Speaking another language

Some people speak one language. Some people speak more than one language! Speaking many languages helps us talk to and understand many different people in our community and in our world. In this story, Javi learns that he speaks two different languages. 

Grown-ups, try this at home! 

Did you try this with your child? How'd it go? Connect with us at realstoriesrealchildren@gmail.com, or on IG at @RealStoriesRealChildren and let us know! 

Tips for Caregivers: 

• Try using a different language consistently at a particular time, if it feels too overwhelming to speak it all of the time. 
• If you yourself only speak one language, it's never too late! Take the opportunity to learn words in a new language with your child. 
• One way to expose your child to another language is to read familiar books or listen to familiar songs in a new language. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:19

Welcome to Real Stories for Real Children, where we tell stories about real things that happen in children's lives and help them know what to say and what to do. Has there ever been a time that you heard someone speaking a language and you didn't know what they were saying? Maybe you speak more than one language. Maybe you speak one language at home with your family and another one with your friends or at school. In this story, Javi realizes that he can speak two different languages and talk to people in many different ways. One day, Javi was in the kitchen coloring. It was early in the morning and he had woken up very thirsty. His mama was in the kitchen with him, making herself a cup of coffee. He started to cough and realized his throat felt really dry. He was so thirsty and he really wanted some milk. He said to his mama, Mama, I want milk. His mama said, Oh, you can say leche por favor. Javi knew that leche por favor meant milk, please, in Spanish. He said, Leche por favor, and his mama said, okay, and started getting him a cup of milk. Javi drank his milk and continued coloring. His mama said, Javi, if you're ever talking to me and you want something, you can say it in Spanish, like you just did, when you said, Leche por favor. And when you want to ask for something from Papa, you can say, milk please, in English. Javi nodded. He was too busy drinking his milk to say anything. A few days later, Javi was in the kitchen, and this time it was the evening. His mama had taken his baby sister upstairs for her bath, and he and his papa were sitting in the kitchen looking at a book together. Even though Javi had already finished his dinner, he really wanted one last thing before he went to bed. Do you know what he wanted? He wanted a cup of milk. He stopped looking at the book, turned to face his papa, and said, Papa, leche por favor. His papa said, What's that, Javi? Javi said, Leche por favor. His papa said, Wow, Javi, it sounds like you're speaking in Spanish. It's so wonderful to speak many languages, because then there are many ways that you can talk to people. I only know a little bit of Spanish. Can you tell me what you want in English? Javi remembered what his mama had told him, and he said to his papa, milk please. His papa said, Oh sure, I'll get you some milk. Remember, when you talk to your mama, you can say it in Spanish. And when you talk to me, you can say it in English. Milk please. The next day, Javi was at the grocery store with his mama. They were standing and looking at the yogurt and milk and cheese section. Javi was picking out string cheese to take home. He saw a family walk up to the milk, and he heard as he watched a child point to the milk and say, Leche. The child's parents didn't hear him, and so the child just kept pointing and saying, leche, leche. Javi looked at his mama and said, That child wants milk. Javi's mama said to him, Yes, he does. He's saying leche, and leche means milk in Spanish. Isn't it exciting that you can understand what people are saying in two languages? Javi said, Yeah. Your turn. What language or languages do you speak? Do you know what they're called?

SPEAKER_01 4:44

If your grown-up is with you, they might be able to help you remember the names of the languages you speak. Has there ever been a time that you were at a school or at a library or at a store and you heard someone talking and you couldn't understand what they were saying? They might have been speaking another language.

SPEAKER_00 5:10

Different languages sound different. And guess what? You can always learn how to speak a new language. Speaking new languages helps us to talk to and understand many different people around the world and around your community. Learning different languages also means that you get to read many more books, you get to understand many more words and songs, and you might even be able to visit another country from the one that you live in and talk to people there. Now you know what it means to speak and understand many languages. If you want to know more, you can ask your grown-ups to get a book about new languages and even teach you some new words in a different language that might be new to you. Until next time! Grown ups, please try this at home.