Using Google Translate for Language Learning

As many of you know, I am currently a college student who is hoping to study three languages at the college level, which is a huge undertaking. There are times in which I wonder whether or not I will be able to understand a passage well, or read an entire novel in a foreign language without stumbling across too many unknown words. Thankfully, Google has a feature called Google Translate that has helped me make this transition much smoother and easier.

Before I explain how I specifically use Google Translate, I want to mention that it is by no means an application on which you should always rely. It will not always give you correct translations and sometimes creates more communication barriers and confusion than it will help you. On that note, if you keep this in mind and know how to use it wisely, it can be very useful throughout your language-learning journey. In my experience, Google Translate has been most accurate in Romance languages, specifically in Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese, and has been very inaccurate in German. In most cases, when I use it for Russian, I can get an overall gist of what a paragraph or sentences mean.

How exactly do I use Google Translate to help me learn languages? This semester, I have used it to look up individual words, idiomatic expressions, and to type up full sentences to try and decipher overall meanings. If you need to look up words, it will give you most translations of them in bold, along with their synonyms. If you are wise and look at all of the words below the bolded words, you can easily tell which translation is the one that conveys the meaning closest to the word of you which you are thinking. Keep in my that online dictionaries that are made in the countries of your target languages will most likely be more accurate; however, Google Translate will help you in this regard most of the time.

Not all idiomatic expressions will be translated with this application, but most of the commonly used, everyday expressions will be translated correctly (I can testify to this because I am a native Spanish speaker, and have been impressed by its ability to provide you with correct translations of expressions that cannot and should not be directly translated from one language to another). Using Google Translate to translate full sentences or paragraphs can get messy, but it is possible. This semester, I have already had to translate many sentences from French, Italian, and Russian to English, and have found it a lifesaver. I often use this application to double-check the general meanings of sections of readings and to make sure that I am understanding the majority of what I read, as opposed to guessing and solely relying on my memory for comprehension.

Another important question to ask is: When do you know when you can trust Google Translate as opposed to when it causes you more harm than good? Generally speaking, you should have a good enough grasp on a language to know what sounds and is grammatically correct. Whenever I am in doubt, I type a sentence on Google in quotes to verify if it exists and if it used in my target language. For example, if I want to know how to say “thank you for your help” in Spanish, Google Translate translates it as “gracias por tu ayuda.” If you type up “gracias por tu ayuda” in quotes, many results will show up on Google in a matter of seconds, which confirms that it is correctly translated. If you know that a translation is incorrect, or is far from the actual translation by simply reading the translation that it provides, try looking up individual words or phrases by using trusted online language dictionaries, or by using the above method.

After reading this post, I hope that you learned how to effectively use a free application that Google provides for anyone who owns a computer, or a cellphone. Do not forget to download the application onto your phone if you think that you will need it, or benefit from it.

How To Learn Multiple Languages At A Time

One of the most frequent questions that I get asked is: how can you keep seven different languages straight? Do you not get confused and mix them up? Unfortunately, there is no clear-cut, simple answer to this question, but there are some explanations that will hopefully explain why I am able to do so. I can assure you that is not only possible, but also very easy to study multiple languages at a time. You do not have to be enrolled in a language classroom, spend a lot of money, or even have native speakers of your target languages in your community in order to do so. In fact, you can do most, if not all of your language learning from the comfort of your home. This may sound hypercritical, considering that I have studied most languages in school; however, I have drastically improved my conversational, listening, and reading skills in my spare time. Below, I will give you a few tips on how you can learn more than one language at a time.

1. Do not overwhelm yourself

This tip may sound self-explanatory, and, in many ways, it is, but I will expand on it, so that you can see why I think that it is so important. Whenever you are learning more than one language at a time, the last thing that you want to do is make yourself feel frustrated, which oftentimes makes you want to stop learning a language altogether. You should never force yourself to review grammar for three different languages, or watch several foreign films without subtitles on the same day. Instead, I would recommend focusing on one language a time whenever you have spare time. This will help balance out your schedule, and will allow you to make more progress in a shorter amount of time.


