Importance of Mother Tongue for Children
The term ‘mother tongue’ harks back to the notion that linguistic skills of a child are honed by the mother and, therefore, the language spoken by the mother would be the primary language that the child would learn.
The mother tongue, native or first language, is what a person has learned from birth or within a critical period, where the ability to acquire a language is biologically linked to age, and thus becomes the basis for social identity.it is part of a child’s personal, social and cultural identity. It is this identification we get from speaking our mother tongue that enforces successful social patterns of acting and speaking. Our diverse social backgrounds make us unique and appealing in society.
The mother tongue is an indispensable instrument for the development of intellectual, physical and moral aspects of education. Habits, conducts, values, virtues, customs and beliefs are all shaped through the mother tongue. Needless to say, weakness in the mother tongue means a paralysis of all thought and power of expression.
When children are offered opportunities to learn in their mother tongue, they are more likely to enroll and succeed in school and their parents are more likely to communicate with teachers and participate in their children’s learning.
Mother tongue-based education, especially benefits disadvantaged groups, including children from rural communities and girls, who tend to have less exposure to an official language. They tend to stay in school longer, achieve
better and repeat grades less often when they are taught in their mother tongue.
Fluency and literacy in the mother tongue lay a cognitive and linguistic foundation for learning additional languages.
When children receive formal instruction in their first language throughout primary school and then gradually transition to academic learning in the second language, they learn the second language quickly. If they continue to have opportunities to develop their first language skills in secondary school, they emerge as fully bilingual (or multilingual) learners.
If, however, children are forced to switch abruptly or transition too soon from learning in their mother tongue to schooling in a second language, their first language acquisition may be weakened or even lost. Even more importantly, their self-confidence as learners and their interest in what they are learning may decline, leading to lack of motivation, school failure and early school drop-out.
Knowing the importance of Mother tongue and teaching children through stories,MangoReader believes that if we can instil in our children a love of reading for pleasure and lifelong learning,we will give them the tools to change the face of our nation forever.Having access to story books in their own language allows them to discover other childhood worlds,of imagination and fantasy,which they have sometimes been deprived of,helps them coping strategies and shows them the importance of their own language.Children can enjoy these interactive stories at Mangoreader not only in their mother tongue but also in their mother's voice,making it one of the most astounding and loved interactive tool for learning through Stories.
We are looking for volunteers to help us translate, record and make interactive story books for children to make mother tongue learning accessible and available to children across the globe.
Join us for the cause on www.mangoreader.com and help spread the word.
Here is a story we will be launching in 25+ languages. Read, and Share your feedback..
