12 Things Parents of Bilingual Children Need To Know

9/19/2014
12 things parents of bilingual children need to know
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Feb
12 things parents raising bilingual children need to know
26
2014
Bilingual benefits, Challenges, Practical advice, Top 10 most read posts
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http://multilingualparenting.com/2014/02/26/12-things-parents-raising-bilingual-children-need-to-know/
1/23
9/19/2014
1 It doesnt happen by magic
Tweets
Zvonimir Majcen
@ZvonimirMajcen
Children do not become bilingual by magic. There is a persistent myth claiming that children are like sponges
when it comes to language and that they will learn all languages they hear regularly this is simply not true.
Yes, in the right circumstances children will naturally grow up to acquire the family languages, but this cannot be
taken for granted.
2 You need a plan
Follow
7h
@RitaRosenback Thank you! Looking

forward to read all the posts and find
tips that will help me raise my daughter
in a bilingual environment
Retweeted by Rita Rosenback
Expand
To be in with the best chance of succeeding in bringing up bilingual children, you need to plan ahead. How fluent
Rita Rosenback
@RitaRosenback
do you want your children to be? What about reading and writing? Who speaks what and when? Discuss this in
the family and agree on the goals.
3 Consistency is crucial
Q&A: Three languages in the family

multilingualparenting.com/2014/09/18/qawp.me/p4CmOo-N8
Expand
Rita Rosenback
@RitaRosenback
Once you have your plan, you need to commit to it as a family and stay consistent in your language use. Yes,
children can certainly become bilingual if parents mix their languages with them, but the risk that they will at
some point prefer to stick to the majority language is far greater if they have become used to the minority
language parent easily switching to the majority language.
is general recommendation that children should be exposed to a language at least thirty percent of their waking
17h
Q&A: Three languages in the family

multilingualparenting.com/2014/09/18/qafb.me/747N3NZBl
Expand
Rita Rosenback
@RitaRosenback
4 You will have to pay attention to exposure times

Once you have your plan, you need to look into how much exposure your children get to each language. There
17h
17 Sep
New post today: why a child in a family

with many languages may grow up to be
monolingual... fb.me/1bDZWXVZD
time to naturally become bilingual. This should however only be taken as a guidance depending on the type of
exposure, children might need more or less time to acquire a language.
5 You will have to invest some extra time (and sometimes maybe a bit of money)
Rita Rosenback
@RitaRosenback
17 Sep
Bilingual children: 7 reasons why it may

not happen wp.me/p4CmOo-MX
You will need to find the time talk a lot, to do the reading and to find resources to help your children learn the
language. You might find that you need to use your holidays to make a trip to boost your childrens motivation to
Tweet to @RitaRosenback
speak the language.

6 There will be doubters
Not everyone will agree with you that it is a good idea to raise your children to speak all family languages. There
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will be those who tell you that there is no point, that it is not going to work. Others will think that you are
expecting too much of your children, and some will say that you are confusing your children with all these
Tags
languages. Ignore these doubters, but also forgive them, as they do not know what they are talking about.
Alzheimer's disease babies learning languages
7 Dont listen to bad advice
advantage bilingual child
There might be times when a professional tells you to stop speaking a certain language to your children. If in
bilinguals at school changing a
doubt with regards to your childs language development speak to a specialist who is experienced in dealing
with bilingual children.
8 It is not always easy
bilingual bilingual
bilingual children
language children child stops
speaking your language code

switching confidence consistency
cultural identity culture Dagsmark Ellen
Bialystok fairy tales family family traditions
There will be all sorts of challenges along your familys multilingual journey apart from the doubters and the ill-
Finland focus Franois Grosjean
informed experts there will be more mundane obstacles: will you be able to stick to your plan when life
grandchildren grandparents heritage
happens and offers its surprises in form of changed family circumstances, moves, career progressions,
language holidays
influence from others and so on? When it feels difficult, ask for advice and help.
9 Your child might answer you in the wrong language
This one usually hits the minority language parent. You feel that you have done everything right and stayed
consistent, and still your darling comes home from school one day and no longer answers you in your language.
You will feel disappointed and disheartened if it this happens, but it is crucial that you dont give up at this point,
and that you continue to stay consistent and if possible, also increase the exposure time.
10 Your children will gain an array of benefits by becoming bilingual
identity language
development language
exposure language
learning languages majority
language minority
language mixing languages mL@H
multilingual
families OPOL
parenting passive
multilingual
language reading self-esteem

story telling third language
2/23
9/19/2014
If you are still in doubt about whether to bring up your children to become bilinguals or not, read about all the
great benefits your children will gain if you do decide to do it. We all want what is best for our children, so why
wouldnt you support yours to have the wonderful gift of speaking more than one language?
11 You will never regret it
I can assure you, you will not regret your decision to stick with it and make sure that your children grow up to
speak all the family languages. On the other hand, I have heard several parents who are sad that they gave up
on passing on their languages not to mention the many adults expressing their disappointment that they were
not taught a language their mother or father knew when they were small.
12 You will be proud
You will be immensely proud when your children for the first time speak to their grandparents or other relatives
in their language. I can assure you that the feeling is absolutely wonderful. Not only will you be proud, so will
your children and the rest of your family. You will also be a great role model to other families.
May the peace and power be with you.
Yours,
Rita
Rita Rosenback 2014
Like my post? Subscribe to the weekly Multilingual Parenting Newsletter! In the newsletter you will find
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Related
Things that can go wrong when

raising a bilingual child. Part 2 of
3
In "Challenges"
A-B-C for parents bringing up

bilingual children: M-S
In "Myths"
Posted by Rita at 2:06 pm
7 worries parents of bilingual

children have
In "Challenges"
Tagged with: bilingual advantage, bilingual children, minority language, multilingual

families, parenting
105 Responses to 12 things parents raising bilingual children need to know
1.
chandlerozconsultants says:
February 27, 2014 at 5:18 am
Reblogged this on hungarywolf.

Reply
2.
Galina / Trilingualchildren says:
3/23
9/19/2014

It is so true, Rita!
Reply
Rita Rosenback says:

Thank you, Galina! Glad you liked my post

Reply
3.
Linda Sebestyen says:

February 27, 2014 at 3:07 pm
Im Hungarian, my husband is Italian and we live in Germany with our kids. The kids are learning German and english in
the School, and they speak hungarian and Italian.It IS a Kind of challenge for everybody!
Reply

February 27, 2014 at 3:49 pm
Fantastic set of languages! Yes, it is a challenge, but the rewards are great
Reply
4.
Eliane says:
March 1, 2014 at 4:17 pm
The words I most often heard coming from my father, growing up, were Sorry, I dont understand French. He is a
francophone raised in French and English and decided that he would be talking to us in English, when I (the eldest) was
5, and my mother was speaking French to us (the majority language in Quebec).
It was frustrating at times because we very well knew that he understood French, but he made us talk to him only in
English. He would provide the words if we really did not know how to say something, then make us repeat. I took a lot of
energy for him to be so strict and firm, but Im grateful for it because Ive seen so many kids and teens understand a
second language spoken at home, but not speak it, and later regret it as adults. So thank you Papa!
Now, as a second-language teacher, I have learned that studies say that as long as the circumstances in which a child
hears a language are very clear and there are no blurred lines, there is no problem with exposing a baby to 2 or even 4
languages. The child wont mix up the languages if there is a clear Mommy language, a Daddy language, a Daycare
language, and so on. Its when the context for speaking a specific language (people mixing languages as they speak)
are blurred that its more a challenge for the childs brain to sort out which words belong to which language. But
eventually he will. Though he might mix words of different languages in his speech too, and not understand that not
everybody he speaks to will know these languages.
Reply

