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| Our boys taken at the outlet store in Oklahoma City in July during our trip |
Perfect example is, my cousin. He was born and is residing here in the US. My mother told me that when they went home last May, he often would get bored because nobody would dare talk to him because of the language differences. He couldn't understand Tagalog, and my cousins could not really speak English fluently. So most of the time, he was left all by himself while the rest hung out together and were having fun. Now, that's something I would not want my kids to go through.
My children have Filipino blood running through their veins, and because I am a Filipino, I am not going to sit there and not teach my kids the values and culture that are part of who their Mother is. They may be born and raised here in the US, but that's not an excuse as to why they won't learn my language and my culture. It'll be a shame on my part to not give my kids the time to teach them something valuable, something that's also a part of who they are. And hearing them starting to talk in Tagalog now gives me such a priceless feeling!
They know the words, Mahal Kita, Kumusta ka?, baso, tubig, plato, Opo Papa/Mama, to name a few.
One more thing that makes me proud of my little ones is, they know how to do the "Mano Po" gesture. (The person giving the greeting bows towards the offered hand of the elder and presses his or her forehead on the elder's hand. Usually performed with the right hand, the person showing respect may ask Mano po to the elder in order to ask permission to initiate the gesture. - source: Wikipedia)
When their Papa gets home from work, they know what to do once they see him.
I'm not rushing into anything right now. I am taking things one step at a time. They may not fully understand yet the meaning of every word that they can say now, but knowing they can actually say them correctly, for me, is a big start! I just don't want my kids to look like fools if we go home for a vacation just because they couldn't understand people's conversation there. And, FYI, my native tongue is not Tagalog, but Waray. Why I chose to teach them Tagalog first even if it's not the spoken language in our place? Simply because Tagalog is our national language, and if you know how to speak it, you can go anywhere in the Philippines and you can still hold a conversation with other people where you can understand them and be understood at the same time. Language is such a big barrier, and I at least want to help my kids get over that since I know they will be spending some time with my family as well. And who wouldn't want their kids to learn how to speak different languages? I honestly want them to learn as many languages as their brain can hold. (Hehehe.)
I know other languages, too. But for the mean time, they have to be good in Tagalog first before we can move on to the next lesson. (wink*)
I know other languages, too. But for the mean time, they have to be good in Tagalog first before we can move on to the next lesson. (wink*)
SMiLiES | EMOTiCONS COURTESY OF:
10 Sweet Thoughts☆
Well that's a good start KC, Like you guys do, we teach KD to do the Mano Po. I am having hard time t o teach my son tagalog but I won't give up because I want him to love our culture too.
I’m so proud of you mommy, KC! It’s the most wonderful thing a parent can teach to their children. That is to get in touch with their roots. We Filipinos are raised with proper manners and with great respect for our elders. And By introducing this to your children, you have given them the chance to be great patriots and a real Filipino.
Awwww that is awesome KC.. My kids knows a little tagalog and Rye can sing the Leron Leron sinta with a much pilipit dila you could find lol.. Have you see her video with it?
bilingual is important nowadays. Good to hear your kids learning your mother tongue.
That's good friend. Filipino Tag-alog is one of beautiful languages in the world...hehehe.
bilingual or multilingual is really a great advantage for any person in this world....am pretty sure your kids will thank you for this.
that's good for your little boys to learn tagalog, one of my friends here also raised his kid to speak tagalog, he used to respond to me before in taglaog, but once he went to school, he now responds to me in English, since he is more comfortable speaking in English, but he understands tagalog perfectly. sometimes we ask him to respond in Tagalog and he complies, I always find it cute to listen to them, like how some of my students would try their hardest sometimes to talk to me in Tagalog.
Dapat lang.. learning Tagalog will be of great help to them in the near future. Sis, next time post mo naman video nila while singing Bahay Kubo.
That is really nice of you Ate KC, to teach them our mother tongue step by step! :)
So proud of you and wish you luck and success with it.
that's nice. your kids will thank you when they get big...:) iyong dalawa ko, magaling din magmano, sinanay namin and they got used doing it everyday, hehehe, katuwa lang kaya kapag nauwe kami sa Pinas. my boy speak Tagalog well, laki sya sa Pinas but now he is forgetting some hard words, na-co-confused na kasi sya, he's learning Khmer when we are in Cambodia then after a year we moved dito sa Bangkok, ngyn naman he is learning Thai...but at home when Daddy's not around, I always talk with them in Tagalog. my girl is so cute kasi slang kapag nagtatry magsalita ng Tagalog, hehehe! :) keep it up, you're doing a great job. :)
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