I am curious why some desi parents choose to NOT teach their children Urdu? If you made that decision please share why.
Re: Not teaching Urdu
I want to know too.
Re: Not teaching Urdu
Inglish speakers are educated.
Farangi samraaj ka parsatish:smokin:
Re: Not teaching Urdu
I took my LO one to the park yesterday and their was a family of three kids with their mother and nani. I started talking to her and found out she was from Karachi. Her 19 month old was talking a lot (in english…following her two older siblings.) and i mentioned how my 29 month old isn’t talking much. The mother said it must be becuz i have introduced two languages to him. That was a problem with her kids.
I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to introduce Urdu or a second language to a child anyways.
Re: Not teaching Urdu
Introducing 2 languages at the same time has nothing to do with your son not talking much. Kids develop at their own paces. 2 of my sons didn’t start properly talking until after they turned 3. My other one we couldn’t get to shut up at at the age of 2…they all grew up speaking urdu & english at the same time.
It’s already been established that kids are like sponges, and are very much capable of picking up multiple languages at the same time.
Now in regards to why a parent wouldn’t want to introduce another language to their child…I don’t know…personal choice I guess.
Re: Not teaching Urdu
What khattichic said.
We wanted our son to learn a few languages from the beginning so had a clear plan from the very start. I don’t understand why you would not want your child to know as many languages as possible - I don’t see the harm. For every job interview I’ve had so far (which isn’t many, but still :p) it has always been a plus that I’m biliangual.
Re: Not teaching Urdu
my daughter was speaking Urdu, learning English, French, Spanish and Arabic at the same time when she was 3.
anyone that says children get “confused” when more than one language is spoken to them is misinformed.
you might be interested in these threads:
http://www.paklinks.com/gs/life-and-relationships/624526-how-important-is-your-mother-tongue-for-you-and-future-generations.html
http://www.paklinks.com/gs/parenting/618175-oops-we-forgot-to-teach-urdu.html
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I am not worried about my LO not talking yet. And i am aware they he can be taught many lanuuages at the same time…and i didn’t agree with the lady either. I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t want to teach a second lanuage to your child.
Re: Not teaching Urdu
show bazi aur kuch nahi..mera bacha sirf english bolta hai..complexity ka shikar.
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not. again.
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Some times parents find it hard to speak two different language to the child - perhaps then they opt for the one they find is most important?
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Philosophy…sorry to bring it up again and bug you agian, but i just ran into this yesterday and had to ask.
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We’ve personally used the two languages - 1 parent method at home. It’s a modification from the 1 parent - 1 language method. It’s hard work in the beginning but then you get used.
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I wasn’t properly taught it (my parents also have different mother tongues)..
I won’t teach my (future) kids either of their grandparents’ languages but expect they’ll pick them up naturally anyway and know enough to communicate well from that exposure.. As Khatti said kids are like sponges..I’m not against the idea at all but at the same time it won’t be a priority .. It’s as simple as that..
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I don’t think most people deliberately choose NOT to teach their children a second language. If the parents themselves speak primarily English at home and don’t often speak to each other in a second language, the children are going to pick up English as their primary language. As khatti said, children are like sponges and pick up what they hear being spoken around them.
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my nephews and nieces do not speak Urdu or even understand well enough because their parents did NOT bother to teach them Urdu. i think the reason was they never visited India and most immediate family members in Canada speak English themselves. they probably didn’t feel any need to teach them Urdu.
i will iA make sure that we speak to them in Urdu at home and also my children [if N when] visit India regularly and bring them in contact with Urdu Speaking Indians living in India. these days, convent education makes most of the young ones speak mostly English.
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Mezghan, that tends to be the case when both parents are not fluent in Urdu…at least in the examples I’ve seen…so English is spoken/learned.
But there ARE parents…where both of them speak Urdu fluently…and they make the choice that it’s more important for kids to speak English. And it’s deliberate decision.
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My nephew has very delayed speech and comprehension, he is almost 6 but has maybe the ability of a 2-3 year old. The speech therapist told us to speak in only english and not speak in two languages until his comprehension is normalized in one. I must say after doing this he is improving alot…maybe a coincidence…I dont know.
I am no expert in this but thought it would be interesting to some people here.
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^In this case, there’s an impairment. If there is no delay, kids are capable of learning two languages if parents want/care to make an effort.
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Children are quite capable of learning more than one language at a time. I learned to speak my two mother tongues and a third language at the same time (and can read and write in all three). I don’t even think parents have to do too much in the way of teaching. As khatti mentioned earlier, children seem to pick up what they hear in their environment, so I think the parents speaking the language at home provides sufficient exposure to the language for them to pick it up.
However, one habit that I think parents should absolutely avoid is allowing children to mix the two languages (as in mixing Urdu and English or vice versa) when speaking. I’ve noticed that children who are allowed to do this often speak both languages with an odd intonation/accent and have issues with grammar.