What Type of Learner is Your Child and What's the Best Way to Teach them Arabic?

When teaching the Arabic language to a child, it can be helpful to consider what type of learner they are. It can help you understand better how they learn and process new information. Researchers have identified three main types of learners, visual, auditory and kinesthetic; although an individual would normally have a combination of the three. So ideally, you would want to focus less on the best way to teach them the content and evaluate how they learn and optimize that. There are numerous tests online that can help you figure out what type of learner your child is.

Visual learners like to observe and study the world around them with their eyes. They may be good at remembering places you have visited and people you've met. You may notice that they have a strong memory and sense of direction. They tend to enjoy watching television or playing with tablets and other screens. They may love coloring, drawing, crafting or reading books. In a way they see the world through a lens, and this is how they make sense of it.

To help out a child who is visual leaner, you can support learning with visual material, such as pictures, graphs, sticky notes, posters and books. You can also watch movies about the topics. You may also make use of interesting worksheets, where they get to trace or join the dots for example. Moreover, you can use the element of imagination and visualization to enhance their understanding, such as getting them to tell the story again as if they were the main character, or asking lots of open questions about what might happen next. If you think your child is mainly a visual leaner, perhaps you may consider using Arabic alphabet flashcards, Arabic Alphabet posters and Arabic alphabet puzzles. You can also get them to trace the letters and color the pictures on worksheets.. You can watch Arabic alphabet songs on YouTube and read Arabic picture books together.

Auditory learners use their sense of hearing to decode information and study the world. They are usually very "verbal" and talkative, and enjoy listening to music, singing, or reading out loud. They tend to be good at understanding verbal instructions.

If you think your child is an auditory learner, pay attention to your verbal and communication techniques. Talk them through it, explain and repeat as much as necessary. You may wish to use songs or rhymes to help them remember things. Always read out loud and encourage them to ask plenty of questions. Also consider if there are any auditory distractions, such as the sound of the television playing the background. Hence, when teaching them Arabic, use Arabic alphabet songs and nursery rhymes. Moreover, talk to them more in Arabic and repeat your phrases clearly and loudly.

A child who is a kinesthetic learner, is usually a "physical" child, who explores the world by their sense of touch and by exploiting their excellent fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. You may find that they are "very active" and can't sit still. They may enjoy being outside and being active. They may use lots of gestures and physical expressions to communicate. They may also enjoy sports, dancing, and role playing. As babies, they could have been the early crawlers or walkers.

To help out a kinesthetic learner you could include physical and hands on activities in their learning. For example, you may include role playing scenarios, or help them out by drawing letters or shapes in the air for them. You may also create a certain song with a dance routine, or simply accept their fidgeting and moving during the lesson and work with it. You can use chalk boards or cardboard and encourage them to write or draw. You can also use puzzles, play dough or build things together. When learning Arabic, you can play Arabic alphabet puzzles, or the Arabic alphabet snap, or Arabic alphabet building blocks. You can put together a small Arabic play, where they have to act out a part in Arabic. You can also simply dance and sing along to Arabic nursery songs.

Finally, it is important to keep in mind that children would have a combination of the three, despite the fact they may show an affinity to one particular style. Understanding and recognizing how a child learns can help them learn better. So, don't think of how "You" would like to teach them and think instead of they would like to learn. And don't underestimate the value of learning through play and fun.

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