Yes, and the language of the lesson should be the language your child thinks in. A child who is taught in a language they are still translating in their head learns the Quran more slowly, not faster. The reading is Arabic either way; only the explanation changes, and here it can be in English, in Urdu, or in both.
The sounds an English-speaking child has to be taught
Arabic has letters that English simply does not use, and a child raised on English has no home reference for them. These are the ones that take longest and they are worth knowing about, so you are not surprised when a page takes three weeks.
- ‘Ayn and ghayn, which come from the throat and have no English equivalent at all.
- Qaf against kaf, which sound alike to an English ear and change meaning.
- The heavy letters — sad, dad, ta, za — against their light partners.
- Ha and ha, the two h sounds, which a child will merge unless corrected early.
A child who hears Urdu at home has a head start on several of these, because Urdu borrowed the sounds. A child with only English does not, and needs more repetition at exactly that point rather than more pressure.
What good teaching looks like here
- The teacher demonstrates, the child copies, and the correction happens in the same breath rather than at the end of the page.
- The meaning is explained in English, because that is the language the child will think about it in.
- Nobody tells a child they are saying it wrong because of where they were born.
- Short daily lessons, because these sounds come from repetition and nothing else.
What you do not need to do
You do not need to teach your child Urdu or Arabic first. You do not need to be able to read Arabic yourself. And you do not need a teacher who speaks only Arabic — a teacher your child cannot follow is not a purer education, it is a slower one.
Related
My child reads the Quran but does not understand it
The next question after the reading works.
Tajweed rules for kids
The order to learn them in.