Challenging OPOL Situations | Raising Bilingual Children

So you've chosen to raise your child to be bilingual using the one parent one language method--that's great! But how do you handle those difficult situations when the minority language meets the majority language in everyday life? Despite your best efforts, you will eventually encounter situations in which you need to use the majority language around your child or children. In this video I discuss 4 difficult situations you might encounter while raising bilingual children with the one parent one language (OPOL) method and how I address them. #bilingualkids #bilingualchildren #trilingualchild #nonnativeenglishspeaker
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[@Hailie1234]

I don't understand why you don't have more views, your content is GOLD!! Thank you so much for this chanel :)

[@LiveYourLanguage]

Thanks so much for watching! I'm so glad you think this content is helpful. That's my hope 😀! Please feel free to let me know what other content might be helpful to you. Good luck on your bilingual parenting journey!

[@yophierriverahilario4098]

I agree you!

[@catanarchist25]

Thanks for this, and I am super excited to have found your channel! My grandchild will be born into an American English (minority) and Japanese (majority) home. Since they live in Tokyo, my daughter is worried her child will have difficuty learning English. I've already amassed lots of children's readers, as well as phonics materials (I taught my daughter how to read using "Hooked on Phonics"). She would love to send her child to international school when he/she is older, but it's prohibitively expensive, so that might not be a viable option.

[@kgacs]

Thanks for this! I am having a struggle. Our form of OPOL worked great with my now 4 year old for a while. Now she is answering me a lot in the majority language (English) and not the minority language (Hungarian). She keeps a good attitude most of the time. as I ask her to switch. Her sister 2 years old, for some reason isn’t talking much at all in Hungarian and Engiish has lept ahead. I think she understands Hungarian ok. Any ideas for siblings or about getting your child to be what I think you call a “productive speaker.” I know, for one, I can do more games and maybe within those only react to Hungarian. I am also enlisting my 4 year old as a “Hungarian teacher,” which she buys into but we don’t yet have any consistent routines with.

[@LiveYourLanguage]

Thank you so much for watching this video and taking the time to leave this comment. You are where I will be in about 2 years so I can't speak from experience. However, this is a great topic and I will look into this and post what I find in a video next month 🙂. Thanks for the suggestion! I can say just from reading on this topic that often the younger sibling is less likely to be a productive bilingual, partially because we have added in an additional majority language speaker into the mix (your 4 year old). That tips the scales in favor of the majority language, which then gets reinforced when the kids interact together in the majority language. I know it doesn't help, but just know that this is normal. Also, even if your oldest does become a receptive bilingual, she will have a WAY easier time picking it up in the future. From what I have read, passive bilinguals can switch into an active mode relatively quickly once faced with a communicative need to do so. I'll be sure to include all this in the upcoming video. Thanks again!

[@kgacs]

@@LiveYourLanguage thanks for this! That context is helpful and your “language spaces,” metaphor is something I think I can use to tune my awareness of how much minority language space exposure kid number two is getting. Thanks again and i look forward to your next video!

[@LiveYourLanguage]

Thanks for watching again! Here is the video inspired by your comment. I hope this gives you some ideas on how to get your girls speaking more of the minority language 🙂. Enjoy! kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZmXZh42glt9kack

[@iamagrasshopper1920]

How long did it take for your child to speak both language

[@secretasianman3541]

So we do the OPOL method. What are your thoughts on this? Our daughter is learning Japanese and mom is Japanese so speaks to her exclusively in Japanese. I've noticed that our daughter is more attached to her mother, my partner. She outright says she prefers her and only wants her for things like bedtime, going places etc. I do not speak Japanese nor do I understand it. I feel left out of the conversation and feel I am missing out of much of what is going on with our daughter when they speak. It could be at the dinner table, lying in bed, or playing. Is this feeling of exclusion part of the OPOL method? If so how do you overcome it? How do you work to not have the child favor one parent or the other? Thanks!

[@LiveYourLanguage]

Thank you for watching the video and for taking the time to leave a comment. I believe what you describe in your comment is one of the dark sides of OPOL: exclusion of the other person if he or she does not understand the target language. My tip is always to prioritize relationships first and foremost. If you feel excluded, talk to your partner about speaking the majority language when you're around or at a certain time of day (from dinner on through bedtime, for example). Remember: OPOL is just a tool to help parents provide adequate levels of input in the language. A rule of thumb is no less than 30-40% of your daughter's input should be in Japanese. Depending on how much time she spends with your partner, you have some wiggle room and if an hour or two in the majority language this will result in your feeling much more included, it's absolutely worth it. OPOL is a means to an end, not the end itself. Translator earbuds: I heard of translator earbuds that translate words around you into English. I got a pair for my husband, but he hasn't tried them yet. They're called Timekettle Language Translator Earbuds. Maybe that might help? Once we try them out I'll make a post about it 🙂. I hope this helps. Stay in touch! I appreciate your perspective.

[@Mac_an_Mheiriceanaigh]

LOLL!! Now, in a more serious sense, do you ever get negative comments from strangers? How do you deal with those? Also, do you typically explain to strangers what is going on (something like "My son and I are learning French together!") or just give the blank look and speak French with your son and let the stranger assume you don't speak English? Why do you continue to hold these conversations with your sister in French/English? Weren't you planning to make this a time where you speak Spanish? Like you address her in Spanish and your son in French and she addresses your son in Spanish, etc.. This is what I had been imagining. Or are you trying to build up a stronger Spanish ability before switching?