Tell me it’s not too late (and tell me how to fix it!)

[Trilliumlady]

So I lived for 2.5 years in a Spanish speaking country after having Spanish all through HS and college. Needless to say I got pretty fluent.  Then I married someone from there.  We move back to US right before the wedding, and now have three kids, 12/10/8.  For a couple years in there we were separated and so definitely lost any desire to focus on teaching them Spanish that I might have had before then.  Since then, we’ve done nothing.  We speak Spanish to each other maybe half the time or so but they don’t hear much.  We’ve totally dropped the ball.  

Realistically,, if my husband started talking only spanish with them and i made more of an effort when I wasn’t HSing, how long might we be looking at to them them up and off the ground.  We’re so busy with school, farm, etc that I hesitate to add on a specific curriculum for this (more than Duolingo, we did have that, I suppose I could get it up and running again).  Basically, I’m looking for the easiest way to fix our mistakes!! (Yes, that sounds terrible, and totally not how I operate otherwise!). Help me save my poor kids bilingual abilities!  FWIW, oldest two are in MP Latin, FFL and LC first years and doing well.  Decent background in grammar.  

How should we start/what should we do?  I keep forgetting about watching movies they know in Spanish with English subtitles but remember that at times.

[StillStanding]

Your children are still young, so I think that if you start surrounding them in a "Spanish" environment they would pick it up pretty quickly. Your dh should start speaking in Spanish to them and to you; even if he has to repeat himself it in English for a while. Start teaching the children vocabulary while your cook, clean, play board games,etc (so while you are not doing school). Make it fun. Listen to Spanish music (Spotify, Youtube---both native songs and "Songs to learn Spanish for children." Continue with Duolingo, and watch cartoons and movies in Spanish (Netflix has a lot of them). Read to them in Spanish (even if at first you start in English and just use specific words in Spanish). If your dh still has family back home, maybe your children can paypal/Zoom with kids over there (?). 

 

[Miss Tick]

Not too late! Just start using it. They likely won't respond to you in Spanish but that is ok! If you get into a groove and stay there, then next year start asking for some responses in Spanish. Maybe set aside some "extra" video time for Spanish media if that is a currency. Totally keep it easy.

In our house, (with practically no Spanish background except me in middle/high school) we do a Latin curriculum but do Spanish "casually" for years and years. Read some books, watch some "learn Spanish" videos like Muzzy, Mi Vida Loca, and Destinos, and books like Juegos y Actividades to keep us talking about new vocabulary and grammar topics.

[lulalu]

At those ages I would have a family meeting first to help them understand why your hubby will only be speaking in Spanish to them. OPOL works well, but after a foundation in family dynamics in a language you might have children revolt and refuse to respond or listen. Getting them to understand the why and have a buy in will be needed. Maybe plan a trip to a Spanish speaking country as a goal to work towards. Find some fun tv show to keep up with. Something to make a goal.