I am originally from Germany and have been living in Ireland since 2008. My partner is Irish and our three kids were born here and are Irish. My aim is to raise our children bilingual, which some days works better than others. I’ve been using different tools to keep German and English relevant in our day to day life. One of our favourites is definitely our Toniebox! Read on to find out why we love it so much and how we use the Toniebox with different languages!
What is a Toniebox?
In case you’ve come across this post and are not exactly sure what a Toniebox is you can head over to my Toniebox Review, which includes a detailed explanation of what a Toniebox is and how it works.
In a nutshell: The Toniebox is an amazing and intuitive audio player for children. It can be used independently by children from 3 years of age. The cloud-based system is screen-free and super-easy to use. After the initial setup, all you have to do to play music, an audiobook or anything you pre-recorded is to place the relevant Tonie (a little figurine) on top of the box. It combines stories & music with play and puts a lot of fun in learning languages. You don’t even have to be connected to WiFi once the content has been downloaded.
This makes the Toniebox the perfect gadget for kids of all ages for out and about and at home. And for anyone who speaks more than one language the Toniebox in combination with the Creative Tonies is the ideal gadget to keep all languages relevant in your home!
Toniebox Languages: What is Available?
Tonies in English
Since the Toniebox was launched in Ireland & UK in 2018 there have been regular releases of new Tonies in English. These hand-painted figurines are filled with stories or music in English and are available from the official Tonies Online Shop or from many other retailers.
You can choose from so many different and well-known stories. From Julia Donaldson and classical tales like Pinocchio and Sleeping Beauty right through to everyone’s favourite Disney stories and educational content, like the “How and Why” range. The same goes for music Tonies, which offer the perfect song for every occasion, mood, and age!
Many of the available stories and songs are already familiar to your children. This means they will recognise the words and storyline and will be able to sing along while expanding their vocabulary and perfecting their pronunciation.
Tonies in German
We picked up our Toniebox a while back during a family visit in Germany. This was before it was even known that English Tonies would be available. I loved the Toniebox concept and in our case, of course, the added benefit of all the German stories and songs available.
There are so many popular German stories available, some of which I know from my own bedtime stories as a kid. Sharing these heroes of my childhood with my own children in my mother tongue makes it all the more special.
Since the Toniebox is around on the German market for quite a bit longer than on the English speaking market, there is a wider choice of Tonies available. However, in recent months the English Tonies are quickly catching up with many new releases.
Other Toniebox Languages
Pre-loaded content and music Tonies are currently only available in English and German. However, and this is a big HOWEVER, there is also the Creative Tonie!
This is like the blank canvas of Tonies and can be filled with any audio content in any language. Think songs, stories, messages, speaking exercises, audio meditation for kids and so on – you name it, the Creative Tonie can be it! Just as the box itself, filling the Creative Tonie with content couldn’t be any easier.
How to Set up Your Creative Tonie!
Time needed: 3 minutes.
In order to set up a Creative Tonie, you will need a Toniebocx, a WiFi connection, a Toniecloud account, and a Creative Tonie.
- Switch on your Toniebox
In order to set up a new Creative Tonie, your Toniebox needs to be switched on and connected to your WiFi.
- Place your Creative Tonie on your Toniebox
Simply pop your new Creative Tonie on top of the Toniebox and wait for the Tonie to play an introductory message.
- Login to your Toniecloud
Once the new Creative Tonie played its message, it should be available in your Toniecloud account. You may need to refresh for it to appear.
- Fill the Tonie with audio content
To add audio files or recordings simply select your Creative Tonie in the cloud and add files or record messages, music or stories!
Toniebox as Gaeilge
Our two oldest kids are going to an Irish-speaking school, hence they are currently learning three languages. Since Irish is not a very active language, resources are hard to find. I am delighted that with the Creative Tonies we can create our own audio in Irish!
Toniebox Languages & Bilingual Skills: How we use it!
I have noticed that my kids will pick up and actively use their second language whenever they are exposed to it a lot. So for example when we are on holiday in Germany or whenever friends and family from Germany come to stay with us.
