Deciding on Your Family's Language Strategy - Who Speaks What and When

Planning is key in raising a multilingual child. First, set clear language goals and identify resources, such as who will speak what language and the time they can dedicate. The aim is to maximize the child's exposure to each language, considering all potential language sources like relatives and friends. 

The strategy should be balanced, adaptable to changes in the child's environment, and comfortable for the family. 

It should also involve other important people in the child's life. Remember that consistency in language use is crucial, especially when exposure to a particular language is limited. It's important to be flexible and adjust the approach based on the child's needs and the results seen.

The OPOL method

The One Person, One Language (OPOL) method is a commonly used approach in multilingual families. As the name suggests, in this strategy, each individual consistently speaks one language to the child. This might mean that the mother speaks Spanish, the father speaks English, and the community language might be French, for example. The key to this strategy is consistency: each person should consistently use the same language when interacting with the child to create clear language boundaries.

The OPOL strategy has several advantages. First, it ensures that the child has regular exposure to each language, which is critical for language acquisition. It also helps the child associate each language with a specific person, making it easier for them to switch between languages in different contexts.

However, successful implementation of the OPOL method requires commitment from each family member to use their designated language consistently. It also requires a balance to ensure that the child is exposed to each language sufficiently. This balance may need to be adjusted over time based on the child's progress in each language.

Parents who choose the OPOL method frequently communicate with each other in a third language. This circumstance typically does not pose any issues.

Passive language learning - when the parents speak another language beetween them.

The mL@H method 

The Minority Language at Home (mL@H) is another popular method employed by multilingual families. Under this strategy, the family uses a minority language at home, while the community or majority language is used outside the home, for instance, at school or with friends. For example, a family might speak Italian at home, while English, being the community language, is spoken in school and in other social contexts.

The mL@H method offers the benefit of providing consistent and substantial exposure to the minority language, which can otherwise be overshadowed by the majority language prevalent in the community. By using the minority language in the home environment, children can develop a solid foundation in that language.

It's also essential to ensure that the child gets ample opportunities to use the majority language. This usually happens naturally through schooling and social interactions but should be monitored to ensure the child becomes proficient in that language as well.

Just like any language learning strategy, mL@H should be flexible and adaptable to the family's unique circumstances and the child's individual needs. It's also important to remember that the goal is not only language acquisition but also fostering a positive attitude towards multilingualism and cultural diversity in the child.

The T&P strategy

The "Time and Place" strategy is a method of language learning predominantly utilized by multilingual parents. This approach revolves around associating a specific language with either a certain period of time or a particular location.

Under the "Time" aspect of this strategy, a designated language is used during certain times of the day or week. However, this approach may not be entirely suitable for very young children, particularly those aged between 0 and 3 years. At this developmental stage, children might not have a fully developed sense of time, which could make it difficult for them to understand and adapt to the concept of switching languages based on the time of the day or week.

On the other hand, the "Place" aspect of this strategy can be highly effective, especially for younger children. In this approach, different languages are associated with distinct physical spaces or locations. For example, one language might be spoken at home, another at school, and perhaps a third language at a grandparent's house. Even at a young age, children have a good grasp of physical spaces. They can understand and distinguish between different locations quite well. This makes the "Place" strategy a very practical and effective method for introducing and reinforcing multiple languages in a child's life.

On this topic check point 2 in I need to speak a second language to my multilingual child.

The 2P2L strategy

The Two Parents Two Languages (2P2L) strategy involves both parents using their languages with the children. It's common to begin with the One Parent One Language (OPOL) method and introduce additional languages later. Consistency and organization are crucial for success.

In multilingual families, language switching is often unavoidable, leading to situation-specific vocabulary in different languages. Some families might also link certain languages to specific activities, merging with the Time and Place strategy, with the choice often depending on the participants.

Particularly, when one of the languages is dominant or used in school, the minority languages may require extra attention. To maintain the use of minority languages within the family, parents need to ensure adequate exposure over time. This strategy demands even greater consistency to support the minority languages compared to other methods.