Love of languages draws youngsters to Sharjah fest
Learning foreign languages just got easier for many thanks to the choices of books in Spanish, French and Arabic amongst others on sale at Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival
The ongoing 15th annual Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF) is much more than a grand celebration of books and reading. It is a melting pot of cultures, languages and diverse experiences. One of the festival’s most exciting aspects is its role in introducing young children to foreign languages that they may not encounter at home or in school, say parents.
According to lebanese mum ra ch a elk haw and, the 12-day festival running at the Sharjah Expo Centre until May 12, is a unique place that offers a valuable opportunity for children to expand their linguistic horizons in a fun and interactive way. “My daughter has a huge fascination for foreign languages. At SCRF, she and children like her have the chance to explore languages that they may not encounter in their everyday lives,” says El Khawand.
She came to the event earlier this week with her multilingual eight-year-old daughter Maria, who is keen to learn Spanish after watching and reading about the exploits of Dora, a seven-yearold girl of Latin American descent who embarks upon numerous adventures in the wilderness with her friend Boots, a monkey.
“I know English and I speak Arabic at home while I am learning French in school. But now I want to add Spanish to my language list and I was excited to find books that’ll teach me the language,” said the student of Al Mawakeb school.
Meanwhile, for someone like Lale Meredova, who speaks Russian, Turkmen and English, SCRF is an exciting adventure that allows her to explore the world through languages. “This is my first SCRF visit, and I love it because I get to learn new languages and make new friends from different countries. It’s so much fun,” said the seven-year-old from Turkmenistan’s capital of Ashgabat. She moved to the UAE just last year with her parents and siblings Maral, nine, and Khan Murat, four.
“We love UAE for its diversity and you get a slice of it at this festival with books from so many languages available,” added Lale’s mother Mahim, 34.
Whether it’s learning to say “hello” in Arabic, counting in French, or singing songs in Spanish,
SCRF offers children a unique and immersive language learning experience that will stay with them for a lifetime.
PERFECT PLACE TO BEGIN American-egyptian dentist Abrar Abubakr, a 28-year-old mum of two – five-year-old Celine and her three-year-old sister Julia – noted, “My children speak English and Arabic at home and in school anyway, but I would love for them to learn other widely spoken languages like French and Spanish which I don’t know, and this is the perfect place to start that journey.”
It’s the same motivation for her Egyptian friend Yomna Hatim who came to the annual festival of reading in hopes of buying some language books for her four-year-old son Raheem. “I know my child is too small, but I want him to pick up some early lessons in a language like Spanish. I am glad I found some illustrated books with a few words that are just fit for him. I believe kids at this age are fast learners and I don’t think he will have problems in adding another language to a growing vocabulary,” said the 27-year-old pharmacist who spends considerable time with her son teaching him English and Arabic.
STAR EXPLORERS: A marvellous opportunity to delve into the wonders of astronomy by exploring the fascinating realm of telescopes was given to young children at the “Star Explorers” creative workshop during the ongoing 15th edition of the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF).
The largest celebration of knowledge, creativity, art and innovation of its kind in the region, SCRF 2024 is taking place in Expo Centre Sharjah from May 1 to 12, and carries the slogan ‘Once Upon a Hero’.
Trainer Mariam Mustafa Ahmed prepared the children for an exhilarating journey through the cosmos by immersing them in the captivating tale of Curious George Discovers the Stars by H.A. Rey. “George loved stars and wanted to count them. So his friend Bill helped him to make his own telescope so that he could count them really fast before he fell asleep. Like George, we will make a telescope to look at the stars,” she told them.