CRO to go: Teaching children Croatian language online all over the world

CRO to go teaches Croatian language online to children all over the world

What is the best time for children to start with learning Croatian and what is the best approach to learning a language, when it comes to children? We asked prof.Mihaela Naletilić from CRO to go, an educational centre specialized in ONLINE Croatian language courses. 

CRO to go is a Croatian language school located in Zagreb, which offers ONLINE Croatian language courses for students of all age, children and adults. 

Prof. Naletilić has a lot of experience in teaching Croatian, but we were wondering what brought her to idea that even little children can successfully learn Croatian ONLINE?

“As all great ideas usually, establishing CROkids program for ONLINE Croatian lessons for children age 6 to 14 – came to me on its own”, says prof.Naletilić.

We were already working with a large number of adult students all over the world, who were learning Croatian with us, but then I started to get e-mails from parents, mostly Croats living in USA, Canada or Australia who wanted to enrol their children in our program. 

This was a completely new challenge for us. We already had excellent learning material and online program for adult students, but teaching Croatian, challenging as it is, to a 6 year old – is a whole new story!

So, with help of my colleagues in CRO to go we developed CROkids program that is adjusted to children. 

CROKids

How do you keep children interested in the lesson? 

First of all, when we start, I like to warn parents that not all kids are crazy about learning ONLINE,  or in a words of little girl: 

“Online lessons are not my cup of tea!”

And that is totally all right. I myself am a type of student who prefers live lessons. 

However, in our experience, most of  the children really like the lessons and enjoy having them.

Lessons are short and fun, and we use a lot of side material, cards, pictures and educational games to keep children interested.  

Also, a lot depends on the teacher.  You have to have something to teach  children. At the same time you need to be fun and serious, a bit strict, but also friendly and be just a bit of a child – to connect with children.

Our teachers are definitely like that! 

CROKids

And how do children react? 

Children react positively when something is genuine, when it is interesting and when the see that you care about what to do. And this is the way we work at CRO to go. Working with children requires creativity and a methodic approach. 

We have a  designed program for children that all of our teachers follow, but also, being a great teacher requires to “think outside the box” – for example,  making a  teddy bear out of piece of paper , and have a birthday party for him and his paper friends – all in Croatian, of course!

Where are the children you work with located and how old is your youngest student? 

We recommend that children are 6 years old before starting and have some basic reading skills. 

Our youngest student is 5 years old and he is doing excellent. His mother has been speaking to him in Croatian from the day he was born. 

CRO to go

And for the end –  What would be your advice for parents?

Just one: Talk to your children. 

I talked to a lot of parents who feel bad that they gave up on talking with their children in Croatian. 

But it is never to late.  Every day you have a new opportunity to teach your children Croatian, don’t miss out on that. And if you are not a native speaker, give your child an opportunity to learn. 

For more information on ONLINE Croatian language courses, visit www.crotogo.hr or you can contact them on [email protected] or find them on Facebook: CRO to go /education/