Jessica Alba: Honor Is Bilingual - Almost!

Jessica Alba attended the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City on Thursday (Sept. 24) to promote global education for all children, and told PEOPLE that she encourages education at home with her adorable 1-year-old daughter Honor Marie.

"I am a mother who shoves information down her throat, poor thing," the 28-year-old Fantastic Four actress said. "I sing her songs about colors in Spanish and English when I'm cooking. Literally I integrate learning into everything I do. We're into colors because I feel that's something a 15-month-old can sort of identify. So now she kind of points to blue and says 'azul' and I say 'Yes, azul, muy bien!' It's slow going but she's sort of picking it up."

The Dark Angel star said that Honor is bilingual – almost. "She says gato for cat. Pato for duck, but dog is dog. She doesn't say perro. She kind of flips back and forth. She's very silly. She growls like a lion whenever I say leon."

Alba announced that she will be the United States co-chair of 1GOAL, the new campaign to make education accessible for all children in time for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

She hopes to bring Honor to Africa for the first time early next year. "I'm actually really excited about going to Africa for the first time with my daughter and exposing her to a completely different culture and having her learn through life experiences," Alba explained. "That's one thing she's going to get that not a lot of children have the luxury of having: traveling and being exposed to world issues and cultures and food. I can't wait."