A Head Start Parent’s Perspective on Language Learning

By Sahar Ali

My children started out in a home-based Head Start program. The home visitor helped us get used to life in a new country. We were speaking both Arabic and English at home. When my children entered the center-based program, I participated in early literacy training in order to work in the classroom. There, I learned more about the importance of speaking my home language with my children.

So, we decided to only speak Arabic at home because the children would be exposed to English in Head Start, in elementary school, and in the community. I also send them to the mosque once a week to learn Arabic. I have bought some videotapes in Arabic; we see some TV programs in Arabic. I have a few picture books of the Arabic alphabet and the numbers.

When we go back to Egypt for a visit, my oldest child speaks only Arabic there. The younger ones speak both Arabic and some English. I want them to be with other children who speak Arabic because they will “catch” the language from them.

I explain to my children that learning and speaking two languages will be an advantage. Their high school and college years will be enhanced by this knowledge. Also, when they become part of the working world, their experiences with two languages will make them more successful.

I hope that Head Start will continue to support the home languages of its families. If the Child Development Associate training was offered in different languages (now it is in English/Spanish), more teachers and assistants could be hired who are able to prepare the children’s curriculum in their home languages. Head Start programs might sponsor more multi-language book fairs for families and children. I wish that teachers could purchase more materials, such as books and games in different languages. Then parents would have material in their home languages to read with their children, and their language would be kept alive in the Head Start program.

I am grateful that Head Start helped me realize how important it is for my family to speak our home language. I want to encourage other families to do the same.

Sahar Ali’s children attended the Higher Horizons HS/EHS program in Falls Church, VA. T: 703-931-4474; E: sahar_ali22041@yahoo.com