Kids not wanting to speak English and Spanish accents

SKing

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Nov 22, 2007
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I'm having a problem....Victor, my youngest child, at this point its like pulling teeth to get him to speak English and when he does, he has a spanish accent.

Victor had just turned 2 when we moved to DR. He spoke English well (as well as any 2 year old) and only knew a little Spanish. Now, he will be 4 next month and its a fight to get him to speak English. He has forgotten most of it and now will say words but not sentences. For example, he knows the word for helado is "ice cream" but he can't say "Mommy, can I have some ice cream". He knows some of the words in English for some of the colors, and different objects like truck, car, house, etc.

I have tried many things including only speaking to him in English which is difficult because he looks at me like I have 3 heads. I have told my other children to only speak to him in English but I don't know how consistent they are with that when I'm working in NYC because anytime I call and speak to them and then ask them to put Victor on the phone they scream..."Victor! Mami te llama!!!" so I don't know if they are speaking English when I am not home and my assumption is that they are not.

I have stopped speaking English to him on the phone because he truly doesn't understand and I just get back silence or he says to Bertania in the background "Que dice ella?" But when I am at home I try my best to remember only to speak English to him (I will admit though, that I don't remember all of the time).

I buy him books in English for his age and read to him in English and also tell my kids when I'm gone they are to read the books to him in English. But even while reading the books, all of his comments are in Spanish. For example, I got him a book about "No more monkeys jumping on the bed" and I'll read "3 little monkeys were jumping on the bed. One fell off and bumped his head..." and he points and says "Se cay?!" The only things he remembers in English are things that I said a lot when he was younger and I guess they stuck in his head such as "You ready to take a bath?" he will say "Si" and start getting his toys together but if I say "Where is your towel?" He stands there with the crazy face. I repeat and repeat but he doesn't understand and then of course I break down and say "Donde esta la toalla tuya?" and then he goes to get it.

The accent thing is what has me the most concerned. When I do get him to say English words he has a Spanish accent. For example, Bertania has taught him this thing where she asks him "Victor, do you speak English?" and my daughter has taught him to say "Yes, a little bit" but no matter how much I pronounce the words out to him, his sentence always comes out sounding like "Yays, a leeddle beet". Or McDonald's he says "Yay! Vamos pa' Mec-dough-nalls"

I am very proud of my children being bilingual. The other 2 of course, have no Spanish accent with their English and no English accent with their Spanish. And they read and write in both languages. Their school is a Dominican school so its all Spanish but I buy them books (in English), they read a lot, and I have them write me reports in English on the books that they read to keep their English skills up. But Victor, pobrecito, is behind the game.

So, I've tried
-only speaking to him in English (I admit, I can do better with that)
-buying him English books and reading to him in English
-teaching him little by little, starting with just words (when he points and says "Un cami?n mami, un cami?n!", I say "Yes, that's a truck")

What have you guys done who brought kids here at a small age? Is the accent something that he's just going to have or will that ever go away? I don't think it will because I have met many professional hispanics that speak perfect English but the Hispanic accent is still there.

I just would like to know what others have done to increase the English comprehension and vocabulary in their children.

Thanks

SHALENA
 

SKing

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Nov 22, 2007
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Oh, I forgot. Also when I am home I change his cartoons to English speaking (the ones that can be changed) but he doesn't like that and gets upset and the last thing I want to do is make him not like English. So I usually give up and change the language back to Spanish.

SHALENA
 
May 12, 2005
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My step son came here when he was 4. He spoke only Spanish. Now he only speaks English and gets mad when you talk to him in Spanish and has a very hard time speaking Spanish as well.
 

SKing

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Nov 22, 2007
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My step son came here when he was 4. He spoke only Spanish. Now he only speaks English and gets mad when you talk to him in Spanish and has a very hard time speaking Spanish as well.

I have heard that from many Hispanics that moved to the US with young children. What I don't want to happen is what I see so much in the US, Hispanic children who can't speak, read, or write Spanish. My children all know that I expect them to go to college in the States (although I know that when they get of age, ultimately that will be their decision).