2.   Create a schedule for language-learning and stick to it

Your brain works wonders when it focuses on one specific task a time. Keep in mind that if you did this, you should set specific goals for what you want to teach yourself, or review for each language throughout the week, and try to avoid not interacting with a language (especially one in which you are not advanced) for more than a week.

For example, you could set up a schedule, and study German on Mondays, French on Wednesdays, and Italian on Fridays. Your goal for German could be to watch a few YouTube videos for an hour, write down any new words, and then translate them into your mother tongue. On the other hand, you may want to focus on reviewing difficult grammar for French. What is key for you to remember is that you are not at the same level in each language. You should spend your free time wisely by primarily focusing on your weak spots, and by assuring that your language study is part of your daily, and weekly routine.

3. Do not start two languages from scratch at the same time

One mistake that many people make is that they try to juggle too much new information right away, and want to skip over what many would call the boring parts of language learning: the beginner stage. I can relate to that, now that I have studied four different Romance languages, and can easily give you grammatical explanations of how and why a language works the way that it does. However, I recommend that you rethink your thought-process and that you focus on mastering the basics of a language before moving on to a new language. 

After having had many years of study with French, I decided to start taking German as a sophomore in high-school. Since I had already taken French in school for three years, I had already surpassed the beginner stage, and was learning more difficult grammar and vocabulary. In other words, it was the perfect time for me to start learning a new language, because I could do more than just get by when speaking French. I waited another two years to start self-teaching Italian, and less than a year to start learning Russian, since Italian is close to my mother-tongue, which is Spanish (I had also self-studied it when I was eight).

Spacing each language out has made me more focused, and more excited to start picking up a new language. I have never overwhelmed myself to the point of wanting to give up, because I have waited to pass a certain level of each language before even seriously considering to start a new one. By never starting two languages from scratch at once, I have reached at least an advanced intermediate level in every language that I speak except for Russian. As many polyglots would say, there is no secret to the recipe. You simply have to act smart, and be smart when you decide to take on, what many would say, is a difficult task: language-learning.

4. Practice speaking as frequently as possible

In order to be able to say that you can speak multiple languages, you have to practice all of them. Although many claim that they speak Spanish, because they took it throughout high-school, oftentimes, this is not true. What separates exceptional language learners from others is that they are not afraid of making mistakes (feel free to read my post titled: "Being Afraid of Making Mistakes in Another Language" if you want to get tips on how to become less fearful when speaking another language). 

What I do is that I go to my college’s language tables, which are friendly and casual environments in which you can practice your conversational skills with professors of that language, with native speakers and teaching assistants, and with other students of all levels. I consistently go to Italian Table on Wednesdays, French Table on Tuesdays, and have also gone to German and to Russian Table on Tuesdays. Despite them only being once a week, I can now comfortably speak with native speakers, and can have complex conversations. I have gotten corrected in a respectful way, and can easily ask questions if I do not remember words in each language.

Aside from going to language tables, I attend many of our language departments’ film screenings, and have become closer with many international students who are native speakers of some of my target languages. Whenever I get the chance, I ask them if I can practice my speaking skills with them, and more than 99 percent of the time, they are willing to do so. If for some reason I cannot find someone with whom to practice, I speak to myself. This may sound odd, but many other polyglots have mentioned that this has helped them be consciously aware of what they know, and on what they can improve. Whichever words, or grammar you cannot remember when practicing, you can easily review and repeat as many times as you feel is necessary.

As you can probably tell, I continue to be amazed by my brain’s, as well as other polyglots’ brains’ capacities, but know that we are not geniuses. We were not born more capable or smarter than others, but we have learned how to continue to push our brains’ limits on a daily basis. Polyglots know how to effectively manage their time, and incorporate languages into their daily routines as much as possible. If you want to call yourself a polyglot, you should follow their footsteps, and follow their advice.

Why Study a Critical Language?

