The Raising Bilinguals Podcast

There's a difference between knowing a language and using it. Many adults say it themselves: "I understand everything but I can't speak back." This episode is about closing that gap — not with drills or flashcards, but with grocery runs, role play restaurants, video exchanges, and songs. All practical. All doable this week. And all designed to make the target language feel like something your child uses, not just something they hear. ts, video exchanges, and songs. All practical. All doable this week. And all designed to make the target language feel like something your child uses, not just something they hear. What We Cover What "active bilingual" actually means — and why a toddler who can order ice cream is already there The bilingual grocery run: how a shopping list with pictures turns a Wednesday errand into real language practice Role play scenarios: restaurant, vet, zoo, doctor — and the high-frequency structures they naturally repeat (I want, can I have, how much?) Why modeling matters more than correcting — and how children move from one word to full phrases on their own Recording your children using the target language and watching it back together — Ann's experience with her two-year-old and Mandarin songs The video exchange: how sending short videos between families gives children a real audience and a real reason to use the language The community meetup: what's coming and which languages are already represented Songs as language infrastructure — why music embeds vocabulary and structure in a way nothing else does Where to find quality children's music in almost any target language Join the community and get access to the episode guides with practical strategies by age *first 50 users get special launch price: https://community.theraisingbilinguals.com/ Checkout the app: https://studio.com/howtospanishpodcast/raising-bilinguals Visit our webpage: https://www.theraisingbilinguals.com Our Spanish Project: https://www.howtospanishpodcast.com

This episode is for anyone who has ever thought: we're already doing English — could we really add another one? Anna and Anne share how their families introduced American Sign Language, Mandarin, and French alongside their primary target language — what worked, what didn't, and the surprisingly simple method behind all of it: find what your child loves, build one game around it, and repeat until the language is there. What We Cover Why ASL: Anne on using sign language as a tool for inclusion and connection with the deaf community — and how showing her daughter sign language interpreters at Disney World made it personal Why French: Anna on how a spontaneous afternoon of speaking French to her son led to his face lighting up — and a language journey she never planned Why Mandarin: Anne on adding a fourth language through homeschool, play, and deliberate community-building The core method both families use: one game or theme, layered vocabulary, repeated until automatic The ice cream shop game in Mandarin — and why one game can carry months of learning Printing animal cards in French: how to build bilingual resources around whatever your child is already studying How to keep third and fourth languages alive during chaotic weeks — anchor them to emotions, not routines The floor-time principle: why fifteen minutes of silly play in the language beats any structured lesson Follow Ann's journey: https://www.instagram.com/ann.sprinkles Join the community and get access to the episode guides with practical strategies by age *first 50 users get special launch price: https://community.theraisingbilinguals.com/ Checkout the app: https://studio.com/howtospanishpodcast/raising-bilinguals Visit our webpage: https://www.theraisingbilinguals.com Our Spanish Project: https://www.howtospanishpodcast.com

Our second and final guest episode of Season 1 — and the one that will carry you into Season 2. Anna is a lifelong friend who has been raising her three children in English, American Sign Language, and Mandarin for nearly nine years. She is Mexican, Spanish is her first language, and none of the languages she's teaching her children are her native tongue. In this conversation she shares what each of her three children has taught her, what the trickiest age really is (and when it gets easier), the sandwich rule for mixed-language social situations, and what she would do differently — which turns out to be the most honest advice in the whole season. What We Cover Anna's story: homeschooled from age 6, self-taught English through audio immersion, six months in England at 16 that changed everything Why she and her husband decided to raise their children multilingually before they were even married What each child has taught her: the firstborn pioneer, the middle child still in process, the youngest beneficiary The pandemic effect: her firstborn at 2½ was in total English immersion and arrived at playgrounds expecting everyone to speak English How siblings speak to each other in English by choice — and why that changes everything for the younger ones The sandwich rule: how to address children who speak different languages in the same moment What metalinguistic awareness looks like at age 5 (asking for vocabulary mid-conversation) and age 8 (carrying a word all day until she can ask for the translation) Why ages 3–5 are the trickiest — and why after 8 both languages are fully there Emotional conversations in the target language: why staying in it for the hard ones is the most important thing she'd do differently ASL and Mandarin: how to introduce a language you don't speak natively Where to find her real-life multilingual family content Follow Ann's journey: https://www.instagram.com/ann.sprinkles Join the community and get access to the episode guides with practical strategies by age *first 50 users get special launch price: https://community.theraisingbilinguals.com/ Checkout the app: https://studio.com/howtospanishpodcast/raising-bilinguals Visit our webpage: https://www.theraisingbilinguals.com Our Spanish Project: https://www.howtospanishpodcast.com

This is Episode 10 — the Season 1 finale. Ana is flying solo today, and she's talking directly to non-native speaker parents: the ones who wonder if they're good enough, if their accent is a problem, if they're simply crazy for trying. Spoiler: they're not. She covers where the "native speaker only" myth comes from, why it has no basis in the research, what non-native bilingual parenting actually looks like from the inside, and why any consistent exposure — however imperfect — is better than none. Plus a recap of everything Season 1 covered, and a preview of what's coming next. What We Cover The "native speaker" myth: where it came from, and why it keeps parents from starting when they absolutely could What bilingualism research actually shows about cognitive, social, and professional outcomes — and why it doesn't ask who taught the language Non-native bilingual parenting as its own distinct field of study — and what the research is finding about its specific risks and outcomes Ana's honest account of being called "crazy" while pregnant and why that comment still resurfaces What actually matters: consistency, emotional connection, and presence over perfection The modeling argument: showing your child what it looks like to learn, make mistakes, correct them, and keep going Any exposure counts — from full immersion to one book at bedtime Season 1 recap across all 10 episodes Preview of Episodes 11 and 12: our first guests, both non-native speaker parents from the community Join the community and get access to the episode guides with practical strategies by age *first 50 users get special launch price: https://community.theraisingbilinguals.com/ Checkout the app: https://studio.com/howtospanishpodcast/raising-bilinguals Visit our webpage: https://www.theraisingbilinguals.com Our Spanish Project: https://www.howtospanishpodcast.com

