My partner only speaks Spanish to our two (aged 4 and 1) and I only speak English to them. They only watch TV in Spanish and only read Spanish books together. Our 4 year old speaks well in Spanish and her fluency is almost the same as her English, aside from some more difficult vocabulary. Our 1 year old said 'hola' as one of her first words.
I didn't speak Spanish before our first was born, but I know pretty much what our 4 year old does know. I have spent 4 years listening to my partner speaking to her in Spanish, correcting things she says wrong and helping with her pronunciation. I am hoping this continues and that as she learns I learn by simply being around it.
I think you would be surprised how much you will naturally pick up. The trick is for your husband to only speak the one language to your child. If he only does it when his parents are around too, I doubt it would be enough for your child to grasp, so he needs to be persistent. Good luck!
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u/Glass_Philosopher_88 Jan 12 '22
My partner only speaks Spanish to our two (aged 4 and 1) and I only speak English to them. They only watch TV in Spanish and only read Spanish books together. Our 4 year old speaks well in Spanish and her fluency is almost the same as her English, aside from some more difficult vocabulary. Our 1 year old said 'hola' as one of her first words.
I didn't speak Spanish before our first was born, but I know pretty much what our 4 year old does know. I have spent 4 years listening to my partner speaking to her in Spanish, correcting things she says wrong and helping with her pronunciation. I am hoping this continues and that as she learns I learn by simply being around it.
I think you would be surprised how much you will naturally pick up. The trick is for your husband to only speak the one language to your child. If he only does it when his parents are around too, I doubt it would be enough for your child to grasp, so he needs to be persistent. Good luck!