Herrai
My name is Herrai Singh, my wife is Garbaugh Kaur and we have 2 kids. Gurmukh Singh is 6 years old and Sunmukh Singh is 3 years old. And we live together with my mother.
Garbaugh
So we were both born here in the UK. So we have both been brought up in this sort of society. We're so used to speaking to them in English, although we do try and speak in Punjabi. It can be quite difficult but they know definitely to speak with their grandparents in Punjabi.
Herrai
Having Mum, someone who is from where you are ancestrally from. It definitely does help.
Garbaugh
Family is very important in our Punjabi culture. Our kids call their grandmother "Bibi". I think it's just a respectful way of saying grandmother. But the kind of bond that they have with their grandmother is just so lovely to see and I think it's nice that they… So basically in the morning, the kids will go straight to see Bibi first. They'll go say hello to her first. They'll give her a hug. Before they even come to see us. They have such a good relationship with their grandmother. Mum keeps them very busy as well.
Herrai
They keep Mum busy.
Garbaugh
Bibi teaches Sunmukh a Punjabi puzzle. Within our family there are certain people that only speak Punjabi, so if they can't speak Punjabi it's going to be very difficult for them to communicate.
Herrai
Having the support of elders is a massive help. I speak to my mum mainly in Punjabi. They will then see that - these guys are speaking in Punjabi, what are they talking about? I want to be part of this and it's that curiosity again. They don't want to feel left out and so they want to stay engaged.
Garbaugh
And they'll get told off in Punjabi as well!
Herrai and Garbaugh explain how time with their boys' grandmother has helped them to learn Punjabi.
The more children speak a language with family and hear family members speaking that language, the more they will pick up and use it naturally.
Image caption, Time with family can help children immerse themselves in a language they speak.
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