I spend plenty of my jogging and commuting time listening to podcasts, and have recently enjoyed several which are relevant to raising bilingual children.
Japan By River Cruise
I recently appeared on the Japan By River Cruise podcast to compare notes with their hosts, one of whom is raising kids with same language pairing that we are (English and Japanese) but with the minority/majority language environments reversed. We discussed a variety of topics from the impact of overseas Japanese supplementary schools, cultural aspects of language and even some provocative river cruise recommendations. They also had an earlier episode with another English speaking dad raising a bilingual daughter in Japan.
Kletsheads
The English language version of the Kletsheads podcast (originally produced in Dutch) provides a nice primer on fundamental topics like preparing for bilingualism, the impact of siblings on a child’s language development and more. They even have a fun segment where they interview bilingual children to get their perspective on the topic!
Tongue Tied and Fluent
The Tongue Tied and Fluent series of episodes on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Earshot podcast is a rubber-meets-the-road discussion of multilingualism in Australia. I enjoyed the focus on the real-world constraints faced by a variety of families in specific situations.
Much Language, Such Talk
The Much Language, Such Talk podcast is more technical than those mentioned above, but I find it a welcome addition to my education if I’m in the mood for a more rigorous conversation.
Parentland
The Parentland podcast from the BBC World Service has some specific episodes about raising bilingual children: Speaking in Many Tongues? and Discipline and Multiingualism.
America the Bilingual
America the Bilingual envisions a country where it is simply normal to be bilingual, which is something that we certainly aspire to in our family. As such, the podcast periodically addresses the topic of bilingualism in children, including their most recent episode.