About this plan

Planning your child’s week with OPOL when one parent speaks the minority language

One Person/Parent One Language, usually shortened to OPOL, is the arrangement most bilingual families arrive at naturally: each parent speaks a different language with the child. If one of the parents speaks the majority (society) language and the other a minority language, it’s important to make sure the minority language isn’t squeezed out, especially once a child starts school in the majority language.

That’s the challenge this planner is built around. Research on OPOL families often finds that how well a child learns the minority language depends on how many hours the child actually spends in that language. Where the majority language is used more at home, children often learn less of the minority language. To learn more, read this post on whether the research supports OPOL.

Why count hours rather than trust an impression

Studies have found that parents are not good judges of their own language use. A family that believes it spends 40% of their time in a language may be spending 20%. This is why this planner helps you to lay the week out slot by slot; this way, you can see if you’re reaching your estimated share.

How much time is ‘enough’ is an open question. Besides depending on your goals, input needs shift as children grow. Around a quarter of waking hours appears to be enough for young children, but the same proportion stops being sufficient once children grow and they need more advanced language to talk about their world. Quality counts as much as quantity: being spoken with and in rich, varied language does more than having a language on in the background. The post Is 30% enough? goes through what the research shows, and what makes input rich covers the quality side.

What the planner asks you

The planner starts with your starting point: your child's name, their age now, and which language you are working on. It then asks about goals, separately for speaking and for reading and writing. These are worth separating because they need different things. A child can reach speaking skills on home input alone, but literacy rarely arrives without someone teaching it.

Next, you look at the languages used in a regular week. You mark, for each part of each day, whether your child is likely to use the home language, another language, or a mix of both. The planner totals the hours, shows what share each language gets, and tells you when the home language is looking thin. A ‘Notes’ field lets you record the specifics for a slot (a grandparent who calls on Sunday mornings, a Saturday language school, etc.).

The planner then invites you to think about other languages around your child, other speakers your child will engage with, how you plan to use media or activities, and more. As you go through the plan, you get suggestions that help you complete it, drawing from language learning research. At the end of it, you can download your personal family language plan.

What the planner covers

These are the topics and questions in this planner, with a few examples of the tips it gives. In the planner itself, you get more tips, and only ones that fit your answers.

Starting point

A few details first, so the rest of the plan can speak about your family.

What's your child's name? (optional)
How old is your child?
What's the minority language you want your child to learn? (This is the language to be learned at home, which isn't the main society language)
What's the main language spoken in the wider society/community (the majority language)?

Goals

Knowing a language can mean many things, from using basic sentences to speaking and writing well. A child’s level is often not the same for each language. Setting goals can help you plan when and how to use each language with your child, and see how they’re progressing.

How well would you like your child to speak the language?
What's your goal for your child's reading and writing in the language?

Time planning

For children to become bilingual, they need a meaningful share of their days in each language. How much is enough depends on the goals and your child’s age. About a quarter of the time seems enough until children are about 3 years old, but more is needed as they grow older.

Which other language does your child mostly hear?
How does the language fit into your child's week? For each time slot, select what your child will likely use: the language, another language, or 'mix' if it varies or you're not sure. If you choose 'mix', these hours will be split between the two (the language and another language). You can use the 'Notes' field to add anything you find helpful, like regular family video calls in the language on Sundays.

Example tip · When your home language gets less than 25% of the week

At the moment, the share of the week in your home language looks low. As a rule of thumb, this planner suggests spending at least 25% of the time on each language learned at home, or 20% on each if there are two home languages. (This doesn’t apply to the majority language.)
Maybe there are slots that you could switch to your home language. If there aren’t, don’t worry. You can make the language hours rich for learning. You’ll get help with this later in this planner.

Languages in the home

Which languages do you use at home, and who speaks which language? How do you feel about switching to the majority language, or about your child doing so? Thinking about this early can help you build the language habits you want.

