When interviewing a babysitter, you will answer the 20 common questions that all babysitters have heard. Surprisingly, you will come away thinking that your nanny speaks decent English. Then, after completing her due diligence, she decides to hire this person and she starts working with you. After about a week on the job, you realize that your nanny actually speaks very mediocre English because she, other than those 20 basic questions, she can’t communicate very well. What are you doing now?

Unlike learning the romance languages ​​where Italian is not that difficult to learn once you know Spanish, English can be more difficult. However, mastering any language requires constant attention to learning and usage. Here are some suggestions for your babysitter.

1) Buy English tapes, CDs, DVDs or videos that teach English. You can find many English tutorial resources online.

2) Insist that your babysitter speak English to you. Even if you know how to speak her language and would like to improve your Spanish by talking to her, you can only help her learn English if you speak English to her and insist that she speak English to you.

3) When your babysitter speaks English and makes mistakes, correct her. Don’t feel bad about this either. Just as you would correct your child when he does not use English grammar correctly, do the same with your babysitter. She can make mistakes repeatedly, but with repeated corrections, she’ll eventually get it right.

4) Ask him to read a children’s book every day. If your children are school age and don’t need to be read to, then have your child read to your babysitter and have your babysitter alternate reading paragraphs. It’s a fun way to get both your child and babysitter involved in learning to read.

5) Ask him to watch American TV; news in particular is good for learning a language.

6) If possible, make sure he takes evening or Saturday English classes at a local community college.

7) Leave your notes in English regarding the homework for the day. Review these notes with her. You will begin to understand the terminology needed for a domestic role. Ask him to also leave you notes about products and food that need to be replaced or anything else of work-related interest.

8) Make sure you have an English home manual on your job description, and at the end, create a glossary of words.

9) The same way you would teach your child new vocabulary by pointing to something and saying, “This is a blender we use to make smoothies.” She does this for her babysitter and then ask her to repeat the sentence asking, “What is this?” Ask him to repeat the prayer several times throughout the day. Ask him to keep a notepad handy and write the new sentence of the day emphasizing the new vocabulary. Ask her to review what she learned that day at night just before she fell asleep and then add it to her weekly review that again covers the weekend. This notebook will be a fun way to keep track of what she is learning and will serve as a way to go back and review her lessons.

10) Support him while he learns. For those who are quiet and shy, learning a language can be more difficult because of the very fear of making mistakes. Your positive influence will help her feel more comfortable and calm as she becomes more confident in speaking the English language.

It may seem like a lot of work for all parties involved, but with a little daily effort and your sitter’s willingness to go out of her way to learn, you will see progress and find it quite rewarding.