Wonders of nature, beautiful tropical beaches, and megacities like Sydney and Melbourne with a large pool of opportunities—Australia is home to many cultures, and Malayalis are one of the fastest-growing populations among them. As a Malayali parent living in Australia, one of the biggest challenges you may face while raising your kids would be making them aware of their own cultural heritage! With the demanding school system of Australia and your own responsibilities with work, it can be extremely difficult to find the time and resources to teach your kids Malayalam on your own.

However, you cannot alienate your child from their own mother tongue! It's a key part of their cultural identity and heritage, and being aware of their own identity can help your children grow up healthy in a multicultural society. Being able to speak Malayalam can also help your kids connect better with their grandparents and extended family back in Kerala. Moreover, research has shown that being bilingual has other cognitive and academic benefits. So, teaching your kids Malayalam is not just about preserving your cultural heritage—it's also about giving them a valuable advantage that can benefit them throughout their lives!

Teaching Malayalam in Australia

A globalized world where a multitude of cultures coexist together is a tremendous atmosphere to grow up in! However, it can also create a distance and alienate children from their own culture! When your children have no medium to communicate with their grandparents and family members who are in Kerala and no way to connect with their own culture, it will eventually drive them away from their own community and cause problems like identity crises. So as a parent, it is your responsibility to create opportunities for your kids to connect with their roots.

However, most children learn their mother tongue on their own due to exposure to the language, but even if you only speak Malayalam at home, your kid, who spends the majority of their time at school where the language is mostly English, might end up not picking up on Malayalam or even lose the bit they have learnt during infancy. If that’s the case, you have to take up the task of teaching your child Malayalam.

The school year starts in late January or early February and ends in December in Australia. Apart from the holidays at the end of each term and the long break during Christmas, your kid would be pretty busy with all the schoolwork and extracurriculars throughout the year. Considering your work responsibilities, you might find it hard to make time to teach your kid Malayalam on your own, or your routines might not align with each other. But even if that’s not the case, you have to find interesting ways to teach your kids Malayalam and foster a love for the language in them, and that is not easy! So how do you teach your little one their own mother tongue and introduce them to a culture you cherish? We can do that!

Akshharam

Akshharam is an online platform dedicated to Malayali children who are growing up abroad. With us, your kid can learn Malayalam in the most enjoyable way while also keeping up in their academic journey in Australia. Our course is specifically designed for Malayali kids living abroad and is tailored to meet the unique needs of Malayali families living abroad.

Convenient and flexible: As an online Malayalam learning program, we have a convenient and flexible structure. All our classes are live and customizable based on your schedule and convenience. Our program is also divided into four modules, namely Harishree, Vaayanashaala, Thoolika, and Kilikonchal. These modules are designed to gradually build your child’s Malayalam prowess while also helping them understand their roots better. You can enrol your kid during any month, so if you would prefer your kid to take the course during their term break or Christmas break, we can make it work!

Experienced teachers and effective teaching methods: Our teachers are experienced and passionate about passing on the Malayalam language to kids, and our unique teaching methods and structure of the course are tailored to meet the needs of each child.

Interactive and engaging classes: Children are fast learners, but keeping them engaged is a difficult task, and as a parent, you would know better than anyone how difficult it is to keep your little one interested in something before they take off like a butterfly to chase something else. We at Akshharam understand this and have designed our course to be interactive and engaging, with a range of activities, games, and exercises to help kids learn and practice their Malayalam skills. This approach of ours will keep our little students motivated and interested in learning Malayalam.

Learn Malayalam with us!

A person’s mother tongue is a link that connects them with their homeland and roots, and every child needs that connection. If you are a Malayali parent in Australia struggling to find a resourceful space to teach your kid their mother tongue, enrol your kid in Akshharam’s summer program for Malayalam language and help them connect with their culture. Contact us to learn more about our summer online Malayalam classes!