For the parent or caregiver speaking the minority language: Do you also speak the majority language? (Even if just a little, and even if you don't plan to use it with your child.)
As you also speak the majority language, your child might start using this with you. What do you plan to do when your child talks to you in the majority language? The options here are commonly used by parents, going from explicit (strict) to implicit (mild). You can also add your own.

Example tip · For the answer “Pause the conversation to ask them to speak to us in the minority language only”

This is an explicit strategy. Research has shown explicit strategies work best with small children, but that they can backfire with school-aged children, especially if they feel they don't speak the home language(s) well enough.

Example tip · For the answer “Continue the conversation, but responding in the home language, hoping they switch to it”

With this strategy, your child sees that you happily continue a mixed-language conversation, and there's no need for them to use the home language with you. It's comfortable, but makes it more likely that your child becomes a passive bilingual: understanding but not speaking your home language(s). Try to make sure that your child speaks the home language with you as much as possible.
Still for the minority language-speaking parent: Sometimes your family will be with people who speak the majority language, like neighbors. It's a good idea to decide in advance if you want to switch languages with your child, or not. What will you do when you and your child are with majority language speakers?
For the other parent or caregiver, who doesn't speak the minority language: Are you able to understand the minority language?
Does your child have any older siblings that go to school (or will start going soon) in the majority language?
We know from research that older siblings who go to school often take the school language home, and start speaking this language with their younger sibling. This is why it's important to create moments where your child only uses the minority language, without their sibling inviting them to switch to the school language. How would you like to do this? You can select multiple options, and/or add your own ideas.

Languages outside the home

It can be helpful for your child to meet other people who speak the language. This shows them that the language is used by many people, not just at home. It can also make them feel more connected to the language, while introducing them to different accents.

What language is used at the daycare or school of your child?
Example tip · For the answer “The majority language”
Your child will become very strong in the school language, and learn to read and write in it. If you want the same for the home language, you may need to give it extra attention at home.
- For stronger speaking skills, talk about school topics in the home language, so your child learns the words for what they are learning. You can also read books or watch videos about the same topics, and talk about them afterwards, to invite your child to actively use the words.
- For reading and writing, it can help to wait until your child has learned to read in the school language first. Once they understand how reading works, learning to read in another language may be easier.
- If the school and home language use a similar writing system, like English and Spanish, you may be able to support reading and writing at home. If not, it may take more support, and a heritage language school can be helpful.
Hearing a language from different people helps children get used to a range of accents, words, and ways of speaking. This is why it's a good idea to plan regular meetups with other speakers. What communities in the minority language do you plan to engage with?
Besides yourself, how many minority language speakers does your child talk with regularly (say weekly)?

Example tip · For the answer “One or two people”

This is a good start. If meeting more people is difficult, see if you can plan some calls (video or audio). Screentime can also offer input, but we know from research that interaction (whether face-to-face or in video calls) is better for learning than pre-recorded material is.
What are their names? (Optional - these will show on the plan)

Input and interaction

Research has found that children's language development depends most on parents' practices at home: how much the language is used, and how. You’ve already planned the time for each language. Here, we look at how you plan to use the language to help your child’s learning.

Media can keep a language fun and help learning. Especially shared reading is great for learning new words. It's best to use different types of media, so your child learns across modes, topics, and voices. What media would you like to use with your child in the minority language?
Besides using rich media, there are more things that help learning. Here's a list of practical tips, all drawn from language learning research. Which ones would you like to try? Select as many as you wish, or add your own ideas.

Example tip · For “Read books interactively and often”

Shared reading is great for learning, and the amount of reading matters; more reading means more learning - research

Example tip · For “Put away your phone when talking”

Children learn fewer new words from their parents when phones interrupt their conversations - research
You can also stimulate your child's learning when you're talking together. For instance, there are techniques that prompt children to speak more, or ways to model correct language. Would you like to add an overview of these to your plan? Choosing 'Yes' will add a section with "Talk and learn" tips.

Choosing a language strategy for your family

If you’re not yet sure which arrangement suits your household, the family language strategy guide walks you through the options first. If OPOL is already how your family works, this planner turns it into something concrete that you can print and keep.

Create a family language plan:OPOL with one minority language