13 +0000 matador84 529989@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I am a non-native Spanish speaker who is fluent in Spanish. DH does not speak Spanish. I will speak Spanish at home to LO, and especially read him books in Spanish. As he gets older, I will speak more in Spanish to him, but right now it is just equal parts English and Spanish. I don't speak Spanish to him outside the home. Foodnerd81 on "Non-Native Speakers Teaching a Second Language to LO" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/non-native-speakers-teaching-a-second-language-to-lo#post-529967 Sun, 27 Jan 2013 11:57:46 +0000 Foodnerd81 529967@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @mrbee: I'd rather speak a second language with an American accent than only speak English (which is what I do now). So why not speak Spanish, even with an American accent, at home as much as you can? Even if LO doesn't turn out to be fluent just from that, I feel like it can't hurt at all and will at least expose her to the other sounds. When she is older, you could have her watch Spanish kid shows too-- I know someone who learned English mostly by watching Sesame Street and things like that (well, so she says-- I feel like it must have been more than that). CupQuakeWalk on "Non-Native Speakers Teaching a Second Language to LO" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/non-native-speakers-teaching-a-second-language-to-lo#post-529963 Sun, 27 Jan 2013 11:51:57 +0000 CupQuakeWalk 529963@https://boards.hellobee.com/ If you want your child to know Spanish...like really know it, the. It needs to be spoken all the time. My parents spoke only in Arabic to us at home. Even our movies were translated to Arabic. We learned English at the same time simply by going to school and out in public. I speak both fluently & with an accent. AlthoughArabic is my "native language", it is still sometimes awkward feeling to speak it to LO, so I don't have an solid advice on how to get your DH on board. I just got a bunch of "baby Einsteins" in Arabic and Arabic kids CDs (of music) & tons of books so that my LO can learn it almost on her own with our help, of course. Because LOs learn the first words usually from TV & music. I mean most kids can't put a sentence together but they'll tell you they want to watch Dora. * I was speaking arabi fluently at 3 and English fluently at 5 ( when I was immersed upon entering kindergarten) My mom says before then, I was allll sorts of mixed up;) but no one worried and I now have a total of 5 siblings who went through the same thing. All of us are very articulate & more than proficient in both languages (the standards of language profiency are so low!). mrsmate on "Non-Native Speakers Teaching a Second Language to LO" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/non-native-speakers-teaching-a-second-language-to-lo#post-529961 Sun, 27 Jan 2013 11:51:38 +0000 mrsmate 529961@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Because ages 0-5 is the most sensitive period for learning languages, I'd say learning from non-natives is better than nothing. DH and I are non-natives speaking to DD in Spanish. He's fluent, I'm not. I speak to her in Spanish when we are together as a family and in our Spanish Playgroup (we are in Boston). I speak in Korean when we are alone or with English speakers. As for getting your DH, I don't have good advice bc my DH agreed this is what we should do. Maybe guilt trip a little bit? Is him feeling a little awkward (which he will soon get over if he keeps it up) be worth giving your LO the gift of bilingualism? The cognitive benefits of learning another language? I think the answer is obvious... mrsjazz on "Non-Native Speakers Teaching a Second Language to LO" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/non-native-speakers-teaching-a-second-language-to-lo#post-529946 Sun, 27 Jan 2013 11:32:47 +0000 mrsjazz 529946@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @mrbee: None of our family & local friends speak Spanish. My BFF is a native speaker and we try to Skype monthly, but that's about the extent of her exposure. But I'm sure we can find a Spanish language parents/play group & I believe there's a Spanish immersion preschool near us, too. It's Nueva York, there's got to be something. mrbee on "Non-Native Speakers Teaching a Second Language to LO" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/non-native-speakers-teaching-a-second-language-to-lo#post-529941 Sun, 27 Jan 2013 11:27:38 +0000 mrbee 529941@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My Japanese professor in college talked to his kids in Japanese, and they had pretty bad American accents. Will your LO spend time with native speakers too? If so, it should be fine! Spanish is easier to pronounce I think... Charm54 on "Non-Native Speakers Teaching a Second Language to LO" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/non-native-speakers-teaching-a-second-language-to-lo#post-529931 Sun, 27 Jan 2013 11:16:10 +0000 Charm54 529931@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I learned French in school, but it's not my first language by any means. My community is bilingual so I speak it on a regular basis and hope LO learns it from an early age too. I'll speak French to the baby - maybe not ALL the time, but enough to give a foundation so that when he/she starts french immersion in school they are not totally lost. mrsjazz on "Non-Native Speakers Teaching a Second Language to LO" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/non-native-speakers-teaching-a-second-language-to-lo#post-529926 Sun, 27 Jan 2013 11:14:19 +0000 mrsjazz 529926@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I'm wondering if there are any parents who are non-native speakers of a language and plan to teach their LOs. DH learned Spanish in school and lived in Spain for a year so he speaks Spanish pretty well. He doesn't speak it day to day, but I'd like him to speak it to LO. I speak enough Spanish to travel in a Spanish-speaking country and have been slowly but surely working on my skills. DH feels a little weird speaking to LO primarily in Spanish, I've been showing him some articles about the benefits of speaking to her now but he feels a little awkward doing it. Does anyone have any tips or experience for ways he can start to teach her? Ways to make him feel comfortable or get him started?