All about Mixed Language Families
This post serves as the show notes for the Bilingual Parenting Podcast; this episode is is the fourth in a series of Bilingual Parenting Strategy episodes. Here we talking all about Mixed Language Families. Wondering if your family implements or should implement this strategy? Tune in to this episode where we break it down like this: describe the strategy, talk about the benefits of it, mention some potential obstacles it might bring with suggestions on how to combat them, and finally talk about ways to slightly modify the strategy.
Before tuning in, it would be great to take a look at previous posts (or a listen to the previous episodes) on One Parent One Language, Minority Language at Home, and Time & Place. These three episodes describe Family Language Policy in more depth and are good precursors to this episode on Mixed Language Families.
Highlights from this episode…
First we define what constitutes a Mixed Language Family:
Mixed language families, well, mix languages! Because all of the members are bilingual (if not multilingual), they use their two languages however they naturally flow. In other words, there’s no specific delineation of who speaks what and when. Family members just use whichever language comes to mind at any given time, whichever language feels like the most organic choice for the situation.
We contrast this strategy with the other three, because, in reality it’s pretty much a complete opposite. The other strategies focus on a clear delineation of who speaks what and when. In Mixed Language Families, the focus is on what feels like the most natural language choice, and thus there is no set parameters.
Later in the episode, we talk about how this strategy is actually way more common than you might think, and explain why.
Then, we discuss some of the benefits of this strategy, like…
(1) Its naturalness; it’s bilingualism in its natural form.
(2) It’s low pressure for both parents and kids.
(3) It puts the emphasis on communicative need, rather than who speaks what and when.
From there, we discuss two potential obstacles that could arise with this strategy:
(1) Lack of monolingual conversational skills
(2) Lack of intentionality
(3) Eventual subtractive bilingualism
In the episode, we give detailed examples of what these obstacles could look like, and then also talk about how to combat these obstacles.
Takeaways
Family language policy is not black and white. It’s not cut and dry. It’s not one-size-fits-all. Your family has to determine what bilingual parenting strategy works for you; every family language context is different.
Below are some action steps from this episode:
Think about your family’s language context. Does Mixed Language Families feel like it would work for you? Why or why not?
Observe over the next few days your family’s language use. If you do mix, does it feel like a good balance of both languages? Does it feel like your children are getting ample exposure to both languages? Or could the minority language use some extra love and attention? If it could, brainstorm with your kids on how to do that.
And then if you find that it’s a little tricky to stay in a monolingual conversation in the minority language (whether for you kids, or even yourself!) flex that linguistic muscle and challenge yourself to practice more monolingual conversations in the less dominant language. Remember, that monolingual scenarios will come up a lot, and language mixing in those contexts won’t be an option if you want to be fully understood.
That’s it for today! If these highlights & takeaways are of interest to you, we hope that you will tune in and listen to the full episode! Then join our Bilingual Parenting Network and let us know what you think!
These are the show notes for Episode #006 of the Bilingual Parenting Podcast, “Mixed Language Families.” Subscribe to our podcast here or check out our homepage for the Podcast. Also connect with us on Instagram!
This episode was sponsored by Hola Amigo Box, a curated kids’ subscription box for Spanish learning at home. Use our code BILINGUITOS10 for 10% at check out!
Also check out what online Spanish immersion classes we’re offering for the current or upcoming session at www.bilinguitos.com/registration.