Bryn Savage

There are a few commonly discussed methodologies for raising bilingual children, and MANY more ways language-learning looks in everyday families around the world. In this article I’ll discuss some critical questions to think through if you are planning for the future or trying to address problems that are cropping up.

First, a brief summary of the most common strategies for speaking multiple languages in the home. The big three are OPOL (One Parent One Language), inside/outside and T&P (time and place). With OPOL, you essentially have each parent exclusively speak a single target language with the child (usually defined as the parent’s native language). In the inside/outside methodology, the minority language is spoken by everyone in the house when at home and the majority language when they are in the community. With T&P, you select times and places for the use of each language and try to stick to that.

I believe the right methodology and implementation really depends on the specific details of the family constellation, their relationships with the various languages in play, and the parents’ motivation for teach their child the language(s).

I would suggest to any parent considering raising their child bilingually to really sit with themselves and consider the following questions:

• What does our household look like and what languages does each member speak?
• How well does each of us speak each language?
• How much do our language competencies overlap?
• What other family members or important people are nearby or otherwise important in our family constellation? What languages do they speak?
• Which methodologies are open to us given our language competencies?
• What are our motivations for speaking each language with the child?
• How passionate are we about the languages we speak?
• Who will spend time with our child on a day-to-day basis?

Here is an example of how to use these questions to make a solid plan.

What does our household look like and what languages does each member speak? Before baby, this household consists of just mom and dad. Mom speaks English and German, while dad speaks English and Japanese. ***Takeaway: This family could decide to raise their child speaking English and Japanese, English and German, or all three.***

How well does each person in the home speak the minority language(s)? Both parents speak their minority languages very well. Dad’s first language is Japanese, while mom was raised with some German as a heritage speaker. ***Takeaway: This family could consider either bilingual or trilingual learning at home.***

How much do our language competencies overlap? Each parent understands a little of each other’s second languages. ***Takeaway: since the parents can only speak to each other in English, English will remain a big part of home life.

What other family members or important people are nearby or otherwise important in our family constellation? What languages do they speak? Each parent has family or friends who speak their minority languages, but none are local. ***Takeaway: This family doesn’t have a lot of built-in language-learning support. Whichever language they choose, it’s not going to be an organic process. The parents will need to put real effort into helping their child access enough language input and opportunities to produce.

Which methodologies are open to us, given our language competencies? Since the parents don’t share a second language, they can’t use inside/outside methodology or a strict T&P methodology. Instead, they will have to use some version of OPOL. ***Takeaway: whoever is speaking their minority language will have to take the lead in creating the language-learning environment for their child. Although both parents can contribute, they won’t be able to evenly share the burden.***

What are our motivations for speaking each language with our child? Japanese would enable this family’s children to occasionally speak with extended family, but practically speaking opportunities would be limited given the time difference and fact that the father isn’t especially close to his family. German would be used for regular travel to Germany to spend time with close friends of the mother and their families, and enjoying German holiday traditions at home. ***Takeaway: there are strong heritage reasons for Japanese, but more immediate uses for German.***

Who will spend time with our child on a day-to-day basis? This may change over time, so think about right now as well as different life phases. In this family’s case, both parents were working from home and spending roughly equal amounts of time with their son. They planned to hire a caregiver or use a daycare at some point, so they had to consider how many hours their child would be with someone else vs. themselves and if it is possible to get childcare in their minority languages.

How passionate are we about the languages we speak? How excited are we personally to speak our languages at home? In this case, the mother is super passionate about German. She loves speaking it, watch tons of shows in German, and keeps up many close friendships in German, albeit mostly long distance. Dad is pretty neutral about speaking Japanese — while he enjoys lots of cultural elements from food to pop music, he doesn’t seek out opportunities to speak Japanese and he speaks English with his friends. ***Takeaway: the family concluded that German is more realistic. Only one parent is passionate about speaking their minority language and you need passion to see you through.***

Outcome: Supporting additional languages in the home is a major commitment. In the end, this family decided to focus on German, while integrating Japanese music, food, phrases, and cultural activities. They accepted that they would not raise their son trilingually, because it wasn’t something the father believed he could sustain over time. Today, their son is fully bilingual in German and English, speaking accent free and at a native level in both languages. Around age 5, their child expressed an interest in learning more Japanese and they supported that through enrichment activities and a Japanese-speaking babysitter. They are proud of how comfortable he is in German, and they know that the confidence that he can learn a language will carry him to wherever he decides to go with additional languages, including Japanese.