In this episode, we spoke to Dr. Jackie Relyea, assistant professor of Literacy Education at North Carolina State University. Her research looked at English reading growth in Spanish-speaking bilinguals. Additional Reading Reading in any Language Improves Reading Levels in English, Language Magazine, Sep. 27, 2019 English Reading Growth in Spanish‐Speaking Bilingual Students: Moderating Effect of … Continue reading "Effects of Bilingualism on English Reading Ability"

We’re in the midst of the holiday season and with that, all of the traditions that make them special. In this episode, we wanted to showcase traditions from our listeners, specifically the ones that help keep the heritage language and culture alive. This will be our final episode of 2019. In the meantime, find us … Continue reading "Your Holiday Traditions"

In this episode, we talk to Joanna Rudnick, an Emmy nominated director and producer who is currently working on a documentary exploring the power and reach of children’s picture books: “Story & Pictures By.” The film follows three contemporary children’s book authors/illustrators – Mac Barnett, Christian Robinson and Yuyi Morales – as they craft new … Continue reading "“Story & Pictures By” – A Chat with Joanna Rudnick"

In one of our earliest episodes, Spanish is like a warm croqueta, we spoke about what we had done in our homes up to that point to foster our daughter’s burgeoning Spanish. Recently, we listened to it again and it struck us how different things feel now, so we decide to record an update on … Continue reading "¡Descarga!"

We know that giving bilingual children exposure in the minority language is crucial for their language development, but for some parents speaking their heritage language to their children in an English-dominant society is challenging. In this episode, we speak to Dr. Melissa Baralt, an associate professor of applied psycholinguistics at Florida International University, and the … Continue reading "Habláme Bebé: A Chat with Dr. Melissa Baralt"

Have you ever thought of the U.S. as a Spanish-speaking country? Our guest, Emily Hunsberger, a bilingual communications professional, mom of bilingual kids, and host of Tertulia Podcast, does. In today’s episode, she spoke to us about embracing and changing the perception of Spanish spoken in the U.S. – the Spanish that our children are … Continue reading "What Kind of Spanish Do You Speak? The U.S. as a Spanish-Speaking Country"

Our perceptions about what kind of bilingual we want our kids to be are rooted in what we feel is acceptable Spanish. But where do these ideas of what is “correct” or “incorrect” come from? In this episode, we speak to Salvatore Callesano, a sociolinguistic researcher and instructor at The University of Texas at Austin, … Continue reading "What Kind of Spanish Do You Speak? Language and Social Perceptions"

Is being bilingual/multilingual an advantage for cognitive development? The answer is not straightforward. You’ve likely heard about the bilingual advantage, this idea that people who have two or more languages develop cognitive advantages, particularly within the realm of executive function which is responsible for things like attention and task-switching. Research to date has yielded conflicting … Continue reading "The Bilingual Advantage: A Research Update"

As mothers of relatively young children, a lot of the conversations we have are about what will become of our bilingual, bicultural children’s future. For this episode, we called on Maritere Bellas, an award-winning author and parenting expert, who raised bilingual and bicultural children in Los Angeles, to share with us her wisdom and experience. … Continue reading "A Conversation with Parenting Expert Maritere Bellas"

In this episode of What We Love/Lo Que Más Nos Gusta, we talk to Carolina Quiroga-Stultz about her podcast: Tres Cuentos. In Tres Cuentos, which means three stories, Carolina tells stories, myths and legends from Latin America in Spanish and English. While most of the stories on Tres Cuentos are geared toward older children and … Continue reading "What We Love: Tres Cuentos Podcast"