Our son just turned three. And after three years of raising him in English — as non-native speakers, in Mexico, surrounded by Spanish — we wanted to stop and look back. Not to dwell, but to learn. In Episode 8 we share six things we'd do differently if we were starting over: honest, specific, and applicable to any bilingual family regardless of where you are in the journey. Plus a reminder that works: our son now uses English 90–95% of the time. Whatever you're doing, it's worth doing. What We Cover Three years in: where we are, what worked, and what surprised us Why our son defaults to English when he's emotional — and what that tells us about native-level acquisition 6 reflections: flexibility with family, connecting with other families, pushing yourself as a non-native speaker, the majority language myth, practicing the language as a couple, and writing down your deep why The grandmother and the Spanish book — and what it taught us about connection over strategy Why you don't need to teach the majority language (the environment does it for you) David on imposter syndrome: holding back as a non-native speaker and why that was a mistake Ana on overexplaining: stopping the need for other people's approval What a "deep why" actually looks like — and why you need to write yours down Join the community and get access to the episode guides with practical strategies by age *first 50 users get special launch price: https://community.theraisingbilinguals.com/ Checkout the app: https://studio.com/howtospanishpodcast/raising-bilinguals Visit our webpage: https://www.theraisingbilinguals.com Our Spanish Project: https://www.howtospanishpodcast.com

Life happens. Sometimes you stop. And then the guilt sets in — the feeling that you've failed, that the language is gone, that starting again is harder than starting from scratch. In Episode 6 (the sister episode to Episode 5) we talk about what actually happens when a bilingual journey pauses, what the research says about language reactivation, and how to come back in a way that sticks. Stopping is not failing. The language is still there. And the way back is almost always smaller than you think. What We Cover Why stopping feels like failing — and why it isn't The difference between a passive language and a lost one (spoiler: they're not the same) One documented case: a child reactivated a minority language within 10 days after months of silence Three questions to ask yourself before restarting: why did you stop, where is your child now, and what's the smallest sustainable version you can do starting tomorrow? How to assess your child's current language state without pressure or testing The restart approach by age: babies, preschoolers, school-age children, and teens What to do when you're the one who lost confidence — not your child Our story: how Ana used Formula One driver interviews to casually reconnect our son with English after an immersion week in Spanish The role of humor in rebuilding confidence: bilingual jokes and wordplay as a low-pressure re-entry point

You don't need more time. You need to use the time you already have. In Episode 4 we talk about habit stacking — the technique of attaching a new habit to one you already have — and how to use it to build bilingual moments into four routines that already happen every day: meal time, bedtime, bath time, and car rides. We share what the research says about exposure thresholds, what we actually do in our own home, and why flexibility and connection matter more than a perfect system. What We Cover What habit stacking is and why it works (no willpower required) The 30% threshold: how much target language exposure research suggests makes fluency significantly more likely — and why even 10% can make a real difference Meal time: deep conversation questions for confident speakers, yes/no and opposites for those still building vocabulary, and how music can carry the language when everyone's tired Bedtime: why the pre-sleep brain is one of the highest-value windows for language input, and how to use picture books as conversation tools — not just stories to read Bath time: why repetition and predictability are your friends, and how to build a core set of phrases that compound over time Car rides: comprehensible input, music, podcasts, I Spy, and when to just let the Mariachi play The reminder we keep coming back to: language should connect, not stress. Choose your battles. Join the community and get access to the episode guides with practical strategies by age *first 50 users get special launch price: https://community.theraisingbilinguals.com/ Checkout the app: https://studio.com/howtospanishpodcast/raising-bilinguals Visit our webpage: https://www.theraisingbilinguals.com Our Spanish Project: https://www.howtospanishpodcast.com

Every bilingual parent has fears. Fear of passing on a bad accent. Fear of not being able to connect emotionally with your child in the other language. Fear of what the people around you think. In Episode 2 we name these fears out loud, talk about where they come from, and share what the research — and our own experience — says about facing them. We're not here to tell you the fears aren't real. We're here to help you keep going anyway. --- What We Cover - This week's wins and struggles from our home — including a big language moment with our toddler - The numbers: what percentage of children worldwide grow up in bilingual environments (and why that number doesn't tell the whole story) - Fear 1: My accent will confuse my child or hold them back - Fear 2: I can't connect emotionally with my child in this language - Fear 3: The people around me don't support what I'm doing - What to say when someone questions your bilingual journey — especially when your child is listening - The honest truth: we still have bad days too Join the community and get access to the episode guides with practical strategies by age (first 10 users get 1 month free, + first 50 users get special launch price): https://community.theraisingbilinguals.com/ Checkout the app: https://studio.com/howtospanishpodcast/raising-bilinguals Visit our webpage: https://www.theraisingbilinguals.com Our Spanish Project: https://www.howtospanishpodcast.com