While I am trying to speak German to them in our day to day, I automatically fall into English when we are with other people who don’t understand German. So exposing my kids to spoken German in other ways is important to me in order to build their skills of the language. Among other tools, we are regularly using our Toniebox in a fun way to promote two languages.
1. Familiar Stories in different languages with Toniebox
My kids, like many other children, are growing up with the classic fairytales and of course the ever popular Gruffalo, Room on the Broom, Fireman Sam and so on. They are already familiar with these characters and their stories in English, so we got the corresponding Tonies in German. This makes it easier for them to comprehend the story and as a result, they recognise and learn new words and sentence structures.
2. Bilingual Stories and Recordings
Just as easy as you can add any language to your Creative Tonie, you can add multiple languages. So I have started to record some sentences and stories in both English and German. Mostly things my kids would say a lot, like “I am hungry.” or “Can I have a snack.” this way they can relate to it and will find it exciting to try saying these things in different languages.
My plan is to have this available to them in all three of their languages, but since I am not speaking Irish, I need to have an Irish speaker help me with the recordings.
3. Messages from Family to Promote Conversational Skills
We have recently dedicated one of our Creative Tonies for our family in Germany. They have access to our Toniecloud and are able to record whatever they want on to their “German Tonie”. Think Whatsapp voice message but for kids. They talk to them about their day or anything that they have experienced. My kids don’t just love to get their very own voice message; but are also regularly exposed to many different German speakers on a conversational level.
4. Listening & Reading
This one goes hand in hand with the familiarity of the stories. As mentioned before, my kids are going to an Irish school. Hence their first sounds and reading were all in Irish. Only in the second infant year do they start with English reading. To encourage my son to recognise words, sounds and read through his storybooks, it helps to have a Tonie playing simultaneously.
We either have pre-recorded audio Tonies of the relevant book (eg Gruffalo) or we record it ourselves in whatever language we like. We often use this method in combination with the Toniebox and also our Chameleon Reader. I love that this doesn’t just promote the spoken but also the written languages.
5. Toniebox Languages on Music Tonies
My daughter is big into music. She is the kid who sings her words a lot and makes up her own songs on a daily basis. Music is the way she expresses herself and it’s also the best way for her to learn.
It’s no surprise that her favourite Tonies are the music ones. We have many tonies that are pre-loaded with English and German children’s songs. Many of which she already knows by heart in both languages. It is a very playful but effective way for some bilingual kids to keep their languages active and extend their vocabulary.
Language Fun with Toniebox
If you are a bilingual or multilingual family and are on the lookout for some fun ways to promote different languages, the Toniebox should be on your list!
In my opinion, it has everything you’d want from a gadget (not just) for multilingual kids. It’s child-friendly, screen-free, easy to use and more importantly can be used independently. It is also indestructible and the handpainted Tonies add so much visual fun as well. Plus: with the use of the Tonies in English and German as well as the Creative Tonies; there are truly no limits to what you can do!
Limitless languages. Limitless stories & music and quite simply: Limitless fun for EVERYONE!
Frequently Asked Questions about the Toniebox and Different Languages!
The Toniebox supports any language when used with a Creative Tonie. The Creative Tonie can be filled with audio files and recordings in any language.
Yes, pre-recorded Tonies are currently available in English and German.
German Tonies are not available in Ireland & UK due to reasons around licensing, However, if you are living in Ireland & UK and are looking for German Tonies, you can either pick them up while in Germany or have them sent over from Germany.
Tonies have confirmed that they are focusing to expand the Tonie ranges in the current languages German & English but have no plans to add any more languages at the moment.
Creative Tonies are like a blank canvas. With a few simple steps (see above) they can be filled with audio files or voice recordings in any language.
