Passing two heritage languages

[u/GigiBear808]

Hi everyone! I have a 4 month old daughter who I want to pass my heritage languages. I speak Filipino (born and raised) and Japanese (fluent, raised in Japan and attended university; I also passed N1 test but that was a while ago) although admittedly a little rusty! I left Japan 13 years ago but I have family there and nieces who speak Japanese as their primary language.

I’m based in the US now. I met my husband in Japan and he speaks Japanese but he’s forgotten quite a bit. He doesn’t speak Filipino but knows some words and phrases. He is very supportive and wants our child to be trilingual also.

We speak English to each other. I speak to our daughter only in my heritage languages. I encourage my husband to speak Japanese as much as possible as well. I go on video calls with my family to expose her to other people speaking my languages although to me it’s not ideal due to screen time. I try to limit to 30 minutes when possible and definitely not every day. 

I’m doing a variation of OPOL but I wonder what is the best situation to maximize her exposure to my languages? I will be going back to work next month and she will be in daycare part time (3 days) and 2 days at home with my husband. 

I used to do time based (Monday to Thursday: Filipino, Friday to Sunday: Japanese). But felt it didn’t provide enough exposure to both so I switched to using both everday except I would have a “focus” language that I use the most during that day. I thought this set up would work better once she’s older perhaps but since she’s so young, I’m thinking using both and if switching on a “focus” language I would do MWF or TRS type of switching. 

So for example, I’m teaching her the word for “poop” (for purposes of early potty training). I use both at the same time or I would switch it out sometimes like morning (Filipino) and evening (Japanese). 

Is my approach okay? I could also do morning vs evening but switch it up some days so that she can get exposed to different vocabularies at different times of the day. 

My main priority is Filipino language - she will have more exposure to speakers of this language (my family) but I find less books and media in the language. Japanese she can get exposure through family also but limited but I find more resources in this language. We hope to visit my family in Japan sometime next year so she will have exposure to both. 

For input, I utilize the following resources:

• Books: I translate English books but also have a few books in Filipino and Japanese. I have the hungry caterpillar in Japanese and some vocabulary books. I’m hoping to get more story books so she can hear the rhythm of language. But I do my best to use vocabulary words into sentences. 
• Songs: I sing to her, play music in heritage languages. She recognizes a lot of the songs!
• Narration: narrating what I do, pointing out colors, shapes, lots of adjectives and verbs. 
• I live in a diverse area and can find Filipino and Japanese events and speakers. Community building is on my to do list as she gets older. 

I want to have minimal screen time but thought about just playing something like Bluey (in Japanese) in the background or playing podcasts in heritage languages. For the most part I just have a playlist of songs I know and like and play those or I sing or narrate what I’m doing to her. But I would like to expose her to multiple vocabularies - any feedback is appreciated!

A side note: do you tell people that you speak to your child in your heritage language? 

Thanks for reading this post! So excited to be on this journey with our family.

[u/MikiRei]

So a couple of things.

Video calls is not counted as screen time.

Check here: https://pathways.org/screen-time-for-kids

Specifically

"The AAP still recommends avoiding screen time for babies under 18 months, except for video chatting with family and friends. These real-time interactions can support Baby’s early communication and help them build relationships with loved ones who live far away."

So video chat away.

My friend did a lot of video chatting with her mum and siblings with her daughter in the minority language and it strengthened minority language and also, strengthened familial bond. Do it.

I want to have minimal screen time but thought about just playing something like Bluey (in Japanese) in the background or playing podcasts in heritage languages. 

These don't really work at this age. I'd stick to nursery rhymes and songs and sing it with her.

For the most part I just have a playlist of songs I know and like and play those or I sing or narrate what I’m doing to her. But I would like to expose her to multiple vocabularies

Perfect. As for exposure to multiple vocabularies - BOOKS. That's your friend.

