08 FEATURE
08 FEATURE
THE MESSAGE . BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA www . kalatas . com . au | Volume 6 Number 10 | JULY 2016
Teaching Tagalog Mum ’ s tips
1 . Right from the start , have an objective in mind . Do you want your child to be a passive learner ( understand but can ’ t speak ), or be able to actively engage in a conversation in the Filipino language ?
2 . Find other parents with the same objective of teaching their child Tagalog and organise a playtime or meetups . This way , the child will have friends who also speak Tagalog .
3 . Read and tell stories in Tagalog and encourage your child to participate . Ask questions in Tagalog , like “ Ano kaya ang susunod na mangyayari ?”
Start them young
Online shop offers fun language learning books
A Ba Ka Da … want to teach Filipino to your kids ? A young entrepreneur has opened an online bookstore that provides volumes of resources to help parents teach the young ones speak Filipino
The FilOz Children ’ s Bookstore was established in 2014 . It ’ s a fully online store that caters to Australian families who want to teach their child the Filipino language . This business was borne out of the dreams of a young migrant mum who was then pregnant with her first child .
“ I had the inspiration to build FilOz Children ’ s Bookstore while I was pregnant in 2013 with our first child . My husband and I wanted our child to be bilingual so I asked to family and friends to give us Tagalog books ,” founder Jed Gerona told the AK .
“ In early 2014 our first child was born . During her first few months , I read out loud the Tagalog story books whilst we also speak to her in Tagalog , just so she can familiarise herself with the tone and the accent ,” she said .
“ I thought that maybe there are also other Filipino parents in Australia who want to raise a bilingual child and are also looking for books . My main objective is to provide additional resources in teaching their child Tagalog
English will always be the natural environment of the child and he or she will learn it easily .
“ I think we should all make an effort to preserve the Filipino language and be informed of the benefits of bilingualism in the community . Australia embraces multiculturalism . Everyone in the community gets a better appreciation of different cultures .”
Only in its second year – her business as young as her toddler , the bookstore has been receiving positive feedback .
“ I have met new Filipino migrants , Aussies with Filipino connection , teachers , daycare educators , etc . I love hearing about their stories on how they arrived in Australia and their determination to raise a bilingual child ,” she said .
She has started to accommodate orders coming from New Zealand .
“ Filipino parents who come across the online store are so happy that the bookstore is providing such great
“ I THINK WE SHOULD ALL MAKE AN EFFORT TO PRESERVE THE FILIPINO LANGUAGE AND BE INFORMED OF THE BENEFITS OF BILINGUALISM IN THE COMMUNITY . AUSTRALIA EMBRACES MULTICULTURALISM . EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY GETS A BETTER APPRECIATION OF DIFFERENT CULTURES .”
4 . Introduce and teach Philippine nursery songs . They have simple concepts and simple sentence construction that the child can easily absorb .
5 . Watch shows , movies that are age appropriate in Tagalog . YouTube is your friend .
6 . For older kids or teenagers , think about what your child is interested in . For example if your child is interested in cooking find a new recipe and prepare and cook it together using only Tagalog .
7 . Be firm in just speaking Tagalog at home . A child likes to tell stories , so if they tell a story in English , encourage them to tell the story again , but this time only in Tagalog . This increases their confidence in speaking Tagalog as well as an opportunity for them to expand their vocabulary .
8 . For those who have partners who speak another language , you can use a one-parent-one-language model . For example , the Pinay mum speaks only Tagalog to the child , while the Aussie dad speaks English to them .
9 . Don ’ t give up ! Give your child a lot of encouragement and support to keep them motivated .
10 . Have fun with it ! through books and stories with Filipino values .”
FilOz Children ’ s Bookstore offers a variety of books ranging from basic board books for infants and toddlers , learning aids on Filipino culture , activity books , inspirational books , bilingual books and books on all-time favourite Filipino stories .
Jed comes from a Bicolano family but was born and raised in Quezon City . A De La Salle University grad ( computer science ), she currently keeps a full-time job in Sydney CBD .
She has a passion for keeping alive the Filipino language and believes in the power of bilingualism .
“ We can easily recognise that there is a decline of Tagalog speakers in the second generation . I met Filipinos who moved to Australia with their family either at an early age or they were born here . Most of them can “ understand but can ’ t speak ” and some of them wished their parents taught them Tagalog ,” she said .
“ Children can easily absorb languages , especially at very young age . So speaking Tagalog to the child even in infancy already has its benefits . We all should accept that
invaluable service . I ’ ve heard stories from parents that the books are now their child ’ s new favourite bedtime stories .”
The board books for children from 0 to 3 years are the most popular titles . These are books to help the child learn simple concepts and for them to learn Philippine nursery songs such as , among others : Ang Una Kong Alpabeto - about the Philippine alphabet ; Kulay ! - teaches them about colours ; Masaya Ako - about expressions and feelings ; Sampung Mga Daliri ; Bahay Kubo .
Bilingual story books , those with English translation , are also popular amongst buyers . The online bookstore recently added Cebuano and Ilocano books for parents who want to introduce their own dialect to their child . They will also be adding more storybooks such as Mga Alamat stories “ as these are the most requested ones from our customers ,” Jed said .
“ I founded FilOz Children ’ s Bookstore because I am passionate about teaching my child Tagalog . I want to encourage other parents that it is possible to raise a bilingual child in Australia .”