March 1, 2014 at 4:51 pm
Thank you, Eliane, for telling your story! You are echoing so many other adult bilinguals thoughts when you
say that you are grateful to your parents for sticking with it. It is an important message for all parents currently
raising their children to become bilingual.
A bit of mixing languages is ok (this does happen in most multilingual families), but as long as children also
spend time with people who speak the language without mixing in other languages, they will learn to keep the
languages separate when they speak with monolinguals. Consistency along with enough interactive
exposure are vital, and yes, there can be up to four languages at the same time.
Reply
Francesca says:
March 11, 2014 at 7:49 pm
4/23
9/19/2014

I agree with Eliane. I am Italian and my husband American, we live in Germany. We used opol
with the kids (now 15 and 13 years old) and strictly never mixed languages. Now they speak
fluently all three languages (Italian, English and German). On the other hand my daughter had
some problem learning French at school because, her words: they teach you to translate from
German. Once I know the words, how to express a concept, it is a step too much to translate it to
German. She is looking forward when she can be in France and be forced to absorb the
language and just speak it.
Reply
5.
Aly Sonohara says:

March 2, 2014 at 2:54 pm
Very interesting! I grew up in Brazil from a family of Japanese background. My parents first language was japanese and
while growing up I attended a brazilian regular school in the mornings and a private japanese language school in the
afternoons for 7 years. However, It wasnt enough because at home nobody spoke japanese at all. Everything was
always in portuguese and me and my sisters we never got deeply interested in Japanese culture. My friends who lived
with their grandparents ended up learning both languages very well, though. So my point about sharing my story is that
parents sure have a great role at not just teaching the language, but showing why the language should be learnt and
make their kids get interested in it.
Reply

March 2, 2014 at 3:09 pm
Thank you so much for sharing your story, very powerful. The parents behaviour and attitude are of the
greatest importance to a child growing up to be bilingual.
Reply
6.
ebg says:
March 4, 2014 at 5:00 am
#9 is certainly a stage that many children go through, but persistence is the key. I am first generation bilingual (englishturkish). with our daughter we upped the ante (english-turkish-french) and for about a year she wouldnt speak english
(we had moved from canada to turkey and her father was monolingual in english) but a year later with constant
reinforcement in english everything had smoothed out
Reply

March 4, 2014 at 7:06 am
Thank you so much for sharing your familys experience. I admire how committed you are as parents and so
happy to hear it has paid off! It is so important that other families who are struggling get to hear success
stories like yours. Thank you again!
Reply
7.
Susy says:
March 4, 2014 at 8:31 pm
Great food for thought! I am Argentine by birth, but am a US citizen by family, my husband is Argentine, but we are now
moving to Brazil as missionaries. Our daughters are 3 and 17 months. I am trying to figure out how to juggle all three!
They will learn Portuguese in school, I am determined they learnEnglish, I would like for them to speak Spanish we
have a long road ahead! Thanks for the tips!
Reply

March 4, 2014 at 8:47 pm
Exciting times! We did two minority languages at home when we moved to England sounds like the way to
go for you as well. Good luck!
5/23
9/19/2014

Reply
8.
Fabio Grego says:

March 5, 2014 at 3:49 am
All sound advice!!! Everyone should be bilingual!

I would add two other items that I used when teaching my son Italian and were very helpful. I hope they can be helpful to
others also:
1. Avoid always correcting the child, but let the child make mistakes as he/she speaks the language.with time they
figure it out. At times I would feign forgetting a word in English and let my son come to my rescue with the proper word
so that the exercise of remembering a correct word in a language was equal for both and not just for the other
language .
2. Find something that is interesting to do, hopefully together in THAT language. For the past 50 years Disney has had a
standing deal with an Italian publisher allowing them to create and publish their own stories with Donald Duck, Mickey
Mouse etc. The fusion of Italy and US that comes out of the comic books is unique and a magnet for kids..to the point
that I would read the stories to my son at bedtime until the day when I told him I was tied of reading all the words and
that he should read Donald Duck. He said he did not read Italian and I told him he could read the letters and knew what
the language sounded like so why could he not? Not only does he now speak Italian but he also reads and writes Italian
fluently. I credit Disney
Reply

March 5, 2014 at 4:43 am
Fantastic, thank you very much, Fabio! I know there are different opinions with regards to correcting a childs
mistakes, and I am sure you can succeed even if you do correct, but I am largely with you on this one (I wrote
about it in this post). Love the idea of letting your son help you find a specific word that would have been
so motivating for him!
Yes, comics can be such a helpful tool to get children a) listening attentively and b) learning to read
themselves.
Thank you for sharing your experiences, much appreciated!
Reply
9.
Bilingualism for children | Express Yourself English Academy says:

March 5, 2014 at 9:01 am
[] 12 things parents raising bilingual children need to know []
10.
Diana Paredes says:

March 6, 2014 at 3:02 pm
I am raising my son bilingual in English and Spanish in Mexico. My son is a dual national as I, because my mother is
American. I have spoken English exclusively to him since he was six months old and he only watches TV in English. We
is 3 and a half now and his dominant language is English. He started speaking Spanish at school and my husband is
reinforcing it at home, and he is acquiring it very fast. Now he translates, he talks to my husband in Spanish and then
turns to me and says it in English. Its amazing!
We have had many challenges, including doctors and teachers telling me to stop speaking English to him, because of a
(slight) speech delay and some phonetic problems. I have refused every time.
I didnt grow up speaking English regularly at home . My father did not like it. Although I had a native pronunciation and
could say some things, I was not fluent at all. We moved to Canada when I was twelve and I was not able to understand
TV, movies and had a really hard time at school. When I saw my mother being able to speak and understand everything,
I was angry. I couldnt believe she had not shared that with me! I felt cheated. I learned English properly those two years
in Canada and later by watching TV and reading a lot. As an adult I lived in England and spent some years in the States,
and thats when I really became fluent.
I work in English language teaching now and I know that you cannot acquire a language 100% (especially native
pronunciation,) unless you are exposed to it by a parent or by the environment in a consistent and significant way from a
young age. Thank you for a great article! The advice is excellent.
Reply
6/23
9/19/2014

March 6, 2014 at 3:18 pm
Thank you Diana for sharing your and your familys story! My daughter also translated as soon as she knew a
few words in both of her first languages. She was not even two at the time, it did feel amazing
Sorry to
hear that you have also had to stand your ground against incorrect advice, I am so glad you did!
I can understand your pain when you felt cheated as a twelve-year-old, but I am sure your mother had her
reasons fantastic that you have become and English teacher!
Thank you for reading I am happy you enjoyed my post
Reply
Diana Paredes says:

March 6, 2014 at 3:47 pm
Thank you, Rita!

