Guide
How to teach your child Serbian when you live abroad
Your child understands when grandma speaks Serbian, but answers in French or English. It's the most common situation in diaspora families, and it can change. Here is what research says, and what works at home.
“He understands, but he won't answer”: that's normal
My daughter is 10. She understands Serbian when her grandparents speak to her, but she doesn't dare answer. If that sounds like your child, you are in good company: linguists call it receptive (or passive) bilingualism. The child hears the language often enough to understand it, but almost never needs it to be understood, because everyone around them also speaks the language of the country.
The good news: understanding is the hardest part, and it is already there. What's missing is practice, and a reason to speak.
What research says
In 2007, linguist Annick De Houwer studied 1,899 families in Belgium where at least one parent spoke a language other than the majority one, with children aged 6 to 10. Every child spoke the country's language. Far from all of them spoke the family language.
What made the difference was what the children heard at home. Homes where both parents used the family language, and at most one parent also spoke the majority language, had a high chance of success. The famous “one parent, one language” rule was neither necessary nor enough on its own.
In practice: the more Serbian your child hears at home, and the more often Serbian is the only way to get something done, the more likely they are to speak it. The rule you choose matters less than the amount.
Create the need to speak
- Video calls with the grandparents, in Serbian only. If baka doesn't speak your country's language, Serbian becomes useful, not a school subject.
- A daily Serbian moment. The bedtime story, breakfast, the drive to school: a short ritual every day beats a long session once a week.
- Questions that call for an answer in Serbian. “Hoćeš li jabuku ili krušku?” (an apple or a pear?) is easier to answer than an open question.
- Don't translate everything. If you repeat each sentence in the other language, the child learns that Serbian is optional.
- Praise the attempt, not the grammar. A child who is corrected at every word stops trying. Repeat the right form naturally in your answer instead.
- Summers in Serbia. A few weeks where Serbian is everywhere do more than months of lessons: the need to speak is real.
Latin or Cyrillic: where to start?
Serbian is written in two alphabets, Cyrillic and Latin, and both have 30 letters with one letter for each sound: you read a word the way you say it. The Constitution makes Cyrillic the script in official use, while Latin is everywhere in daily life, from shop signs to messages.
For a child who already reads French or English, starting with Latin is easier: most letters are familiar, and only a few are new (č, ć, š, ž, đ, dž, lj, nj). Cyrillic then comes one group of letters at a time. Watch out for the false friends: in Cyrillic, В is V, Р is R, Н is N and С is S.
Learning both is worth it: grandparents' books, street names and road signs in Serbia often use Cyrillic.
Ten minutes a day, and a class if you can
Regularity matters more than length. Ten minutes every day keep the language alive; one hour on Saturday is quickly forgotten during the week.
Serbia's Ministry of Education also runs free supplementary classes in Serbian for children abroad, as in Cannes, where a school opened with the support of the Serbian Embassy in Paris and a local association. Ask your embassy or consulate whether one exists near you.
Tools that help
Children's books in Serbian, cartoons and songs give the ear new words. Choose the ones your child already likes in their other language: a story they know is easier to follow.
I made Ježko for my daughter, because I didn't find an app made for her: one story told over 100 lessons, in which children speak out loud from the first lesson and learn to read Latin, then Cyrillic, ten minutes a day. It's one tool among others; the most important one remains the Serbian you speak at home.
Questions parents ask
At what age should my child start learning Serbian?
As early as possible for listening, but it's never too late to start speaking. Children aged 6 to 14 who already understand Serbian can catch up quickly once they have regular practice and a reason to speak.
Only one of us speaks Serbian. Is it still worth it?
Yes. Research by Annick De Houwer shows that the amount of family language a child hears at home matters most. If only one parent speaks Serbian, add other sources: grandparents, friends, books, a supplementary class, summers in Serbia.
Should my child learn Latin or Cyrillic first?
For a child who already reads French or English, Latin first is easier, since most letters are familiar. Then add Cyrillic one group of letters at a time. Both alphabets have 30 letters and are read the way they are written.
My child mixes Serbian and English in the same sentence. Is that a problem?
Mixing languages is common among bilingual children and is not a sign of confusion. Answer in Serbian, repeating the word they were missing, without stopping the conversation.
Sources
- Annick De Houwer, « Parental language input patterns and children's bilingual use », Applied Psycholinguistics 28 (3), 2007
- Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, article 10 (Language and script)
- Emerging Europe, « Cyrillic in Serbia is on life support, but it's not dead yet » (Latin in daily use)
- Večernje novosti, « Otvorena Srpska dopunska škola u Kanu » (Serbian supplementary school in Cannes)