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Nurturing Native (and Foreign Language Skills
FAMILY MATTERS Nurturing Native (and Foreign) Language Skills
How do you do it?
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BY WENDY DÍAZ
Parents whose attempts to pass their native language on to their children have been met with resistance often ask, “How do you do it?”
They are amazed that my U.S.-bornand-raised children are fluent in Spanish. The truth is that I’m also struggling. It’s a daily uphill battle that can be overcome only by prayer and keeping our eyes on the prize at the summit. Being bilingual or multilingual has huge advantages in terms of cognitive development, academic performance, literacy and finding a job. Priscilla Blossom highlights some of the biggest benefits of learning a second language as a child. Mainly, it “encourages empathy,” “boosts brain function” and provides an “academic advantage” (Parents Magazine, April 2021).
So much has been written about the impact of bilingualism and multilingualism on an individual’s success. But how can we successfully teach our children while living in a majority English-speaking country? There are a few ways.
First and foremost, just like when it comes to other forms of worship, we must purify our intentions. Anything that is beneficial for us and can be used to please God can be a form of worship. Nurturing a native or heritage language can fall into this category by further strengthening family ties, improving our livelihood and spreading the message of Islam. Notably, many well-known Companions of Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), among them Abu Hurayra, Zaid ibn Thabit and Salman al-Farsi (‘alayhum rahma), were bilingual.
After we make our intention clear, we should develop a plan. The next steps are what I recommend based on research and trial and error. • Start early (or start now). The earlier you start your children off with another language, the better. (There is an exception here for English. More about that later.) Decide on the one you want them to learn. As soon as you bring your little bundles of joy home, start speaking to them in that language to ensure that they will recognize its sounds and nuances. Talk, read and sing to them in
that language. Once they are older, you can introduce them to television shows, audiobooks and books.
Here’s the secret formula I learned while studying world language education and teaching my children. If there is one thing you remember from this article, let it be this: The keys to early language acquisition are reading, rhyme and repetition. • Get other caregivers on board. We’ve all heard the saying, “It takes a village to other languages (or English if it cannot be avoided) only with Z.” As our children get older, they will question and even try pushing limits, especially if we’re not practicing what we preach. Consistency is key! • Don’t combine languages in conversation.If you’ve ever seen the cartoon show “Dora the Explorer,” then you’ll understand the meaning of Spanglish, a hybrid language. And now a confession: Spanglish is my archenemy! It lurks in television shows,
raise a child.” Equally, teaching our children another language or preserving their native language takes teamwork. If you have a spouse, relatives and/or other caregivers who speak it, let them know that you want your children to become bilingual or multilingual. Ask them to provide that immersive environment and implement all the strategies listed in this article. Everyone must play by the rules, which leads to the following step. • Set a rule and follow it yourself. “Spanish inside, English stays outside,” is what I’ve been telling my children since they were toddlers. There is no English at home among family members. Ever. Although this may seem strange or even cruel to some people, my children went straight to preschool or kindergarten knowing only Spanish. Once in school, they were speaking English like pros after a couple of weeks. They didn’t even have to take special ESOL classes. Really. It can be done.
Our children will be exposed to English their entire lives. Delaying their formal introduction to it doesn’t mean they will fall behind their peers. Focus on your target language and build a solid foundation so it won’t be lost once English is introduced (outside).
The native-language-at-home-only model almost guarantees that they will retain the target language. However, we must be strict about following the rules ourselves. It helps if other caregivers also speak the language. If not, then the rule can be modified to “target language only with X and Y, and books, songs and slang. And even though I hate it, I end up using it sometimes. There are other hybrid variations out there like Arabish, Urdish, and Hinglish. The problem with them is that they are the beginning of a slippery slope on your quest to reach the pinnacle of multilingualism.
Although it seems like it would be helpful to watch a show like "Dora" or "Handy Manny", in which the main characters teach Spanish words in English conversation, therein is the problem. It fails to teach children proper usage, grammar and sentence structure in the target language (Spanish, in this case). It’s not the best method for language acquisition and can even be counterproductive. Your children will eventually start stringing together the few vocabulary words they know with their stronger language, which will inevitably be English if they are living in the U.S. To be frank, any hybrid language is impractical for everyday use and, to me, sounds ridiculous. In the case of language learning, segregate your targets; separate but equal works well here. • Create cultural connections. Language and culture go hand in hand. When I was a public high school Spanish teacher, the textbooks I taught from focused on a different country per unit. This integrated approach focused on geography and social studies, along with Spanish, and helped students connect the language they were learning with its native speakers.
Teaching children to be proud of their heritage (without being arrogant!) is important for their self-esteem and to foster a strong identity. Connect their language with lessons about the culture it represents. Watch documentaries, shows and movies in the native language that showcase cultural traditions. And, if they’re learning a foreign language, they can build empathy and appreciation for people of other backgrounds.
Our many languages testify to our Creator’s majesty: “And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colors. Indeed, in that are signs for those of knowledge” (30:22). As Muslims, we learn Arabic by default, even if it is limited to prayers, supplication, dhikr and reading the Quran. Consequently, we are already one step ahead of most people in this country. By encouraging children to learn and preserve other languages, we help them become vessels for this wonderful gift from God.. ih
Wendy Díaz is a Puerto Rican Muslim writer, award-winning poet, translator and mother of six. She is the co-founder of Hablamos Islam, Inc. (https://hablamosislam.org), a non-profit organization that produces Spanish-language educational resources about Islam. She is the Spanish content coordinator for the Islamic Circle of North America’s WhyIslam Project and has also written, illustrated and published a dozen children’s books.
[Editor’s note: Reprinted with permission. This article was originally published in Sound Vision›s Muslim Home parenting newsletter: https:// www.soundvision.com/article/nurturing-native-foreign-language]
