CHILDREN AND TWO LANGUAGES AT HOME
We were spending the summer at a gated community, outside the city, and my son Oscar was about four years old. Children had the run of the place and were having a blast. He had made many friends his age, and spent all day cycling, swimming, and playing soccer... We were new to the place that year. One day I was strolling along and saw Oscar with some buddies. I approached the circle and said something to him in ENGLISH, the language I have communicated with my children with since they were born. All the children stared at me wide-eyed. Their eyes grew even wider when they heard him answer in what, for them at that time, was a strange language. And for the first time in his life, Oscar realized that speaking two languages at home was not “normal” and that the rest of the families spoke only one. Up to that point in his short life, he had not realized that bilingual families were not the norm. After this incident, Oscar stopped talking to me in English. He did not enjoy being “...