Entre Dos Podcast

Public libraries are one of our nation’s most important resources. They support literacy, act as an inclusive gathering space for the community, and provide a plethora of public services. In this episode, we dive into how public libraries have been supporting bilingual families and how they can support you in your community. We hear from … Continue reading "Public libraries: Allies for bilingual families"

A common misconception or myth about bilingualism is that it causes speech language delays. In this episode, Claudia Serrano Johnson, a speech language pathologist (SLP) and founder of Laleo Therapy in Virginia breaks down these misconceptions and shares red flags parents should look out for in their child’s speech language development. You’ll also hear the … Continue reading "Bilingualism and Speech Delays: Dispelling Myths"

How do you get your kids to engage with you in the target language? We don’t mean utilitarian exchanges about snacks or watching five more minutes of cartoons but actual conversations about interesting topics, concepts or just life, really. It’s not as easy as it sounds, with our day-to-day lives we find ourselves not interacting … Continue reading "What We Love: Conversation Starters"

In Part Two of our conversation with Fabrice Jaumont – a French educator, researcher and the author of the book The Bilingual Revolution – we talk about what drives parents to undertake the efforts needed to establish dual language education programs and what you can do to get started. We also discuss common misconceptions about … Continue reading "The Bilingual Revolution, Part II"

Dual language education can be a good way to both sustain a cultural heritage and acquire a second language. But if you’ve spent any time looking into these programs, you may have found that they are not easy to get into or they simply don’t exist where you live. In this episode, we speak to … Continue reading "The Bilingual Revolution, Part I"

Are your motivations for raising bilingual children emotional or pragmatic? Maybe a little bit of both? We had an interesting conversation with Sabine Little, Lecturer in Languages Education and Researcher at the University of Sheffield, where her research explores the ties between heritage languages and identity. Sabine’s work also shines a light on how families … Continue reading "On Heritage, Language and Identity"

If you’re raising bilingual children, you’ve likely heard the word exposure over and over again. We need to give our kids exposure to the target language, right? But what is exposure? How is it defined in the context of bilingualism? And more importantly, how much is enough? Does quality matter more than quantity? In this … Continue reading "A Matter of Exposure"

Welcome to our final show of the year! In this episode, we talk about our holiday traditions and look back at the most important lessons we’ve learned so far while making the show. We are so lucky to have you as our listeners and are working hard on our  2019 episode lineup. You can stay connected with us during the holiday break on social media. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @entredospodcast. And don’t forget to join our Facebook Group to … Continue reading "Happy Holidays! Our last episode of 2018."

Music is one of the easiest ways to start building a connection to language. Even if you’re not a musical person, there’s a universality to music that makes it an effective tool for transferring knowledge. We’ve seen it in our homes. In this episode, we spoke to Dr. Susanne Reiterer, associate professor at the Faculty … Continue reading "Music and Bilingualism"

What does your bilingual family look like? Do you speak only the minority language at home? Do you speak both English and the target language? Do you speak English-only? In this episode, we explore how these family dynamics influence outcomes in bilingualism. Joining us to discuss this is Dr. Anny Castilla-Earls from the University of Houston, … Continue reading "Family Dynamics and Bilingualism"

This week on Entre Dos, we talk to Aileen Passariello-McAleer, of Mama-Lingua. She talks to us about her app, which is aimed at teaching both parents and kids Spanish, as well as her new book Simon Goes To School, which tackles the joys and challenges of attending a dual language school. You’ll hear Aileen give advice about … Continue reading "Learning Spanish with the Kids"

This week on Entre Dos, we talk to Catalina Burton, author of the blog Raising Bilingual Children. There, Catalina chronicles her experiences homeschooling her four-year-old daughter, Mia. In this episode, Catalina talks to us about her family, why she chose to homeschool and what resources she has found helpful in homeschooling her daughter. She also … Continue reading "Bilingual Homeschooling"

We talked to poet and children’s book author, Jorge Tetl Argueta, about why he writes for children and his passion for promoting literacy. Argueta’s poems give us a glimpse of communities that are often misrepresented, erased, and dehumanized in U.S. American literature. His books, which center mostly around his homeland of El Salvador, offer a … Continue reading "Author Spotlight: Jorge Tetl Argueta and his library of dreams"

Paula’s cousin, Juliana, talks about her experience growing up between two cultures. Juli, as she’s affectionately known in her family, was born in the U.S. to a Colombian family. She grew up in Katy, Texas, her first language was Spanish and she attended a dual-language elementary school program, but as she grew older, she began … Continue reading "Growing Up Between Two Cultures"

In this special episode, Monika and Paula share some of their favorite books in Spanish for babies and young toddlers, and give a few tips on how to choose books for the younger crowd. It’s part of a series we’ll call What We Love/Lo Que Más Nos Gusta. MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Mis Amigos by … Continue reading "What We Love: Bebé’s First Library"

What goes on in our brains when we speak more than one language? Dr. Arturo Hernandez, a professor of psychology and Director of the Laboratory for the Neural Bases of Bilingualism at the University of Houston, has spent 15 years investigating bilingual language processing and acquisition. This week, in the second part of our interview, … Continue reading "Decoding the Bilingual Brain: Part II"

What goes on in our brains when we speak more than one language? Dr. Arturo Hernandez, a professor of psychology and Director of the Laboratory for the Neural Bases of Bilingualism at the University of Houston, has spent 15 years investigating bilingual language processing and acquisition. This week, in the first part of our two-part … Continue reading "Decoding the Bilingual Brain: Part I"

The excitement of the World Cup goes beyond futbol. It’s a time every four years when for 90 minutes a stranger may become your best friend, when families and people from all walks of life gather around the television to watch their country’s team play its heart out, when a goal, a win or a nice … Continue reading "El Mundial"

Reading has many benefits for children, and for bilingual children, reading in the language you’re trying to teach them is a fun, effortless way to help develop and maintain that language. For us at Entre Dos, reading has been an invaluable tool in developing our daughters’ Spanish. In this week’s episode, we speak to Vanessa … Continue reading "Raising Bilingual Readers"

Music is a useful tool to expose kids to language and culture. Singing to or with your child is not only fun, it’s also a way to connect and introduce words, concepts, and sounds. Susie Jaramillo is the co-founder of Canticos, a company that creates bilingual books, apps and videos for young children based on … Continue reading "Canticos: Sharing culture and building connections through music"