Professor Pocket isn’t a native Spanish speaker. Shouldn’t my child only learn Spanish from native Spanish speakers and teachers?
No. Every opportunity your child has to interact in a second language is important. The frequency and interactivity of the exposure is more important than “perfect accenting”. To read more on this subject, we highly recommend reading The Bilingual Edge by Kendall King and Alison Mackey, parents and linguistic professors at Georgetown University. Here is an excerpt from page 23 of the book: “Research shows that as long as children have experiences with adults or older siblings interacting through language, they develop the ability to use it. So, is it critical to have a native language model who speaks in complete sentences? Children seem to be responsive to language that is tailored to their developmental levels, complete sentences or not. What is critical is not that children hear complete sentences but that they are directly engaged in conversation.
Related Questions
- I am a native speaker of French/German/Spanish and want to pursue the degree in ML&C. Do I have to complete all 10 courses required for the major?
- I am a native speaker of French or Spanish and want to pursue the degree in ML&C. Do I have to complete all 10 courses required for the major?
- Is it difficult for an English native speaker to learn Spanish or Italian?
