This section shares the inspiring stories of multilingual families around the world — their challenges, wins, and what raising bilingual children looks like in everyday life.
Asha & Rajiv From: 🇮🇳 India Ages: 34 & 36 Languages Spoken: Hindi, English Current Location: Dubai, UAE Child: Anaya, age 3 Story: OPOL in an Arabic-speaking environment. Asha speaks Hindi, Rajiv English. Their daughter is learning Arabic socially and is on track to be trilingual. Can you describe your family’s language background?Asha was raised […]
Mohammed & Layla From: 🇪🇬 Egypt Ages: 39 & 37 Languages Spoken: Arabic, English Current Location: Toronto, Canada Children: Youssef (age 6), Mariam (age 2) Story: Immigrant couple keeping Arabic alive at home while navigating a fully English-speaking environment. They use Arabic at home and during religious activities, and English at school and playgroups. Can
Tunde & Chioma From: 🇳🇬 Nigeria Ages: 30 & 29 Languages Spoken: Yoruba, Igbo, English Current Location: Lagos, Nigeria Child: Zikora, age 3 Story: A proud intertribal household. They speak Yoruba with Dad, Igbo with Mum, and English for storytime. Zikora is learning all three. Can you describe your family’s language background?Tunde grew up speaking
Jia & Li Wei From: 🇨🇳 China Ages: 38 & 39 Languages Spoken: Mandarin, English Current Location: Melbourne, Australia Child: Kai, age 5 Story: Mandarin at home with grandparents’ help. English is picked up at preschool. Kai is fluent in both, with Mandarin reinforced by cartoons and songs. Can you describe your family’s language background?We
Oscar & Daniel From: 🇨🇱 Chile + 🇩🇪 Germany Ages: 40 & 42 Languages Spoken: Spanish, German Current Location: Munich, Germany Children: Leo & Tomás (adopted twins, age 5) Story: Gay dads raising their sons with both Spanish and German using a hybrid routine. They rely on audiobooks, rotating bookshelves, and frequent travel to Chile.
Luis & Marta From: 🇲🇽 Mexico + 🇪🇸 Spain Ages: 31 & 33 Languages Spoken: Latin American Spanish, Catalan Current Location: Mexico City Child: Sofía, age 3 Story: Luis and Marta blend two versions of Spanish in their household — Marta speaks Catalan too. Their daughter is learning both variants naturally through daily conversation and
Nina & Diego From: 🇮🇹 Italy + 🇧🇴 Bolivia Ages: 29 & 30 Languages Spoken: Italian, Spanish Current Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina Child: Lucia, age 3 Story: They teach their daughter both Italian and Bolivian Spanish through stories, food, and family calls. Can you describe your family’s language background?Nina is from Rome and grew up
Reina & Takumi Parents: Reina (🇧🇷 Brazil) & Takumi (🇯🇵 Japan)Child: Noa, age 5Location: São Paulo, BrazilLanguages Spoken: Portuguese (Reina), Japanese (Takumi)Strategy: OPOL (One Parent, One Language) Can you describe your family’s language background? Reina: I grew up in Rio de Janeiro speaking only Portuguese.Takumi: I’m from Kyoto, Japanese is my first language. We met
Leila & Nour Can you describe your family’s language background?We’re both originally from Lebanon. Arabic is our native language, specifically Lebanese Arabic, but we are also fluent in English due to school, work, and international exposure. Both languages are part of our daily lives. Which languages are you using, how and where, and how did
Zanele & Michael Can you describe your family’s language background?I (Zanele) grew up speaking isiZulu as my first language in South Africa. Michael, my husband, is African American and speaks English as his native language. We are both fluent in English. Which languages are you using, how and where, and how did you decide on
