Multilingualism VS Pluliringualism: a Less Rigid Approach for Families to Unlock Multilingual Magic
I have always enjoyed learning languages. Growing up, I devoured young adult novels in Greek, I loved watching 90s films and sitcoms in English, and I would test my Spanish daily in those new things called “chat rooms”. By age seventeen I had completed all my French qualifications too, and when at University I started dabbling with German and Portuguese.

These days my free time seems to have disappeared, however the fascination with languages (and cultures) has not gone away. And only a few years ago, I found myself in the middle of a bilingual family, bringing together 2 languages and 3 cultural backgrounds from 3 different places: Greece, Liverpool and Scotland.
As the world becomes more and more interconnected, families like mine are far from a rare phenomenon. This is why raising children who can navigate multiple languages and cultures is an invaluable gift. If you’re part of a bilingual or multilingual household, you know the strategies you choose can shape your child’s linguistic journey.
“To raise a bilingual child, you have to be consistent, disciplined, intentional, committed”. How many times have you read advice like this?
In this post, we will go over the most renowned bilingual parenting approaches and compare them with a more fluid concept: plurilingualism. We’ll also highlight research from the UCL Institute of Education on plurilingual parenting and how it compares to traditional methods.
So let’s dive into the world of multilingual parenting!
The most common bilingual parenting approaches
1. One Person, One Language (OPOL)
What It Is: Each parent consistently speaks their native language to the child. For instance, if one parent is French and the other is English, the French-speaking parent always speaks French, and the English-speaking parent always speaks English. This is the method we have naturally adopted with Maya and Sophia, their Dad being monolingual. It has worked amazingly well so far!
Everyday Example: At the dinner table, Mum might ask, “Veux-tu du pain?” while Dad says, “Would you like some bread?”
2. Minority Language at Home (mL@H)
What It Is: As the title suggests, the minority language is spoken at home only. The community language is learned through school and social interactions outside the home.
Why It Works: A popular approach when both parents are from the same minority culture. This method ensures consistent exposure to the minority language, which might otherwise be overshadowed by the dominant community language.
Everyday Example: At home, conversations, books, and media are all in Spanish. Outside, the child naturally picks up English through interactions at school and with friends.
3. Time and Place (T&P)
What It Is: Different languages are used at specific times or in particular settings. For example, weekdays might be dedicated to one language, while weekends are reserved for another.
Why It Works: It provides structured and balanced exposure to both languages.
Everyday Example: During weekdays, all family interactions are in Japanese. On weekends, the family switches to English for activities and outings.
Special mention: Plurilingualism, the Fluid Approach

Plurilingualism refers to using multiple languages in different contexts and for various purposes. Unlike multilingualism, which generally refers to the coexistence of multiple languages within a society or community, plurilingualism emphasises the ability (and desire) to navigate and integrate multiple languages within one’s own linguistic repertoire.
Unlike bilingualism, which often compartmentalises languages, plurilingualism recognises the fluid integration of 2 or more languages in everyday communication.
In a nutshell, plurilingualism (and pluriculturalism) focus on the interconnectedness of different cultures and languages, rather than their differences.
Here are some key aspects of plurilingualism:
- Dynamic and Flexible Language Use: Plurilingual individuals can switch between languages based on the context, audience, and purpose. This means they can seamlessly blend languages or select the most appropriate language for a specific situation. This can happen within the same day, during the same event, or even mid-sentence.
- Intercultural Competence: Plurilingualism often involves not just language skills but also an understanding and appreciation of different cultures. This intercultural competence helps individuals navigate diverse cultural environments effectively.
- Partial Competencies: A plurilingual person may not have the same level of proficiency in all the languages they use. Instead, they may have varying degrees of competence, depending on their experiences, needs, and contexts of language use.
- Educational Implications: In educational contexts, plurilingualism encourages teaching strategies that recognise and build on students’ existing language skills, fostering an inclusive environment that values linguistic diversity. I have not been able to find a real life example of such educational settings in the UK, but I have read of such schools in big multicultural cities. If you know of a school that would encourage this please do let me know in the comments!
Why it’s different

