Daycare in a Second Language?

[shadesofgold]

Hi Parenting!

DS started full-time daycare on Monday, the day he turned 5 months. (All the feels!) Two days in and he already seems to love his teachers, being around other babies, and all the colors and toys around him. We did a lot of research when picking our center - we love their philosophy, the location is super convenient, the price is right, and it has great word of mouth in the neighborhood. But apparently I had a big blindspot in my long list of questions because I am surprised to discover that the teachers all speak Spanish. (We are English-only at home.) All of our communication had been with the director who is a native English speaker, so it never occurred to me that they wouldn't be speaking English with the babies. I'm just a little thrown off. The lead teacher speaks decent English to us at drop-off and pick-up, but she speaks Spanish to the babies. The other teachers seem to have very limited English, so I assume DS hears Spanish all day. (The director herself splits her time between two centers.)

I've done a little googling and see many claims that early language exposure can have significant benefits, but much of what I find relates to language immersion programs, which I understand to be structured to teach the language a certain way. I've also seen claims that there can be language development delays in either language when a baby is learning two simultaneously. Don't get me wrong, I am all for DS learning Spanish (I'm a little jealous!) and his teachers seem wonderful, but I just hadn't prepared for this scenario.

I would love to hear thoughts or anecdotes from other parents with similar experiences. Did your child have any issues being in a second-language setting full-time? Is there anything special we should be doing at home to stave off language delays? Can you recommend any reading for us? WWYD? There is a new parent orientation tomorrow evening with a few other new families, and I wonder if there is a way to bring up this question that doesn't sound ill-informed or racist... :\

TIA!

[shadesofgold]

Sept 28, 2016 9:42:02 GMT -5 @ismellbooks said:

I think you're thinking too much about this. Our daycare provider is Pakistani, and speaks both English and Urdu to S. To me there are only benefits of this. Being spoken to in general daily activity while cared for - using the philosophy and the standards you loved enough to choose this center - is the best kind of immersion program IMO. Babies don't have to be taught a certain way to learn language; they just have to be talked to.

Who? Me? Never...

[k3am]

As long as the providers can all communicate with one another, and there's always someone in the class who could communicate with me, I'd be be A-OK with it.

We had issues with a teacher who didn't speak enough English to communicate with anyone else at our center - or us - being the sole person in DD's room for periods of time. Not initially, since we thought she spoke more English than she did. But one day, DD fell and hurt herself pretty badly and I asked her if DD had simply fallen or had a seizure and fell and her answer was... "Yes." At which point we realized her English was really limited and no one at the center speaks her same language. THAT was a problem.

[k3am]

We have acquaintances who have a similar situation as @juliagulia - Mom speaks Mandarin and English to the kids, dads speaks Portugese and English, and daycare was primarily Spanish (I think? I know it wasn't English). We met them as older kids, but I seem to remember the mom saying both kids (twins) took a while to talk. It never occurred to me that may be why. Either way, they're both 6, fluent in 4 languages, and.. don't shut up. (That last part comes with just being a kid)

[emmyg65]

I think this could be a great way for your kid to learn English and Spanish, but I can also see feeling a little weird about it. When my kid started daycare, we only really saw him for about an hour a day during the week, which isn't a lot of time to talk. But feelings (guilt!) aside, I think it's a benefit.

[callmeKD]

I think it would be amazing to have your child in a bi-lingual daycare that early. I wish we were able to do something similar for DD.

[valie]

Sounds like it's time to brush up on your Spanish

[peppapig]

So...I'm not an expert, but as part of my degree I've had to take a few language acquisition courses in college and graduate school. Yes, early exposure to different languages is highly beneficial, and can lead to some developmental language delays as the child "sorts" out the languages in his/her head, if that makes sense, so it's not necessarily a "bad" thing. This was the case for our children as well. Our primary daycare provider spoke a different language and we are an English speaking family. Now I'm not saying that this was the primary reason for their language delay (as there are many reasons for children to be delayed), but it may have been a contributing factor.

