Reply to Entering Oyster as Spanish-dominant -- Spanish proficiency test?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]We received a spot at Oyster last year through the OOB spanish dominant lottery. After reading this post, I am really glad we didn't take it!

DC is spanish dominant because DH and I have spoken to him only in Spanish since birth. This has been a great effort on my part because I am a non-native speaker of Spanish. While I am pretty fluent, it would nonetheless be easier to speak to DC in English. DH is from South America and therefore speaks his native language with DC.  When DC was born, we decided that we would prefer as a family to speak one language at home, rather than constantly have conversations in two languages, with one parents speaking English and the other speaking Spanish. So, we had to choose either DHs native language of Spanish or my native language of English. We chose Spanish so that DC could become bilingual. DH and I still speak English together when DC is not around. DC also has been with mostly (although not exclusively) Spanish speaking nannies/sitters when are not with him.

At 4.5, DC is still Spanish dominant but his english is catching up quickly. How do I know he is Spanish dominant? He understands more complicated books in Spanish, asks in Spanish how to say things in english, and wakes up speaking Spanish first thing in the morning. If I want to be sure he understands something, I know I have to say it in spanish. However,I am not certain that at 6 or 7, he will still be spanish dominant since the english environment is so strong in the US. Once that happens, I may switch to English with him as it is harder and harder to explain the more complex thing we discuss in my non native language.

So, how would the Oyster parents have treated us if we had attended on a coveted OOB Spanish dominant slot? DC is so white that he is almost translucent  - DH and I have similar coloring. We are not latino from any racial or ethnic indication that is obvious to the outside observer. I am clearly Anglo (WASP family) and would have done all dropoffs and pickups at Oyster. Would I have gotten nasty looks for speaking to my child in spanish (even though that is what he prefers)? If I had instead spoken to him in English as a result of being self-conscious (which I do sometimes), would I have been called a liar and a cheat? [/quote]

You would have been welcome. Parents and teachers would have been impressed by your effort and love of the language, and as warm towards you and your kid as towards so many others. Don't let the DCUM crazies scare you -- true, a diverse school such as Oyster does include a number of them, but they are a small minority.

I hope you kid is doing great!

PS: one of the questions in the Spanish test is (to the parents), what language does your kid start speaking spontaneously every morning when waking up?[/quote]

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