Dies ist ein schöner Artikel. Danke. Ich habe die Tonies Box gerade erhalten. Leider muss ich noch etwas warten denn mein Sohn ist erst eins. (Habe ich sie zu früh gekauft:(? Wie ich hallt bin kaufe ich erst und lese dann. Wir sind eine super bilinguale Familie, meine Frau ist Brasilianerin und ich bin aus Hamburg. Sie spricht Portugiesisch mit unserem Sohn und ich deutsch. Zusammen sprechen wir English und wir leben auf Curaçao. Also spricht er holländische in der Kita. Bis jetzt spricht er natürlich noch nix. Als die Toniesbox angekommen ist hatte ich gleich Angst das es alles nur auf English ist. Deshalb bin ich sehr froh über diesen Artikel. Musik findet unser kleiner Lukas jetzt schon toll, also kann ich ja vielleicht damit anfangen!? LG Arne
Author
Hallo lieber Arne,
vielen Dank für deinen netten Kommentar 🙂 Ich freue mich, dass du den Beitrag hilfreich fandest. Wow, euer Sohn hat großes Glück mit so vielen verschiedenen Sprachen aufzuwachsen, Wahnsinn! Du hast die Toniebox meiner Meinung nach nicht zu früh gekauft. Unser Kleinster findet in den letzten Monaten immer mehr gefallen an der Toniebox und den Tonies (er wird im November 2). Am besten gefällt es ihm, dass er sie selbst bedienen kann – da wird der Tonie zwar manchmal alle zwei Minuten gewechselt aber genau so oft freut er sich auch einfach nur die Geschichten anzuhören oder zur Musik zu tanzen. Musik findet er momentan allerdings auf jeden Fall noch besser als Geschichten, also denke ich kannst du mit Musik bei eurem Kleinen nichts falsch. Ich wünsche euch viel Spaß!
Alles Liebe aus Irland,
Nadja
Hallo Nadja,
Danke für deine Antwort. Ich bin dir gleich auf allen Kanälen gefolgt. Danke für dein follow. Ich hätte noch mal eine Frage. Man hört ja immer das Kinder die bilingual aufwachsen er später als „normal“ anfangen zu sprechen. Ich weiß auch das sie manchmal eine Sprache bevorzugen. Du hast ja drei Kinder, wie waren da deine Erfahrungen? Und wie machst du es mit dem Schreiben und Grammatik? Vielen Dank und liebe Grüße! Arne
Hi
This is a useful article thanks. I am raising my children bilingual also (English\Irish) and plan to use custom tonies in a similar context to you.
Regards
Andrew
Author
Thank you for your comment. I am glad this helped you and I hope you are finding the Toniebox beneficial.
So you can use a German tonie figure on an English toniebox?
Author
Hi Lara,
yes, the German and English tonies can be used on the same Toniebox.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
You can comment here or send me an email nadja@labellessmum.com
Thank you,
Nadja
Do Tones come in Spanish? I have a little Dominican niece who can use every learning tool I can get my hands on
Author
Hi John,
thank you for your comment. There are a limited number of Spanish Tonies available at the moment, the range is continuously increasing and tonies has hinted that there are plans to expand into even more languages.
Let me know if you have any other questions, always happy to help.
Best,
Nadja
Hello. Tonie Box is just coming into the French toy shop’s But being a bilingual family my daughter wants an English speaking box for her daughter. Can n we use the French box and have english stories as well Thank you
Author
Hi Wendy,
thanks for your question and sorry for the very late reply. The German and English boxes and Tonies are interchangeable so I presume it is the same for the French box. It should work with the Tonies in other languages.
Let me know if you have any more questions,
Nadja
I have a English tonie box coming for my daughter for Christmas. As we currently live in Germany I’m finding German tonies, will they play in English or just German?
Author
Hi Summer,
The German tonies can be played on an English box, however, they will just play German audio. There are some English tonies available in Germany though. Tonies.de has a small selection, like the Gruffalo and some others. Hope that helps.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to get in touch 🙂
All the best,
Nadja
Hallo, we have the Swiss Tonie Box and live in Canada. Do you know if there is a way to access free Deutsch creative character content? Even though I am a member of my Swiss sister in laws family login I only have access to free Englisch content for the creative Tonies. I assume having a Canadian email address causes this problem. We too are using the Toniebox as a bilingual learning tool for our children.