I know challenges lay ahead. As you mention in the article, I have heard from friends that
sometimes children dont want to speak the minority language anymore. My plan is to stay firm
and to travel to the States as much as our budget allows- lol. Im sure the sightseeing, shopping
and restaurants will motivate him, let alone Disneyland!
Thanks again for the article! Sometimes bilingualism feels like a lonely road and its great to hear
other experiences and very good advice!
Reply

March 6, 2014 at 3:58 pm
I can read from your comments how passionate you are and how committed your are
to raising your son to be bilingual, and I am sure you will succeed! When it feels lonely
reach out, there are so many others who are sharing a similar journey!
Reply
11.
Ana m says:
March 6, 2014 at 6:43 pm
Hi, I am Mexican and my husband is Italian. We have two children 7 and 5 who speak since they were born in Spanish
with me and Italian with dad. Although we live in Italy, I always wanted them not only to be able to learn my beautiful
language but about their culture and heritage. Also, I have always spoken English since very young so I wanted them to
learn English, so we decided to put the eldest one in an international school where she has learnt the language since
she was in early years. Now at 7 her English, Italian and Spanish are fantastic!!! And she keeps on developing her
reading/writing skills in all three languages. I definitely struggled to keep to Spanish and also relied on t.v. And
technology to help me with exposure to the language. My youngest son has the same except that he goes to a French
school, he is in his second year and already his French is developing amazingly. We now speak four languages at home
without it being chaotic!!!
Reply

March 6, 2014 at 7:51 pm
Wonderful, thank you for telling us your family story! We had a similar situation in the family with four different
languages, and we seemed to be the only people who didnt find it difficult or confusing
Reply
12.
Rosanna says:
March 7, 2014 at 9:20 am
Great Post! Me and my Husband are italian and we live in Germany since 10 years. Ous son is 4 years old and is
growing up speaking perfectly italian and german. Sometimes he mix them and its so funny
And its incredible how
his German pronounce is PERFECT. Much more perfect as ours!

Reply
7/23
9/19/2014

March 7, 2014 at 9:27 am
Hi Rosanna thank you for your lovely comment! You are so right about children and accents as adults we
have to work really, and I mean really, REALLY hard to get anywhere as authentic an accent. That said, I like
accents, they are part of our make up as bilinguals, I think
Reply
Linda says:
March 7, 2014 at 11:36 am
Hello Rosanna,
Your son was born in Germany, or you just moved here?was he going to a German kindergarten?? I had a
bad experience with a german kindergarten, because at home we speak Italian and hungarian but no
german.. The teachers could not work with a 3 years old kid who not knows german..everyday was a mess
for him and for me too!! Than we decided to move back to Italy, at least he learned italian and now that he is
almost 7 we moved back to koln and he is going to a German-Italian school..
Reply
Athina says:
August 31, 2014 at 8:49 am
My husband and I are both Greeks.We moved to England 3 years ago and we are both fluent in
English although when at home we both speak greek. We have a 5month old baby and my fear
was that she might felt isolated if she didnt know English till kindergarden so since I was pregnant
started to speak to her only in English the problem(well i dont know if its a problem) is that my
husband and I continue to speak in greek when at home but when i want to talk to my lo i speak
only English. With that way i reckon that it might be good for her to be exposed to both lanquages
although i have my doubts from time to time. Hope it goes well
Reply
13.
marrikrajjarsen1 says:
March 7, 2014 at 6:41 pm
My friends Walter and Sophia (now retired), living in the Netherlands, raised their two daughters speaking their fathers
native German with their father, their mothers Dutch with their mother, whichever language started first in collective
conversations, and English as a secondary language. Not only did both daughters come out exquisitely trilingual, but
also, one has adapted to tough economic times in her original profession by becoming a primary school German
teacher. (There may be some family talent: Sophia has become a fluent Swedish speaker as a hobby, and Walter is able
to converse comfortably in Latin, French and Italian.)
Reply

March 7, 2014 at 8:24 pm
There are so many advantages to being bilingual! Thank you for telling this family story.
Reply
14.
Kay says:
March 7, 2014 at 7:46 pm
Reblogged this on Everyday Issues and commented:

Shame I cannot speak one of my languagesbut am proud of it.
Reply

March 9, 2014 at 12:44 pm
8/23
9/19/2014

Thank you for sharing my post, Kay!
Reply
Kay says:
March 10, 2014 at 12:36 pm
Thank you for writing it. Very very helpful!

Reply
15.
EliseV22 says:
March 7, 2014 at 9:29 pm
My husband and I both grew up only speaking English but invested a lot of time, money, and energy throughout our lives
learning Russian and Spanish respectively. Neither of us are native in our second language, but we are
conversationally fluent and speak correctly with little accent (we lived in Russia and Spain). We would like to pass our
second languages to our children because we have invested so much trying to learn them ourselves and because we
believe that foreign languages are so important. Do you have any advice for this situation? Our child will be in a
Spanish/English daycare and we plan to use technology to help. Our first baby is due in 3 weeks, so were trying to plan
ahead :).
Reply

March 8, 2014 at 11:22 am
Congratulations and well done for planning ahead! If you feel comfortable about the idea of speaking the
language with your child, i.e. you can relate and express your feelings in the language, and you can achieve
approximately 30% exposure time in each language for your baby, I see no reason why you couldnt succeed
in this. If you want your child to have a native-like accent, you would need to make sure your baby also gets
exposed to native speakers of the languages. Good luck!
Reply
EliseV22 says:
March 10, 2014 at 9:13 pm
Thanks for your response! It gives us encouragement and the 30% exposure goal is very helpful
as a guideline. We will be getting some childrens books and CDs of songs to help us out :).
Reply
16.
Bibiana Perez says:

March 7, 2014 at 11:27 pm
My five children speak German (my language), Spanish (their dads) and English. They were all born and have always
lived in the US. I was more consistent in speaking German with my older ones, and they definitely are doing better with it
than the younger ones. My second-oldest (college-aged) pretends she does not understand me when I speak English
and even texts me in German. So proud of her!
Reply

March 8, 2014 at 11:25 am
Fantastic you are right, the children can start language policing (in a good way) when they grow up,
especially keeping their younger sibling in line
Reply
17.
Susanne says:
March 8, 2014 at 7:24 am
9/23
9/19/2014

Hi everyone! My husband is from the US, I am from Austria and we both live in Austria. We both became fluent in the
other persons language (English vs. German). This is why on the odd days (e.g. on March 7th) we speak English, on the
even days we speak German to each other. We plan to continue this with our future kids. Does anybody have
experiences with this model? Switching the family language each day? Thanks for your response.
Reply

March 8, 2014 at 11:30 am
This can be done, and I have a friend who has successfully implemented language switching in her family
though I think they use two-week intervals. I will ask my friend to comment on this thread.
That said, since you are now living (and plan on staying?) in Austria, you might want to consider the minority
language at home approach. When the children grow up, they will be surrounded by German most of their
day and English will play a smaller part in their lives. Having English as the home language would at that
point safeguard their future as fluent English speakers.
Reply
Trilingual Mama says:

