Your a language teacher, you have spent years mastering your second language yet you only teach it to the students in your classroom. Why is it that the majority of language teachers dont actually teach their second language to their own children? My daughter, who at the time of the writing of this article (2019) is 5 years old, is native, not bilingual, but native in both Spanish and English. My wife and I are both English teachers living in Peru, and from the day of our daughters birth, we decided to only speak in English with her at all times. For the first 3 years of her life, we did this religiously, never waivering, never speaking Spanish with her (The rest of society were her Spanish world) and this decision reaped amazing results for us. She developed her ability to communicate naturally, and without hesitation in both languages with ease. At 3 years of age, she could sit at a table and communicate in both language simultaniously without any confusion. The extent of her ...
David White is an Australian English teacher who has been living in Peru since 2001. In partnership with his wife Claudia, they are the owners of ¨English For You Language Institute´, an institute that specializes in the teaching of all levels of English from Basic (A1) to Advanced (C2) including international exam preparation. They are also the owners of ELT Educational Services and David is also the Headmaster of the American School, a respected bilingual ib school in Northern Peru.