There are multiple ways to introduce a second language in your home.
These can work with your young students or really students of any age.
There are more options than listed below, but these are all options I have encountered either in my student life, parenting, or teaching life.
Regardless of which option you choose, make sure it works for your family. What might seem like the best idea because of what most people use, won’t matter if you can’t make it work in your season of life. Even a little bit of practice can add up!
Option 1: 1 Parent 1 Language
This is exactly as it sounds.
Parent 1 speaks one language to the child (such as dad speaking German) and parent 2 speaks the second language (such as mom speaking English).
This is common in 2 language households where only 1 parent can speak one of the languages. Dad will switch to English when talking to mom or vice versa.
This option is determined by the language proficiency of each parent in the other language.
I know one family where the mom spoke Spanish to the kids and English to the dad. Dad only spoke English to everyone until he learned more Spanish words to try, which did take a few years.
As with anything new, it can be difficult in the beginning but gets easier over time.
Option 2: Scheduled time
This option mimics what schools do.
Most schools have classes at the same time on the same days every week, barring special events or vacations.
In homes, it’s common to see it at meal times since the whole family is there and there’s less distractions.
This option can work if both parents have the language skills or one parent is home with the children at this meal time. It can limit the vocabulary if the scheduled time is the same activity (such as meal time). I would make sure opportunities are made to expand the vocabulary during that time.
Option 3: Full Immersion
This can work in some situations. The most common I’ve encountered is one language at home and another at school.
The families spoke Spanish with a little English at home and the child was only exposed to English at school. Parents did know some English (they did not need a translator for school events) but knowing their child would be exposed to English at school, wanted to make sure they kept up the family’s native language as well.
You can also see this in daycares or preschools that offer immersion. They might offer it by day of the week, weekly, by teacher, or time. Parents often don’t need to be fluent in the languages offered.
Option 4: Mix and match
This is what we do in our house with our boys.
My husband is bilingual in German and English. I speak both well enough to have certain phrases as stand ins or mix languages as needed.
Sometimes a word or phrase comes easier in German than English or they respond better to German over English (regardless of tone).
I will often say a direction or phrase in German and then repeat right after in English (and vice versa). This option can be used with any level of language competency with parents and the idea is to build exposure and word recognition.
Results can vary depending on language similarities. English and German have more in common than English and Mandarin for example. As well as percentage of use between the languages.
English is more commonly used when I’m home with them since German is not my first language.
Our most common words used in either language are “no/nein” and “please/bitte”.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, when introducing a second language, any exposure to multiple languages is better than none or forcing one method that just adds stress to your family.
We tried the scheduled approach but by dinner, we’re tired and my vocabulary for my husband’s work is limited in German so it was more frustrating and distracting than helpful.
I want to practice my German more so 1 Parent 1 Language isn’t the best option for us either.
Total immersion is hard when my brain goes to English first and family who speaks German the most lives too far away for regular immersion.
In regards to your family, think about what your situation is and don’t feel like you have to stick with one option only.
You could mix and match daily but when grandma visits, try only using the language with her!
These are starting points, not end points when it comes to introducing a second language in your home.
If you’re looking for some help with introducing a second language into your home, look no further than my course, Mit Mir Jahre! It’s parent led, play based, preschool German.
And it’s fun!
Native language at home and English only at school is what I shared with the parents when I was an elementary ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) teacher. It was very common for the child to start losing their native language (typically Spanish) sometime in middle school. Even when they started school as a single language learner. It was very sad to hear the stories of children who no longer knew how to communicate with their families. It just signified the need to continue practicing any languages (new or foreign) you want your child to keep up with.