March 8, 2014 at 2:24 pm
Dear Susanne, If you have found a rhythm that works for you and your family, then by all means stick with it!
We personally work on a two-week system, a personal adaptation of OPOL for our family. My husband is
French and I am American born to a Hispanic father and a Mexican mother and raised bilingually in
California. While living in the U.S., we used classic OPOL (Papa French, Mama Spanish) and our children
got English everywhere else. When we moved to France 8 years ago, we switched to an every two week
system. Papa still does the French and I switch from Spanish to English every two weeks. It usually takes us
about three days to get everyone on track with the new target language (we do a lot of mixing of languages
those first three days!) and then for the rest of the two weeks, its usually smooth sailing and we get a true
immersion experience in the target language. This rhythm has been working like a charm for us for the past 8
years. We are the proud parents of 4 budding trilinguals (all at different stages, of course), ages 16 months to
13 years! Good luck to you!
Reply

March 8, 2014 at 3:09 pm
Thank you so much for your valuable input, Maria you have an amazing family!
Reply
18.
says:
March 8, 2014 at 1:00 pm
[] 12 things parents raising bilingual children need to know []
19.
Sharon Simmonds says:

March 9, 2014 at 5:41 am
Hi everyone, my family live in Australia and at the moment we all speak English, my husband is from brazil and we have
always wanted our daughter to speak Portuguese as well. She is three years old and we have found that she is very
resistant to speaking Portuguese, she knows at least fifty words in portuguese but will rarely speak thwm. she is
speaking very well in English and can understand complex concepts. should her father simply start speaking portuguese
to her all the time, or should we ease into it more slowly. I suggested to her moments ago that daddy will start to speak
portuguese all the time and she was upset because it is to hard and she cant speak portuguese, I am expecting her to
be quite resistant and she is quite stubborn, I dont want it to be a negative experience. How to proceed from here?
thank you for your advice,
Sharon
Reply

March 9, 2014 at 10:19 am
10/23
9/19/2014

Hi Sharon, thank you for your comment! You ask should her father simply start speaking portuguese to her
all the time the answer is Yes, he should. The longer you wait, the more difficult it is going to be to change
the language (you can read what I had to do to change language with my daughter). She will be a bit upset to
start with but if you both support her and make it fun for her, it will soon become a norm in the family. Do a lot
of activities in Portuguese: play games, watch cartoons together and discuss what is happening. You could
also learn Portuguese alongside your daughter and even ask her to help you with words that you know she
already has in her vocabulary (kids love knowing something better than their parents). This will be a great
motivation for her. It will take a bit of effort getting into the Daddy-speaks-Portuguese routine, but the longer
you wait, the more tricky it is going to be. My suggestion is, start with the Portuguese today, doing something
she really loves.
Reply
20.
lewbeni@gmail.com says:
March 9, 2014 at 5:56 am
I never felt so good in my life. Every and each word is true. My children speak three language and we did exactly what
you (Rita) wrote. It is so good to read that other people support and understand us. Thank you
Reply

March 9, 2014 at 10:20 am
Thank you so much for your lovely comment I can feel your joy!
Reply
21.
Mel says:
March 9, 2014 at 6:29 am
Hello, I always wanted to raise my son bilingual. I was born in the US. My dad is American and my mom german. We
lived in the US for about 5 years. I grew up bilingual. Than we went to Germany and I went to german Kindergarten ,
than german school and than the german school for nursing. I never forgotten the englisch language. I do think that I
speak it fluently and understand everything. But german has become my main language.
I am now 28 and live in Austria and my son will be 3 in June. I have such a hard time to speak english to him. My
boyfriend is Austrian and also understands english. But its just so hard for me to actually use the english language for
the everyday speak.
We read English books to him and he gets to watch english television.but I am afraid that is not enough.
Reply

March 9, 2014 at 10:45 am
Dear Mel, thank you for telling your story. The passion for English and for teaching it to your son clearly
comes through when you describe your situation. Reading English books and watching English on the TV will
be beneficial for your son, but you are right when you say that it will not be enough for him to become an
English speaker. Are there any English playgroups in the area that your son could participate in? Any
American or English families whose children speak English with each other and you could arrange play dates
with? It is important that you feel comfortable when you communicate with your son. While it is fantastic to
pass on a language to a child, remember that the relationship between the two of you is more important than
which language you use. Try to think what would make you more confident in using English with your son
would it be to listen to English TV programs, read magazines and books what about frequent Skype calls
with English speaking friends and family? You could also choose a specific day, or the weekends to use only
English with your son. In this way it would probably not feel as hard. Even if he doesnt learn to speak English
at home, he will gain an immense advantage in having a passive understanding of it, which can later be
turned into active use of it. Good luck with everything!
Reply
22.
Zoe says:
March 9, 2014 at 11:51 pm
We are raising our boys in Brazil so their main language will be Portuguese. My husband is Brazlian but he has made
the amazing choice to make our home an English speaking environment. This is an enormous investment for his sons
which we all appreciate. Our eldest is now 2 and speaking primarily in English and showing obvious signs that he knows
11/23
9/19/2014

there are two languages. They are very lucky boys. We have a blog about child development where we write about our
language journey. Please let me know if you would like the blog page. Thank you for this inspirational post
Reply

March 10, 2014 at 9:09 am
I take my hat off for your husband! What a wonderful investment he is making into his childrens future.
Please feel free to ad a link to your blog in the comment.
Reply
Zoe Hamlet Silva says:

March 14, 2014 at 5:13 pm
The blog is babystepsindependence.blogspot.com.br. we have a facebook page too!

Reply
23.
eddie rojas says:

March 10, 2014 at 12:20 am
Rita, it there a way your post can be translated into SpanishThat can helphelp a lotf families in my community in Houston
Texas.
Reply

March 10, 2014 at 9:11 am
Hi Eddie, thank you for the interest! This is something I have in my plans for future until then, I hope Google
translate can help a little bit.
Reply
24.
Abigail says:
March 10, 2014 at 6:51 am
Hi Rita, and thank you for this post: it is excellent advice.

