Introduction

There are a lot of advantages to teaching your child several languages. Multilingual children have better linguistics, are more creative, have better memory, problem-solving, and critical thinking abilities, perform better academically in school, are more well-rounded and curious in foreign cultures, and are more likely to contribute more to society as adults.

Why not give Arabic a try if you’re trying to decide which language to teach your child?

1. Start it Early

It has been observed that parents who begin teaching Arabic at a young age to their children, find it simpler to handle the demands of language acquisition than those who wait. At least one parent should commit to speaking Arabic exclusively at home. In practice, it’s difficult to stick to this rule because parents prefer to communicate in English, especially when certain family members are only fluent in English.

2. Follow the basics

Begin with teaching the Arabic letters in their basic form and summarising all of the letter sounds. Arabic characters, unlike English letters, can look radically different when put together in a word – it’s a little like incredibly tough joined-up English handwriting. As a result, it’s critical to teach your child how to connect the letters. These wonderful Arabic Alphabet Snap cards by Iqra Games come highly recommended. For each letter shape – beginning, middle, and end – they come in tiny card sizes (smaller than a standard pack of cards) in different colours.

3. Make Learning Arabic Part of the Routine

Language learning should not be limited to the classroom. It has been observed that when people incorporate important things into their daily lives, it develops into a habit. The complaining voices gradually stopped questioning why we were studying Arabic. It will become a way of life for us to study English, Maths, History, Science, and Arabic daily.

4. Listen to Arab Music

Sometimes parents should listen to the Arabic songs with their children in which they will become curious to know the meaning of those songs and ask the parents repeatedly. Music can be a great asset, not only in the Arabic language but also in every language to improve language.

Children’s brains are sharp and once they listen to the Arabic song, they will find it fascinating and will repeatedly sing the song without knowing the actual meaning it. This demonstrates that there was no active teaching of the song on the side of the parents, but the fact that children were repeatedly exposed to the music sparked her interest and began learning it unconsciously.

5. Read Arabic Books Before Bedtime

It’s a good idea to review what your child learned during the day before bedtime, but it’s also vital to give them a break if they’ve worked hard all day. You may read a short storey in Arabic to your child or listen to an audiobook together if he or she is interested.

If Arabic isn’t one of your first languages, having your child read a book to you and serve as the teacher might be entertaining. They’ll be so pleased with themselves!

6. Use the audio resources in your routine 

Listening to Arabic radio, podcasts, or stories while at home is one of the most useful and productive things you can do. Your child won’t even have to listen to them all of the time; just having them on in the background can help your child remember things, whether it’s specific words, pronunciation, or simply the way people speak, including pace and intonations.

So, the next time you’re all sitting down for breakfast or ironing while your kids draw, consider turning on some audio resources!

7. Watch Cartoons

A young learner can learn Arabic without even realising it because of cartoons’ visual stimulus and light-hearted tone. Online video platforms such as YouTube and Dailymotion provide Arabic-language cartoons available for free. Parents can even download free films from educational websites so that their children can view Arabic cartoons even if they don’t have access to the internet. Some of the good cartoons available in Arabic are:

•       Al Akhawater Sin
•       Baraem
•       Al Waladou Salih
•       Toyor Baby
•       Toyour el Djana
•       Al namima

Furthermore, because some things transcend cultures, popular international cartoons such as Pokémon are available in Arabic, providing even more enjoyable ways for children to learn the language.

8. Celebrate success

Every success in language acquisition should be celebrated, no matter how small the victory. Give your child lots of praise every time he or she remembers an Arabic word or correctly repeats a word so that they become thrilled about learning and feel rewarded for even the tiniest achievements. As a result, they’ll be more motivated to take on the bigger challenges!