“I think it builds their vocabulary and interest towards the culture and the language and love toward the language,” said Vinita Naik, Children’s Services Associate at the Naperville Public Library. “It’s very important for introducing their own language or a different language at a very young age.”
Every fourth Thursday of the month, the Naperville Public Library hosts Dual Language Storytime, a free event to help kids gain an appreciation for the many languages spoken throughout Naperville.
Native speakers share their language
Each storytime is taught by a community member or volunteer who is a native speaker of the language. They share books, rhymes, and songs with young children and their parents. Vinita Naik teaches Hindi Dual Language Storytime.
“I was a teacher back in India, so books were always very close to my heart,” said Naik.
Dual Language Storytime activities
One of the activities Naik includes in her lesson helps kids learn numbers one through six in Hindi.
“So I try to do it with the dice, I roll it into the activity so they know the counting with English and the counting with Hindi,” said Naik. “Then I always incorporate the color activity where they can identify and see fruit names they are familiar with and see every day in their household.”
The Naperville Public Library has hosted Dual Language Storytime since 2010. Throughout the year, they offer other sessions in Arabic, Polish, Russian, and Albanian.
“It is very important because people who didn’t even have the background were trying to learn and reconnect with the language, said Naik. “So when the parents bring their little ones, they want to bring or show that culture.”
If you have a story idea, we want to hear from you!
