My nine-year-old son, our guest from Greece and Harry Potter

Zehra Topaç has taught English for many years. She recalls the moment her nine-year-old son fell into an excited conversation about Harry Potter with a guest from Greece — and why teaching a child a new language means opening a door onto the world.

By Zehra Topaç · October 4, 2026 · 2 min read

A sunlit living room: a cream sofa with a sage knitted throw, a brass tray on the wooden coffee table with two glasses of tea and a plate of lokum, a stack of three plain-covered books beside it; through the open balcony door an iron railing, green trees and a pale sky

Teaching children a language at an early age is not only about teaching them new words. It is also an important step that opens them up to the world and lets them get to know different people and cultures.

As a child learns a new language, they feel the excitement of expressing themselves, of talking to new people and of discovering different worlds. Every new word they learn and every new sentence they build adds something small but precious to their confidence. Feeling “I can do this!” also strengthens the wish to keep learning.

Language teaches children not only to speak, but to listen, to understand, to share and to respect differences. A small word learned today can open the door to big dreams tomorrow.

Because teaching a child a new language is not merely giving them a tool for communication; it is offering them the chance to see the world through a wider window.

As someone who taught English for many years, I can say this: teaching children a language early is not simply teaching them a language. It is opening a door onto the world.

I have one very special memory that made me feel this all over again. One day a guest from Greece came to our home. I watched my nine-year-old son start talking to them in English without the slightest hesitation and, a little while later, chatting away about Harry Potter with great excitement. Watching him, the happiness and self-assurance on his face moved me deeply. In that moment I understood once more how real and how precious the thing I had been explaining for years as a teacher actually was: the language a child learns gives them not only the ability to speak, but the freedom to connect with the world.

A wooden desk beside a window: an open lined notebook with pencil drawings of stars and a small broomstick, a pencil resting on it; next to it a thick dark-green hardback, a glass of water, a small carved wooden owl, a few pencils and a sharpener; soft greenery blurred outside — Every new word they learn, every new sentence they build…

A wooden guest tray on a white lace cloth: two tulip glasses of tea on saucers, an ornate lidded sugar bowl, a plate of lokum, a bowl of hazelnuts and a sprig of mint; a cream sofa, a bright curtained window and a vase of flowers behind — One day a guest from Greece came to our home.

An open balcony window framed by sheer white curtains: four terracotta pots of pink flowers along the wooden sill with two folded paper boats between them; inside, a patterned kilim, two cushions and an open book in the foreground; outside, green trees and a pale cloudy sky — Opening a door onto the world…

As a child learns a new language, they gain the courage to express themselves, get to know different cultures and begin to look at the world through a wider window. Every new sentence they build feeds that feeling of “I can do this!” and strengthens their confidence.

That is why I believe that children learning a language should be encouraged to do more than grammar and vocabulary: to speak, to listen, to explore and to use the language in everyday life.

Because teaching a child a new language is giving them not just a skill, but a bigger world.

Their own name, in their own room

New words, new sentences, new courage… A soft cloud cushion with their name on it belongs in the room where all of it gathers.

Add their name

— Zehra Topaç

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