Author
Hi Jolan,
There could be a licensing problem with the content tonies is making available for free within the app. Unfortunately, I don’t know a workaround for that. We use the Creative tonies with our own downloaded content or voice recordings. Would that be an option for you? Please let me know, if there is anything else I can help you with.
All the best,
Nadja
Hi Nadja,
This is such a helpful article! I am raising my baby bilingually as well. German and English, as we live in the UK. I had heard about Tonies previously, but wasn’t aware of them being available in the UK in English as well. I really like that it’s a no-screen option for bedtime. We’re already planning to make use of streaming services (ZDF and Disney+) to watch movies and tv shows in German. My son will eventually be going to an English speaking nursery and then school, so I’m not that worried about how much English he is exposed to. I should add that my son is only 12 weeks old at the moment, so far too young to really understand much of the language he is exposed to. I try really hard to speak German with him. We thought we were going to do the whole 1 parent 1 language thing but I actually am finding it very tricky to speak in German around my child. Weirdly it doesn’t come naturally? It’s definitely going to be a journey for us.
but thank you so much for your article on this! I’ll definitely need to take the Toniebox into consideration once he’s maybe around 2 years of age.
Best wishes,
Stella
Author
Hi Stella,
thank you so much for your lovely comment and apologies for only getting around to it now. It has gone lost in the backend, unfortunately. It makes me happy to hear you found my blog post helpful. I think your plan sounds good, don’t put yourself under too much pressure speaking only German to your son, it doesn’t come naturally to me either for some reason. But every little helps and while my children understand German, they hardly ever speak it (unless we are in Germany and they are surrounded by German speakers).
I hope you are enjoying your summer with your little dude!
All the best,
Nadja
Hi! Currently weighing the Tonie and Yoto. Both are in good deals for Black Friday. We are in Germany now, but are relocting back to the UK. We don’t want our girls (age 3 and 6 when we move back) to lose their german they’ve gotten while here (my husband and I are both native speakers, so we can’t support much by speaking!). So to that end having read all your articles –
Yoto is great but I’d need to load German content myself!
Tonies are great but buy German content while we are still here – easier to get!
Does that sound right? Thanks for the support and clear information!
Author
Hi Carmen,
yes, that sums it up pretty well. Although Yoto have hinted that they might expand to German cards in the future, especially now that they have launched digital cards which will make it easier for them to add new languages and more content. But nothing definite. So, as of now the Toniebox would be your best option in terms of ready-made German content.
I am glad, you found my articles helpful.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
Best,
Nadja
Hi Nadja,
thank you for that review, it really motivates me in keeping up the bilingual support (German/English).
Im currently the only english-speaking member in the family for my son and therefore I do not have anyone to speak to other than my son.
Would you recomment to only get Tonies in the minority language (which is English in this case) so that there is no added confusion about multiple languages and maybe even a preference for the Tonies in the majority language?
TBH it is really hard to keep up in the minority language when there is no other family member speaking it. So Im really craving for anything to support the English-development.
best
Robert
Author
Hi Robert,
thank you so much for your comment and apologies for my late reply. Unfortunately, I received an influx of spam comments and your note got lost within 🙁
I am glad to hear, you feel more motivated now. It is hard to keep it up, especially, once your child starts to only respond in the other language. But anything is better than nothing in my opinion!
I am not an expert, so can only tell you from my own experience, that the majority of our Tonies are actually in the majority language. This is due to specific circumstances in our family, but I can’t say that it is a disadvantage. What my kids really liked, especially, when they were younger – the same story in different languages. Julia Donaldson was particularly popular and is widely available in both languages (also in print). Maybe this would be great for you too?
Wishing you all the best,
Nadja
Hello!
Do tonies comes out in Greek language?
Thank you
Author
Hello Rafaella,
I am not sure if tonies have plans to add any Greek tonies. However, you could use the creative tonies and add any Greek audio files you’d like.
Hope this helps,
Nadja