This week I’m sharing my favourite podcasts about raising bilingual children. There are some really good ones out there, so get ready for the best podcasts for raising bilingual children!

First, a note…

All the podcasts below are in English. There will, no doubt, be podcasts about raising bilingual children in other languages, and I know that there are also podcasts specially created to teach languages. This list is a compilation of the podcasts I listen to.

The first part is composed of podcasts aimed at parents. The second part of the list has a more professional angle: it includes podcasts aimed at teachers and linguists. I’ve included them because I take an interest in languages and education generally and I know many of my readers do too.

You will also notice that many of these podcasts are not just about languages and raising bilingual or multilingual children but also about raising citizens of the words and culturally aware children. I hope you like these podcasts as much as I do, and that you find them useful in your raising bilingual children.

Podcasts aimed at parents raising bilingual or multilingual children

Bilingual Avenue

The Bilingual Avenue podcast was the first podcast about raising bilingual children I ever came across. It happened a couple of years ago when I started taking a bigger interest in the subject of raising bilingual children.

This podcast is hosted by Marianna du Bosq. Marianna was born in Caracas, Venezuela, where she was raised monolingual. She moved to the USA with her family when she was older and that’s when she became bilingual (Spanish and English). Marianna then became a language teacher. Later on, she started a family, and also started a blog and business called Bilingual Avenue where you can also listen to the podcast.

The podcast is easy to follow, with guests talking about their experience and sharing tips. There are some gaps – periods where there were no episodes – but there are many in the archive so you can download all into a playlist and binge away.

Spanish being Marianna’s mother tongue, some episodes focus on that language – for example, ideas for games to do in Spanish, Spanish vocabulary, etc. However, the episodes are still in English and the vast majority of the content applies to any language.

Bilingual Kids Rock

The Bilingual Kids Rock podcast is hosted by Olena Centeno, a Ukrainian mum of three who lives in the USA. She speaks three languages (English, Russian and Ukrainian) and is raising trilingual children. 

The format is similar to Bilingual Avenue in that Olena interviews guests, usually experts in a related field (e.g.linguists), owners of language-related business or families who also raised bilingual or multilingual children.

Just as Marianna has an emotional and practical connection to Spanish, and as I do with Portuguese, Olena has a connection to Russian and Ukranian so she often references her experience of being raised speaking Russian and Ukranian and how she’s raising trilingual children. It’s really interesting to hear how her family negotiated the use of three languages. Of course, many of her tips apply just as well to raising bilingual children.

Olena’s podcast is well established and there’s a vast back catalogue to catch up on if you’re new to it. It’s easy to follow, with guests talking about their experience and tips. I supposed this podcast will be especially relatable for other parents who were born in the Eastern bloc, learned to speak both Russian and another national language, and then moved to a majority English speaking country. Having said that, all the content is useful to parents raising bilingual or multilingual children in any language.

Entre Dos – Raising Bilingual Kids

Don’t let the title fool you. This podcast is in English, not Spanish. Entre Dos was launched in mid-2018 and is currently my favourite podcast in this category.

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Entre Dos is hosted by two friends, Monika Leal and Paula Niño Kehr. They’re both native Spanish speakers raising bilingual daughters. The podcast consists of Monika and Paula chatting about a particular subject related to raising bilingual children. Sometimes they have guests – experts and other families sharing their story and tips. It’s very informal and relatable. They talk about being bicultural and their quest for books, cultural events and research that would support them in raising bilingual children, especially as latina mummies in the United States.

Raising Cultured Kids

Language educator Shannon Kelly is the host of this podcast. Shannon has a website called The Cultured Kid and offers a full language programme called The Cultured Home of which I’m an affiliate.

The Cultured Home enables parents to teach a language to children at home, even if they don’t speak the target language themselves. You can choose from six popular languages and it includes all the materials you need. You can find more information here. If you sign up through this link I might get a small commission.

I couldn’t find a link to the podcast so you’ll need to search for it in your own podcast platform.

The Raising Cultured Kid podcast is not only about raising bilingual children as a non-native parent, but also citizens of the world who understand other cultures. Shannon interviews experts and others who have experienced a related journey.

A different angle…

The podcasts below are aimed at teachers and other educators rather than parents.

Language Latte

Language Latte is aimed at world language teachers. That niche is evident in the episode titles, but some can be useful to parents as well as it talks about issues to do with teaching languages and techniques which parents and childcarers can get inspiration from to use at home.

This podcast is hosted by Becky Morales, an ESL and Spanish teacher based in Mexico. She has five bilingual and multicultural kids and founded Kid World Citizen sharing ideas to teach kids about world cultures. She’s so passionate about what she does and incredibly active in her mission of bringing people together through language and culture. I’m a huge fan of Becky.  

The World in Words

This podcast is about language, “everything from bilingual education to the globalisation of English to Icelandic insults”.  I find it really interesting and accessible to the layperson (i.e. if you’re not an academic in a related field) but accept that it may not be for everyone.

The World in Words is a PRI podcasts and like most PRI and NPR podcasts, it’s super interesting and easy to listen to.

Lingthusiasm

Lingthusiasm is a very niche nerdy podcast for linguists hosted by Gretchen McCulloch and Lauren Gawne.

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Do you have any podcasts you’d like to recommend? Drop it on the comments below.