Bilingual Families: A Practical Language Planning Guide

by Eowyn Crisfield

Does your family or community speak more than one language? Do you wonder how to help your children successfully learn or keep those languages? Do you want your children to have the gift of bilingualism and aren’t sure where to start – or how to keep going? Every multilingual family has unique language needs. Bilingual Families is a guide for you and your family. It combines academic research with practical advice to cover the essential elements in successful bilingual and multilingual development. Use this book An indispensable guide for your family’s language journey.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Linguistics

120 pages, Hardcover

Published January 6, 2021

Reviews

[Quinton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I put a hold on Bilingual Families by Eowyn Crisfield in the library several months ago. Then, Crisfield was mentioned on the 'Live Your Language' YouTube channel, and I thought how I was eager to have the book come in. Then, I heard Crisfield speak on the Kletsheads podcast, and I had my suspicions confirmed that she knows what she is talking about. Now the book still hasn't come in from the library -- I lost my patience and bought myself a copy!

I was not surprised to find that Bilingual Families is very well-written. The language is completely accessible, interesting, and compelling. The information is presented in a very palatable way. This is not a book with suggested activities to use with your children, but rather a book about how to make a plan and how to stick to it. The most important and valuable parts of the book are - specific templates you can use for planning different aspects of your family's language goals, specific templates and wording you can use to communicate your goals to teachers and professionals, and directly usable resources and information you can provide to anyone in your life who might have an opinion but doesn't have the facts. As Crisfield says, bilingualism in North America is simultaneously celebrated and vilified, depending on your socioeconomic status and on the languages in question. Both of these are out of ignorance -- this book informs you of the facts and helps you to inform those around you.

"Bilingual Families" versus other books about bilingualism
I have read a dozen books about raising bilingual children, so I can confidently say this one is better than most and more valuable than most. This is the most up-to-date one that I have read in a lot of respects, and would most likely be the first book I would recommend to anyone who is looking for information and guidance.
For someone who already has a language plan and needs activity ideas, I would recommend "The Toolbox for Multilingual Families" by Ute Limacher-Riebold.
For someone who already has a plan but isn't seeing the results they want and need more specific guidance, I would recommend "Maximize Your Child's Bilingual Ability" by Adam Beck.
For someone who isn't sure if bilingualism is for them, I would recommend either "Be Bilingual" by Annika Bourgogne or "Family Language Learning" by Christine Jernigan.
For someone who wants to read other parents' stories and get a closer look at what some different bilingual language plans can look like, I would recommend "Bilingual Success Stories Around the World" by Adam Beck.
Finally, as Eowyn Crisfield herself recommends in the book, there is "A Parents' and Teachers' Guide to Bilingualism" by Colin Baker for anyone who wants more research, or a reference they can recommend to professionals.

[Antonio · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to bilingual/multilingual families, but definitely not the “authoritative” reference on the topic. The book focuses on planning and documenting progress, but I wonder how much of this is actually necessary (and feasible) in everyday’s life!

[Rita P Smits · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this book that much - something about its insistence on written documents for your bilingual family, and the detailed descriptions and examples of how those could look like. My bad, since explaining "planning" is exactly what the author sets out to do.

In any case, I was disappointed by the lack of practical tips for some subjects, such as how to handle siblings. What I most liked was the focus on explaining the importance of "language status" in any discussion on multilingualism in children.

I would still recommend this reading to anyone wanting to raise bilingual children, as there can never be too much information on the subject and this is an easy-to-read point of reference, with plenty of sections you can just skim over.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is a good introduction to bilingual families, however, you can tell it's very much centered around language planning for more monolingual cultures. I would have loved to see more integration from other (non-American) countries, such as Europe that has more exposure and familiarity with multilingual family structures. There were a fee Dutch examples but mostly with more minor language integration (Dutch and Russian) compared to simpler or more common situations (Dutch and English).

[Lena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of practical tips how to manage all kinds of bi/multilingualism.

[Ruben · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short book that covers the subject well. It gave me a wide and clear understanding of the topic, with clear recommendations and pitfalls to look out for.