I'm not Latina but......

Yaya - posted on 03/19/2009

if he speaks spanish to her then yes she should pick it up. it will take her longer to speak as children learning more than one language at once takes a little more time to start speaking, but just keep trying - you can also get some flashcards =)

Jennifer - posted on 03/19/2009

HI Miranda,

I am in a similar situation. My husband is Latino, but I never had formal training in Spanish. We are trying to ensure that our 16 month old daughter picks up both spoken and written Spanish, even though there is not much Hispanic programming and media presence in Toronto.

It helps that she spends a lot of time with Spanish-speaking family members (an uncle and her grandmother). If you are in a position to set up playdates with Spanish-speaking cousins, that is a good option.

I have also located baby books and CDs in Spanish on Amazon.com and through Babies R Us. Fisher Price has a number of CDs in Spanish at Babies R Us http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw_2_7.... This past week, I visited a Barnes & Noble in Chicago, and found some children's books in Spanish, too.

Hope this helps... good luck! You can do it!

Judi - posted on 03/18/2009

hi there, i know how  you feel, i am mexican but I was not brought up speaking spanish. I just caught on thru friends , and  when I married my  husband I had no choice but to learn more. My at the time my oldest daughter was 1&1/2 when we got together, and she now speaks it better than I ever will. So the more they are around people who speak to them in spanish the more she will catch on. I am a mother of 8 so I know how hard it is . take care ok. good luck

Brenda - posted on 03/16/2009

Hi,

I think your best bet is to have your husband speak to her in Spanish all the time.  This would be easy for him to do, and she will pick up both languages that way.  My daughter goes to a Spanish immersion school - we do not speak any Spanish at home.  This way she is getting both languages at the same time.

Natalie - posted on 03/14/2009

Hi Miranda. I believe that if your husband speaks exclusively spanish to her, she will learn to understand the language, even if english ends up being her first and predominant language. You should also do everything you can to learn the language if you want her to truly be bilingual. Check out childrens books from your local library in spanish. Buy tapes or cds of childrens lullabyes in spanish. Learn the songs, sing them to her. I think it's a real plus that she has a big brother that speaks spanish. Encourage the language all you can. It might help you, too, to learn the language to tune in to spanish tv programs. and as the previous person wrote, always going to foreign country and practicing your language skills will do wonders. :0)

Another idea, make friends with other spanish speaking moms and schedule play-dates. I know your baby is young, but map out your plan now. Hope this encourages you.

Bessie - posted on 03/13/2009

My husband is also hispanic, and my daughter 2 years old is just now learning spanish. Although I am fluent and spanish is our main language, she picked up english first because when my husband is at work that is what she hears. I am very confident that she will learn. As for you learning, I learned with a trip to mexico for about a year.