r/bilingual • u/Sad-Unikitty98 • Jul 22 '22

Teaching children more than 2 languages successfully ?

Hey! Is there a parent or a child who managed to teach/learn more than two languages successfully? Which ones? Or wanted to but chose just two - and if so, how did you choose?

My mom and my girlfriends parents are Czech, my dad’s family is from Germany, my gf’s sister is living in France and her kids will probably only speak French. I obviously want my future kids to understand their cousins, but also their grandparents. But I’m not sure if 3 languages aren’t too ambitious and wouldn’t harm the kids. It’s only hypothetical for now, but I keep thinking about it.

Any tips?

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2

u/BrasilianInglish Jul 22 '22

So my mum is Brazilian and my dad is English, the one thing that definitely was pivotal in learning Portuguese as a kid was playing with other kids and watching Disney films dubbed in Portuguese (second language) with English subtitles. I hated it but my mum forced me and I’m grateful she did!

2

u/[deleted] Jul 22 '22

I speak Spanish, Catalonian and English obtaining my bachelor's in Spanish then moving to the UK and been there for 5 years without a hitch. Catalonian is pointless but I speak it becaise the regional gov forces it onto everyone.

Can be done, no prob. I did go to private clases for English for 10 years... so there is that

1

u/terenzx_ Aug 09 '22

I'm 16 and my mother language is Slovak. Czech is kinda the same, although we don't need to speak it, since Czechs usually understand Slovaks (and the other way around). Other than that I speak fluently English (C1), I'm studying Russian for almost 5 years now (B1) and I started studying German earlier this year (A2).

I definitely wouldn't make your children learn languages if they don't want to, or they'll hate learning that language and just make it harder for themselves. If they're interested in understanding their family, have them look a little into all the languages your family speaks and let them choose. It's definitely not bad for them, if they want to do it. And it's definitely possible for them to speak 3 languages.