But I don't want him to hate English and I don't want to make learning it a chore. I think my first priority is to stop falling back on the Spanish when he doesn't understand me but its easier said than done. Was just wondering if there were any other tricks or methods others have used.

SHALENA
 
Mar 1, 2009
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Hello to the beautiful Shalena, most of my nephews don't speak Spanish in Miami. The girls usually can get by and are better at being bilingual but the boys, almost 5 of them know very little spanish and when they do they speak horrible spanish like the kind Criss Colon probably speaks.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
 

bob saunders

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Jan 1, 2002
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I'm having a problem....Victor, my youngest child, at this point its like pulling teeth to get him to speak English and when he does, he has a spanish accent.

Victor had just turned 2 when we moved to DR. He spoke English well (as well as any 2 year old) and only knew a little Spanish. Now, he will be 4 next month and its a fight to get him to speak English. He has forgotten most of it and now will say words but not sentences. For example, he knows the word for helado is "ice cream" but he can't say "Mommy, can I have some ice cream". He knows some of the words in English for some of the colors, and different objects like truck, car, house, etc.

I have tried many things including only speaking to him in English which is difficult because he looks at me like I have 3 heads. I have told my other children to only speak to him in English but I don't know how consistent they are with that when I'm working in NYC because anytime I call and speak to them and then ask them to put Victor on the phone they scream..."Victor! Mami te llama!!!" so I don't know if they are speaking English when I am not home and my assumption is that they are not.

I have stopped speaking English to him on the phone because he truly doesn't understand and I just get back silence or he says to Bertania in the background "Que dice ella?" But when I am at home I try my best to remember only to speak English to him (I will admit though, that I don't remember all of the time).

I buy him books in English for his age and read to him in English and also tell my kids when I'm gone they are to read the books to him in English. But even while reading the books, all of his comments are in Spanish. For example, I got him a book about "No more monkeys jumping on the bed" and I'll read "3 little monkeys were jumping on the bed. One fell off and bumped his head..." and he points and says "Se cay?!" The only things he remembers in English are things that I said a lot when he was younger and I guess they stuck in his head such as "You ready to take a bath?" he will say "Si" and start getting his toys together but if I say "Where is your towel?" He stands there with the crazy face. I repeat and repeat but he doesn't understand and then of course I break down and say "Donde esta la toalla tuya?" and then he goes to get it.

The accent thing is what has me the most concerned. When I do get him to say English words he has a Spanish accent. For example, Bertania has taught him this thing where she asks him "Victor, do you speak English?" and my daughter has taught him to say "Yes, a little bit" but no matter how much I pronounce the words out to him, his sentence always comes out sounding like "Yays, a leeddle beet". Or McDonald's he says "Yay! Vamos pa' Mec-dough-nalls"

I am very proud of my children being bilingual. The other 2 of course, have no Spanish accent with their English and no English accent with their Spanish. And they read and write in both languages. Their school is a Dominican school so its all Spanish but I buy them books (in English), they read a lot, and I have them write me reports in English on the books that they read to keep their English skills up. But Victor, pobrecito, is behind the game.

So, I've tried
-only speaking to him in English (I admit, I can do better with that)
-buying him English books and reading to him in English
-teaching him little by little, starting with just words (when he points and says "Un cami?n mami, un cami?n!", I say "Yes, that's a truck")

What have you guys done who brought kids here at a small age? Is the accent something that he's just going to have or will that ever go away? I don't think it will because I have met many professional hispanics that speak perfect English but the Hispanic accent is still there.

I just would like to know what others have done to increase the English comprehension and vocabulary in their children.

Thanks

SHALENA

Put him in a bilingual school where English is for the majority of classes.
 
