Sometimes screen time really isn’t bad especially when your children are accessing Gujarati online classes! We have many reasons in our Gujarati home as to why we don’t have Gujarati-speaking kids.
Here are some of my favorite excuses:
- No time to get in the car and drive them to a language class.
- No teacher! I’m so used to speaking to them in English and since I am their mom, they won’t listen to me and it’s hard to find a teacher unless you’re in a really saturated area where resources like a live teacher are easier to find.
- Kids these days! All they want to do is watch videos online! They’re not going to pay attention.
Vaishali Patel, the founder of Sanskar Teaching, a teaching site providing Gujarati online classes, seems to be keenly in touch with all the reasons as to why parents today may find it daunting to pass on Gujarati.
With games, cultural activities and story time, your kids might even start looking forward to learning Gujarati like so many of our past students do, Patel said when asked what parents can expect from her classes.
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I had an opportunity to try the Sanskar Teaching Gujarati online classes with my children who are seven and five years old. I was impressed to see them learning on what they love best: a screen-based device. I also felt really old, but that’s beside the point.
[Read More: The Loss of my Ancestral Tongue: Why I Regret Not Learning Punjabi]
For all the times I tell my kids to stay off their devices, this is a great reason to stay on their devices. The course consists of seven modules. In each module, Patel herself is featured in short videos teaching the children letters, numbers, animals, and other aspects of essential vocabulary. Each module covers a different part of the Gujarati alphabet, breaking it down into smaller, less overwhelming parts. At the end of each module, there is usually an activity to tie all the learning together into practical uses, including recognizing letters and even words in a Gujarati newspaper or wedding invitation, as well as playing games. In addition to watching the videos, the course also has associated documents that include letter tracing and English writing to help sound out the Gujarati words phonetically and use them in sentences.
We especially loved the body parts and colors segments. The videos are in English and Patel knows her audience well. With references to the Minions or other popular culture hints, she makes the teaching relatable and enjoyable for all ages. Her videos are patient and allow the viewer to learn in a supportive way. In addition, the site layout is clean, professional, and easy to maneuver from lesson to lesson.
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Whether it’s Gujarati or any other language, I think parents of multicultural households are searching for materials that their children can relate to when trying to learn other languages. Sanskar Teaching is one example of a new wave of teaching that’s designed for a new generation of learners who can now learn from any corner of the world if they are online.
To learn more, visit Sanskar Teaching.
The Gujarati online classes by Sanskar Teaching were provided to the author for free to review. All opinions are her own.
