How to Raise Bilingual Kids

Raising a bilingual family is a joy but a challenge. Eight years into this journey, I can say that Maya and Mateo are both bilingual (they can speak two languages) and biliterate (they can read two languages.) The journey has been both joyous and arduous, but also advantageous, and it is my goal as a language development coach to help other families in their own process of raising emerging bilinguals. 

It feels like we have experienced it all, from curious stares, to appreciative comments, to micro-agressions (both kids and adults have told us to "Speak English!") So if it’s so hard, why do we do it? Well, growing is hard and that’s ok. And as a bicultural family, I could not imagine a life for my children in which they would not be able to communicate with both my husband’s family and my family fluently. 

Raising bilingual children has so many benefits. It can improve communication and bonds in your immediate family, maintain heritage language, and improve your child’s ability to communicate with friends and extended family. It can boost your family’s sense of cultural identity and belonging, and help your child embrace different cultures. Raising your children to be bilingual can improve their literacy and other language skills, and their academic performance. It can even increase future job opportunities for your child. 

And research shows that bilingual brains are smarter! 

The National Library of Medicine has published studies that show the academic advantages of bilingualism, with bilingual children consistently outperforming their monolingual peers in test scores, "because their proficiency in navigating abstract concepts across languages fosters a multifaceted approach to problem-solving, deepening their understanding of complex ideas."

So when should you start? Research suggests that it's a good idea to introduce the target language as early as possible. According to a 2013 study, babies start learning language before they are even born. The study found that in the final 10 weeks of pregnancy babies are listening to their mothers talk from within the womb and can recognize their mother’s native tongue. Since children learn the sound and rhythm of their birth language (known as its phonology) at a very young age, expose your children to the target language the earlier the better. But as the Chinese proverb says, “"The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The second best time is now.” Language learning can happen at any time over one’s life, so if you didn’t start teaching your child your heritage language at birth, it’s not too late! It’s never too late. 

I always like to tell families that I didn’t start learning Spanish until I was in high school, and now I’m fluent and raising my children only in Spanish. The number one indicator of success in learning another language is investment. If you want to be bilingual, you will. If your children want to be bilingual, they will. You can do this!

There are actually many different ways to expose your child to two languages and no single approach has been found to be the best one.

These are four common bilingual parenting strategies:

One Parent, One Language (OPOL): each parent/caregiver speaks their native language to the children.

Time and Place: parents/caregivers assign specific languages to certain times of day or locations. 

Minority Language at Home: parents/caregivers use the less common language within the home environment.

Mixed Language Policy: parents/caregivers using both languages interchangeably.

The best strategy for your family is the one in which your child gets the most exposure to the target language. Francisco and I chose to both speak exclusively in Spanish to our children at all times because we were worried that following the OPOL method wouldn’t give our children enough exposure to the language. I knew they would learn English because we live in an English-speaking country. I wanted to give them as much exposure to Spanish as possible in the home and in the community, and that is why they are so successfully bilingual. 

There is NO research that shows being bilingual is a disadvantage for children. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Bilingual children could face a few potential challenges like a slight language learning delay, potential interference, or experience semantic fluency. However each of those potential challenges disappears the more proficiently bilingual they become. Whereas the cognitive and academic advantages include but are not limited to enhanced executive functions, improved problem solving, enhanced metalinguistic awareness, better academic performance, improved critical thinking, and increased creativity and innovation. 

My biggest piece of advice to impart is to not give up. Speak your target language to your children, read to your children in the target language, watch TV and listen to music in the target language. Spend time with friends and family who speak the target language. Travel to destinations where the local language is the target language. There is a reason why immersion education is the most successful language teaching model–immerse your children in your language!

PEaCH, which stands for “Preserving and promoting Europe’s cultural and linguistic heritage through empowerment of bilingual children and families,” is a project from the EU whose mission is to raise awareness of the benefits of bilingualism and offer guidance for parents and educators on how to support, maintain and develop a child’s home language(s). PEaCH published in 2020 a 128-page how-to guide for raising bilingual children that includes ready-to-use activities. This is an excellent resource and I strongly encourage any family considering raising the kids bilingual to check it out!