ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Kurdish language teacher in Canada is using creative educational methods to teach children their native tongue. Pari Chalabi uses a puppet named “Jwana” to help keep students engaged. “Children very quickly establish a connection with the puppet. In my opinion, a child learns better from another child, and when they hear something from a peer or a puppet, they absorb it faster,” she told Rudaw’s Diaspora program. Like many children of immigrant families, young Kurds in the diaspora face significant challenges in preserving their native language. Chalabi’s online classes focus on interactive, child-centered learning, allowing students to actively participate alongside the teacher. She says it is especially effective for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). “The old system treated the child like a soldier… The child was only a receiver and had no opportunity to ask questions or be creative,” she said. Chalabi authored the book Teaching English Alphabet and Writing for Kurdish Kids: Words and Phonetics in 2023, designed to help Kurdish-speaking children learn English.
