Asma Balfaqih
Joyful learning
Reading aloud in two languages
When we moved to Switzerland, I worried that Arabic might grow quieter in our children’s daily life. Today I know that a language grows quiet when it is only used for scolding. It stays alive when it is the language of the stories at bedtime.
This is why we often read the same story twice, once in Arabic and once in German. The children compare the words, laugh at the differences and notice that a value like respect has the same core in both languages. It is exactly for this reason that my books appear in several languages with the same illustrations.
If you do not speak both languages confidently yourself, you can still read aloud. Describe the pictures, ask questions, let the child do the telling. It is not about perfect pronunciation, it is about time spent together with a book.