Information for parents

Reading in your home language

As a parent, would you like your child to be able to read stories in your home language? And to recognize your own culture in those stories? Van Alle Talen Thuis provides books in many different languages so that libraries, schools, and childcare centers can offer more and more books in your home language. Whether your mother tongue is Arabic, Polish, Hindi, Dutch, Russian, Somali, or any other language, everyone is welcome to borrow the books and everyone can learn from them. Reading in your home language is important for every child’s language development.

There are several reasons why reading and reading aloud at home and at school is important:

The home language makes learning Dutch easier. The more developed a child’s home language is, the easier it is for them to learn a new language.
It promotes understanding between cultures.
Children feel safe at school and learn better when they know their home language is accepted at school.
Children learn a lot from each other’s languages and cultures and, in this way, become global citizens.

Where can you find the multilingual book collection?

Van Alle Talen Thuis @home in languages

As a parent, what can you do with the multilingual book collection?

Reading in the home language is important for your child. Reading aloud together is not just enjoyable, but it also helps your child learn new words, which is good for their vocabulary development. Many books also reflect the culture of the country they come from. By reading these books aloud, you can talk and learn about this together.

Below you will find several tips and resources to get started at home.

BoekStart: Discovering books together with your baby on your lap is educational. Research shows that it supports your child’s language and speech development. It also helps your child’s focus and concentration—skills your baby will benefit from throughout life. For children aged 0–2 years.
Good to know: When your baby is about 5 months old, you will receive a letter from the consultatiebureau (child health clinic) about the BoekStart gift set. Register your child for free and receive the gift set with free books! Visit the website.
Taalschatten: Talking, reading, writing, playing, singing, or observing. On this website you will find many tips on how to explore language with your child. For children aged 0–12 years. Visit the website.
Prentenboeken in alle talen (Picture books in all languages): This website offers a selection of picture books that are read aloud in up to 20 languages. Click on a picture book to see an overview of its available languages. Click on your language to listen to the story. Visit the website.

Would you like more tips? Check out this presentation.

Home language experts

Activities

Multilingual collection and activities

How do we use the multilingual book collection in class?

Schools and childcare centers

Which books can I read and how do you select them?

Each location has a customized book collection in many languages. We look at which languages are spoken at the school, daycare, or public library location in order to customize the collection. In this list, you’ll find which schools and childcare locations have multilingual book collections, and which languages you can borrow from the libraries.

For every book collection:

The majority of books in a language are original works from the country where that language is spoken. These are books by authors who write in your home language.
You will also find translated books, such as Matilda in Turkish, Thai, or Polish.
Some books contain no words at all. These are picture books with images only, so they can be used by everyone, regardless of language.

We select the books together with people who live in the Netherlands and speak a language other than Dutch. They know the language and culture personally and deeply. We call them home language experts. Many of the thuistaalexperts for this program were recommended through collaboration with Heritage Language Education Network. Below you can read step by step how we select the books:

Step 1: Identify which languages are spoken
We find out which languages are spoken in each participating school or library and make a list.

Step 2: Home language experts contribute
The home language experts compile a list of books they feel are a good fit. They focus especially on original works that authentically represent the language and culture.

Step 3: From order to bookshelf
Once the list is complete, we order the books. When they arrive, the books are processed, added to the catalogue, and then distributed to the schools, childcare centers, or public library locations to be enjoyed.