Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Lauren Whitley
ENGL 1103
I feel that this second draft of my Inquiry Paper was extremely successful. It took me a while to
get to the final layout but now that it is complete I cant imagine putting it in any other order or
including any extra information. I feel that I adequately answered the questions I wanted to
answer within this inquiry paper, and like you suggested I would, I am now left with many more
questions I only hope to answer in the future. This paper was extremely beneficial and “killed
two birds with one stone” because not only was I able to fulfill the requirements for this
assignment, but I was also able to find information that was relatable to my own personal life.
Overall I believe this paper went well and introduces a fair amount of information from a wide
variety of resources while also promoting both the positives and the negatives of my topic.
Since before the day mi hija (my daughter) was born, I have worried about the process of
raising her and how I would incorporate both aspects of her heritage into her life. Mi hija,
Rylynn, is biracial: half Caucasian y mitad Mexicana (and half Mexican) and because of her
biracialism, I face the decision of also raising her to be bilingual. I, her mother, am Caucasian
and I speak solely English in my household; however, I can understand and speak some Spanish.
Her father is fully Mexicano and speaks Español (Spanish) the majority of the time in his hogar
(household); however, he is fluent in both Inglés (English) y Español. She hears English the
most, from both my family and even her father, yet hears only Spanish when she is around her
Abuelita (grandmother). My daughter is eighteen months old and is beginning to talk, with the
ability to already say a few words in English, understanding most anything asked of her in
Whitley 2
English, and even responding to things said to her in Spanish. This leads me to the question that
is the basis of my research: how do I begin the process of raising un bilingue inglés-español niña
In Lenore Arnberg’s book Raising Children Bilingually: The Pre-school Years, she
introduces questions that I will be focusing on, and hopefully answering, within this paper. She
raises the questions of what effects bilingualism has on a child’s development, how la familia
(family) situations affect the possible degree of bilingualism, how much effort is required to
produce a bilingual child, and most importantly, cómo (how) to raise a bilingual child (19). I will
for parents of bilingual children, as well include information that professionals have gained
through their own research that leads me towards the discovery of how and why I should raise
Prior to recent research, many studies attempted to show that a bilingual child progresses
slower than a monolingual child in areas such as linguistics, cognition, and social behaviors.
Research as early as the 1970’s showed in regards to speech and linguistic ability, that a child is
not delayed in the normal process of learning their first words, they may be delayed, however, in
the normal “vocabulary spurt” when a child is learning the concept that all things have names
(Arnberg 25). In an online article by Kendall King and Lyn Fogle from Georgetown University,
they concur with the same information in Arnberg’s book stating that “no empirical evidence
links bilingualism to language delay of any sort”. No evidence can prove that hearing more than
parents believed that bilingualism would make their child less smart, yet bilingualism produces
benefits in areas such as “metalinguistic awareness, and cognitive processing” (King and Fogle).
In regards to social development, Arnberg asserts that based upon a study done on bilingual
Whitley 3
children versus monolingual children, the bilingual children were more capable of assuming the
“roles of others experiencing communication difficulties”, perceiving the needs of others, and
responding to these needs (31). In every piece of research I have looked at, none have found
significant evidence that bilingualism in any way negatively affects the child to where they
cannot effectively be linguistically, cognitively, and socially successful. When I first began
considering raising my child to become bilingual in both English and Spanish, I worried if
becoming so would have negative effects on her in those same three areas. Luckily, my research
has proved that albeit a few “bumps” along the way, a bilingual child faces no real setbacks.
Many parents choose to raise their child(ren) bilingually, including myself, for reasons
such as: a “desire to maintain ties to the parent’s heritage language and culture, to provide
children with academic and cognitive advantages, and to promote cross-cultural understanding
and communication” (Ken and Fogle). I plan on raising my child to be bilingual with hopes that
it does give her some advantages both in school and outside of school, and for her father’s sake, I
hope that she can learn both lenguas (languages) so that she is instilled with a part of his
bilingual through his education. He grew up speaking solely Spanish and did so through
kindergarten while living in Mexico. He first became introduced to English when he moved to
the United States before starting the first grade. Alejo stayes that learning both Ingles y Español
has helped him to communicate with two different types of people, especially on his family’s
behalf, and led him to more easily learn a third language when reaching Middle School and High
School. Victoria Rodriguez, an associate professor at Lehman College in New York agrees that
many families believe that raising bilingual children will allow them to “communicate with
parents and other family members” as well as benefit cognitively, academically, and socially on
two bilinguals, Christina Bosemark, believes that access to multiple languages “makes it easier
for children to understand the nature of language itself, and improves overall literacy skills”.
Now that the benefits of raising a bilingual child have been addressed, there are a few
“bumps” (not necessarily completely negative factors) of choosing to raise your child on more
than one language. There are three main drawbacks to bilingualism, that I believe sum it up in a
non-aggressive way: slight delay, the mixing of two languages, and the extreme amount of effort
needed on the parents behalf. The delay is not based upon scientific research or observation, but
merely as an agreement between parents that a delay of about three to six months exists, and that
it is probably due to the child learning twice as much information and vocabulary (Bosemark).
