Spanish and English Words
Go to this link to play a game translating words from Spanish to English or English to Spanish. We have Spanish speaking students at our schools whose families come from Mexico, Costa Rica, Honduras, Puerto Rico and California.
How to Read the Arabic Alphabet
Go to the youtube video below to listen to each letter pronounced, with Arabic words and pictures for each letter, and an explanation of how this letter compares to an English sound.
Turkish AlphabetGo to this link to hear a Turkish alphabet song www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjPAPq_rMRY
Urdu AlphabetStudents who speak Urdu usually have a family that comes from Pakistan or northern India. Their language sounds like Hindi, but their alphabet looks like Arabic. There are many Arabic words in their language, but Hindi speakers can understand most of what Urdu speakers are saying. www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_DcqzicDMU
Liberian English and American EnglishGo to this link to read a book written by a Liberian student who came to America in 2011. She and I created this book together on Big Universe.
https://www.biguniverse.com/buauthor/fullscreen/bu1335381845 |
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Languages of India
We have immigrants in our community who come from many different parts of India, where different languages are spoken. The map below shows only the major language in each province. If you go to this website, you can click on a map of India, and see all the languages spoken in each province. http://www.mapsofindia.com/culture/indian-languages.html
Telegu, Tamil and Hindi
This website for kids gives you a chance to listen to words, stories and songs in a few of India's many languages.
Gujarati for Kids
Go to this website to hear words and stories for kids in Gujarati.
Video: Marathi alphabet
The Hindu ReligionMany people from India are Hindus, but not all. This web page helps explain some of the Hindu religious ideas, to help kids explain their religion to others.
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Chinese Characters
Chinese writing is made up of characters, instead of a phonetic alphabet. Each character stands for the meaning of a word, not the sound. So Chinese speakers from different regions may not be able to understand each other, but sometimes if the students are older and have already learned to read and write, they can communicate with each other by writing the characters. Cantonese is a different language from Mandarin Chinese. Cantonese is spoken on the island of Taiwan, and Mandarin is the most widespread language used in mainland China. There is also a phonetic system for reading Chinese, called "pinyin". It uses letters like our English letters to represent sounds, so you can communicate the pronunciation of a word.
Japanese Writing
At first glance, Japanese and Chinese writing appear similar, but Japanese letters represent syllables. Listen to the following video: