By Lisa Lyons | US Director
For many of us who grew up in monolingual homes, and in (largely) monolingual communities, the fact that more than half of all people in the world are functionally bilingual or multilingual may come as a bit of a surprise!
Children in the Ramdhuni villages where ETC currently works typically speak a mother tongue in their homes - Tharu, Urau, or Abadhi among others. They also learn the official national language, Nepali, through school, media, and interaction with speakers of Nepali. Some families have access to Hindi-language media through radio or television broadcasts. And nowadays, many parents are very eager for their children to gain competence in English, in large part because English is seen as opening doors to more and better employment opportunities.
Early education teachers are there to help establish a strong foundation for lifelong multilingualism! With help from ETC/Save the Earth, they make their classrooms into visually appealing and educationally enriching spaces where the youngest learners gain important fundamental exposure to both Nepali and English through songs, simple stories, alphabet puzzles, and colorful wall decorations.
On behalf of all of us at ETC/STE, we thank you for helping provide these young children with a strong linguistic foundation that will surely benefit them throughout their lives!
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