LANGUAGE IS A SKILL
Teaching kids a language is just like any skill. Do we nurture them to like the language? Do we make learning the language fun and interesting or a chore and boring and punitive? Do we teach them to make ourselves feel better or because we care about what they are interested in? Do we do it out of guilt that our children are “losing” something by not learning a language we want them to learn? What about a soccer player whose kid doesn’t like soccer? And a ballet dancer whose kid does not want to learn ballet? We need to respect the autonomy of our children. Especially when they become teens, they WILL NOT learn languages we want them to learn unless they have positive emotions towards them. So, our role is to nurture, guide, build positive emotions and knowledge, and build confidence about heritage.
At merhabakids, we exactly do what is described above. We make merhabakids’ classes for children fun and interactive. Joining a class at merhabakids is not a chore, it’s fun to meet the teacher and the other kids to share a common experience. They feel great in merhabakids’ classes because their peers are at the same level and the same age.
We need to respect the autonomy of our children, for sure. But what is wrong to give them the best gift we can, the Turkish language? It’s so easy with merhabakids! merhabakids supports children ages 4-12. That’s an amazing age to learn the Turkish language. And, it doesn’t feel like school! We create positive emotions so that the kids love to join our classes. We support them to become knowledgeable and we build their confidence. Because they can!
One of the things a parent has noticed is that we as parents believe that we are “more Turkish”, or more of another culture than they are. We make them feel like they are less than 100% of one culture. Multicultural kids feel like they are “half this” and “half that” which is absolutely not true. They are FULL of everything in their heritage. We need to help understand this.
I like the idea that merhabakids’ kids are 100% of each culture. Most of the merhabakids’ students are multicultural. Some speak three languages. I love the multicultural environment of merhabakids. It simply fits our students: open-minded, multilingual, and multicultural.
What about you? What do you experience? Share with us!
Keep following us, it’s worth it! You are giving your child the best gift!
We would be happy to meet your child at merhabakids.
Categories: Bilingualism