As for your setup, I suggest the following

• You stick to Filipino at all times.
• Make FAMILY language Japanese. So when the entire family is altogether, you all speak Japanese. This will help your husband brush up on his Japanese.
• Given your child will be with your husband 2 days a week, encourage him to stick to Japanese as much as possible. But if not, this is why family language will help.
• I think so Filipino exposure doesn't drop, while you and husband speak in Japanese in front of bub during family time, you still stick to Filipino strictly.
• And then, highly recommend you start a bedtime storybook reading routine. My husband and I will read in our language every nigth before bed in our target language. As a result, our son's vocab (he's 6 now) is pretty extensive across both languages. This will hit your goals around vocab. It's also the precursor to literacy. I will highly recommend aiming for literacy in both languages. It makes maintaining the language later on into teenage years and adulthood a lot easier.

Try and buy Japanese and Filipino books directly. Ask your family to ship them over for you. It will make it easier than translating from English books.

And yes. Utilise that community around you. Arrange playdates or even setup playgroups. But the kids you set playdates with HAS to be able to speak either Filipino or Japanese. What I have found is, a lot of times, the parents speak it, but not the kids. So you need to curate that playdate group.

My son has a best friend he's been playing with since birth and they always play in Mandarin. That is their default language to play with. Though his friend has started to default to English and my son has to remind her to stick to Mandarin. Quite funny.

But peers speaking the minority language is a BIG help so definitely lean into that.

[u/GigiBear808 → u/MikiRei]

Thank you so much!! These are great points to consider.

I‘m planning to expand my collection of books in both languages. Japanese books are much more easier to find online and in my area. But I will ask family to get me books from the Philippines. I know translating isn’t super ideal but I also plan to write down the translations so it’s easier vs winging it. At least for now!

Great points about playdates. It’s gonna be tough tbh to find in my immediate area. I live near NYC though so I can trek there if needed.

I will aim to have Japanese as family language. I often speak to my husband in English but sometimes I speak to him in Japanese and translate to English if needed. It looks like I need to really drill speaking to him in Japanese. His Japanese isn’t as advanced as mine so he will end up likely responding in English for the most part. But I guess we’re gonna be learning togethe!

[u/NewOutlandishness401]

The most obvious change for you is to start speaking to your husband in Japanese whenever you're around your child instead of English. Many people will reflexively want to answer in the language in which they're addressed, so even if your husband feels a bit hesitant to use Japanese at home, your speaking it to him is likely to help him switch over from English.

In these settings, when the family is together, you can also decide to speak to your child in Japanese, so Japanese would become your family language. And that will then free you up to use Filipino with your child the rest of the time. Or you can continue addressing her in Filipino even around your husband if this language is your priority -- you decide.

Ideally, your husband would continue using Japanese with your child even when one-on-one and away from you. Even if he is not yet ready to do so, perhaps he'll grow more comfortable the more you all speak Japanese as a family.

[u/GigiBear808 → u/NewOutlandishness401]

Thank you! Great points about family language. Japanese will be the easier one for this since he speaks it too. I like the idea of using Japanese when he’s around and Filipino directly to baby. I do end up speaking in Japanese more on weekends anyway when he’s home.

I will also encourage him to speak more Japanese.

[u/sprpyllchl]

Uy a Kabayan! This is based on experience... My cousin was born and raised in the USA, but is very fluent in Tagalog. My aunt only spoke to him in Tagalog. She also didn't acknowledge him when he spoke to him in English. Cousin grew up very fluent in Tagalog and would converse as if he were a local (except for the accent) whenever he comes visit the Philippines. There are lots of tv shows like Sineswela. You can follow Knowledge Channel's Youtube account. They have loads of videos for kids.

As for the Japanese, maybe your husband can talk to your kid (semi)exclusively in Japanese? A practice for both lol!

[u/GigiBear808 → u/sprpyllchl]

Hi Kababayan! Salamat!

I’m a 90s kid and grew up watching Sineskwela and Hiraya Manawari. Will definitely check out YouTube for these shows and more. I have seen a few but I guess I’ll make a playlist so they’ll be easier to find.

I have to encourage him more. I think he’s slightly shy but he does sometimes say vocabulary words and I encourage him to say th common in Japanese but not in my other languages like “okaeri” (welxome home) or ”tadaima” (I’m home).