Cleveland, OH — Meet 4-year old Emilio, 6-year old Amora, 8-year old Rosie, 10-year old LaLa, 12-year old Anita, 16-year old Malachi, 18-year old Kimoni, 20-year old Mina, and baby Makalo. These young homeschoolers have created a YouTube channel called Multilingual Stars Academy that offers fun and exciting content to help children learn the basics of different languages.
“Learning different languages is not offered in our community so we have to be the ones who bring that type of education to our people,” Mina stated at a recent business expo at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 20 percent of Americans can speak two or more languages. The percentage in the Black community in some states is only around 7.4%; The rest only speak English according to a 2006 article published in The Denver Post.
This vibrant YouTube channel offers fun facts, easy sing-a-long songs, educational pictures, and high energy that will keep your child engaged long enough to
start learning another language. “I absolutely love everything about these children, the videos are very informational, and fun to sing and dance to, my 9-year old is in love with their energetic style, we keep the videos on repeat!!” stated April Barlow, a local Uber driver.The children have also written 7 colorful bilingual books that accompany the videos on their YouTube Channel. The books are titled It’s Spanish Playtime, Let’s Learn Kiswahili, Circle Time Fun, I Can Speak English (ESL), Let’s Sing in French, I Am Africa
, and Let’s Count to Ten. These books are helping children around the world learn foreign languages in a unique way that is preparing young minds to reach higher levels of thinking. The effects of reading in another language help your child build a wider vocabulary while increasing memory and intelligence.The books are also a part of a growing series called Our Colorful Multilingual Adventures that was started 5 years ago by their mother Shy Santiago.
Here’s what people are saying:
“This family is amazing, and I for one am so happy and grateful to have them as a part of my child’s educational circle.”
— Andre Pilate-English, a full-time single dad“The kids make learning a new language fun and they’re always so colorful which grabs my attention every time I see them in the community.” — Sharyna Cloud, owner of the Kandy Kupboard Kandy Store
For more information and/or to purchase the books, visit their official website at LearnALanguage4Fun.com
This story first appeared on Blacknews.com