5 Things I Do Everyday with my Bilingual Baby
Eat Play Say is so happy to have a bilingual speech-language pathologist on staff to help provide resources and education on bilingualism to families all over. Check out how bilingualism can easily be incorporated into everyday life with a little Day in The Life from our bilingual SLP!
Nicole La Petina Kelly, MS, CCC-SLP is a bilingual speech-language pathologist on the EPS team!
When I was pregnant with my daughter, I knew I wanted to give her the gift of being raised bilingual. I knew from helping so many bilingual children and families reach their communication goals that bilingualism was, in fact, a gift. I was well aware of the benefits of being bilingual from my graduate school studies and fieldwork. I knew raising her bilingual would enhance her school readiness and expose her to other cultures and ways of life. So, I made a plan.
As a non-native Spanish speaker, and the only person in the family to speak a minority language, I knew it’d be difficult to ensure my daughter received quality Spanish input. Before she was born, I decided to use the time and place method, meaning I would specify certain times during the day/week to speak Spanish with her. Since I’m the only parent who speaks Spanish, I planned to use the minority language with my daughter on weekdays when her dad is at work (that way dad isn’t excluded from family conversations!). To be consistent, I would pick at least one wake window a day to speak Spanish (e.g. from wake-up until the first nap of the day). While there are definitely limitations to this plan (e.g., my daughter receives the majority of her Spanish exposure from one communication partner, use of Spanish is inconsistent on weekends when dad is home), I knew it’s the method that would work best for our family.
I made a plan. I had a baby. And somehow in the chaos of motherhood, I stuck to my plan.
Here are 5 things I do every day with my bilingual baby:
Prepare a meal
Because cooking for my daughter is a big part of the daily to-do, it’s an easy way to expose her to Spanish. I label the foods and/or ingredients I am using in Spanish, and maybe even give a basic description of how they taste (e.g., “Watermelon, juicy!”). I make sure to rotate which wake window in which I speak the minority language, so sometimes she is exposed to breakfast vocabulary, sometimes lunch, and so on. Aside from labeling the foods, I also describe what I am doing with them in Spanish (e.g. cut the fruit, spread the butter).
Do a chore
It’s never too early to start including your baby in chores, right?! Why not use this time to also expose your baby to the minority language. Whatever chore I need to get done during the Spanish-only wake window to keep the house afloat, my daughter is right there to “help.” For example, when we do laundry, I label clothing items in Spanish. She also frequently hears these same words in English, so there’s no doubt an association between the vocabulary is being established. Aside from labeling, I give her basic commands to follow in Spanish (e.g. put it in, close, open, etc.).
Play with toys
After I’ve put her through enough chores, it’s time to play! I don’t have any special “bilingual” toys, and many times she will play with the same toy at two different times of the day. That way, she is exposed to similar vocabulary in Spanish at one point of the day, and in English at the other. When playing with toys, I use functional vocabulary (e.g., basic nouns, verbs and prepositions) to develop and grow her language skills. For example, when we’re at the water table, I label the animals in the water (e.g., fish, frog) and describe what they are doing (e.g., swim, jump). I give my daughter basic commands using prepositions (e.g. put in, take out). Overall, playtime using the minority language looks very similar to playtime in English!
Sing a song
Dance party! Because our family uses the time and place method of minority language input, I usually choose Spanish-only songs (though bilingual English/Spanish songs do exist!). If it’s my daughter’s choice, we’ll probably sing Diez Deditos by Jose Luis Orozco at least three times. Using gestures keeps my daughter involved and enhances the song’s vocabulary. Aside from the benefits that singing has on language development, it’s also fun, keeps her attention (for the most part), and is a great way to bond!
Read a book
When it’s Spanish storytime in our house, we reach for an authentic Spanish or bilingual English/Spanish book. If choosing an authentic Spanish book (e.g. Arrullo by Maria Baranda), I read the text as it is written. Just like an English-only text, I often don’t read the story word-for-word, and I make sure to use all the same reading strategies to get my baby involved (e.g. pausing for imitation, including movement/gestures, using sound effects, etc.). Alternatively, if I choose a bilingual English/Spanish text (like my daughter’s favorite, Sonrisas for Baby: A Little Book of Smiles by Jen Arena), I typically read the book using Spanish-only even though there is English text. This is just my preference, and a way to enhance the quantity of Spanish exposure during the wake window. Because I go “off script,” I label nouns and verbs and describe what we see on the page using Spanish. Sometimes, my daughter will bring a bilingual English/Spanish book to her dad to read, and we go with it! In that case, since he only has basic knowledge of Spanish, he will read the story as it is written and expand on the bilingual text in English.
These are some of our favorites to read!
While this is a peek at a day in the life at our house, there are many different methods you can use to immerse your baby in the minority language (stick with us for more on that soon!). Do not worry if your day does not look anything like ours. In fact, it probably doesn’t!
Make YOUR plan, stick with it, and know that your baby is so lucky to be on this journey to bilingualism with you!
THIS BLOG CONTAINS COMMISSIONABLE OR AFFILIATE LINKS. 