My mum has been here for 2 weeks now (She leaves tomorrow – sniff sniff) and she has certainly been doing her Abuelita Magic with the kids!! I honestly do not know what it is but my “I do not know Spanish” kids are suddenly speaking it like pros!!!
They are not what I would consider fluent, but my they are talking! And laughing in Spanish!! (Yes - you can laugh in a language! Spanish laughter is contagious and very loud). My daughter has me very impressed, her Spanish is almost perfect and her pronunciation is very close to a native speaker. My boy makes me laugh, he does the best and funniest Spanglish I have ever heard and he does sound American. He keeps referring to him in 3rd person (like he did when he was 2 or 3 years old) and instead of “yo” he keeps saying “me”. So it sounds a bit like “Me Tarzan, You Cheeta” Here are some of my favorite expressions of the week:
· “Me” tiene hambre, comida por favor!
· Un segundo abuelita!!! “Me” hablo con tu mama (referring to me)
· Pasale el gato a tu hijo (Him asking me to give him the cat)
· “Me” te quiere mucho!
I now feel so much more confident that I am doing the right thing by trying to get them to speak Spanish and by sending them to Language Stars. I now know that they are comprehending and storing everything and that even though they may not choose to speak the language as much with me, the basic knowledge is in their brain ready to come out. I know that when they are mature enough to truly understand the importance of being bilingual, they will be able to tap into the knowledge reserve and bring their Spanish to a new level.
In the meantime, I will try to maximize our exposure to Abuelita and her magic. Hopefully we will see each other again in the Summer, this time in lovely Spain. That will be awesome as they may also get Amigos magic!
Disclosure: I will receive discounted tuition from Language Stars as compensation for this post. However all facts and opinions expressed in this post are true and my own. Language Stars have not asked me to write about anything in particular, only my true and honest opinion about my experience with their program. This post have not been edited by a third person.
Disclosure: I will receive discounted tuition from Language Stars as compensation for this post. However all facts and opinions expressed in this post are true and my own. Language Stars have not asked me to write about anything in particular, only my true and honest opinion about my experience with their program. This post have not been edited by a third person.
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