Arab Children are Not Speaking Arabic. Is there a Solution?

In Germany, kids speak German. In France, children speak French, and in the Middle East? Well they speak English mainly, and Arabic secondarily!

It’s disheartening to us as Arab parents. Of course we want our children to master the English language, but not at the expense of them losing their mother tongue. Media and entertainment play a huge role in this. And in terms of content, we’re a region of consumers rather than producers, so we import all of our content from the West. And what language is it in? …English! So can we really be surprised that our kids consume this content in their everyday lives and not become influenced by it? There isn’t enough Arabic content out there to influence them to enjoy learning Arabic, especially in the early years.

So how can we fix this?

The solution is finding content that they can relate to, and can be fun for them, Like Adam Wa Mishmish.

Let’s talk about our Adam Wa Mishmish philosophy.

The Arabic content children currently see is boring, not engaging and it leaves no room for their imagination. There isn’t enough of it, and they have limited access, especially if you’re an Arab living outside the Middle East. We need help connecting our kids to their culture and language.

What is your kid’s favorite Arabic storybook? Are you trying to read the same story to your child over and over, hoping they will be familiar with the words to use throughout the day? Repetition is one way, but what would you say if we gave you another easy step-by-step solution?

Enter Adam Wa Mishmish- we started by creating animated musical videos on YouTube so kids can love and learn the Arabic language. And now, we are bringing our colorful content straight to your device in an app called “Learn Arabic with Adam Wa Mishmish”, for creative, enjoyable and interactive Arabic learning for you and your child. Ahlan Wa Sahlan! Our application’s 360 approach to learning will help your kids learn Arabic vocabulary without feeling they’re in a boring classroom!

We believe children need to feel happy in order to engage in any type of learning. Experts advise that teaching a second language should be fun and engaging for kids. An engaging classroom should use songs, arts and crafts, games, and other child-friendly activities to teach language. In a preschool for instance, an instructor might give the students toy farm animals to play with, while teaching a song about them in the language intended. Older kids might focus on activities such as cooking, puppetry, and folk dancing to build conversation and vocabulary skills while learning about the culture.

The first 5 years of a child’s life are essential for their development. Language is a big part of a child’s ability to communicate and express themselves-leading to a general sense of well-being.

By the age of 6, parents start to feel the need to teach children reading and writing in Arabic But how can we do that if they are not armed with an extensive vocabulary they know and understand? Help them build a strong foundation for their mother tongue from an early age, even from birth, and help them build positive associations with it.