Many parents may find themselves the sole language speaker in a mixed family, possibly living in a community where there are few other native speakers. So where can you find quality resources to help your children progress?
Classes
Nothing beats the real-time interaction and regular exposure of a formal class setting. The pandemic has made it easier to join virtual classes from anywhere, and there are many options for children. Investing in a weekly class will not only cement the consistency of your child’s learning, it will also take the pressure off of you to be their sole teacher.
Flashcards
Sometimes, you need small language prompts, and flashcards are a simple, effective way to introduce vocabulary. Some come already grouped by theme: colors, foods, verbs, adjectives, or clothing, which is helpful because they can help you plan lessons and activities.
Going to the beach? Can you take a few ocean-related flashcards in the car with you? Getting groceries? Grab the stack of food flashcards.
I like to use flashcards over breakfast. Right now, I’m teaching my kids Learn Marathi verbs and how to use them in a sentence. I find they’re just alert enough and sitting still long enough to take it in!
There are many language flashcards on the market as well as free online printables and apps.
Family, faith and community
Surrounded by family? Living on a street with many like-minded parents teaching their children the same language? Going to the temple, gurudwara, church, synagogue, or mosque? Congratulations! You can team up with others in your community to hold classes, and conversations, play games, and watch movies!
More typically, even if you have family around, they may not practice the same approach to language learning. How many times have I asked my mother, a fluent Marathi speaker, to learn Marathi to my kids only to find them reverting to English within a few minutes?
Grandparents are sometimes no longer in parenting mode, or they’ve spent a lifetime trying to perfect their own knowledge of English and find it hard to suddenly change tack with the next generation.
But you can still harness other adults, grandparents and people within your language and cultural community to help you with immersion. Watch a movie together… play charades in your chosen language… or have a cooking lesson with vocabulary baked in.
Nothing beats language learning when there’s fun, meaningful personal contact involved!
At Shoonya, we’ve created engaging and marathi language learning app to help your kids start speaking Marathi in no time.
Credit Source- https://shoonyadigital.com/top-ten-resources-for-bilingual-learners/