CHALLENGES:
● Language Dominance Concerns: Families struggle to ensure all languages are equally developed, especially when one language (e.g., English) becomes dominant over heritage languages.
● Exposure Challenges: Limited access to resources or communities for specific languages (e.g., Japanese, Arabic, and Swiss German) affects language development.
● Preserving Heritage Languages: Fear of losing heritage languages due to the dominance of school or societal languages.
● Language Switching Difficulties: Parents and children experience frustration when switching between multiple languages, especially during challenging situations.
● Developing Literacy Across Languages: While children may understand multiple languages, developing reading and writing skills in less dominant languages is a challenge.

RESEARCH-BASED SUGGESTIONS:
● Maintain Consistency in Language Use: Adopting the One Parent, One Language (OPOL) strategy can provide a clear structure for language exposure.

Parents should consistently speak one language to avoid confusion (Braun & Cline, 2014; Chen et al, 2023; De Houwer, 2007; Wang, 2008).
● Leverage Technology: Use apps like Duolingo, Gus on the Go, or Lingokids to supplement language exposure in less dominant languages. Audiobooks and streaming content in the target language can also be helpful (Little & Cheng, 2023; Ziegler & Gonzalez-Lloret, 2022).
● Focus on Practical Literacy: Encourage literacy in multiple languages by labeling household items, writing grocery lists, or keeping bilingual journals (Choi, 2021b; 2022; De Houwer, 2009; Wang, 2011).

CHALLENGES:
● Language Mixing and Consistency: Parents switch between languages (e.g., Japanese and English) or struggle to maintain consistency in language use.
● Parental Roles and Differences: Parents have differing approaches to language learning, leading to inconsistencies (e.g., one parent being stricter than the other).
● Generational Concerns: Relatives, like grandparents, express doubts about multilingualism or worry about confusion for children.

RESEARCH-BASED SUGGESTIONS:
● Collaborative Family Efforts: Encourage both parents to adopt the same level of commitment to language goals. Discuss and agree on language strategies to reduce conflict (Braun & Cline, 2014; King & Fogle, 2016; Tsushima & Guardado, 2024; Wang, 2008; 2015).
● Involve Extended Family: Engage grandparents or relatives fluent in heritage languages to regularly interact with children, either in person or through video calls (Braun, 2012; Montrul, 2016; Zhan, 2023).

CHALLENGES:
● Lack of Community Support: Families find it difficult to connect with communities that speak their heritage languages.
● Insufficient Educational Support: Schools often prioritize dominant societal languages over heritage languages, leaving families to independently support
multilingual development.
● Limited Language-Specific Resources: Families face difficulty finding books, media, or educators in certain languages (e.g., Farsi and Japanese).

RESEARCH-BASED SUGGESTIONS:
● Build a Language Network: Connect with local or online heritage language communities, such as Meetup groups, Facebook communities, or cultural organizations (Cormack, 2007; Wang & Hamid, 2024).
● Resource-Sharing Initiatives: Collaborate with other families to exchange language resources like books, games, or storytelling sessions (Miller & Khatib,
2023).

CHALLENGES:
● Children’s Resistance: Some children resist using certain languages, especially when stressed or when societal pressures favor dominant languages.
● Parental Guilt and Anxiety: Parents worry about whether their efforts to teach multiple languages are effective or sustainable.
● Identity and Belonging: Parents struggle with helping children navigate their multilingual identities, especially in environments that undervalue linguistic diversity.

RESEARCH-BASED SUGGESTIONS:
● Normalize Multilingualism: Explain to children that being multilingual is a strength and teach them to take pride in their linguistic abilities; Books or videos featuring multilingual characters can reinforce this (Choi, 2021a; Choi, 2024; Li, 2018).

● Combat Resistance Positively: If children resist using a language, make it fun by incorporating games, songs, or activities in that language rather than pressuring them (García & Li, 2014).
● Parental Self-Care: Parents must prioritize self-care to maintain patience and positivity, especially when communicating in non-dominant languages
(Kheirkhah, 2024; King & Fogle, 2006).

CHALLENGES:
● Negative Perceptions of Multilingualism: Families face societal biases that undervalue certain languages (e.g., “Why Farsi?” or “Why Russian?”).
● Cultural Assimilation Pressure: Families feel pressure to prioritize English over other languages to ensure their children fit in socially or academically.

RESEARCH-BASED SUGGESTIONS:
● Advocate for Multilingualism: Join or support local initiatives that promote multilingual education and cultural diversity to combat societal biases (Cenoz & Gorter, 2015; Haukås et al., 2022).
● Educate on Multilingual Benefits: Share research with skeptics that highlights cognitive, social, and academic benefits of multilingualism (Durun et al., 2024; Johnsen, 2020).

CHALLENGES:
● Age-Related Language Learning: Families note differences in teaching young children versus older ones and how developmental stages impact language acquisition.

● Cognitive Overload: Introducing multiple languages at once can create confusion or slower processing in specific contexts (e.g., learning two alphabets simultaneously).

RESEARCH-BASED SUGGESTIONS:
● Adapt Teaching to Age: Tailor activities to the child’s developmental stage. For younger children, prioritize oral language and simple literacy activities. For older children, focus on vocabulary building and written expression (Oikonomidoy & Karam, 2023; Wang, 2015)

● Address Cognitive Overload: Introduce languages sequentially rather than simultaneously for less dominant languages. For example, prioritize spoken fluency before introducing literacy (Choi, 2022; Montrul, 2016).

CHALLENGES:
● Time Constraints: Busy schedules limit parents’ ability to consistently expose children to heritage languages.
● Motivation and Engagement: Parents struggle to keep language learning enjoyable and avoid pushing too hard, which can create resistance.
● Parental Patience: Communicating in a non-dominant language requires patience, especially during emotionally charged moments like tantrums.

RESEARCH-BASED SUGGESTIONS:
● Emphasize Natural Integration: Integrate languages into daily activities, such as cooking (reading recipes in the target language) or playing games in the target
language (Hendricks, 2021; Lanza, 2007; Wang, 2008).
● Gamify Language Learning: Use games like scavenger hunts, flashcards, or role-play to make language learning enjoyable (Braun & Cline, 2014; García & Li, 2014; Wang, 2008).
● Celebrate Milestones: Acknowledge progress in any language with small rewards or celebrations to maintain motivation (King & Fogle, 2006; Wang, 2008).