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Any suggestions? how to keep my dual language child engaged in both languages
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Anonymous
| My DD is currently in a dual language program (spanish). She is not going to attend a language summer camp this year. Any ideas on what I can do to ensure that she doesn't forget what she has learned so far? I do not speak Spanish therefore I will not be able to hold a conversation with her in that language. |
Anonymous
| How old is she, and how long has she been in the program? My kids are in an immersion program, and in the summer I have them do at least 2 weeks of Spanish summer camp. (Depending on your child's age, consider WIS or Communikids, although I'm sure there are others.) They also read Spanish books throughout the summer. I usually buy them each a few as an incentive, since the libraries around here are surprisingly poorly stocked with Spanish books, especially for older children. |
Anonymous
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She is 6. She has been in her immersion program for a year. She is able to hold a conversation with Spanish speaking individuals with ease. She is also reading in Spanish.
Her pronunciations are clear and very close to native. I prefer not to read to her because my pronunciation is horrible. I don't want her to pick it up. (She correct me all the time.) Thanks for the advice. I will look into WIS or Communikids. |
Anonymous
| Depending on where you are, Escuela Bolivia has a two-week immersion/academic camp in late August in Arlington. Our DS is in an immersion program and I'm non-native in Spanish. Reading, even with a bad accent, is not horrible and your daughter will not pick up your bad accent. Our son makes fun of mine periodically and that's okay, LOL. Apart from that, there is a bilingual theatre camp in DC run by Teatro de la Luna and there probably are Spanish story hours in various places in the area. DVDs and music en espanol can also be great! Suerte!! |
Anonymous
| I have a similar situation. Last year DC finished K in a Spanish immersion program. I had planned to have him go to weekly Spanish lessons at one of the many language schools in the area. Our summer plans changed, and that didn't work out, but I did have him watch Spanish tv shows. And one of his summer camps had a bit of a Spanish component. This summer I plan to do Spanish videos again and may still look into weekly lessons. Can anyone recommend interactive Spanish websites for this age group? |
Anonymous
| How did you son make last summer? How did he do the first few weeks of school after returning? |
Anonymous
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My sister used to go find play grounds in Hispanic communities for her kids. If you are in DC I think Waltha T. Daniels library has a Spanish story hour and all the libraries have books in Spanish. DC Public Libraries also have a program called Tumble Books you can access from home that have books that are read in Spanish and English. I suspect other counties also have the program.
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Anonymous
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Here are some ideas. Familiar, day-to-day type activities that can be done in Spanish are good practice for both of you.
Restaurant night - go to Latin restaurant and put her in charge of menu, ordering Cook together in Spanish - find recipes on-line in Spanish, translate together into English (google translate), go shopping for ingredients in hispanic market or hispanic section of supermarket Movie time - watch a DVD together on Spanish language track with English subtitles for you. Latin-themed events like Smithsonian Folklife Festival Colombian activities http://www.festival.si.edu/2011/schedule_06_30.aspx#Colombia DC Public Library in Mt. Pleasant - librarian can give lots of ideas. Lots of stores on the same street where child can practice Spanish |
Anonymous
| Oh, I hope some more people chime in on this one. I am constantly trying to find ways to engage DD in activities that involve Spanish, so she doesn't lose so much over the summer. Group play dates? A Meetup group targeting native and non-native speaking kids? |
Anonymous
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Hire a Spanish speaking sitter a couple of times a week and have her only speak Spanish to your child. Also, look at this link:
http://www.isabellaandferdinand.com/summer |
Anonymous
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Here are some suggestions to maintain her language skills over the summer:
http://languageimmersiontoday.org/forum/topics/what-are-you-doing-this-summer |