When Tanya came to a Czech school, everything was new for her. Although she could understand some Czech, active speaking, reading comprehension, and school exams were very challenging. “It was difficult,” she says, “but I could understand what my classmates and teachers were saying quite well.”
At school, she mostly enjoys staying outside – for instance, at school camps. She likes to spend time with her friends and loves gymnastics.
Children who come to Czech schools with limited knowledge of the language often understand simple phrases. However, speaking, reading comprehension, and school exams are much harder for them.
A combination of Czech, physical activity, and fun
The principal reason Tanya, accompanied by her mother, approached META, was to get better at Czech and other subjects. She needed someone who would explain the rules and encourage her to use the language. This is how Tanya started regularly meeting with Radek, a volunteer at META.
“Tanya was very energetic from the beginning. She viewed studying as a duty, and I wasn’t sure if we would manage to concentrate properly,” Radek describes. He also noticed that Tanya avoided speaking Czech, hoping that she and Radek would somehow understand each other. Her vocabulary knowledge was limited, which also discouraged her from speaking.
If a child is not given enough opportunities to actively use a foreign language outside the classroom, vocabulary development tends to progress rather slowly. Fun and informal classes can therefore represent a great way to support the child’s lexical development. Radek and Tanya started meeting once a week, using interactive tools, Czech fairy tales, and sometimes even toys to overcome these challenges.
“We work on Czech, watch fairy tales, sometimes we focus on math, English, or fundaments of civics and natural science. Every now and then we also read on a computer,” Tanya says.
When a child starts asking questions
Over time, Radek noticed something has changed: “She opened up, she’s more curious, she can tell me what she’d like to do. She’s not afraid to ask me what individual words that she hears watching fairy tales mean.”
Together, they watched Czech fairy tales – for instance, Krkonošské pohádky (The Giant Mountains Fairy Tales), which Tanya enjoyed very much. “I’m glad she finds Slavic folklore interesting. She doesn’t care the fairy tales are in Czech. They help her improve her language skills as well as understand the notion of friendship and other values,” Radek adds.
What has changed?
Tanya has become more self-confident. She’s got better results in Czech and English and most importantly, she’s no longer afraid to speak. The experience gained from helping children with other mother tongues suggests that better school results are not the only success indicator. Children often become more independent, develop relationships with their peers, and get more involved in school activities.
And what about Radek? He took away great experience and an important insight from teaching extra classes: “Many people feel like we must walk on eggshells around children. On the contrary, they need clear boundaries and rules and good communication in the first place. Repeat, use different words, be patient, unless we’re on the same page.”
Tanya has become more independent and confident. She no longer regards studying as a mere duty.
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