What I learned is that consistent exposure is the key. For instance, as long as the daycare provider speaks to the kids in Spanish consistently, and you speak to them in English consistently, then your kids will eventually be able to distinguish between the two languages. It's when you start mixing up the two languages, then the rules of grammar and the nuances of the languages become muddled, and your the child won't have a fluent grasp of either language. Does that make sense, lol? Again, I'm not expert in this field, it's just what I've been taught in the courses I've taken.

We have a family friend who is Chinese and ONLY speaks Chinese to her daughters, and their dad ONLY speaks to them in English. They are, as you can imagine, perfectly fluent in both languages.

[expatmama]

We are a bilingual home so it is a bit different but my kids go to preschool and school where the main language is not English. With solid English support from home they have a very broad vocabulary in their two main languages.

Keep in mind there may be speech delays due to the exposure and they may, depending on how long they are exposed, go thru periods where there Spanish is stronger than English and vice versa. Now my 6 year old is pretty balanced in both languages but it has gone in waves. After summer holidays in English my 3 year old is regaining his minority language after English took over.

But either way they say the exposure really helps cognitive development and even if it is just temporary you may notice he has a leg up on Spanish when older.

[lucilleaustero]

My DD was in a daycare where the teachers only spoke Spanish. She picked up quite a bit, but lost it when we switched daycares.

As far as needing immersion, any little bit helps. My FIL recently started speaking only Arabic and Turkish to my kids. We only see him twice a month or so and my DD is already picking up a bit. And my FIL never taught my husband Arabic or Turkish, so neither of u have a clue what he is saying.

It can only benefit them, don't think about it too much.

[brachysira]

People pay enormous amounts for this experience--I'd take it. We pay a lot for our child to get a single hour of immersion each week and the person isn't doing anything special. We know a kid exactly DS's age in a bilingual home who was speaking tons in both languages at 18 months while DS was using single words only. I think the science is still out of whether, in general, hearing two languages causes a slight delay in speaking. Being bilingual has a ton of cognitive benefits that may remain even if your child doesn't retain the language, and if he can retain the language, what a fantastic skill to have. The only concern would be that you would be out of the loop, but if they speak to you in English, that's solved. You can always work on learning Spanish yourself if DS is speaking it. I would not bring it up at orientation unless you have a more specific question--you can't just say, I'm concerned no one around here speaks enough English.

[lormor]

I am jealous! I wish my kids got that much exposure to another language.
Don't stress. You've got some good advice above.

[shadesofgold]

Thanks for your responses! I am definitely going to relax and enjoy what a gift this is rather than worry about any possible downsides. And yes, I'm thinking now it would be a good opportunity for me to try to bone up on the Spanish I stopped speaking after high school. You know, in all my free time.

[wildflower810]

There's a gal in my N14 group whose SAHD husband speaks Arabic to the kids and she speaks English. Her experience mimics what others have said. Her kids have spoken later than peers, but then quickly caught up and in both languages. She tells funny stories of half English half Arabic sentences and getting words mixed up, but both her kids (almost 2 and about 4) are communicating just fine.

From a linguistic perspective, your DS doesn't need a structured immersion program to pick up Spanish at this age. Language acquisition starts in the womb. Just like no one sits down with English flashcards with their 6 month old, but somehow kids start talking, he's going to pick up Spanish just from the environment. The need for structure, studying, and memorizing comes as we start working to learn a language *after* the prime language acquisition period ends (about age 10 or so). Basically the way we normally teach 2nd languages in high school in the US is the worst possible way for actual retention. See: Everyone who only remembers the dirty words from their high school Spanish courses.

[Deleted]

I would love it because I speak Spanish and want them to learn. However Spanish would be my first choice, so I wouldn't be as happy with another language that I don't speak since my goal is conversing with them in that language when they are older.

[abvintage]

We are on the wait list for a spanish immersion center, so I'd say you got lucky.

[Deleted]

From 4 months old to almost age 3 my son had a nanny and we asked her only to communicate in Spanish. It was amazing to see how he just picked up English from us and Spanish from her. I wouldn't have any concerns about the dual language ability.

Now I'm a SAHM and I don't speak Spanish so he's already lost most of his skills.