I am a firm believer that every person should be able to understand his or her mother tongue. It is very important and critical that my children learn our native language at home and get familiar with the culture, traditions, and habits. While we are in a different city away from our hometown, my wife and I are determined to teach them our native language. But our problem is that as kids they only want to speak English! That is a big challenge!
What should we do? We are a family of 3 kids and we have taught them to read the English alphabet, by the time they turn 4 they are able to speak the English language fluently. And that's the only language they are good at speaking with their playmates at school and home.
While my wife and I speak our mother language at home to the kids, they have never been able to speak the same back to us, instead, they respond to us in English. Though they understand to some extent what we said to them in our native language, they are not even able to say 'come' or 'go' in our mother language. This is a big challenge we have in our hands. We have to get them on our side and give them the chance to be bilingual.
I know they don't want it but I have no other choice. There are good reasons for them to learn their mother's language. We can't let them be the one who doesn't speak the language but only listens to others. So I am doing my best to make the best of this opportunity. The eldest of them is just starting high school, so I think we still have a high chance to teach and help them to learn to speak their mother language.
My wife is the teacher, but my job is to push and guide them. All our efforts to teach them seem not to be productive so far, we only have to be patient with them and try to help them.
As said earlier, we think it is very important for them to learn how to speak their mother language as soon as possible. So that they will be fluent in it. With this, I will keep trying to do my part and keep them motivated.
So why do I want my kids to speak their mother language?
Well, our priority is for our kids to identify with their origin. Our native language is our first language and that should not change with the kids. They should try to enjoy it, like it more and more. Speaking their mother language creates a sense of originality anywhere they find themselves. Even if they were to move to another country, their native tongue will remain their home language so they will still be familiar to their friends and relatives. As you speak it your own identity can be stronger. You can feel you belong to a community and culture.
I know that it seems difficult at times for us to communicate with our children but we believe it's a natural thing. Our children should know their mother language and feel at ease. They should feel like they belong and are valued. It would be a shame for me that our children are not able to talk to all our relatives and friends in their mother language. That's why I believe teaching them their language will give them a chance of feeling like a part of a larger family they belong to. Not only that, but it will also give the children a feeling of belonging among our relatives and friends.
I know it would take a lot of effort for my kids to speak in our language but I will not let them give up. They will learn and be fluent in English by themselves. We will try to work on it as much as we can. I believe speaking their mother language can be of help to them in the public, they can speak to themselves in their mother language any time they don't want their peers to know what they are talking about. Thus they could be able to communicate intricately with themselves. This is the reason why our mother tongue is our first language too as parents.