Hi Michael,
My wife and I are raising our son trilingual and I have a lot of people in my family who speak a number of languages. I've learned a few things from watching them, and I hope that what I've learned from them might be benefitial to you.
My aunt gave me a tip a while ago (her kids speak multiple languages) - whatever language you speak with your kids - stick with one. That way they won't be confused and they will know what language to speak with you. If your kids reply in another language, have them say it again - but in your language. A simple, "I don't understand, can you say that again?" should work.
Another thing- don't quit. Another person in my family only speaks English because he quit speaking German at about 6 or 7 years old and his parents didn't care too much about teaching him the different languages spoken in their household (he would also be trilingual). Don't allow your kids to "get lazy" and just speak English.
Giving your children the gift of another language is great, but it requires a lot of work on your part. My son hears a lot of German through music, kids shows, podcasts, news, and I only read to him in German. I've gone out of my way to make sure that he gets as much exposure as possible. He therefore watches a lot of TV for his age (I'll have to see what ramifications this will have later on). I personally learned to speak English by watching Sesame Street at the age of 4. I picked it up rather quickly. I think I'll let my son learn English by talking and playing with other kids.
Another tip: don't forget to teach your kids how to read. This may sound trivial, but I learned how to read and write German in highschool in America (as a second language). I wish that my parents took the time to teach me. Now, I'm currently learning to read German while I'm teaching my son. Not an easy task.
I'd love to hear your experiences so far. What challenges have you come across? Any tips that you can give me?
Thanks,
- Mick