The mixing of two languages is the most common drawback; however, professionals from the
Spanglish Baby website console worried parents by letting them know that the mixing of
languages is “completely normal and harmless since the child is learning both languages and
won’t know all words in either one” (Flores and Soto). Lastly, the drawback of the extensive
amount of effort needed by the parents is evident. A parent already faces numerous challenges
when raising a child, but the added challenge of raising them on two languages can be extremely
difficult. Raising a child to be bilingual takes a lot of “commitment” on the parents’ part and
because it is a “long-term investment” you must set aside a large amount of time to allow for
maximum “second language exposure” and you need “persistence” to keep your “family
language rules as consistent as possible” (Bosemark). These three drawbacks that many parents
face can be minimal if a parent has the right access to information that will guide them in how to
raise their children in a bilingual environment. Not having this information can often delay the
process, if not eliminate it altogether, so it is essential that parents do all that they can to learn
proper techniques and ideas that will help them successfully raise their niño's de bilingüe
(bilingual children).
Whitley 5
Now I have arrived at the bulk of this paper: How do you raise a bilingual child so that
they are successful? There have been many studies done to decide how much time a child needs
around the second language, techniques to use, methods to introduce, and everything and
anything between. The decision of how is solely based on the parents decisions as to what they
are capable of doing and what they feel comfortable in doing, but for the parents who don’t know
where to begin, there is a plethora of information existing that can be a starting place. In Raising
Education at Harvard and taught in various international schools in places such as Japan,
Ecuador, and France, Tokuhama-Espinosa creates a “libro de cocina” (“cookbook”) filled with
recipes to “cook” a successful bilingual child. In her “Cookbook”, she gives ten key factors in
raising a bilingual child: timing and the windows of opportunity, aptitude for foreign languages,
motivation, strategy, consistency, opportunity and support at home, school and in the
community, the linguistic relationship between the chosen languages, siblings, gender, and hand
use (13). On the Omniglot website, Bosemark lists five tips on how to raise a bilingual child:
building a family agreement, being enthusiastic- yet realistic, creating a practical plan, building a
supportive network, and maintaining patience throughout the entire process. The steps and
support that I find most helpful are the motivation, consistency, and planning through the child’s
family, as well as the opportunities outside of the home, such as at school and in the community.
I’ll begin with focusing on the home environment, what I believe is the most important
location for a child to learn and be reinforced with his or her bilingualism. A child needs to be
exposed to the second language “about 1/3 of their waking hours to be actively bilingual”
(Bosemark). The largest part of this will be done in the home and therefore the amount of time
and persistence that a parent needs comes into play. Rodriguez produced a study on three young
girls who were learning English and Spanish during their early childhood years. The child that
Whitley 6
produces the best results was one who was addressed in Spanish almost exclusivo (exclusively)
in the dos primeros años de su vida (first two years of her life), yet received some input of
The result of this study showed Rodriguez, and also proves to me, that in order to raise a
successful bilingual child, you must make sure your child receives adequate exposure to both
English and Spanish. It is not enough to simply speak the minority language in one area such as
at home; a parent must give the child access to that second language in all aspects of his or her
life.
Through my research I have discovered multiple methods that parents tend to use when
raising their children to become bilinguals. The three main ones I have picked up through various
sources were “One parent, one language (OPOL)”, “Minority Language at Home (ML@H)” and
“Time and Place (T&P)”. All three of these techniques are based upon the parent’s discretion and
upon the ability of the parents. Certain methods require both parents to understand the
minority/majority languages, others require only one. All three methods have produced children
who are successfully bilingual and although there are infinitely more methods that exist in
regards to how to raise your children, these were the three main methods that I found informative
and relatable.
The OPOL technique requires that uno padre (one parent) solely speaks in his/her native
language to the child y el otro padre(the other parent) solely speaks in his/her native language. In
my case, my daughter would only receive English within my household and with my family, and
she would only have access to Spanish in her father’s household and con la familia de su padre
(with her father’s family). This technique has proven successful for parents off the Spanglish
Baby website, who say that the OPOL method has neither confused nor inhibited their ability to
learn both English and Spanish fully. One mother spoke solely Spanish to her children, even
Whitley 7
though her husband didn’t know any Spanish, and her husband spoke solely English. Her
children became the translators between the parents who spoke two different languages. Her
children, by the age of two were able to speak in either Spanish or English – a true success story.
A professional stated that the positive attributes to using the OPOL method were that it
supported consistency, it was simple, it was effortless, it was a natural way to encourage your
child to speak your personal language, and enables maximum language input (SpanglishBaby). It
is also suggested that using the OPOL method allows the child to learn two languages without
“noticing it”, “exerting any special effort” and assists the child in keeping the languages separate
so that they do not mix them. The only problem with using this method is that both parents must
remain absolutely consistent with using solely their native languages with the child so that the
child does not become unmotivated to use the minority language and will eventually attempt to
end using the minority language altogether (Arnberg 87-89). This is what is referred to as
“passive bilingualism” in which the child is competent in and understands both languages, yet
The ML@H Language would require my daughter to solely hear Spanish, her minority
language, any time she is a su casa (at her house) or with either family. Seeing as I am only able
to speak un poco de español (a little Spanish) this method would be virtually impossible for me
to use. Alejo was brought up with what can be considered the ML@H method due to the fact he
only heard Spanish from his mother and family, and spoke English in his community, especially
at school. This method allowed him to keep communication con su familia (with his family) but
also allowed him to be able to communicate and interact with others who only spoke English.
