Approaches

What are the different ways families manage multiple languages?

Minority Language at Home
Family members speak the minority language at home (or when together) and the community language when outside the home (or with people who speak only the community language). For example, a family in the United States speaks Spanish (minority language) when they are together but English (community language) outside of the home with non-Spanish speakers.

In dual-parent households, this approach requires that both parents are comfortable speaking the minority language to their children. Typically, they are either native speakers of the minority language or fluent non-native speakers. In some cases children have relatively equal exposure to both languages from the start (for example, English at daycare and Spanish at home) and in other cases children have limited exposure to the community language until they start school. Want to read advice from other parents?

One Parent One Language (OPOL)
Each parent speaks their own native language to the children. For example, the mother, a native French-speaker, speaks French to the children and the father, a native English-speaker, speaks English to the children.

Ideally, both parents need to have at least some ability in the minority language to make this a viable option over the long-term. Otherwise, this approach can be complex from a practical standpoint (for example, if the mother speaks French to the children but the father can't understand what she's saying and therefore can't participate in the conversation without translation).
Find out what other families have to say about OPOL.

Consistency
You may discover another approach that works well for your family. Most families say the key is to find a consistent system so that there is an established routine for the family.

I would encourage them [other parents] to do something that we've found difficult to do — which is to stick to some sort of "rules" that are consistent and which the children can predict  (for example, we speak only French at home and English outside the home; Mom speaks only English and Dad speaks only French.) I think the "rules" you choose to follow are not as important as keeping it consistent so the children will be expected to speak the minority language while living in the majority culture.
— Mother of bilingual 4 1/2-year old and 3-year old (French)

Want more advice from other parents? Read what other parents raising bilingual children have to say about successes, challenges, speaking, reading and writing, and siblings.

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