Mar 1, 2009
941
144
0
Hello to the beautiful Shalena, most of my nephews don't speak Spanish in Miami. The girls usually can get by and are better at being bilingual but the boys, almost 5 of them know very little spanish and when they do they speak horrible spanish like the kind Criss Colon probably speaks.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
 
Mar 1, 2009
941
144
0
My little brother was a master at memorization, he was already in 3rd grade and he couldn't write or read spanish well and it was starting to show in his grades. So we were teaching him how to read. What he would do was memorize the whole thing you would tell him and then act like he was reading it back to you!! HA!
He sure had us all fooled, but his grades didn't get better, so he got busted, eventually la maestra tutored him and he got a little better.

LLCC
 

bronzeallspice

Live everyday like it's your last
Mar 26, 2012
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Shalena, do not get frustrated, what you need to do is say it English and then
repeat it in Spanish (that way he will know what it means) each time. That is how
I taught my children and now I'm teaching my grandchildren the same way.

I tell my grandchildren: Quieres jugo? Do you want juice? If you do this all the time,
continuously, he will pick it up. Trust me.;)
 
Last edited:

Africaida

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Jun 19, 2009
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You have to speak to him in English, there is no secret. Bilingual kids I know speak their language because that is what was spoken to them at home. He probably understands more than you think, children are sponge at that age.

I only speak with my children in French and they reply in English 99 % of the time. When they are in a situation where the person in front of them doesn't speak English, their French magically comes back. I am lucky because my mother who doesn't speak a lick of English stays yearly with us, so does one of my nephew, that is how their French stay current (if you have a relative your son's age that could do the trick).

Don't stress about it, your son will be bilingual as your other children and the accent will be gone.
 

kampinge

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Jan 18, 2012
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I have three kids, 10,12, and14 years old. They started to speak German in Germany in the kindergarten. They always have spoken and speak German with me. If I speak to them in English they answer me in German.
They speak Spanish with her mother, my wife.
When coming her 7 years ago I put them in a bilingual school (New Horizon).
The result is as follow

They speak perfect Spanish and English. They speak German with me not perfect but good enough.
THis is where my vote would be.
Der Fish
 

dv8

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Sep 27, 2006
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i think the key is consistency. you may say the same thing twice (in english and spanish) at first but then slowly insist on english only. be expressive. if you want him to bring you something point the object. repeat things twice if needed. make faces, use gestures. this is the age when kids learn the most so it is important you push now.

i think he is too young for school yet, right? so teaching him is up to you. make it fun. play kids songs with him, dance around. reward him for the use of english. involve other kids, even if it's only when you are here. have english only trip to the beach or to have a dessert where all of you use english.

good luck and have fun.
 

Drperson

Well-known member
Sep 19, 2008
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I have similar problem. My children only speak spanish. I try to speak english to them but they don't seem to get it. I live Canada 6 months of the year. They live in the Dr.

My Canadian sister who had three children in Holland with her husband only spoke english to them and he spoke only Dutch. They moved to Canada when the kids were 6 8 and 10.

They spoke perfect english within one year and the middle one was top of his class in English

I worry alot about them not speaking english but hope that they are absorbing some. The only thing I can think of is an english school for a couple of years
 

SKing

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Nov 22, 2007
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Put him in a bilingual school where English is for the majority of classes.

Unfortunately, that is not an option. My children (the last time we were in DR living - 2008) were in an overpriced bilingual school where I do not even know how some of these schools can even be allowed to call themselves bilingual.
I took them out of that school because at that time, my other son who was in kindergarten (he's 11 now) brought home homework to copy some sentences and one of the sentences was: The ball is my
So, I prefer not to send them to a bilingual school because in my personal opinion his English will get screwed up.
They all 3 are in the same school and I like the school and they've been there for 3 years now (this is Victor's first year).
So, someone else had suggested that also but for me that's not an option.

SHALENA
 

SKing

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Nov 22, 2007
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Shalena, do not get frustrated, what you need to do is say it English and then
repeat it in Spanish (that way he will know what it means) each time. That is how
I taught my children and now I'm teaching my grandchildren the same way.

I tell my grandchildren: Quieres jugo? Do you want juice? If you do this all the time,
continuously, he will pick it up. Trust me.;)

Thanks, I will start doing that.