Most of you who are reading this post have probably learned a foreign language at some point in your academic careers; however, most of you have not had the opportunity to learn a critical language. This is by no means your fault, but rather, a fault in the academic system. Over the years, I have noticed that the American educational system is very Euro-centric, and rarely offers you the opportunity to study non- European languages. Now that we live in an ever-changing, competitive society, it is more important to study critical languages than it was two decades ago. The West’s relations with the rest of the world continue to become more confusing, and more complicated, making it difficult for effective communication to take place to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems, such as wars, aid, and terrorism.

According to Heather Carreiro’s article What’s a Critical Language and Why Study One?, a critical language “is a term used in the US to designate languages for which there is large demand for language professionals but little supply.” Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese Hindi, Farsi, Hebrew, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Swahili, Turkish, and Urdu are all considered critical languages by the American government, giving you at least sixteen different languages from which to choose. You may be wondering which critical language I decided to start studying in college. I chose Russian.

Before answering the question: why learn a critical language?, I am going to give a little bit of my background as to how I became inspired to learn a difficult language like Russian. In high-school, I had the opportunity of taking three languages, and happened to have a German, and a French teacher who had learned Russian in college. Oftentimes, they would write in Cyrillic on the board, so that their students could not understand the mysterious messages, or notes that they found to be important. This not only intrigued me, but also made me want to learn more about the Russian language, and about the cultures associated with it.

My high-school had offered two years’ worth of Russian study for many years, but, due to budget cuts, was cut out of its curriculum. Being the passionate language-learner that I am, I was upset by this loss. I could not believe that it had decided to take out one of the most widely-spoken, and important languages in today’s world. Curiously enough, my German teacher had taught both levels of Russian, and had a degree in teaching this language. Although my efforts to bring Russian back into its curriculum failed, my teacher was kind enough to teach my Honors German III class how to read and write in Cyrillic, as well as some of the basics of the language. Many of my classmates became fascinated with a language that not only had a different alphabet, but that also had grammar, and words completely different from English. This intrigued many of us, and our love for it continued to grow.

Last summer, I was blessed to go to Concordia Language Village’s Russian language village in Bemidji, Minnesota for its 12 day high-school summer immersion program. I had already attended the French, German, and Italian language villages in previous summers, but wanted to go a critical language’s language village before turning 19 (you can only go to their villages as a villager until you are 18). Since I had already had some experience with the alphabet, I decided to continue with Russian. Other than knowing some basic words and phrases, and feeling relatively comfortable reading and writing in Cyrillic, I had never been surrounded with the language for more than just a few minutes. 

I was placed into the second level with younger villagers who had already learned other languages. After just a few days of singing in, learning food vocabulary, and only being surrounded by Russian, I started to translate what both of my teachers were saying from Russian to English, and from English to Russian. This is because I learn best when I am completely immersed in a language, and when I am forced to express myself, and ask questions in my target language. One of my teachers was older, and lived in Russia, so her English was very minimal. This gave me an appreciation for the culture even more, and pushed my brain’s limits to speak in more than just broken Russian. I will forever be thankful for her kindness, and patience with my class, and with all of the girls’ in my cabin.

After those twelve days were over, I gained incredible friendships. I had met a girl whose goal is to be the first astronaut to Mars, a girl who was half Russian, a girl who had been adopted as a baby from Russia, a girl who had pointed to Russia on a map as a young girl and who had loved learning about Russian culture ever since, and a girl who had been adopted as a teenager from Ukrainia. I had trained my brain to learn a completely new alphabet, and to start learning vocabulary that was very distantly related from both of my mother tongues. I had gained a greater appreciation for misunderstood, and misrepresented countries, and had disregarded most of the stereotypes that had been ingrained in me at a young age.

Last summer, my family was fortunate enough to get a first taste of Russia by visiting Saint Petersburg. Despite my limited Russian, I was able to read menus in Cyrillic, and to understand signs that were around me. I was even able to understand most of what the security guards were saying at the airport, making me less nervous to travel to Russia. Fast-forwarding to now, I am currently in my second of Russian. Having had several years of experience with German, I had the advantage of understanding Russian grammar before even learning it. For example, both languages have a case system. Most of my classmates had never learned the Cyrillic alphabet, and had never learned cases. This made me feel more comfortable learning difficult grammar, and words that were completely foreign-sounding. My knowledge of five other languages has facilitated, and sped up my learning of Russian, despite many of the roadblocks that I have already faced.

