# My Child Understands Mandarin But Won’t Speak It

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/mandarin-monkey-podcast-476044/my-child-understands-mandarin-but-won-t-speak-it
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/mandarin-monkey-podcast-476044/my-child-understands-mandarin-but-won-t-speak-it.md
Podcast: [Mandarin Monkey Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/mandarin-monkey-podcast-476044)
Published: 2026-02-11T17:20:55+00:00
Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/mandarin-monkey-podcast/episodes/my-child-understands-mandarin-but-wont-speak-it
Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/671683b6c054f53907d2cb8f/e/698cba765a0d566e5b35887e/media.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/mandarin-monkey-podcast-476044/episodes/my-child-understands-mandarin-but-won-t-speak-it
Duration seconds: 2440

## Resource

What does real bilingual development actually look like? In this episode of Mandarin Monkey, we talk about one of the biggest concerns parents have when raising bilingual children: “My child understands Mandarin… but won’t speak it. Is that normal?” We explore: • What children usually understand first • Why mixing languages is a sign of competence • Whether silence means failure • How long it realistically takes to become conversational • Why input matters more than early output Ula shares personal stories of growing up with Taiwanese and Mandarin, and we reflect on our own children’s bilingual journey. If you’re raising a child in a mixed-language household, this conversation will reassure you. Mandarin Monkey is a bilingual podcast where Mandarin and English are used naturally, just like in real families. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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## Transcript

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