I feel a bit deflated as for us, it has not really paid off. Before having children, it was very clear in my head that I would
raise my children bilingually. I am French living in the UK. My husband does not speak French, and furthermore, I speak
excellent English. (By this, I mean that I do not have an accent at all, and no-one suspects that I am French at all). My
son is 5 and my daughter is 2. Because we speak English at home, the only exposure they have is when they speak to
me and me only. So we are very far from the 30% time you advocate for the minority language.
I religiously spoke French to my son, and tried to encourage him to watch French cartoons. However, we noticed his
speech was very delayed, and after two years to observations and visits to specialists, he was finally diagnosed as
having Autism Spectrum Disorder. He is very bright, and his speech is improving, but he is still behind his peers. The
specialist who diagnosed him did query if perhaps the French might be a hindrance to him. She did not advise me to
stop speaking, but implied that she simply did not know. I decided to stick with the French because more than a
language, I also believed it was part of his identity. Perhaps I should have sought more help at the time. What happened
is that gradually, I have slacked. I gave in. I speak English to him when I really want cooperation. I know that he can
understand French and he usually translates what I say, but he is still struggling with his speech and comprehension. So
from little exposure, he now has very little exposure. I feel a bit of a failure, but it is very hard to communicate with him at
the best of times. He has also refused to speak French to me. Taking him on holidays to France are difficult because of
his attachment to routine and familiar environment. I have taken him three times by myself (without dad who speaks
English) and this was before his diagnosis. These were very difficult and stressful times for me. Not holidays at all!!!
My little girl is now starting to speak, and she understand French, but there again, I feel that the exposure to minority
language is still too little. I speak a lot to her, I do a running commentary of everything, but all the play groups she
attends, and all the friends she has are English-speaking.
I suspect she will copy her brother (like she does for everything) and reject the French when she realises that I can
speak English very well too, so theres no need to bother!!!
So I gradually accept that I did my best, but that my children will probably not be bilingual. It is tough to accept, but not
as tough as having a child with autism. Life does not turn out as you plan
Reply
12/23
9/19/2014

March 10, 2014 at 9:33 am
Dear Abigail, how lucky your children are to have you as their mother. Not for a single fleeting moment should
you think you are a failure! Your concern and eagerness to do the best for your children shines through so
clearly in your message. As I write in the post, bringing up a bilingual child is never an easy task and when
you add to that the fact that your son has ASD makes it a big challenge, Instead of feeling that you have
slacked, look at it this way: you have given your son a passive understanding of another language, which is
more than most ASD children will ever have! (I do actually prefer the more positive term receptive bilingual
for someone who understands a language, but doesnt speak.) The most important thing for your relationship
is after all that you can communicate, not which language the communication happens in. Your little girl can
still become a fluent French speaker, dont give up on the idea. If you diligently stick to French with her, this
will be THE language between the two of you. The fact that she will realise you speak English is not that
important, the main thing is that you always stick to French when you speak directly to her. The chance of a
child giving up on a language is greater if a parent switches between languages in direct interactions.
Life certainly never goes to plan, but you have done and are continuing to do the very best for your children.
Give yourself a tap on the back and be proud of yourself, you are a great mother!
Reply
25.
Dinara Faizuldayeva says:

March 11, 2014 at 8:50 pm
Hello and thank you Rita for sharing very helpful advice and insights from your own multilingual experiences!
We are raising our son (almost 2 years old) in two languages: German and Russian in Germany, I speak exclusively and
try to expose our son to the Russian and my husband to the German. I speak to my husband in German as he does not
understand Russian. Now, is it ok that I speak to my husband in German and translate him what I just said to our son
and what our son said to his father, i.e. isnt it some sort of blurring of languages? Our son mixes the languages and I
understand him as he for example asks me and I answer in Russian. Is it okay, if I understand and not pretend not to
understand. What language did you speak to your Punjabi speaking husband?
Reply

March 11, 2014 at 9:03 pm
Hi Dinara, thank you for sharing your story. It is ok for you to speak German to your husband, just always
stick to Russian when you speak directly to your son. Bilingual children almost always mix languages to start
with, so thats nothing to worry about. With regards to whether or not to pretend not to understand when your
son speaks German to you, I would leave that up to you and what feels right. My option would be to repeat
what he said in Russian and steer the language to Russian that way. Initially I spoke English with my then
husband and when our first daughter was born, I switched to Finnish which he was getting up to speed with
at the time. He learnt Finnish alongside our daughter.
Reply
26.
Erin says:
March 12, 2014 at 8:43 am
Just a quick question. I didnt see it mentioned in your post but whats your opinion on language delay caused by
learning multiple languages? I seem to remember hearing/reading in a linguistics class that it often takes bilingual
children longer to speak initially but when they do, they have a general grasp on both languages.
I keep warning my husband of this fact as were currently speaking a mix if English and Portuguese at home (in
America). Thanks for the other guidance-I like the 30% exposure guideline.
Reply

March 12, 2014 at 2:03 pm
Hi Erin, the pace at which children learn to speak vary greatly, independent of whether they are mono- or
bilingual. Bilingual children in general have a slightly different learning pattern, they are after all learning two
meanings for each new concept. So while a monolingual child might seem to have a greater vocabulary, a
bilingual child will in total know more words. Bilingual children quickly catch up with any perceived delays.
Just as an example, my older daughter started using two languages when she was two, the younger one
didnt speak until she was three and a half.
Reply
13/23
9/19/2014
27.
Ash says:
March 12, 2014 at 3:07 pm
I came across your blog by chance. Its a great way to provide advice on raising multilingual children.To all the parents
out there, dont give up. I speak,read and write in 3 languages, 1 dialect and understand (but cannot converse) in
another. The proverb of It takes a village to raise a child rings quite true for me as different family members would force
me to speak in an assigned language/dialect to them when I was younger. Along the way, the school system
introduced an extra language which was then added to my already confusing list.
At first, it may be a struggle for parents to introduce multiple languages to a child since the child will always favour the
one he/she could express themselves best in. They may pout, answer in a dominant language instead of complying with
your request to speak in another, or may feel that you are out to get them in some way.
But when they are adults, they will thank you for all the hours you have put in. Life becomes so much more interesting!
So hang in there!
Reply

March 12, 2014 at 4:45 pm
Thank you for sharing your story, Ash. I couldnt agree with you more it is not always easy, but so worth it in
the end.
Reply
28.
The Citizen Culture (@citizenculture) says:

March 12, 2014 at 8:03 pm
I grew up bilingual and raising bilingual kids nowadays is key to their career success
http://thecitizenculture.com/2014/01/growing-up-bilingual/
Reply
29.
carmen arboleda says:

March 13, 2014 at 11:44 am
Hi Rita, its interesting, Im mother of one young man 29 years old and one boy 9 years old, Im in Italy since 30 years,
always speak to my sons in spanish and also in english, never in Italian, y first son speaks italian, spanish, english and
french, the second one speaks italian and spanish without any problem, for the english Ill need a little more time
Reply

March 13, 2014 at 12:00 pm
Wonderful their language skills will benefit them in so many days!