Going back to the question: why study a critical language?, it is completely life-changing. It opens you up to a world, and to cultures that you would have never otherwise fully appreciated, or understood. It allows you to meet incredible people who come from all kinds of backgrounds (as I have already mentioned above), and to meet others with whom you would not otherwise be able to communicate. Most people who speak one of the fourteen critical languages recognized by the American government do not speak English. In fact, most of them only speak their native language. Learning a critical language would not only set you apart from your friend group, but also from your peers, and from your colleagues. Very few people take the time to learn one, allowing you to set yourself apart.

I have found that studying Russian at the university level has an even more rewarding experience than all of the other languages that I have learned. This is because I have made progress at a slower pace. Whenever I improve, it feels as though I have made leaps and bounds in terms of progress. Every time that I understand material, it makes me realize that, with a positive mindset, drive, and dedication, anyone can master a critical language. 

Another perk is that there are only nine of us who are learning Russian at my level. Our classroom sizes are much smaller from those of more commonly taught languages, making it easy to have strong relationships with our professors. If you are thinking about learning a critical language, college is the perfect time to do so. I have already gone to Russian Table to practice my conversational Russian, have watched Russian films, and have labs for an hour once a week for extra practice. There are thousands of scholarship opportunities for you if you study a critical language. You have the whole world at your feet. 

Have you now been convinced? Do you want to push your brain’s limits, and step out of your comfort zone? Russian is by far the most difficult language that I have learned, but have learned it in a very safe and supportive environment. Learning a different alphabet has made my brain more malleable, and more willing to learn completely different material.  I have developed a new personality, and, most importantly, have learned that Russian-speaking countries are friendly, welcoming, and very happy that you are taking the time to learn more about them. It is time for the word stereotype to not be a word that is in our vocabulary. Instead, we should take the time to learn about cultures different than ours, and explore that they are not as different as they may seem on the surface.

How to Stay Motivated When Learning a Language

An obstacle that many language learners eventually face is a lack of motivation, or drive to continue learning a language. Oftentimes, many end up giving up learning their target language altogether, or put it off to the side for enough time, that they eventually end up forgetting everything that they had worked towards. My blog’s aim is to help you boost your confidence, and motivation by giving you tips on how to effectively approach learning a new language. Even though we all have different experiences and learning styles, most of my posts can help you reach towards whatever language learning-related goal that you have.

If you have felt that you have been learning a language for a while, but have made little to no progress with it, you are not alone. I know how frustrating it can be to not understand what someone else is saying, or to tell yourself “I only understand about twenty percent of what is being said on this show”. I have compared myself to others endless amount of times, and have felt stagnant process. That being said, there are easy solutions that can help you get back on track, and that can help remind you why you started learning your target language in the first place.

I am going to start off by mentioning the three tips that the famous hyperpolyglot Alex Rawlings gives in the video above, and will also give you some tips that I have found helpful over the years.

1. Have fun learning the language

Instead of learning a language the traditional textbook way, find television series, movies, books, YouTube channels, music, and other resources with which you can personally connect, based on your personal interests. If you are mostly interested in the cultural aspects of your language, then find resources that address cultural norms, issues, and customs. If you are lucky to have a friend who is a native speaker, then make sure to practice with him, or her. 

What is most important is to not make learning a language something to check off of a list. It should be part of your everyday routine, and should be enjoyable. If you are finding that your approaches are not effective, or are making you feel behind, then change them. It is never too late to change your approaches. In fact, it gives you more motivation to continue with a language if you are constantly finding new, interesting, and relevant materials that pertain to your goals, your personal interests, and your professional interests.

