5 Easy Ways To Make Your Child Love His/Her Mother Tongue

I live in a metropolitan city. There are people from all over India(even all over the world) here. You can hear different languages where ever you go in the city. But everyone prefers speaking in English especially with their kids (even in small towns, gradually English is taking over the other languages). If I notice anyone communicating with their children in their mother tongue, I silently admire them. It is not because I am against English, but I feel it's important to communicate with your child in your mother tongue.
Majority of people send their kids to English medium schools (both in urban and many rural areas). It is obvious that kids learn and speak English in schools. A 3-4 year old kid that goes to preschool can speak in English very well. So why not we parents speak to them in our mother tongue as much as possible both inside and outside home? If we don't, in near future our language will get vanished.
It is important to make your child understand the beauty and value of his/her mother tongue. Here are the 5 easy ways to make your child fall in love with his/her mother tongue.

• Teach them new words

Children are quick to learn new things. In school, daily they learn something new, come home and explain it to the parents(especially the preschool going ones and the grade 1-4 kids are more enthusiastic in this case). Whenever they learn a new word in English, let them know it's equivalent word in his/her mother tongue. Try to give real-time examples so that they could connect better. Also teach them some interesting words which are not used in daily conversation and are new to them. Make them learn the names of vegetables, fruits, cereals in mother tongue(many kids know this only in English). Also the number names. Help them register it in their memory by repeating whenever it's possible.

• Rhymes and Poems

Most of us initially teach our kids rhymes like "twinkle twinkle...", "humpty dumpty ..." or "London bridge...". Even in the school they are taught the similar ones. Why not attempt teaching them rhymes in the mother tongue as well at home? You will find wonderful children literature in every language. The native poems and rhymes which we learnt in our childhood helps children to better understand the language in a simple and fun way. Once they start liking it, they ask you for more. If you have forgotten them, Google and YouTube are at your service.

• Stories

Which child doesn't like stories? They love it. Stories directly touch the heart of the kids. They get inspired and amused by the stories. Every parent will have a "bedtime stories" book for their children. Why not buy story books in your mother tongue along with the English ones? Introduce the classic children story books to your kids in your language. They will definitely love it and crave for more.

• Opt for your language in school

In schools, the children will get options to choose the languages they wish to learn along with English. Insist your child to choose his/her mother tongue as one of the languages. The formal learning of the language at school helps them in reading and writing it better. Gradually they start loving their language.

• News Paper/Magazine

Get home at least 1 newspaper or magazine of your mother tongue. Encourage your child to read relevant articles in the newspaper (or at least the headlines). Let them understand the vocabulary, the richness of the language. Kids magazines and digests are available in every language. Children would love such magazines/digest filled with stories, arts and activities. Once they like it, every week they eagerly wait for its arrival.
Many children feel ashamed to speak in their mother tongue. Directly or indirectly we parents are responsible for such an attitude. We should be proud of our mother tongue and learn the art of appreciating it, teach the same to our kids. Let's speak in our mother tongue as much as possible with our children. Let's also teach our child to not only love his/her language but also to respect other languages.