SHALENA
 

SKing

Silver
Nov 22, 2007
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i think the key is consistency. you may say the same thing twice (in english and spanish) at first but then slowly insist on english only. be expressive. if you want him to bring you something point the object. repeat things twice if needed. make faces, use gestures. this is the age when kids learn the most so it is important you push now.

i think he is too young for school yet, right? so teaching him is up to you. make it fun. play kids songs with him, dance around. reward him for the use of english. involve other kids, even if it's only when you are here. have english only trip to the beach or to have a dessert where all of you use english.

good luck and have fun.

Thanks. He has been in school since last August. My children's school takes kids starting at 3 years old. I'll try not to worry, I just keep thinking about college and in my mind I see a 18 year old Victor with a confused face looking at his textbooks like "WTF?!?"
And the accent :-/ I don't know even where to start with that...
SHALENA
 

bob saunders

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Jan 1, 2002
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Unfortunately, that is not an option. My children (the last time we were in DR living - 2008) were in an overpriced bilingual school where I do not even know how some of these schools can even be allowed to call themselves bilingual.
I took them out of that school because at that time, my other son who was in kindergarten (he's 11 now) brought home homework to copy some sentences and one of the sentences was: The ball is my
So, I prefer not to send them to a bilingual school because in my personal opinion his English will get screwed up.
They all 3 are in the same school and I like the school and they've been there for 3 years now (this is Victor's first year).
So, someone else had suggested that also but for me that's not an option.

SHALENA

Well in that case regardless of how much English you speak to him he's going to end up with an accent. Kids can be stubborn and lazy. He may just find Spanish easier at this point. If your older two speak only English to him, and when he says something to them in Spanish they should answer him in English. He'll get the picture soon enough. My step-son moved to Canada when he was ten and spoke no English, although he could write English pretty well for a kid in Grade five. He now speaks fluent English with a slight accent and he's 23. Why are you so concerned about the accent.
 

Africaida

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Jun 19, 2009
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If you have a family member around the same age whose only language is English it would do wonders. My US born children speaks French without an accent because they spend most of their summer with their cousin who lives abroad. When they want to have fun, they make the effort :)
Again I never speak English to them, it takes an effort because they speak English to me. I might use some English when I suspect they don't know the French term, but I immediately revert to French.
 

RV429

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Apr 3, 2011
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Shaleeena, the word immersion comes to mind. I had the reverse problem with my youngest. Coming to the U.S. she spoke little English and it was a very difficult first 4-6 months. I had patience and we were lucky she had great teachers at school or it would have been a disaster. She was immersed at school and had no choice but to learn. Luckily we have a great ESOL program here and that is an enormous help. Now she speaks better English than I do but now she is a reluctant Spanish speaker even thought it's her native language. When she spends a few weeks or more with Grandma she is back on the bike so to speak.
You have to be able to strike a balance and I would suggest he have a 2-3 month visit to an Aunt or Grandma in the U.S. if possible. It is not easy for the child and mine had a tough time but in the end it's worth it. The accent is the least of your worries.
 

SKing

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Nov 22, 2007
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Well in that case regardless of how much English you speak to him he's going to end up with an accent. Kids can be stubborn and lazy. He may just find Spanish easier at this point. If your older two speak only English to him, and when he says something to them in Spanish they should answer him in English. He'll get the picture soon enough. My step-son moved to Canada when he was ten and spoke no English, although he could write English pretty well for a kid in Grade five. He now speaks fluent English with a slight accent and he's 23. Why are you so concerned about the accent.

Bob, sincerely, I don't know why the accent bothers me. It doesn't bother me like I don't like hearing him speak English, I think it bothers me more as to how he will be perceived when he gets to the States for college.
It's petty, I know but I don't know why the thought of that bothers me.
If I have to take him speaking English but with an accent, then that is fine. It's just so thick right now LOL
It's cute to everyone else when he says "A leedle beet" ( a little bit) but I don't know.....I can't explain.


SHALENA