2. Treat yourself, travel if possible

After finishing studying for your French exam, or reviewing vocabulary, make sure to reward yourself with something that you like. I personally like to treat myself by watching YouTube videos for a study break, or by listening to some of my favorite international music, as it helps to relax me. By giving yourself incentives, you are more likely to want to put a certain amount of study, and effort in your target language.

As time goes on, and as you start improving in all aspects of the language, you can start thinking about traveling to a country in which your target language is spoken. When you feel comfortable enough to do this, you can more easily see the significant progress that you have made by interacting with a culture that is associated with that language, and by interacting with locals, and native speakers. This is incredibly rewarding, especially if you are not learning a common language. Locals love it whenever you take the time to thank them, or speak to them in their native languages. In my opinion, and in many polyglots’ opinions, traveling is the best way to completely immerse yourself into another culture with the help of a strong foundation in its language. Who knows? You might end up meeting some friends along the way.

3. Set realistic goals

This is one of the most important pieces of advice that I will give you. We should set realistic goals that can be met by a specific time of the year. The more specific your goals are, the more likely it is that you will be able to meet them. An example of an unrealistic goal would be wanting to become fluent in a language after one year. Although that is a very nice thought, you cannot expect yourself to master all aspects of a language in the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels after one year. You can definitely make a lot of progress in that amount of time, but it is not the same as being fluent. On the other hand, examples of realistic goals would be wanting to understand children’s books with minimal help from a dictionary, or having a basic conversation with a native speaker after a few weeks of intensive study. Once you think that you have successfully met your goals, you can eventually make your goals more difficult, and more specific to continue to push yourself to become a better learner.

4. Remind yourself why you started to learn the language

Whenever you are feeling unmotivated, or upset with your progress, or with what you are teaching yourself, remind yourself why you started to learn that language in the first place. This will help give you a goal to work towards, and reasons to continue learning it. Some common reasons are to connect with other cultures, to connect with family members or with friends, to increase global understanding, to travel, or to be able to read books, or watch books in their original languages. If your original intention changes, then make sure to either make a mental note of why you are currently continuing to study the language, or write it down, so that you have a constant, or a daily reminder about your new intentions.

5. Interact with speakers of the language

I cannot stress enough how rewarding it is to be able to have advanced conversations with friends who have spoken your target language for their entire lives. Even if you make mistakes as you are speaking it, or have to ask them to repeat words if you cannot hear them well, the ability to express yourself in a sophisticated, and in a complete way allows you connect to others’ hearts. It helps you understand parts of their culture that could not be as easily conveyed in English, or in languages other than in their mother tongues. Since I can personally connect with international students whose first language is not English, I prefer to speak to them in their native languages if I speak them. This has made them feel at home, and has made them be appreciative of my efforts to take the time and learn more about them.

All in all, no matter which kinds of roadblocks or problems you are facing in your language-learning journey, there are fixes for them that can help you have a fresh start, and a new mindset. Getting rid of all of the negative energy, and pessimism will help clear your brain, allowing you to make more progress. Remember that what matters is not how fast you progress, but rather reaching your personal goals at your own steady pace.

How Does Language Change Your Brain?

Have you ever wondered if individuals who speak more than one language see the world in a different way than monolingual speakers do? If you answered yes to this question, then I will hopefully give you many reasons why languages not only change your brain, but also change your perspectives on life. The video that I attached down below answers one of the most interesting, and relevant questions about language learning: How does language change your brain?

Some of the most fascinating facts that were presented in the video were that whenever you speak more than one language, specific parts of your brain will get bigger. That is to say that you brain grows in size for every language that you learn. For anyone who falls into this category, he/she has improved cognitive function, better concentration, and attention span than monolingual speakers, showing that speaking more than one language is good for your brain. In my opinion, this is the case because your brain has to be comfortable getting out of its comfort zone whenever it encounters something that is unfamiliar. It has to think really hard, and make connections with patterns, and ideas that it has already learnt. Studies have also shown that children who learn more than one language at an early age have better cognitive function as an adult, which helps slow down brain aging. You are less likely to have diseases such as Alzheimer’s, and have a healthier brain.

