Raising Multilingual Children

As the most common request last week was for me to discuss how I have successfully raised my sons to be multilingual, I share my thoughts and experience in raising them to know 7 languages thus far. Since I could not take any questions in this video lecture, I propose to do a follow-up question and answer video to the same topic next week based on the questions or requests for clarification or further information that I get in the comments section to this one.

[kastrelo]

I am glad you're back professor. One of my most admired polyglots I have ever come across, and the one who got me started unintendedly on this unlikely path of becoming proficient in a multitude of languages.

[jrdking]

Appreciate the personal insights. Below is what I extracted for this session👍 A future video on the actual routine globally will be greatly appreciated.
Interesting stuff:
- your sons acquired several languages growing up (English, French & some Korean) and exposed a little to several others
- your sons studied 4 languages simultaneously over many years (German, Latin, Spanish & Russian)
- 60 minutes daily (30 minutes per language), 7 days a week
- alternate language set (every other day)
- main-study activity is reading/listening
- Read things of interest, keep the stress low
- strong foundation, if in an immersed situation, the kids will flourish speaking

[carolvang]

Thank you! I was very curious about your sons' education. This was so inspiring, as all of your videos are. I love the idea of alternating days on different languages; I found that this seemed to be a manageable approach for me too. Good luck with the trip to Korea! Let us know how it goes for the boys' Korean.

[gruu]

I'm glad you're back on youtube again Profasar! I love your content!

[AnAmericanlinguist]

Thank you for the video. I have a few questions:
1. With your keen interest in literature and languages, do you sometimes feel that aspect of your teaching is over represented in their education? How do you present and work with teaching STEM, or sports/exercise?
2. Does the language education help with developing musical talents at all? Has this become an interest in your household? I know you used to play the flute, are you able to continue with this?
3. You spoke about the importance of a balanced life and working towards that now, as opposed to a foreign language focused lifestyle that you were able to lead in the past. Can you talk about what a balanced lifestyle is for you? What aspects are most important for you and how do you prioritiz/manage your time and schedule now?

[VictEnthiq]

Thank you very much Professor Arguelles! It was particularly interesting for me to hear about just how important reading has been to your sons' language acquisition/learning. I think that my partner and I will have to try and emulate your success in that area. Though I do wonder if needing to read Chinese characters may prove an extra obstacle. I suppose we'll have to wait and see!

[FranzLisztFerentz]

Glad to see you back, Professor! Greetings from Brazil

[brucetepke]

You mentioned Latin. Ancient Latin and Greek were covered less thoroughly in your old book review videos. I'd love to hear your opinions on these.

[davexhayter]

You said you don't push too much for more German since it doesn't really interest them, but rather than drop it altogether, do you keep it as an important language for polyglots? And a follow-up, do you have a proposed sequence of new languages to teach them? Persian perhaps? Or is your "introduction to polyglottery" complete? Finally, are either of them drawn to particular fields to pursue in higher education in the coming years, and what advantage will their language knowledge provide?

[nicolas]

That was very interesting though!. I think it's good to make children getting even more interested in learning foreign languages as they could give them many opportunities of knowing other cultures. I'm currently learning English, Swedish, Dutch and German by myself, though with native speakers, which it's worth doing if you want to achieve some knowledge and speak it fluently . I
think the expose you have towards a language is the key to get succeed. Thanks for sharing!

Greetings!.

[ryanboothe]

Thanks for the video Dr. Arguelles. I have noticed that kids often don't want to speak the language of a parent because it embarrasses them. They don't want to stand out in that way. Do you speak French to them in public if your wife is not present? Also, do you think your international life has possibly rid them of this desire to blend in? Given their beautifully mixed ancestry, I imagine they can't help but stick out anywhere but the USA or Brazil.

[tv-brzd]

교수님 안녕하세요. 저 주찬이에요 이주찬. 기억하시는지요? 세상에나~유튜브채널에서 교수님을 뵙게 되다니...너무 신기하고 반갑고..정말 놀라웠어요. 막연하게나마 교수님의 언어적 은사와 지식, 경험 등을 여러 사람들과 유튜브로 나눌 수 있게 되면 정말 좋겠다..는 생각을 아주 막연하게나마 가끔 했었거든요.(채널을 찾아볼 생각도 못한 채..)

그런데 이미!!채널이 개설되어 있었어요!!!

교수님~~세월은 너무도 빨리 흘렀는데 교수님은 그 옛날 20세기 청년 아겔레스, 그대로시네요!항상 자기관리에 철저했던 교수님의 습관이 세월마저 극복을 하신 것 같아 감탄했어요.

교수님~지금 미국 계신건가요? 근황이 궁금합니다.

어디 계시든 늘 건강 가운데 평안하시길 기도할게요.

언제나 응원할게요!!
교수님 화이팅!!

P.S. I think you should make a lot more videos for everyone, Prof. Arguelles!!♡♡

[hglundahl]

22:33 Confirmo. Antes de llegar a Irún desde Hendaye, hube muy poco estudiado el Castellano, dos cursos de tardes y un libro (en castellano) de la historia phonética desde el Latín - _peró mucho más el Francés y el Latín_ - y pude orientarme bastante bien, preguntando al camino al hostal de peregrinos ...

[danielcook]

Hello, Professor! My son will be born sometime in the next couple of weeks. I know a little Spanish, but not enough to be able to teach it to him. Do you think it would be sufficient to hire a Spanish speaker to spend a few hours with him weekly (we have many native speakers in the area, but we don't have any foreign language daycares or schools)? Are there any other methods you could suggest, if this endeavor is even possible?

Thank you! I really enjoy and appreciate your videos.

[Meelany]

Anyone interested to improve their Spanish so that I can improve my English for our childrens' benefit

[The_Lord_Of_Confusion]

fascinating talk, I hope more is to come. Děkuji

[jeffreylee]

Curious about one other thing - becoming more naturally fluent in any particular language requires a lot of peer group experiences. Otherwise, their acquisition of the language might not appear entirely natural. I suspect that this is something difficult to recreate if you live in a community or go to a school where those peer group linguistic experiences are limited.

[Spiraculumvitae]

Thanks Professor Arguelles. It would be great to hear you speaking of ancient greek. Thanks

[AnAmericanlinguist]

How did the Korean immersion experience in November go?

[giantprocedure]

I think i am find myself close thinking so close someone touched my mind