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Q&A: How to prioritise between several family languages for your multilingual child?

Q&A: How to prioritise between several family languages for your multilingual child?

  Question Dear Sir/Madam Our daughter is almost 15 months old and we are seeking your advice on how to work on her languages. Here is the situation in our family: My native languages are Turkish and Russian. My husband’s native language is English. We currently live in Mozambique, so she hears a lot of […]

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Q&A: Big sister’s concerns about the language choices for her little sister

Q&A: Big sister’s concerns about the language choices for her little sister

  Question Hey there! I am not a parent, just an older sister whose parents are struggling with handling this whole bi-/tri-/quadri-lingual situation. All they ever say is “don’t forget Chinese”, and it seems like they’re dismissing some other important concerns here, for the whole family. My little sister is turning 6 this year, and […]

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Q&A: Is it okay to have a third language as OPOL parents' common language?

Q&A: Is it okay to have a third language as OPOL parents’ common language?

  Question Hello, I would like to validate our family approach and maybe get some tips to improve on our current strategy. Our little one is 3 years old. We live in Austria and he is already in the kindergarten so picking up his German skills slowly but surely. My wife is Austrian so she […]

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Q&A: Is it worth passing on a family language for which there is only limited use?

Q&A: Is it worth passing on a family language for which there is only limited use?

  Question Hello My husband and I are expecting a baby. We live in the US, and he is from a small African country. He speaks his native language fluently and very good English and French. I want our child to speak his language (which I have only basic knowledge of), so she can feel […]

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Q&A: What to do when it does not feel right to speak one's mother tongue with a baby?

Q&A: What to do when it does not feel right to speak one’s mother tongue with a baby?

Question Hello! I just found your site, so first of all congratulations, it is incredibly useful! I was trying to find out what method to use with our future kids, I’m Hungarian native, my husband is Italian and we live in Italy. I speak Italian like a native and I also speak English and Spanish […]

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Bilingualism – choice or necessity?

Bilingualism – choice or necessity?

Growing up bilingual is another aspect of my early childhood which was a given for me (last week I wrote about how I took for granted my right to speak my mother tongue at school). I really had no choice, as my mother spoke Finnish with me and my father Swedish. They did not have […]

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From the diary of a bilingual mother, part 14

From the diary of a bilingual mother, part 14

New year, new (and old) challenges for our fictional multilingual family! Monday Oh my, I haven’t written in my diary for what feels like ages! Christmas and New Year have passed and we had the opportunity to spend some time with both sets of grandparents. Lots of new books and games in the house! S had […]

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