Other families who use this method found “gigantic” results due to the “expansive” vocabulary
their children adhered, and children love to speak the language. You must be as strict as possible
when using this method, especially if you are raising your child in a community that
Whitley 8
is based around English (SpanglishBaby). This produces a “highly positive situation for fostering
bilingualism in the home” and prevents the child from dropping their minority language, because
it is virtually impossible for them to do so. The only problem with this method is the possible
little interaction with the majority community, and the child falling behind when surrounded by
The third method is the T&P method which appropriates specific tiempos y lugares
(times and places) that either the majority or minority language is used. The Time and Place
method seems to be most effective for a child who has equal access to both languages, but who is
in a daycare or other activity which requires him or her to speak one language or the other. This
is a method that could possibly be used within my family; however, I worry that since my
daughter is primarily around me and therefore has a large influence from English, she would lose
her ability to learn the Spanish language. Some parents find this method successful because it is
the most flexible method. When using this method, you as a parent are able to control when and
where the child uses each language and the level of fluency in either the majority/minority
language of each parent is not as important as it is in the other two methods. The problem with
this method is that it is up to you, as the parent, to reinforce how much of each language the child
has access to, and it proves difficult when the community is solely influenced by the child’s
Regardless of the method you use when raising your bilingual child, you will encounter
positive and negative experiences within the process. A situation which most children and
parents face when becoming bilingual is that of “code-switching” in which the child frequently
switches between both English and Spanish when speaking. Usually confused with “language
mixing” in which the child mixes both languages before the child is really aware of his/her
the two languages. The use of code-switching can be due to various reasons such as not knowing
effect either showing expertise or even excluding someone (Arnberg 27). Many professionals,
however, feel that code-switching is a positive occurrence because it “is a verbal skill requiring a
large degree of linguistic competence in more than one language, rather than a defect arising
from insufficient knowledge of one or the other… [R]ather than presenting deviant behavior, [it]
Code-switching according to many sources, is something that a child eventually learns to grow
out of as they become more adept at the vocabulary from both English and Spanish and as they
learn the appropriateness of using either language. As a young child, Alejo remembers switching
between English and Spanish when speaking but within two years of learning his second
language of English, he was able to completely speak solely in one language or the other without
Teaching a child to become bilingual is something not only done in the home but also at
school and in the community. Many communities offer dual-immersion schools in which the
child can be introduced and taught with both languages, as well as after-school programs, and
specific language classes. For younger children, pre-schools and daycares that employ bilingual
teachers who are willing to work with children in either language. Parents of bilinguals can also
find Spanish playgroups that reinforce the Spanish language, as well as having bilingual
babysitters who can reinforce the language. There are often things in the community that
promote the minority language of Spanish and simply making the connection between the home,
at school, and in the community, and the usage of two languages can really benifit a child.
bilingualism with young children. Bosemark gives ideas such as using Spanish-only books, TV
Whitley 10
programs, and especially music to reinforce the second language. She also recommends parents
“tapping into” the child’s interests by focusing on what they like to do and teaching them to do it
minority language. There are multiple resources parents of new bilinguals can use when raising
their child and although the home is the most important place to learn two languages, the
community, and the child’s school can easily be positive contributing factors for the child.
Raising a child to become bilingual in Spanish and in English is a process that requires a
large amount of time, dedication, persistence, consistency, and patience. The role of a parent in a
child’s path to bilingualism is vital and even necessary to produce success. Whether you are
“cooking up” a bilingual child using the OPOL, ML@H or T&P method, or producing your own
methods and ideas in order to do so, it is a factor that will be a life-long beneficial element of a
child’s life. As visible in the life of Alejandro Alejo, who is now a successful bilingual using
both Spanish and English with his family, at school, and in the workplace, as well as other
families with success stories of raising their own bilingual children, it is something that is
possible as long as you have the right resources and the knowledge of how to do it. As I begin
the process of teaching my own daughter to learn both English and Spanish, I continue to think
Works Cited
Arnberg, Lenore. Raising Children Bilingually: The Preschool Years. England: Short Run Press,
1987. Print.
Bosemark, Christina. Omniglot: Writing Systems and Langaugaes of the World. 1998-2011.
Flores, Anna, and Roxana Soto. SpanglishBaby. Spanglish Baby Media, 2008. Web. 26 March,
2011.
King, Kendall, and Lyn Fogle. “Raising Bilingual Children: Common Parental Concerns and
Learning English and Spanglish”. Early Childhood Research and Practice. 12.1. (2010):
9pp. Web.