Reply
30.
Ben says:
March 13, 2014 at 1:47 pm
I disagree with your article. People always overcomplicate things just go with the flow. My kids are trilingual French,
English and Spanish and I would say at a very high level of proficiency in all 3. Actually many many of my kids friends
also, Like me none of them paid any attention to what they were doing or read articles about it like this one. most of them
ether married into a different ethnic back ground or just sent their kids to a school with a different language then the one
spoken at home. If i was to post this article on there Facebook page they would be laughing in tears.
1 It doesnt happen by magic -1) ya it did kind of just happened like that.
2 You need a plan -2) no we had no plan see above, why do people always over complicate things.
3 Consistency is crucial -3) no we were not consistent i switched from one to the other when ever.
4 You will have to pay attention to exposure times 4) lol what can i say apart from see answer above
14/23
9/19/2014

Basically the only good comment in this is 7 Dont listen to bad advice (basically this article.)
Reply

March 13, 2014 at 2:08 pm
Hi Ben, thank you for your feedback, I am glad you took the time to read my article and post your comment. I
am very happy to hear that it all worked out well in your family and your children naturally grew up to become
bilingual. Actually, that is how I became bilingual as well! However, this is definitely not the case in all
families, and based on the response I have had to this and many other posts in my blog, there are many
families that appreciate some help and encouragement along the way. Have a lovely day!
Reply
Olena Centeno (@Bilingual_Kids) says:

March 13, 2014 at 6:26 pm
Hi Ben!
#2 looks like you are really against the plan. But didnt your friends at least several months ahead thought
about enrolling their kids into language immersion school? Or they just all woke up in the morning and
thought Why wont we go to school today to learn a foreign language? That is called a plan.
#3 You had a luxury not to be consistent. I really suspect you had a very strong community and school
support for all three languages. For those of us who does not have such a strong language environment
NO Consistency means NO Language. If you dont use it you lose it.
#4 exposure times lol what can i say apart from see answer above,
And as for #1 magic: Ben, science, you dont know, looks like magic. And there is a lot of parenting science
behind magic of multilingualism. I definitely agree with you, that hearing children speaking comfortably
multiple languages is magical, but as any magician will tell you, it takes time, preparation and dedication.
It is great that your friends will laugh on FB, but most of the people usually cry in real live that they did not
read this article when their kids were young.
P.S. I hope your children along with languages learned manners at school too. And if they disagree on an
article, they would prove their points politely.
Reply
Varya @ CWOV says:

March 14, 2014 at 1:03 am
It is so nice that {you} think you had none of those struggles that majority of multilingual families have.
Even if you had no plan, you had consistency and no, there was no magic. It is just that if you read more into
the scientific research on linguistics and how the languages are learned, if your children constantly heard
members in your family and community surrounding you speaking all these languages on a daily basis
(switching from one to another or not), they have picked the languages up. Did you know that children are
capable of learning up to 10 languages simultaneously without making much of an effort besides hearing
them on a regular basis before they are 5 years old?
And last, but not the least, I hope you DO post this article on your page and let your friends and
acquaintances decide (without posting mocking comments alongside, but rather something like what do you
think?) whether it is bad advice or not.
Being respectful even online is just a basic courtesy. No one has mocked you so far on your punctuation and
mistakes youve made in your comment?
Have a lovely day!
Reply
31.
A French American Life says:

March 13, 2014 at 7:38 pm
In response to Ben-
15/23
9/19/2014

I meet a lot of multilingual families, including those with grown children. I have yet to meet a family where
bilingualism/multilingualism just happened. For most families, one language becomes the dominant one and children
become, at best, passive bilinguals (mostly understanding but unable to communicate in the written or verbal form). For
many, children resist the non-environmental language, only to regret in later years that they didnt put in the effort to
know those other languages. The only true bilinguals I know got that way because their parents actively pushed multiple
languages on them through immersion schools, traveling and living abroad, tutors, and even assignments from Mom
and Dad.
I suppose it is possible that a person could learn multiple languages understanding, reading, and writing -just by
chance. But if it is truly possible (and I still have my doubts) it is certainly the exception to the rule. As for your personal
experience chances are great that there was a lot more structure and science to the language acquisition path your
children took than you realize via your home, your environment, and the schools they attended.
Ritas insights and experiences provide a valuable service to the thousands of families out there attempting to raise their
children with multiple languages. As a bi/trilingual person Im saddened that you dont see the value in that, but rather
feel the need to insult quite rudely what she is trying to accomplish.
Reply
32.
Juan Manuel Espinoza Benza says:

March 13, 2014 at 8:22 pm
Hi, I have a question. My partner and I have spanish as our mother tongue. Later on, by living in some english speaking
countries I manged to learn english pretty well. Since our son was born we talked about getting him to become bilingual,
but it has been two and a half years and I havent taken the courage to talk to him exclusively in english. I know that all
this talk about bilingual kids is usually directed to parents from different countries but do you have any advise to
parents trying to teach their child a language that is their second one (of course, in addition to their first language)?
Reply

March 13, 2014 at 8:44 pm
Hello Juan, my first question is, how do you really feel about speaking only English to your son? How would it
affect your relationship? You dont have to be a native speaker to pass on a language to your child, but it is
not an easy task to take on if you are not fully confident about the situation. I would also recommend that you
arrange some exposure from native English speakers for your son if you decide to go down this route. If you
were to speak English exclusively with your son and spend enough time interacting with him in English, he
would no doubt learn the language.
Reply
33.
Lula B says:
March 16, 2014 at 11:14 am
Your post is so interesting. I have no story to share as both my parents are native English speakers, though I love
learning other languages.
I have several mixed-language parent friends raising their kids to be bilingual. It is such a gift, and so sad for both parent
and child if the opportunity is lost. It looks like you provide wonderful practical support here.
Reply

March 16, 2014 at 3:12 pm
Thank you Lula, I really appreciate your comment!

Reply
34.
jaqueline says:
March 27, 2014 at 2:55 pm
this is a great topic and the article i believe is directed to the parents that just want to introduce a second language to
their child..
if you live in a country with a different language and your child goes to school or watches TV all day and listen to you
speaking a second language to the people in the store they will learn for sure. But it definitely is a plan and depends on
your dedication to keep them bilingual.
16/23
9/19/2014

im from Brazil, my husband from Panama and we live in USA. at home, my 2 daughters speak portuguese to me and in
spanish to my husband (he doesnt speak portuguese at all) and perfect english at school. but it IS a challenge because
they will mix the words specially with portuguese and spanish and you need to make sure you correct them nicely and
make them repeat.. they will eventually learn, kids love to learn. I refuse to talk to my kids AT HOME in spanish and
english. I only do so when we have people either speaking spanish or english around. It is really nice see them abe to
communicate with my parents in Brazil (they only understand portuguese) and with my husbands parents in Panama
(they only understand spanish) it is really important to keep the relationship.. they live so far away can you imagine if
they cant understand each other when they spend a few days together?
but again, my recommendation to the parents that for example: both speak spanish and they live in a spanish speaking
country but they want their child to be bilingual, to start with music, movies, books and start little by little talking to them
about a specific topic they like in the language you want them to learn and 30 min today and 45 min tomorrow and so
on.. and if they dont want to talk dont force them they will get frustrated and start hating that language
my 4 yo told me the other day that her friends at school need to eat more vegetables so they can get smarter and learn
portuguese or spanish! she still doesnt get that how in the world they cannot speak portuguese or spanish, it is so
easy LOL
hope you all have a nice day!! specially you Rita!
Thank you! Gracias! Obrigada!
Reply

March 27, 2014 at 3:11 pm
Thank you, Jacqueline, for your nice words and for telling us your familys story. I can see that consistency
has been high on your agenda and that it has paid out, wonderful! Absolutely love your 4-year-olds take on
language learning not only is she aware of language skills but also of what is healthy to eat!
Reply
Ral Torres says:

April 7, 2014 at 4:06 pm
Spanish and Portuguese are not so different that they are mutually unintelligible. I would think the probem
would be more one of confusing the words than of not understanding.
Reply
35.
Adriana says:
March 30, 2014 at 7:38 pm
Rita, your article is very interesting for me. I would like to know your opinion about this: my husband is Norwegian and I
am Spanish but I grew up in France. We live in Spain. We have a one year old girl, daddy speaks Norwegian to her and I
speak mainly French but also English to her. My mother and aunt speak Spanish and my husband and I use Spanish to
communicate.
Am I doing right? Could it be confusing if I continue using two languages?
Thank you.
Reply

March 31, 2014 at 7:14 am
Wow, let me just get my head around all your languages to start with
Your daughter will learn Norwegian
from her dad and Spanish from her grandmother, other relatives and the environment you are living in. So we
are left with the two languages that you speak to her: French and English. How do you alternate between the
two? Do you use French and English on different days or different areas in the house? It is not an easy task
for one parent to teach a child two languages simultaneously. I am not saying it can not be done, but you
need to find a away to clearly separate the two, so your daughter can identify which language you are using
when. Another option would be to speak to her in one language first and when she has mastered that, switch
to the other one. This is what I did with my elder daughter. Note however, that the switch is not easy you
can read about it here: http://multilingualparenting.com/2013/05/08/pricken-the-swedish-speaking-kitten/
Reply
Adriana says:
March 31, 2014 at 10:27 am
17/23
9/19/2014

Thank you for your response!
In fact, I dont have a specific plan with the two languages I speak to my daughter, I just try to
express things in both languages. I also sing and read stories to her in the two languages.
I tried during a few days to speak French at home and English when we were out but I didnt like
it. I think she is able to distinguish between the two and she already answers to questions in both
languages.
I like the idea of alternating days. Would you recommend that?
Tack s mycket
Hlsningar,
Adriana
Reply

March 31, 2014 at 2:55 pm
Tack, Adriana!
It may well work out fine the way you are doing it now, though I think it would be good
to have some structure to how you use the languages. Every other day could work, or
even a longer period. In this post by The Trilingual Mama you can read how she
switches every two weeks: http://trilingualmama.com/2014/03/17/raising-multilingualchildren-using-an-adaptation-of-opol-switching-languages-every-two-weeks/
Reply
36.
Ral Torres says:

April 7, 2014 at 4:00 pm
Hi, interesting article I am still hesitating what to do about languages with my soon to be born baby boy. We have four
languages in our family. We live in Geneva so French is the local languange. I am venezuelan, I speak Spanish, English
and French, but not Lithuanian. My wife is Lithuanian she speaks Lithuanian, Russian and English but not French or
Spanish. We speak English between us. Should we each just speak in our own languages Lithuanian and Spanish and
hope he picks-up French from the nursery and English from us? Is this too much? Should we phase in the introduction of
one or two of the other languages?
Reply

April 7, 2014 at 5:08 pm
What an amazing amount of languages to have in one family! You are right, ideally you should speak your
respective languages, Lithuanian and Spanish, to your boy from the day he is born (or even before that!). He
will most likely also pick up at least a passive knowledge of English (which will benefit him hugely when he
goes on to learn English later on in school). Your son will learn French from other children or by the latest at
nursery so I wouldnt worry too much about French. This is not too much, as there is a consistent use of the
different languages. Best of luck to you!
Reply
37.
Josh says:
May 10, 2014 at 3:54 am
Thanks so much for this article. I have a similar question as Raul above. Im German, my wife is Chinese, and we live in
the US. We hardly understand each others languages, so our marriage language is English. If we now decide to each
talk to our daughter (due date in a few weeks) consistently in our respective languages (German and Chinese), but talk
to each other in English, will she be confused? And more importantly, in what language will we have family conversation
in? Should we resort to English once she picks English up from kindergarten, or will we have three-way conversations in
three different languages at the dinner table, translating each other back and forth to make sure everyone understands
what was said? Thanks for your advice!
Reply

May 10, 2014 at 8:18 am
18/23
9/19/2014
Thank you for your question, Josh! Your family language set-up is a fairly typical one for international families
. Like I might have mentioned in previous comments, your daughter will not be confused with the two of you
speaking English together as you will both be using your respective languages when you speak to her
directly. Remember that she will not learn overnight, it will take some time before she starts speaking
German and Chinese during this time you both will have the opportunity to learn alongside her to gain some
more insight into each others languages. This way you will both feel more comfortable in speaking your
languages without worrying that the other parent cannot understand anything of what you are saying. Your
daughter will initially probably become a receptive bilingual (i.e. understands English, but doesnt speak), but
depending on how much other exposure she gets to English (from other children, TV, when out and about
etc) she might even speak before she goes to nursery or school. Dont worry if she doesnt, she will pick it up
soon enough. From then on your challenge will be to keep German and Chinese going at home. Being very
consistent from the start with your language use with her will be the best guarantee that she will continue
actively using both languages. As to what you should speak when you are all together if at all possible,
avoid switching to English when you speak directly to her. Like I said, you will both learn to understand at
least something of what is said in the other parents language and from the context you can figure out a lot
more. Agree that it is ok to ask for a translation when you feel like you need one. Good luck on your
multilingual family journey!
Reply
38.
10 coisas que os pais com filhos bilngues precisam saber says:

May 19, 2014 at 12:07 pm
[] Traduzi o texto para o portugus, mas se quiserem ler o original, escrito pela autora Rita Rosenback, cliquem AQUI.
[]
39.
Luciana says:
May 22, 2014 at 3:01 pm
Hi Rita, congratulations on writing such a relevant article!

I have a question that Im wondering if you could help me with. I am raising my 3.5 year old daughter in Canada and both
I and my husband speak only Portuguese with her. Its going great and with the exception of a couple of mistakes here
and there in both languages, I can say with confidence that she is fully bilingual.
My question is about reading out loud to her. I read to her a lot, and love it when I have Portuguese books to read, but
sometimes we receive lovely gifts of books in English from our friends here in Canada, or she finds books she likes in
the library. Up until now, I have been doing simultaneous translation with her in those cases reading English books
but saying the words to her in Portuguese. I dont know if this was the right thing to do, but it felt right at the time. Now,
however, she is starting to learn her letters, will start kindergarten soon, and I am worried that not reading the same thing
as whats on paper will interfere with her learning process. I am concerned that she will see a letter, think it should sound
a certain way, but I will be saying something completely different So, should I start reading English books in English
and portuguese books in Portuguese even though I consistently only speak Portuguese with her?
Thank you!
Luciana
Reply

May 22, 2014 at 6:03 pm
Thank you for your kind comments, Luciana! You have absolutely done the right thing to translate English
books on the fly for your daughter. Also, by doing that you have done a high level mental gym exercise
yourself, which benefits your brains! You dont have to stop doing it now that your daughter is learning to read
English. It is also ok for you to read to her in English if you want to. What you can do is to explain to your
daughter that you are TELLING the story in Portuguese when you translate on the fly, and when you want to
use English, say (in Portuguese) that you will now READ a book to her in English. This way there will be a
clear distinction between your use of Portuguese and English with her. By your dedication I can tell that she
will grow up to be fluent in both languages and probably be interested in learning more! Good luck!
Reply
40.
ariascarm says:
May 27, 2014 at 6:27 pm
Reblogged this on Carmen Arias and commented:

