First language
As a parent, you support your child's language and reading by reading and talking to the child in the language that you are best at. In this way, your child gets a rich language that he/she can build on when he/she learns a second language. Here you can get inspiration to stimulate your child's language at home.
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Raising a multi- or bilingual child
You learn a language by using it. Research shows that using and having an extensive vocabulary is one of the primary assets for your child’s performance in school. As a general rule it is expected that children know approx. 10.000 Danish words prior to starting in school.
To give your child the best suitable starting point in a life full of education, it is important to expand his/her vocabulary at an early stage. Knowing the words in one language is a however a big help to learning them in another, and it is therefore essential that you speak to your child.
In the video Language is a gift from mum and dad above, you can watch pre-school teachers and parents present examples on how to support language acquisition amongst children.
The film is produced with multi- og bilingual children in mind and is available in English, Polish, Arabic, Somali and a range of other languages. You can chooce language here.
It is a production by Filmkompagniet with financial support from Udlodningsmidler, Ministry of Children and Education and The City of Copenhagen.
Speak the language
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The Municipality of Aarhus has produced a number of videos about the importance of speaking with your child. The small videos are available in Danish, Vietnamese, Turkish, Somali, Dare, Arabic, Pashto, Kurdish and English.
Resources for stimulating the language of children
Sprogpakken
Sprogpakken is a collection of resources for parents and educational professionals. In many cases the materials have been translated to several languages.
Available as videos and written material Sprogpakken let’s you find inspiration in the form of linguistic games, suggested dialectic reading, everyday conversational exercises and much more.
Sprogpakken was developed by The National Board of Social Services as part of a course of continuing education in the years 2011-2012 . It is presently hosted on emu.dk - the Danish National Learning Platform.
For more information go to: www.emu.dk
Looking for books to read out loud to your child?
At The Danish Library Centre for Integration (‘Bibliotekscenter for Integration’) you can download a primer with references to materials suitable for reading aloud to your child.
The primer is made for parents, pre-school teachers/pedagogues and child librarians. It is available in Arabic, Persian and Turkish.
In the primer you will find ideas on how reading aloud can become an integral part of your daily routine. , and receive quality suggestions on books to engage you and your child in the process.
Copenhagen Libraries have made two videos for parents about supporting their multilingual child's language:
Bilingual from birth and When children learn new languages
Audio books for children in several languages
SPELL is an abbreviation for Structured Preschool Effort for Language and Literacy. As a result of the SPELL research programme ten children’s books in the SPELL-project have been made freely available as audio books in seven different languages: Arabic, English, Somali, Turkish, German, Urdu and Vietnamese.
The SPELL project is a joint research programme between international academia and researchers at the Center for Child Language.
When your child needs to read on her own
READ – Guides and videos in multiple languages
As your child undertakes the challenge of reading on her own, you can boost her reading competency in a number of ways - both before, during and after the act of reading.
READ is a resource made for the 0-3 year olds, older preschool children, children attending grade 0-2 and middle school students, with that goal in mind.
On the site you will find inspirational videos, guides, and other materials segmented according to age and with the aim of supporting your child’s reading proficiency.
The materials are available in Arabic, Danish, English, Farsi/Persian, Pashto, Polish, Rumanian, Somali, Turkish and Vietnamese.
The material from READ is available here (Choose the grade of your child, then language)
The research project READ was made possible as a collaboration between the city of Aarhus Municipal, TrygFonden’s Centre for Child Research and VIA University College.
Books for children - at the library
The Danish Libraries have children books in a variety of languages, that you can borrow.
In the case that a specific book is not a part of the collection of your local library, you can order it from another Danish library branch through Bibliotek.dk.
Feel free to talk to the library staff at your local library - they are there to help you.
eReolen Global
eReolen Global is your access to eBooks and audiobooks in primarily English from the Danish libraries. Here you find thousands of titles in English – both fiction and nonfiction for kids, teens and adults. Visit the website ereolenglobal.dk or download the app Libby.
You need a library card to borrow digital titles, place holds, and add titles to your wish list.
At eReolen Global you will also find Read-Along Books, where you can watch and listen to the book at the same time.