What exactly can be shaped by language? Culture is a huge component, because it is with what you grow up, and with what you are surrounded. It teaches you what is culturally appropriate, and what you should do in many different situations through the use of language to express these ideas. If you grow up in a household where more than one language is spoken, or speak more than one language, you know that languages differ in what they convey. Languages determine how you think about what is around you. They help shape your world, and make images in your head vivid, rich, and colorful. The man in the video also says that we ascribe ideas of words based on our own language, which is very true. For example, some English speakers have a harder time understanding the concept that most languages have feminine and masculine words, and, sometimes, neuter words. I have always associated objects as masculine, feminine, or neuter, and see my world through those lenses.

My favorite part about this video is when he says that languages are a “prism in which we see the world.” Because of my ability to speak many languages, I dream in them, am more culturally aware, am less sensitive to talking about concepts that would be seen as uncomfortable or not culturally appropriate in our culture, and, best of all, have expanded the size of my brain in the process. It would be interesting to see which parts of my brain have changed over time, and how they have affected my ability to retain grammar, and words in more than just my mother tongue. Do you fit into this category? If so, have you noticed having the benefits stated above? Feel free to think about these questions. 

How to Improve Your Listening Comprehension Skills in a Language

One of the most difficult roadblocks that many language learners have is knowing how to effectively improve their listening comprehension skills. Understanding audio input, whether it be listening to podcasts, videos, watching movies, or talking to native speakers, is one of the most important foundational elements that will help you start thinking in, and understanding the basics, and the complexities of a language.

Why are listening comprehension skills so important? The answer is simple. If you do not understand the majority of what you hear, all of the words that you will hear will sound foreign to you. In other words, your brain will block any words that it does not understand, making it difficult to make substantial progress. Luckily, it is easy, and not time-consuming to learn how to become a good listener. As the video above says, the most important factor is consistency, as well as quality of audio input. You cannot expect to do well in your high-school language class, or in your independent study if you only work on grammar, writing, and reading skills. What make languages a real experience is that you can use them to communicate with others, and to express your thoughts, opinions, and ideas.

Below, I will give you a few tips on how you can start improving your listening comprehension skills:

1. Listen to audio input as frequently as possible

Consistency, and repetition is key when starting off learning a language, or when you want to significantly improve your comfort level when speaking in, or understanding a language. Despite all of the commitments that we have, I recommend to listen to audio input every day for at least 5-10 minutes a day, especially when you are a beginner. Even if you are learning a language that is distantly related to your native language, you will slowly start to pick up words that you learn, or infer what words mean (especially if they sound similar to words with which you are comfortable in another language).

2. Listen to YouTubers

YouTube is a free website that has videos on virtually any topic. What is great about it is that there are YouTubers from most countries around the world, giving you endless possibilities of finding videos about topics in which you are interested (Feel free to read my post titled: “Listen to YouTubers in Your Target Language” if you want to read more about how I use YouTube to improve multiple languages at a time, and to get suggestions of some of my favorite YouTubers in several languages if you want to read more).

3. Buy podcasts, and/or download applications

Most of you probably own electronic devices, as well as smartphones, which allows you to download podcasts, and applications that pertain to language learning. Some of my favorite applications are: Duolingo (Feel free to read my post titled “Review of Duolingo (Application)” if you want to read more), Lingvist, and news applications in my target languages. All you have to do is type the name of your target language in the search button, and read reviews of several applications that could help you improve your listening skills. You can also search for names of good applications for specific languages on Google, or watch reviews of podcasts, or of applications on YouTube.

4. Watch Your Favorite Television Series, or Movies in Your Target Language

Another easy way to improve your comprehension skills is by watching your favorite television series, and movies produced in countries of your target language. I would recommend watching them in their original language, avoiding putting subtitles in your native language when possible. If you do this, you will give yourself an immersion experience, and will be able to focus on comprehending words, and overall main ideas, instead of obsessing over understanding every word. I have found that it has been more rewarding watching television series, and movies in their original language, because they have taught me a lot about other countries’ cultures, as well as idiomatic expressions, and vocabulary. If you did not feel that you are not comfortable enough with your language to do this, I would recommend watching them in their original language with subtitles in the original language, so that you can follow along with what the characters are saying.

