Raising kids in two languages is, somehow, both the most natural thing in the world and the hardest project a parent will ever take on. The early years feel easy. Then your toddler starts preschool, falls in love with English, and suddenly the heritage language sounds like homework.
Here are five small, science-backed habits that work, even on the busy weeks.
1. Over five million Australians speak another language at home
In the 2021 Census, 5.6 million people, or 22.3% of the population, reported using a language other than English at home. That's up from 20.6% in 2016. Heritage language households are the trend, not the exception.
💬 QUOTE
Every time a parent tells us they feel like they're the only one doing this, we point them at this number. One in five Australian households is having some version of the same conversation.Â
2. Most bilingual households speak English perfectly wellÂ
Of people who use another language at home, only 3.4% reported speaking English "not well or not at all." The idea that a heritage language at home holds a child back from English is not supported by the numbers Australia actually collects.
💡PRACTICAL TIP
If a well-meaning relative or educator suggests you should drop the heritage language to "help" your child's English, this is the statistic worth having on hand.Â
3. Migration concentrates heritage languages in a handful of citiesÂ
Heritage-language households cluster heavily in Melbourne and Sydney, which is exactly where Little Lingo's own community is based. It also means grandparents are frequently overseas, which is part of why heritage language transmission takes deliberate effort rather than happening by osmosis.
📖 A NOTE FROM US
The Census counts what people report, not what they feel able to pass on. Plenty of families use a heritage language less than they'd like to. That gap is exactly what this newsletter exists to help close.Â
4. The data almost certainly undercounts real heritage language useÂ
The Census asks one question about the main language used at home, which misses households that move between two or three languages fluidly, or where a language is spoken by grandparents but not recorded as the child's primary language. In practice, more families are engaging with a heritage language than the top-line figures suggest.
