When moving to another country, every parent has to deal with the issue of how to prevent their kids from losing their mother tongue. Since your child is likely to be spending most of the time speaking and hearing the Czech language (while playing with other kids and studying), you should consider some activities you can take up to help your kids keep up their mother tongue.
Tip 1: Speak your mother tongue at home.
Well, this recommendation sounds self-explanatory: if you want your child to maintain a grasp on your native language and be able to use it in everyday life, you should communicate exclusively in your mother tongue at home. Holding on to your native language at home has another benefit: your child will be exposed to the culture of his or her native country.
Tip 2: Teach your native language.
Introduce your child to vocabulary while he or she is doing daily things. For example, when having lunch you can teach your kid how different kinds of fruit and vegetables are called in your native tongue. Or you can show your kid flash cards with words written in your mother language before going to bed. But try to make these lessons as fun as you can so that your child doesn’t lose motivation.
Tip 3: Watch cartoons in your mother tongue.
Children love cartoons! This is where you can make a good use of all the electronic gadgets we have today. While watching a cartoon in the mother tongue, your kids will pick up new vocabulary, learn grammar, and be entertained at the same time.
Tip 4: Read books in your native language.
Make this a daily routine and you will see improvements in no time. Not only does reading books in the mother tongue improve the vocabulary of your child, but also develops affection between you and your kid.
You may choose any of the options mentioned above or combine them all – in any case, once you start holding on to your mother tongue while communicating with your kid, you will see impressive results in a very short time!
Do you do anything else at home to help your child pick up a native language? Tell us about it on editor@littlepanda.cz