I hope that you learned that what is most important about improving your listening comprehension skills is being consistent, and finding resources that are authentic in the original languages, or that are specifically designed for language learners.

Raising Your Kids Bilingually

In my opinion, one of the most beautiful gifts with which you can grow up is being raised bilingually, whether it be having parents who have two separate mother tongues, or parents who share the same mother tongue. In my case, I grew up with Colombian parents who started speaking to me in Spanish since the day in which I was born. Many of my friends have been surprised to find out that I did not start learning English until I was three years old, mostly by watching television shows, and by having American friends in pre-school.

My parents played music, bought me books, and read to me in Spanish. They taught me the most important Christian prayers, introduced us to our family members at a young age, watched movies, and watched television series in Spanish. All of these simple activities are activities that you do in your everyday life, which shows how easy it is to raise your children bilingually, especially in the United States, where you have access to many books, music, television series, movies, and other items in other languages. Due to globalization, you can buy almost anything in another language if you feel that you do not have enough resources, or toys for your children in your mother tongue right around the corner.

Most importantly, my parents were never ashamed of being immigrants, of being Colombians in the United States, or of speaking Spanish to their children. It was a normal everyday occurrence for me that I will forever treasure, especially now that I have many friends who did not have this opportunity growing up. Having connections to my family, and communicating with my parents in Spanish gave me strong enough reasons to never resent this ability, and made my overall learning experience more special, and meaningful. I associate Spanish with my family, and with many of my bilingual friends growing up. It has also helped me set myself apart from many of my classmates, and has strengthened many of my friendships with other Hispanics who shared similar experiences growing up.

Although I do not have experience as a parent, I wanted to share my personal experiences of how my parents raised my sister and I, as well as share some reasons why I believe that it is a shame that some bilingual parents do not raise their children bilingually. Below, I will give you simple solutions to solving some of the most common problems that I have noticed many bilingual parents make with my friends, or acquaintances. In many cases, it is resentment, or conforming to societal norms that shies many parents away from doing this, but may also result from the popular belief that raising your children bilingually will end up causing more harm than good, primarily because it “confuses your children”, and “slows their progress in the language of the country in which they live.”

There is no doubt that some of these myths are true on a case by case basis; however, I believe that if you start to speak your mother tongue to your children from the very beginning, you will end up with very satisfying results: children who can comfortably switch from one language to another. You should only speak to them in your mother tongue, and avoid using the language of the country in which you live as much as possible, so that your children do not think that they can, or should respond to you in that language. For example, my parents never spoke to me in English, and have only started to say certain words in English until recently (since they have lived in this country for over two decades). This never gave me the assumption that they spoke English well, or that they should simply use English instead of Spanish when speaking with them.

I will give you a short list of some of the most common mistakes, and how you can fix them:

1. Giving Up Speaking Your Mother Tongue to Your Children After Several Years

There have been many people that I have met throughout my life who have told my family that they spoke their mother tongue to their children until, let’s say age three, and then decided to only speak to them in English. One of the most common reasons is, because their children would often respond to them in English, which made the parents feel offended, or frustrated. In this particular case, what ends up often happening, is that the parents give up, and start incorporating more English, and less of their mother tongue as the years pass by. Although it can be a lot of work at times, I encourage you to find friends, or talk to people who have successfully raised their children bilingually, or who are trying to do so. In this respect, you will have emotional and moral support, and can get tips from parents who have already experienced what it is like to raise children bilingually, and can learn more about the benefits that it can give your children.

2. Not Speaking to Your Children in your Mother Tongue Because It Will Confuse Them

Despite the fact that some research has shown that this is sometimes the case, one of the easiest ways to avoid this from happening is by only speaking to your children in your mother tongue from the start. For example, if your children speak English in school, and with their friends, but speak Spanish with their parents, they will eventually separate the two languages, because different parts of their brains will associate specific sounds, and words for each language. If you find that your children are having a hard time distinguishing the two, and mixing them up, you can put them in language classes (ex: Chinese School, or take them to French lessons at a nearby institution for children).

