Reality Check (I’m not so good at Spanish after all)
Well, it was bound to happen. It’s one thing to get Heidita’s comments showing how much (or little) I really know, but nothing beats having a six-year old put me in my place, or cut me down to size (no pun intended with ‘soy chaparrito’). I recently had a conversation with Giselle (bilingual but only 6) and her father José (who speaks English okay, but prefers speaking in Spanish). And since the conversation went back and forth in both languages, I’ll have to drift back and forth between the two also.
José had been telling me that his brother (along with wife and daughter) were coming to visit. I asked if they all spoke Spanish. It was an honest question since his brother has been in the States for over 10 years. José told me that neither his sister-in-law nor his niece speak Spanish. They are native to the US and the 16-year-old niece is actually a step-daughter. So they only speak English in the home.
“Bueno,” I said “Tal vez podamos enseñarles unas expresiones en español mientras están visitándoles.”
“Sí, pero yo creo que mi hermano ya ha tratado de hacer esto.” says José. "Es que prefieren hablar inglés.”
At that point Giselle, who I didn’t even realize had been listening to the conversation, pipes up: “That’s perfect for your kind.”
“Your kind?” José and I say simultaneously, with equally puzzled looks on our faces. And her father presses the issue, “¿Que quiere decir ‘your kind’ Giselle?”
“Well,” she says, talking about me, (no one else was there) “He speaks English.”
“Sí, pero ¡hablo español también!” I say trying to laugh but feeling slightly flushed and not a little unsure of myself.
“Yeah,” she replies looking back down at the dolls she had been playing with, obviously not that interested in what I had to say. “But not very good.”
Oooooooooooo. Talk about taking the wind out of your sails. So there it is. She told me exactly where I stand in the ‘Spanish-learner-field.’ Not Very Good.
Don’t you just love the honesty and frankness of children? I do. 
13 Answers
Haha...I just spent 3 months in Honduras and this sounds very much like what happened to me...a lot. One little girl who was only 4 and couldnt read had to keep correcting my pronounciation while I was reading to me and would occaisionally start giggling while I was talking and tell me how funny my Spanish sounded.
Then one night I was doing a little translation for some Americans who couldnt speak any Spanish and was doing pretty well (understanding and getting my point accross anyways) and this guy walks up and tells them (in very broken English) that I cant possibly any help to them because my Spanish was so bad. I just had to laugh...
jejeje, funny, I heard a story like that from Valerie the other day who is a kindergarten teacher. She was corrected by one of the 5-ear-olds because she used a Spanish (from Spain) expression!! she put alll the blame on me of course, lol
Children are great!! You can't take half the things they say personally, it may be an honest thought but if I took everything my students have said to me personally I probably would've jumped off a bridge by now! 
It sounds and looks like you have a great enough grasp on the language to carry and handle yourself. 
That really is funny. But I am not good enough at Spanish to have a conversation like that.... 
Oh my ....that's really funny! I would be heart-broken if a kid said that to me. 
That's sooo cute!!!!
In any case, do have a look, for the others, at chaparri's great job on this thread that is only for advanced students, it is almost impossible to understand and he got most of it!!
Is this correct to write or say this?: De la boca de bebé.
From the mouth of babies.
Bear in mind that if this young lady has been learning New World Spanish and you had hit her with ceceo and vosotros and "uve" (v) instead of "be chica" she'd have said you were speaking some alien tongue...
At least the girl who told me I couldn't speak Spanish was 7. Now I don't feel so bad.
Well then, I really wouldn't like to hear what a six-year old Spanish native would say about me speaking Spanish! That would be a disaster 
Nevertheless, Chaparrito - think of all the praising and support you get here. Fluency takes a looong time and a lot of hard work, but it's definitely worth it. I know how satisfying it is when you listen to a podcast or watch a Spanish film a understand more and more each time
Don't worry about it too much Chaparrito. I have found nothing more motivating than a little humble pie. Some of the areas I excel in today are a direct result of being frustrated or embarrassed by something someone said either innocently or because they were just mean spirited.
Use that moment in your life or memory to motivate you. The fact that the girl's father understood you is impressive enough. Go Chaparrito Go!!! 
Jason7R wrote:
Is this correct to write or say this?: De la boca de bebé.
From the mouth of babies.
Do you mean the expression ‘Out of the mouth of babes'?
I'm not sure if there is a similar well known expression in Spanish, but I would say "De la boca de los pequeñuelos."
And that is exactly the expression that had popped into my mind!