Interesting and straight to the point , really useful tips when raising bilingual children . By a practicioner herself , Rita
19/23
9/19/2014

Rosenback
Reply
41.
12 things parents raising bilingual children ne... says:

May 27, 2014 at 6:28 pm
[] 1 It doesnt happen by magic Children do not become bilingual by magic. There is a persistent myth claiming that
children are like sponges when it comes to language and that they will learn a []
42.
milti-lingual says:
June 14, 2014 at 9:41 am
Rita,
Thanks for the great article and ideas. There was not a single suggestion I didnt agree with.
Reply
43.
Frenchie says:
August 1, 2014 at 4:53 am
Hi Abigail, we have a similar situation to a degree, here is our story: I am French living with my New Zealand wife in NZ.
Our son (now 8) has Aspergers too.
My wife speaks excellent French and so we initially spoke to him mostly in French at home, and he was exposed to
English outside, with his cousins, at kindy etc. We were lucky enough that his French speech was not delayed but he
resisted speaking English for a long time. He was diagnosed just at the end of kindy, age 5. Now at school (which
incidentally is a school where the NZ curriculum is taught in French (3 days/week)and English (2 days a week) ), he still
favours French but seems to have accepted that he needs some English. His English is still way behind his French but
he is making progress.
We use child psychologists using the ABA philosophy, methods and tools to improve his communication skills. There are
of course many forms of Aspergers (almost one per child!) but often their conversation skills arent up to scratch from
what our society expects so this is why we use these people and this is probably not related to our bilingualism. The
sessions are all in English but we notice that we can apply the principles when we communicate in French too and so
when I speak French to him, I am trying to think ABA and get him to make statements, ask questions, put himself in
someones shoes etc etc. All in French.
We also have a younger daughter, now 6, who is 100% bilingual. She has periods of rejecting French as most of her
friends can speak English so we are trying as much as we can to get her to spend time with French-speaking kids and it
works to a degree, they do speak in French sometimes. I make a point of always and only speaking to her in French. Her
French reading, writing and speaking is very good, I have to say. Shes convinced her English is better than mine! (her
accent and pronunciation certainly are
Not sure what my conclusion or advice should be, but in short dont give up and maybe its not too late to get this 30%
French-speaking time at home! From our point of view, we dont think the bilingualism in our son has delayed his
language skills. But I know that its not always easy to tell as their communication is not obvious.
Reply
44.
12 things parents raising bilingual children need to know | A WordPress Site says:
August 13, 2014 at 10:24 pm
[] ROSENBACK on FEBRUARY 26, 2014 ( 51 ) 1 It doesnt happen by magic Children do not become bilingual []
45.
Susanne says:
August 15, 2014 at 7:54 am
Thank you so much for your comments! My husband and I are totally looking forward to the big adventure of raising a
bilingual kid. All the best to your amazing families!
Reply
46.
12 Dinge die Eltern zweisprachiger Kinder says:

August 31, 2014 at 12:42 pm
20/23
9/19/2014

[] Original English post: 12 things parents raising bilingual children need to know. []
47.
says:
August 31, 2014 at 12:49 pm
48.
says:
August 31, 2014 at 12:51 pm
49.
Idania says:
September 11, 2014 at 3:10 am
My children are learning three languages, cause my husband is english, he, of course, speaks english to them; I am
mexican, and speak spanish, and we live in Italy. I only speak spanish to them, but only speak english to my husband.
They goto childcare, and thats the place where they are learning the native language. They are born in Italy. What
advice would you give me? Thank you!!
Reply
Rita says:
Dear Idania, thank you for your question. As there is now both a forum and a Q&A section on the site, all new
questions placed in the comments in the blog will be moved to either one of these. This way more readers will
be able to see and make use of the answers given. Your question has been chosen to be the Q&A question
for next week and the answer will be published on the 18th of September!
Reply
Idania says:
Thank you very much! I am very excited to see the answers! Regards!
Reply
Rita says:
Hi Idania, Ute has posted a response with some follow-up questions. Please go to this
page http://multilingualparenting.com/2014/09/18/qa-trilingual-family/ to post your
comments.
Reply
50.
12 vc, kter by mli vdt rodie vychovvajc bilingvn dti says:

September 15, 2014 at 1:19 pm
51.
Pierre de Jabrun says:

I entirely agree, as a bilingual parent who has succeeded in teaching French to our daughter. The thing that helped
along was the fact that we spend multiple trips to France for 6-8 weeks at the time and that she had to speak French to
all the relatives. She also was by herself with my brothers family for 2 months and went to school in France for that time.
As well as that my mother came to OZ for 5 months and she was only speaking French. As an immersion teacher all our
students were expose to 2/3 of teaching time in French. Now some of my ex students are still speaking French
Reply
21/23
9/19/2014

bob says:
Thank you for your comment Pierre and telling us your very encouraging family story. You are absolutely
right, immersion in the language (and culture) gives children a massive boost in their speaking skills. Your ex(and current!) students are lucky to have (had) you as their teacher!
Reply
52.
Rosa says:
March 31, 2014 at 10:50 pm
What would you advice a parent who has a 3 year old child who had a myringotomy on both ears and child has been
going to speech therapy ever since she had the surgery? She is having trouble speaking English as it is so introducing a
second language like say Spanish can benefit her or hurt her? If you can answer this for me and give me some
examples of how introducing two languages would work then please enlighten me! Thanks!
Reply
53.

April 2, 2014 at 2:29 pm
Dear Rosa, I cant see the connection between myringotomy and speech therapy if the condition affected her hearing
to the extent that it had an impact on the speech, then it might be a good idea to wait with the second language. The
introduction of a second language as such will not hurt her, however if learning another language puts pressure on her,
this could have and impact on her language development. I would recommend that the parents find a speech therapist
who is used to dealing with bilingual children to get the best possible advice. All the best!
Reply
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12 things parents of bilingual children need to know

12 things parents raising bilingual children need to know

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12 things parents of bilingual children need to know

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105 Responses to 12 things parents raising bilingual children need to know

Reblogged this on hungarywolf.

Galina / Trilingualchildren says:

12 things parents of bilingual children need to know

Rita Rosenback says:

Thank you, Galina! Glad you liked my post

Linda Sebestyen says:

Rita Rosenback says:

Rita Rosenback says:

12 things parents of bilingual children need to know

Aly Sonohara says:

Rita Rosenback says:

Rita Rosenback says:

Rita Rosenback says:

12 things parents of bilingual children need to know

Fabio Grego says:

All sound advice!!! Everyone should be bilingual!

Rita Rosenback says:

Bilingualism for children | Express Yourself English Academy says:

Diana Paredes says:

Rita Rosenback says:

12 things parents of bilingual children need to know

Diana Paredes says:

Thank you, Rita!

Rita Rosenback says:

Rita Rosenback says:

And its incredible how

his German pronounce is PERFECT. Much more perfect as ours!

12 things parents of bilingual children need to know

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12 things parents of bilingual children need to know