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Can
your child speak in
her
mother tongue?
Like mother's touch and mother's
milk, mother tongue has no substitute.
Mother tongue, as the term suggests,
is closest to a person's heart. Like mother's touch and mother's milk,
it can never find a substitute. Psychiatric research shows that a hearty
conversation in one's mother tongue gives a high to a person in distress.
Modern psychology also lays tremendous stress on a child's connection with
the mother tongue. Having realised the significance of the mother tongue
advantage, parents have started initiating their children in their native
and natural language. Here are tips to help parents, especially those Indian
parents away from the motherland, to introduce their children to their
mother tongue.
It is the connection
with the motherland
Language is culture and culture leads
to a civilization. Every language brings new and unique experiences, which
are special to a particular type of people. Therefore, wherever you may
be placed in the world, never lose touch with your native language. As
parents, you have to consciously talk and communicate in your language.
This will help the child to nurture an identity for him/her.
We are lucky to
be Indians
Can you imagine a nation with 16
recognised languages and umpteen dialects, each with a distinct character
and identity? If you are teaching your child to speak in his native tongue,
you are actually connecting him to a larger cultural spectrum. Your child
will grow up with the right sense of pride for India, which is the current
need of the hour.
Not just the mother
tongue
Your efforts should not be restricted
only to teaching your child his mother tongue. Teach him dialects and conversational
idioms too. This will help your child communicate better. He is bound to
be a richer person if you inculcate a love for language in the beginning
of your child's life. Research shows that your child is capable of learning
not just the mother tongue, the medium of academic instruction, but also
five to six other dialects. A child's brain has tremendous scope for absorption
in the initial years.
Medium of instruction
can be different
If you are outside India, you are
bound to teach the child in a foreign medium, probably English, as it is
being fast accepted as one of the major international languages. Even if
you are in a city like Bombay, you are bound to admit your child in an
English-medium school. But, your home can still give a place of pride to
your mother tongue.
Let the child
view the language situation in the right perspective
A balanced perspective will enable
your child to learn his mother tongue with the right attitude. There should
be no undue fanatic pride in one's language or culture; neither should
there be an unexplained hatred towards other's language or religion. This
attitude will give your child a sense of openness that will prove to be
a lifetime gift.
Do not bother
too much about grammar and academics
When you are teaching your mother
tongue to your child, you should not be overly bothered about the grammatical
correctness in a conversation. Let your child make mistakes and learn from
them. In fact you should start teaching the language through nursery rhymes
and hummable songs.
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