Question Hi Family Language Coaches, Thanks for sharing so many useful tips and resources – I just discovered your website's Q&A section and I really love it! I have a question about raising a trilingual child. I was...
OPOL
Q&A: Do bilingual parents have to choose one of their languages to speak with a child?
Question Hi, I am Wadha from Kuwait. My partner and I live in Kuwait (Arabic is used in the community) and are bilingual parents: Arabic native speakers, but we both speak English as a second language. We have a two-month-old child and are planning to send her...
Q&A: When others object to you speaking a non-native language with your children
Question Hello I´m a native speaker of Spanish and fluent in English, currently raising a 14-month-old boy in English. I speak to him in English 100% of the time while my husband speaks in Spanish (the community language as we live in Spain). My question is how...
Q&A: How to change a situation where one parent feels left out in a multilingual family?
Question Hello, My wife and I were ethnically Chinese, but she was mostly raised in Japan and considers her native language Japanese. Before we had our first child, we spoke a mix of Mandarin and English at home. While I have familiarity with Japanese (just...
Q&A: How can a single parent raise a bilingual and bicultural child?
Question Hello! I’m expecting my first child in February. I’m going to be a single parent – my son’s father is Mexican and I’m white. My son’s father will not be in his life whatsoever, but I want my son to know his culture and know who he is on the inside. I want him...
Q&A: How to add English as a third language for a 1-year-old?
Question Dear coaches, Thank you for the great website and taking time to help parents. Reading your answers to others' questions gave me some general ideas about my concerns but still I have some topics in mind to ask you. So first I give a summary of our situation....
Q&A: How to pass on two similar minority languages?
Question Hello, I'm currently expecting a child and I am really torn about what language/ languages we should be talking to the baby in once he/she arrives. My husband and I speak English at home, my family speaks Spanish and his speaks Portuguese and English....
Q&A: How to pass on two heritage languages and an additional language to your children
Question Hello! My name is Caroline and I am a native English speaker who has since become nearly fluent in Spanish. My husband is a native Korean speaker who speaks English as his second language. I have been studying Korean and am at an intermediate level....
Q&A: How strict should OPOL-parents be with their languages when speaking to a small child?
Question Good day, Thank you for the good advice on multilingual parenting. I am Dutch and married to a Jordanian (Arabic-speaking). We talk English amongst each other but try to stick with our mother tongues (Dutch and Arabic) when talking to our 15-month-old son. He...
3 lessons blogging taught me about bilingualism [guest post]
Today’s guest writer is Marieke Romano-van den Hoek, a 33-year-old mother-of-two, who blogs at Speaking More Languages, where she shares her family’s experiences of bilingual upbringing. Marieke lives in Holland with her Italian husband and they raise their children...