Importance of learning our native language

A people without the knowledge of their past, culture and origin are like a tree without a root. In school, we have been thought that culture is a way a group of people live, the way they dress. In short, the values of a group of people make it a culture. When we talk about heritage, it is something that has been passed or from generation to generation. Therefore, the heritage does not consist of money or property but a culture. This culture has been passed on from our forefathers from time immemorial. My question is why then do we discontinue this when we find ourselves in a foreign land? I have seen a lot of women refusing to speak their native language with their children and I wonder what they are imparting to them. Why do we take something that does not belong to us and we make it ours? I simply cannot put a finger on that.

Research has shown that when a child reads and study in his or her native language, it aids the acquisition of reading ability in a second language. In the daycare where my son is, the teachers always tell us to speak in our mother tongue with our children.I visited my country recently and saw a new trend going on. Everybody wants their children to speak English. meanwhile, my children I travelled with spoke our native language so well that everybody admired them. I asked my sister why this was so and she told me that if you don't speak English with your children, they lose their confidence when they meet their peer. When you visit the malls and the playing grounds, people look at you with some kind of eye when you cannot express yourself well in the English language. In short, people look down on you. Why is it so? Have we become so modernized as to throw our native language in the garbage? Or we simply think our native language is filthy? In the country I live, mother tongue is very important to them. They marvel if you tell them you cannot read or write in your native language. When you have a child, they insist you teach him or her your mother tongue before any other language.I remembered my midwife told me to play my native songs to my son, I thought it was absurd but I now know why she said that.

Teaching our children our native language is part of upholding our cultural heritage. Let us encourage our children to learn and speak our language, learning a new language is not bad but ignoring your own language and holding tight to another language is worst. Let us not forget where we came from.

SUGGESTED SOLUTION

Children in their early age can learn different languages that is why it is important to teach them their native because it is the first language that opens avenue for other languages to follow. There are lots of benefits as to regards of learning our native language. An important benefit is helping to protect dying language (native tongue) especially when one finds him or herself in a foreign land. More so, children have a sense of belonging when they know their native language. Research have shown even youth with difficult backgrounds are able to overcome their socioeconomic circumstances through the study of their native language. Furthermore, it helps foster positive personal connection to the things they are learning around them.

It is therefore important that parents in their upbringing teach their children to be proud and embrace their cultural heritage.