Parents Guide
At Arabic Seeds, we are parents too and our objective is to raise Arabic-fluent children who live and love this language. We hope this Guide will help you, whether you are a non-native speaking or a native speaking Parent!
What is the best way to pass on Arabic to your child?
Waiting until your child reaches a certain age and starting directly with reading and writing practices and lists of words and grammar rules to learn by heart is an approach that is difficult for children.
Our own parenting experience, as well as advice from multilingual parenting experts, show that the best way to pass on Arabic to your kids is to integrate the language into your daily life so it becomes a natural language, a meaningful language, a loved language.
Your child will start to acquire basic grammar rules just by being exposed to Arabic via resources and conversations and by repeating sentences and language structures. And it is never too early or too late to start! (of course, the earlier the easier, but even as an adult it’s not impossible (read our founder’s testimony)
Keep in mind that social interaction is the most powerful tool you already have! That's why parents, relatives, friends and/or teachers can't be totally replaced by electronics when it comes to language learning! If you understand that your commitment is essential to raise an Arabic fluent child, our resources are here to empower you!
Read our best tips below!
1. When your child is a baby or a toddler
Expose him/her to the whole language and lay a great language foundation by:
- talking in Arabic to him/her in your daily-life (describe what you do, describe what’s around you; as you probably already do in your other home language; re-use what’s in our resources (what’s you read is what you can say!)). If you have relatives who can speak Arabic fluently, make it a family affair and ask them to only speak Arabic to your child!
- reading aloud Arabic children books and stories.
- playing simple games with words and basic sentences.
- singing rhymes with/without movements,
- providing an Arabic-script rich environment at home through labels, wall displays and decorations,
- introducing the Arabic alphabet through play.
2. When your child is a preschooler or older
- Start by doing the same as mentioned above! That will lay a great language foundation before moving onto writing and reading practices.
- Add writing and reading practices if he/she is ready, according on his/her own development. Be his/her partner and bear in mind that children are different, some can read at 5, others can read at 7 etc…
- Be patient with your child and continue to expose him to Arabic through play, crafts and daily life.
- You can also look for Arabic playgroups or Arabic kids clubs in your area.
- Don’t forget that the 4 skills of a language (writing, reading, listening and speaking) are inter-dependents. Like for babies/toddlers, your older kids also need to understand the language, to see it as a meaningful and interesting language.
Start little but with regularity. For example, start with a routine of 10 min per day. That's better than going big and stopping, or doing nothing at all! Be patient, persevere, you will improve as you go!
If you are a non-native speaker:
The majority of our resources are daily-life inspired and that you can re-use the vocabulary and basic sentences included in them in your daily life with your kids. That’s the best way to acquire the language and avoid forgetting it.
Our membership includes read-aloud videos of our printables as well as other videos and audios to help improve the listening and speaking skills. We also offer members priority support, you can ask us your questions, ask us to help you correct a worksheet or a writing of your child etc…
Practical and Motivational Tips from our blog:
- Raising my child in Arabic boosted my own learning (the testimony of our non-native speaking founder)
- How to Teach Arabic to children the right way [guest post]
- Five Sensory Play Activities to teach the Arabic Alphabet [Guest Post]
- How I started an Arabic Playgroup (guest post)
- Parent Child: the 6 senses associated with learning Arabic together (guest post)
Our mission at Arabic Seeds is to empower you and to be your partner in your family Arabic journey by creating adapted resources and sharing our tips with you. If you have questions, feel free to contact us.
Let’s sow the good seeds of Arabic from Early Childhood!
If you have concerns or questions about bilingualism/multilingualism, want to debunk myths surrounding them, learn more tips and strategies and read testimonies from parents around the world. I always recommend the website: multilingualparenting.com