At the beginning, I suppose.

Learning a language is built on exposure to syllables and sounds that create words (WORD RECOGNITION AND VOCABULARY) and words that create sentences (GRAMMAR).

Because we are in an American English dominant world, creating exposure to the Hmong language happens in 2 typical ways.

• Someone in your family speaks Hmong to your kids consistently.
• Someone outside your family speaks Hmong to your kids consistently.

The first one is natural and the second is a made up environment that is created to expose them to Hmong. Some of us are lucky enough to live with or around grandparents who are able and interested to take on this task and some of us know enough Hmong to take on the task ourselves. The second group of people usually rely on schools. In other cultural groups, parents can also rely on nannies, tutors and extended travel or years abroad to create this artificial environment to learn another language but that likely isn’t available to many of us so I’ll leave that option for another blog.

Either way, what I have noticed is that by the time my toddler utters a word, they have heard it for months. And then, after the needed brain development in toddler-hood, they acquire language rapidly.

So, again, we start at the beginning. We must start by building exposure. And so I have created my Kuv phau ntawv series. Each book goes through simple high use Hmong words introduced with their beginning letter.

Why I created my Kuv phau ntawv series

• to create a simple library of Hmong books
• to use simple pictures that would engage them
• to label each picture with simple words to build vocabulary and let them read along
• to repeat the letter on each page so that they will start to recognize the alphabet and their sounds
• to provide something special that is also replaceable – since kids aren’t always kind to books.

How to use my Kuv phau ntawv series

Begin by listening to the youtube videos while holding the books. Then when comfortable, start to say the words out loud. You can do this alone or with your child. This is a great way to model reading, listening and saying the word with mistakes. It shows your child that learning a language is something you have to do and practice not just “know or don’t know.”

If you don’t need the youtube video, read the book to your child while pointing at the object.

Once you have command of the word yourself, point out the object in your real life. And then start using the Hmong word whenever you see it or it’s requested.

For example:

Your child: I want a banana.

You hand over the banana and say: txiv tsawb. And keep repeating the word in a fun way until your child does, if they are at an age where they are able to speak words.

Once your child has exposure to the word, you can use my Kuv phau ntawv series as prompts to create a sentence. Of course, you will need to build your own vocabulary to do so.

For example:

Mis = milk

You point at the baby and bottle and say “ab noj mis.”

In my Kuv Phau Ntawv series, you will have access to the youtube video and each Kuv phau ntawv. I have included 2 pdf downloads. One is an Hmong and English version and one is an Hmong only version. There is much debate about which one is better for language learning. I will leave that decision up to you for now with these suggested guidelines from my own experience.

If you have an infant, start with the Hmong only version.

 If your child already reads in English and focuses only on the English word then you might want to try the Hmong only.

 If your child connects the English word with the Hmong word then the Hmong and English version will be fine.

 And that’s all for now. Remember, they won’t learn Hmong at the rapid pace of English because of exposure. So don’t judge progress by what they say or know but by what you are doing together. Be proud when you read one Hmong book or say one Hmong word because it really does start at the beginning.

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Want a fun, interactive book in Hmong? Learn some Hmong while doing yoga!