If you are lucky enough to live in an area that has bilingual schools, then that is an even better option, and will allow your children to have a complete immersive experience in both languages. In my case, I went to a bilingual elementary school for Spanish and English, and had all of my subjects in both languages. This allowed me to have a strong foundation in reading, writing, speaking, understanding, vocabulary, and grammar in both (feel free to read my blog post titled "5 Benefits of Bilingualism: Why You Should Be Bilingual" if you want to read more). You can also have playgroups if you are lucky to have friends who also speak your mother tongue. Playgroups are groups with parents who have children who speak the same language. I went to playgroups for Spanish when I was little, and was able to speak to my friends in Spanish in a fun environment: through play, which did not feel like work to me.

3. “My Partner Does Not Speak my Mother Tongue, so I will not speak it to my Children”

This point is very complex, and a bit trickier than the first two, but there are still ways to successfully get around it. For example, if you have a dad who is a native French speaker, and a mom who is a native Spanish speaker, the most ideal situation is that the child is spoken to in both French and in Spanish. How you would best go about this situation is by having your children speak to their dad in French, and to their mom in Spanish. If the children speak to both parents at the same time, you can compromise in several ways. 

If you live in the United States, where English is spoken, you can have your children speak to you in English, or you can choose either one of your mother tongues. This situation may sound confusing, and you may think that it could confuse your children by having them speak three languages at once, but many parents have done so with little to no problems. I had a friend growing up who spoke French to her dad, Spanish to her mom, and English with everyone else, and is considered trilingual. This would give your children an even bigger advantage in life.

    4. Wanting to Conform to Societal Norms and Speaking Your Country’s Language

It can be very tempting to not want to speak to your children in your mother tongue, especially if you are a first or a second generation individual, or if you are mostly surrounded by families who only speak the language of the country in which you live. You may be afraid that you are not going to fit in, that you are going to be looked down upon, or that you will have a harder taking making friends if you spend most of your time speaking your mother tongue instead of the other language. Believe me, it is hard, and there are many excuses that could discourage you from doing so. However, you should try to resist any temptations, even if you are the only family in your neighborhood who speaks your mother tongue. 

If you are afraid of being discriminated against, you can decide to switch to another language in uncomfortable situations, but retain speaking to your children in your mother tongue elsewhere, especially at home. You can also gain support from your family, friends, or neighbors who have a love for, or who speak that common language. The gift that your children would receive would be much more rewarding than throwing it down the drain simply because you, as a parent, were too afraid of doing so.

5. “I am not a native speaker of [language], so I cannot speak to my children in [language]”

This point is interesting to bring up, because it is oftentimes not mentioned. There is a common belief that you can only raise your children bilingually if you, and or if you, and your partner speak a common language as a native speaker. If you classify yourself as a bilingual speaker, or as someone who speaks more than one language fluently (most likely the national language(s) of the country in which you live), you are just as qualified as, or more qualified than native speakers of a language. 

Oftentimes, individuals who group themselves into either of these categories have lived in countries where their languages are spoken, have studied abroad, or have done intense language study. If this is the case, then you can speak to your children in the language in which you are fluent, and continue improving in it. Even if you do not know as many words, or idiomatic expressions as a native speaker, you are still capable of easily expressing yourself in another language, and can elaborately express yourself in it. Raising your children bilingually would allow them to develop a passion for language learning early on, because they would find out that their parent(s) decided to dedicate a lot of time into becoming fluent in another language, or becoming a bilingual individual.

Whether you are a current parent, a future parent, a bilingual speaker, or a speaker who speaks more than one language fluently, you have all of the resources, and all of the knowledge that you need in order to raise your children bilingually. As I mentioned above, you do not have to be a native speaker of more than one language in order to do so. If you take away one point from this blog post, it will be that it is important to think twice about why you are considering never teaching your children your mother tongue, (or another language), or stopping yourself from doing so after a while.