Azerbaijani

The Azerbaijani Language

Learning the mother tongue plays a vital role in supporting holistic learning, developing intercultural awareness, and building communication skills. Teaching children mother tongue actually provides a better platform for developing a second or third language.

School-based support for language development in both the main language of instruction as well as a mother tongue has far-reaching benefits, including those in emotional, social, and academic areas. The greater the sophistication of a child’s mother tongue knowledge, the easier it is for them to learn new languages. Children, who have a solid foundation in their mother tongue, develop better literacy skills in all other languages that they learn.

Dunya PYP students have Azerbaijani classes twice a week in Grade 1, three times a week in Grade 2, 3, and 4.

Ms. Fidan and Ms.Nurana have always supported our PYP kids in learning their mother tongue by aligning the Azerbaijani language scope and sequence materials with those of transdisciplinary unit topics in all grade levels throughout the year.

You may have noticed that the kids are learning the same concepts in the English and Azerbaijani classes, which helps them transfer skills and knowledge between languages.

Here are some more tips on how you can support your child’s language development.

ØFoster your child’s home language by having an interesting collection of fiction and nonfiction books, games, DVDs, cookbooks, etc… in the mother tongue.

ØRead with your child in their mother tongue regularly.

ØProvide reference materials in your home language to support topics covered in school.

ØSupport your child with school-work, take to the museums, go to sporting events together, speak about festivals and arrange days out and use your mother tongue throughout all these processes.

ØBe proud of your culture and remember that language is as much about communication as it is about identity.