How to Raise a Bilingual Child with the Time and Place Method

Raising a bilingual child is becoming an increasingly popular endeavor amongst non-native speaking families. 

The numerous benefits of bilingualism in a globalized world are highly appealing to parents, while a recent boom in foreign language programs and materials is making it more accessible than ever.

 But what if you are not fluent in the target language yourself? Is it still possible to successfully teach your child a foreign language?

As a Brit, living stateside and raising bilingual children as non-native Spanish speaker, I am here to encourage you that it is indeed possible, if you establish and implement a bilingual parenting strategy.

Choosing a Family Language Policy

There are many strategies, also known as Family Language Policies, for raising a bilingual child. The four most common are: MLAH (Minority Language at Home), OPOL (One Parent One Language), Mixed Languages and Time and Place.

Each method has its own unique benefits and challenges, and there is certainly no one-size-fits-all approach. In fact, the more bilingual families I encounter, the more I appreciate the uniqueness within each family’s dynamic. 

What works well for one family, say, for example, where both parents use the minority language at home, might be totally impractical for another family where only one parent is bilingual.

The bilingual parenting strategy I am sharing with you in this post is Time and Place.

It is the method that my family, made up of two non-native speaking parents, has intentionally implemented in our home over the past few years to teach Spanish to our children.

What is the Time and Place Bilingual Parenting Strategy?

The Time and Place strategy, also known as Domains of Use, is when a family chooses specific contexts in which to speak the target language.

This may look like switching to the minority language with grandparents, or outsourcing to an immersion school program. Another context may be using the target language during breakfast time on weekends, or reading aloud each day to your children in that language.

Who Should Use the Time and Place Strategy?

This is often the most common approach for non-native speaking families, like mine, or monolingual families that want to introduce another foreign language at home.

Additionally, it is a great option for parents who do not understand their partner’s native tongue and need a less intensive approach to exposure, to avoid isolating someone.

It is also a great option for families that already use two languages using the other methods of MLAH or OPOL and are looking to expose their child to a third (or fourth etc) language.

A great example of this would be Rebeca’s family from Bilikids.de. Rebeca uses the OPOL method, always speaking Spanish to her children while her husband and community speak German. She then uses the Time and Place method to teach her children English.

Benefits of Using the Time and Place Approach

One clear benefit of using this strategy is that it makes bilingual parenting accessible for monolingual and non-native families alike. They can learn on the go with their children, using a more gentle approach to language study.

I also find that it allows children to understand clearly defined parameters for when to use each language in their home.

Challenges of the Time and Place Approach

There can be some common drawbacks to this strategy, including the challenge of consistency. Contexts can easily become disrupted with changes in family schedules or interruptions to the day. It can also be easy and tempting to slip back into the majority language.

Another common challenge is achieving adequate input and exposure to the target language. Whereas with OPOL or MLAH, where the target language is constantly being spoken by at least one parent, this level of exposure is often reduced substantially with the Time & Place strategy.

Finally, it also relies heavily on external resources to support input, which takes commitment in terms of time and sometimes finances.

5 Tips for Using the Time and Place Approach

I want to leave with you five pieces of advice, from my own bilingual parenting experience, that will set your family up for success using the Time and Place approach.

Create an Immersive Language Environment at Home with Resources

Gather materials that will support your family’s daily target language input. I recommend starting with a focus on a print-rich environment.

Reading aloud is a powerful start for this: you could create a morning basket in the target language and include books and flashcards, vocabulary games and printables. If you are learning Spanish, I have created a Morning Binder for Pre-K level with over 130 nature themed Spanish printables.

Our shelves have grown steadily over the years and our favorite Spanish titles for interactive and sensory children's books continue to be from Usborne Books & More, although these are translations, so we also source authentic and diverse titles. 

Once you have that established, you could look at leveraging your child’s screen time with language learning apps, or finding a subscription box your family would enjoy.

Establish Routines for Language Input

We are creatures of habit and children, in particular, thrive on routines. They find security in daily rhythms and repetition.

Language learning routines can simply look like playing podcasts or music on all your car rides, or working through a curriculum together each day for 20 minutes. 

Another great strategy that Vanessa from Sol Book Box recommends is the 3 before 3 challenge: reading three books in the target language before 3pm.

Start small and make your goals easily achievable. This will motivate you to keep them up so they become habits. You can slowly build more into your daily rhythm.

Don’t Be Afraid to Outsource

During my first year or two of bilingual parenting, I was my children’s only human source of Spanish. For some reason I had the mindset that I could do it myself and I didn’t need anyone to support us on our bilingual journey, and certainly would not pay someone else to do it for me.

On reflection, I can see how short-sighted that was now. Even as a non-native speaker, my Spanish is advanced, but it will never be my dominant language and I will always have a non-native accent, no matter how hard I try to perfect it. 

To truly master a foreign language, immersion is key and we should embrace opportunities for native-speaker input for our children.

So I started outsourcing native speaker online classes and joining bilingual parenting communities, as well as enrolling my eldest in a Dual Language Immersion program.

Shortly after this, I noticed a sudden leap in my children’s language acquisition, as well as an increase in engagement and interest in languages. Which leads me to my next tip… 

Find Real-Life Context

A couple of years ago, my son questioned why we were learning Spanish. It was in that moment I realized I was missing a huge piece of the bilingual parenting puzzle: context.

Finding ways to increase your child’s application of the language in their daily rhythm will allow them to build a deeper level of meaning for language learning, whilst developing their personal ‘why’ for learning languages.

Now, in San Diego, we are surrounded by the Spanish language, both in our neighborhood and local restaurants, parks, schools.

But what if you don’t live in an area where your target language is spoken? You can still develop context with virtual learning, or the more traditional method of finding a Pen Pal, or joining a family virtual language exchange program.

Sometimes finding real-life context forces us out of our comfort zones, but in my experience we often have to get a little uncomfortable to grow.

Build Community Around Language Learning

Just as raising children ‘takes a village’, so does learning a foreign language. Steer clear of the language courses that promise fluency in record time.

Your family can certainly learn from an app or course, but connection and community are what will help you stay consistent, intentional and connected deeply to your why.

Build a virtual community with language groups like the Language Learning at Home Community on Facebook. Or follow bilingual accounts on Instagram.

I challenge you to even reach out to another account to connect with them. You may be surprised how powerful finding your tribe can be in staying the course of consistency in raising bilingual children.

Corrie is raising bilingual children in San Diego, CA. She is the founder of the Spanish education blog Mama Llama Linguist and is a former Spanish teacher. You can also connect with her on Instagram @mamallamalinguist and follow her on Pinterest.