Guide · Heritage languages
Heritage language at home: an input budget, not lessons
A minority language survives on hours of real talk from several speakers.
Short answer: decide how many waking hours each language gets every week, give the most to the language with the least support outside the home, assign each adult one language, and check the actual split every Sunday. Do not replace talk with an app for the child.
Why hours, not lessons#
Children learn a language from the amount and quality of real talk directed at them. In a study of two-year-olds growing up with two languages, the share of input in each language predicted the vocabulary in that language, and hearing a language from several native speakers helped on top of the hours (Place and Hoff, 2011). Lessons, flashcards, and apps add minutes of exposure; they do not add speakers, conversation, or the turn-taking that drives language growth.
The practical consequence is blunt. A language that is spoken at school, in the street, and on screens will take care of itself. A language that exists only inside your home will get exactly the hours you plan for it, and no more.
Step 1: count the waking hours#
A child of two to three is awake about 12 hours a day, or roughly 84 hours a week. That is the whole budget. Every hour goes to some language, whether you decide or not.
Step 2: give the most to the language with no street#
Set a target share for each language. A common starting point for a family with one heritage language and one community language:
| Age | Heritage language | Community language | Third language |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 to 3 | 50 % | 35 % | 15 % |
| 3 to 4 | 45 % | 35 % | 20 % |
| 4 to 5 | 40 % | 35 % | 25 % |
The heritage language is over-weighted early because it is the only one at risk. The community language grows on its own once school starts. Keep every planned language above about 15 percent; below that, it is exposure without acquisition.
Step 3: assign each adult a language#
Person-based rules are easier to keep than time-based rules. If both parents speak the heritage language, both speak it at home, including to each other in the child's hearing. Every other adult speaks their strongest language all day; never ask an adult to speak a language they are not fluent in, because poor input is worse than none. Grandparents on video calls are extra speakers of the heritage language and should be scheduled, not hoped for.
Step 4: put the languages on the plan#
Every block in the day has an owner and a language: the outdoor hour in Malay with the adult who has the mornings, the bedtime book in the heritage language with a parent, the English book after tea. Once every block carries a language, the planned split is just arithmetic, and you can see it before the week starts.
Step 5: check the actual split on Sunday#
Logged blocks and quotes tell you what really happened. Compare it to the target. If the heritage language is short, move one block, not the whole week: swap the language of a walk, add a grandparent call, change who does bedtime on two nights. One change a week is enough.
Signs to watch#
- No quote in a language for two weeks means the child is hearing it but not using it.
- Vocabulary in a language that stops growing for six weeks usually means the hours dropped.
- A language that only one adult speaks is fragile. Add a speaker before you add hours.
How Yearkeep does this#
Yearkeep's language plan holds the target share per language by age and the language each adult is assigned. Every block on the plan carries a language, so the week view shows the planned split against the target and turns amber before the week starts if a language is short. Logged blocks and quotes feed the exposure chart on the dashboard, quotes keep their script, and the Language page shows first words and vocabulary counts per language. Grandparents get a weekly highlight link with call prompts, which makes them the extra speakers the research asks for.
FAQ
How many hours a week does a heritage language need?
There is no magic number, but languages that fall well below about a fifth of a child's waking input rarely become productive. For a child awake 12 hours a day, that is roughly 17 hours a week as a floor, and more if the language has no school or community support.
Should each parent speak only one language?
One-person-one-language works when it gives the minority language enough hours. If both parents can speak the minority language, both speaking it at home usually protects it better than splitting.
Do video calls with grandparents count?
Yes. Hearing a language from several native speakers helps beyond the raw hours. Three or four short calls a week are worth scheduling as blocks.