Plurilingualism acknowledges that language use is context-dependent and that individuals may have varying degrees of proficiency in different languages. Moreover, it encourages using all available linguistic resources in one’s toolbox to communicate effectively.
Everyday Example: A child might speak English at school, use Mandarin with their grandparents, mix in some French phrases learned from a neighbour, and text their friends in Spanish. So the focus is on effective communication rather than strict language boundaries.
If you are bilingual yourself, you will recognise your own natural tendencies towards this. After 14 years living away from Greece, I now find it much easier to talk about the specifics of my job in English rather than Greek. My most satisfying cursing is still done in Spanish, a legacy from my 20s in Spain. On the other hand, I think I will never be able to memorise a phone number in English – numbers always pop up in Greek in my head.
Plurilingual Parenting: Insights from UCL Institute of Education
The UCL Institute of Education is at the forefront of researching plurilingual parenting. Their studies highlight several key differences between traditional bilingual parenting approaches and the plurilingual method:
- Integrative Use of Languages: Unlike OPOL or mL@H, which compartmentalise languages, plurilingualism encourages children to draw on their entire linguistic repertoire. For example, a child might mix languages in a single conversation to best express themselves.
- Context-Driven Language Choice: Instead of adhering to rigid rules, plurilingual parents use languages flexibly, depending on the situation. For instance, a parent might switch to the minority language when discussing cultural traditions but use the majority language for school-related topics.
- Cultural and Linguistic Interconnections: Plurilingualism fosters a deeper understanding of the cultural nuances behind each language. Parents might integrate cultural practices and idiomatic expressions from multiple languages, enriching their child’s cultural competence.
Everyday Example: Imagine a family where the parents speak Polish, English, and German. At home, they might blend languages seamlessly. A conversation at the dinner table could include a Polish proverb, an English joke, and a German recipe, reflecting the family’s diverse cultural heritage.
Letting go of Perfection
The Council of Europe has been a significant advocate for plurilingualism, particularly through its language policies and frameworks, such as the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). The CEFR promotes the idea of developing partial competencies in multiple languages rather than striving for complete mastery in just one.
Is Plurilingualism a new concept?
The word plurilingualism has been used intechangeably with multilingualism, with the distinction being more crystallised in recent years. The waters do get muddy sometimes, but it looks like multilingualism refers to the presence of multiple languages in a territory (eg. a multilingual society), whereas plurilingualism refers to the fluid and eclectic combination of languages of a single individual.
Plurilingualism has gained more formal recognition and was put into theoretical framing in the past few decades. Recent studies support the notion that language use is fluid and context-dependent. As a result, plurilingualism is now considered a distinct, formalised linguistic concept. However, it is not an entirely new approach, not really.
The concept of people using multiple languages is as old as human societies themselves. Historically, many regions of the world have been multilingual, with individuals routinely speaking multiple languages for different aspects of daily life.
Historical examples
India
Once upon a time, in the Indian subcontinent, it was common for people to use their regional language (like Marathi or Tamil) at home, Sanskrit for religious rituals, and a different language for trade or administration, such as Persian during the Mughal era or English under British rule. This environment fostered a fluid use of languages where different languages coexisted and people would shift between them according to need and social setting.
Spain
Another example is medieval Spain during the era of Al-Andalus, where Arabic, Latin, Hebrew, and local Romance languages like Mozarabic were spoken. Different languages were used depending on the context, such as Arabic for administration and intellectual discourse, Latin for church matters, Hebrew in Jewish communities, and Romance languages in everyday life among the general population.
Greece
After the conquests of Alexander the Great, the Greek world expanded across a vast territory that included parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, leading to a rich blend of languages and cultures.
During the Hellenistic period (roughly 323 BCE to 31 BCE), Koine Greek emerged as the common lingua franca across the Hellenistic kingdoms, allowing people from different regions to communicate effectively in trade, governance, and scholarship. However, this did not replace local languages. Instead, Koine Greek coexisted with a variety of languages spoken in the different regions of the Hellenistic world.
- In Egypt, the local population continued to speak Egyptian (in its various forms), while Greek became the language of administration and the elite.
- In the Near East, languages such as Aramaic, Phoenician, and various Anatolian languages were still widely spoken alongside Greek.
- In Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), languages like Lycian, Lydian, and Phrygian were used by local populations, while Greek served as a second language for commerce and governance.
This linguistic diversity was characteristic of the Hellenistic world. Particularly in cosmopolitan centres like Alexandria and Antioch, people often spoke and understood multiple languages depending on their social and economic needs .
Conclusion
Choosing the best out of all above bilingual parenting approaches to raise multilingual children depends on your family’s unique dynamics and goals. It also greatly depends on how many languages you and your partner can speak and understand. Whether you opt for a structured bilingual method like OPOL or mL@H or embrace the fluidity of plurilingualism, the key is to create a supportive environment.
Personally, I would still call our family bilingual and not plurilingual, however this concept has opened my eyes to they beauty of language fluidity. I’m realising how many self-imposed rules I have set for myself, and I am more than ready to let them go.
What about you? How consistent are you with your strategy? Is impeccable grammar important to you? Are you “policing” your kids’ language use? Share your experience in the comments!
Related: Articles on bilingual families
Further reading on Bilingual parenting approaches
I am a language enthusiast and bilingual mum. My knowledge of bilingual parenting approaches comes from first hand experience. I have a background in languages and literature but not in linguistics. Consequently, I would be very happy to be corrected on any of the above points, or for anyone to expand on this topic with me through the comments. Further reading and sources below:
- García, O. (2009). Bilingual Education in the 21st Century: A Global Perspective. Wiley-Blackwell.
- This book provides an in-depth exploration of bilingualism and multilingualism, including the theoretical foundations of plurilingualism.
- Plurilingualism vs Translanguaging: Epistemology, Stance, and Practice
- Plurilingual parenting: why many experts think families who speak multiple languages should just go with the flow
- UCL European Institute. (2023). “Multilingual Europe and its Plurilingual Immigrant Parents.”
- UCL Europe Blog
- This article discusses the concept of plurilingualism in the context of immigrant families in Europe, offering insights into how children navigate multiple languages in diverse environments.
- Cenoz, J., & Gorter, D. (2011). “A Holistic Approach to Multilingual Education: Introduction.” The Modern Language Journal, 95(3), 339-343.
- This journal article introduces a holistic approach to multilingual education, which aligns closely with the principles of plurilingualism.
- Council of Europe. (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment.
- The CEFR is a comprehensive guide that emphasizes plurilingualism and promotes the idea that language learners develop a repertoire of languages rather than just focusing on separate linguistic competences.
- De Houwer, A. (2009). An Introduction to Bilingual Development. Multilingual Matters.
- This book provides a foundational understanding of bilingual development in children, with references to different strategies and approaches, including comparisons to plurilingual contexts.
- Council of Europe. (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment. Cambridge University Press.
- Council of Europe. (2007). From Linguistic Diversity to Plurilingual Education: Guide for the Development of Language Education Policies in Europe. Council of Europe.