By: Sumbul
A while back, I posted about how my family and I started learning Urdu during the pandemic. It was an amazing process and you can read that post here. In this post, I will be talking about the ongoing hurdles we faced in the process of learning Urdu at home.
Since we started the process, I have seen my children transform in the most remarkable way. Learning Urdu has helped them connect to their identity and culture in subtle but important ways. They are eager to learn more.
They are still shy about speaking it but our priority has been to keep at it in a persistent manner.
How to keep going
Learning Urdu as a second language is a long process. I have found different ways to keep the momentum going. I am going to share those with you today so you can prevent the process of learning Urdu from becoming a chore on your to-do list and help your kids learn it more naturally.
The two methods of learning Urdu as a second language
For people who want to learn a second language, there are two methods. One is called implicit and the second one is explicit.
Implicit is when we learn from experience, without anyone formally teaching it. Explicit is when you teach the rules of grammar and language formally to teach the second language. Typically it also includes reading and writing the language. It is easier for kids to learn using an implicit approach as opposed to adults. Read more on this link
We chose to keep it as an implicit form of learning.
In order to do this, we decided to play games, do rhymes and focus on activities that encourage the natural acquisition of language. My husband and I spoke Urdu to each other so they knew the sounds of common words.
I used techniques from Urdu Cove and we came up with a lot of ideas on our own as well. It worked really well for a few months, but I noticed that they still felt hesitant in speaking Urdu. They understood it but felt shy about replying in Urdu.
Through my experience, I was able to decode some issues and answer some questions about this process. Here they are.
First question: Is it normal to feel hesitant speaking the second language?
Short answer is Yes!
In fact, it is a normal stage of language acquisition.
This stage is called the silent period during which the child is expected to have little to no speech of their own.
They are expected to have active listening skills, so they can progress to the early production period.
This stage is where the role of the native speakers of Urdu comes into play. You, as the speaker, are expected to speak in your language, and provide ample opportunities to expose them to hear the language.
Second question: How many times have I told you?
As you teach the kids, do not be disheartened by the repetition. It is important that you are using language in the relevant situation (let us put shoes on to go outside) which they are able to understand and hear repeatedly.
Interestingly, research shows that you need to hear a word seventeen or more times for it to stick.
In addition to situational learning, reading Urdu (explicit approach) is a great way to increase exposure. It exposes them to words that are not commonly used in daily conversations.
Where is the fun?
In order to keep learning Urdu fun, I modified the treasure hunt game I had played with my kids earlier. I also included two more games.
I included more written Urdu for them to decode as part of it. This made it challenging for them.
These activities made reading Urdu more fun:
1. Treasure hunt in Urdu (one or more players)
-You will need :
- Paper and marker
- Handout of the Urdu alphabets. Get yours from the resource library for free when you signup.
- Picture of the house with room labels. The kids drew the picture and I helped the kids write the names of the rooms in roman Urdu. Click here for an example.
-Setting up the treasure hunt
First you prepare the clues using the paper and marker. Each clue includes these two things in Urdu:
1. The name of the room (example kids bedroom)
2. Location (example under kids’ bed)
Here is an example of what the clue looked like.
Hide the clues in different parts of the house.
-How to play:
The kids need to solve each clue to find out where the next clue is hidden. The challenge was the clues were written in Urdu and the only ‘help’ the kids had was the house picture, with the names of the rooms, which they created earlier.
Each clue led to the other clue till the kids uncovered the ‘treasure’ which was a bar of chocolate. It was a fun way to spend a Sunday morning.
2. Steal the word (2 or more players)
This is a simple game to encourage them to decode the letters in an Urdu word. All you need is:
- Paper/ White Board/ Chalkboard
- Marker/ Pencil/ any other writing material
- Urdu alphabet handout from the resource library
To play this game:
- Write a simple Urdu word* on the board/paper.
- Each kid gets a chance to read the word. The correct answer gives you 1 point.
- If the answer is wrong the other kid gets a chance to steal your word for half a point.
- The kid with the highest points at the end of the game wins.
*Start with the easiest two to three-letter words to help develop confidence in their ability. Increase the difficulty as you progress. For instance: اب آج آم and then you can progress to جا ،لا ،پا
3.Kahoot ( One or more players)
For those who enjoy doing quizzes online, Kahoot is a fun way to make your own using the Urdu language. You just need a device (computer or tablet) to make it and play on the spot. It is a similar concept to Boom cards.
Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform that makes it easy to create, share and play learning games or trivia quizzes in minutes. Follow the steps below to learn how to do it yourself.
- Log on to Kahoot.com and create a FREE account. Click on this link to go there directly.
- Create simple questions in Urdu or Roman Urdu. My daughter used both.
- Click on PLAY GAME to generate a GAME PIN. Now share the game pin with your friends.
- Each kid needs to log on to Play Kahoot! – Enter game PIN here! And enter the GAME PIN which you provide.
- Once all players have logged on then you can ask the questions. Each kid can reply using their own device.
- The player with the highest correct answers wins.
You can watch a video of me talking about it here:
Our results so far:
These methods have made it more fun and kept it interesting for me and the kids to stay engaged. There is no short cut here but small and consistent effort has a huge payoff.
The speed of learning can be increased by adding activities that promote explicit learning i.e. reading and writing Urdu. This was studied through research conducted by Cambridge University on 8-9-year-old UK children. It showed that a balance of both explicit and implicit learning would benefit in learning a second language.
Overcoming our own mindset:
It is worth mentioning that we need to evaluate how we view this process as well. I recently reviewed the book Mindset by Carol Dweck (podcast link here) in which the benefits of having a growth mindset open a world of possibilities. My children are learning that they have the ability to learn another language and it has given them the confidence to expand their abilities.
If I were to limit them by thinking that they can make do with one language, I would be displaying traits of a fixed mindset that does not like to be challenged. In fact, this process has taught me so much about the link between identity and language.
My Final Thoughts…
The most important part of the journey should be that you and your kids should have lots of fun in the process. Learning Urdu should be a means to connect better with each other.
As a native Urdu speaker, I remember it took me years to gather the confidence to converse fluently in English even though English is taught in schools in Pakistan from the elementary level. Hence, I am not surprised that it’s taking more time for my kids to fluently speak in Urdu as opposed to reading Urdu.
Research shows that it takes more than 44 weeks for a native English speaker to learn Urdu or similar languages. So be patient and you will hear a reply in Urdu the day they want a favour from you.
