Our Story
Dr. Darya Hodaei
CEO of EnglishAzerbaijani |
EnglishAzerbaijani grew out of the challenging experiences of an immigrant mom who realized she grew up detached from her own roots.
Born and raised in a marginalized and suppressed ethnic group (Azerbaijani Turks) in Iran, Dr. Darya Hodaei was deprived of an education in her own mother language. She did not have the chance to learn about the writing form and literature of her mother language and her ethnic history. When she was pregnant, and on the brink of motherhood herself, she barely had any information about Azerbaijani culture and traditions. Even the standard language seemed unfamiliar to her. Valuing her roots, she decided to learn the language and traditions. She later decided to transform her pain into beauty, spreading her love and the vibrancy of her culture by founding EnglishAzerbaijani. EnglishAzerbaijani is a platform using visual aids and Azerbaijani and English equivalents to help children in bi-lingual and multi-lingual environments with their language development. We publish books and content based on Azerbaijan's rich folklore tales and myths in both English and Azerbaijani as a step towards encouraging parents and promoting the value of mother tongue education. Additionally, we present practical tools for language development, vocabulary enrichment, and a deeper understanding of culture and diversity to the kids. Dr. Hodaei lives in Florida with her husband, Keyvan. Keyvan has Kurdish roots and works as a Clinical Scientist in a Miami-based biotechnology company. As immigrant parents, they firmly believe in preserving one's rich ethnic culture - especially mother language - as a fundamental aspect of upbringing. As a result, their kids are growing up trilingual, learning Azerbaijani-Turkic from their mom, Kurdish from their dad, and English from school and society. Visit Darya's website at www.daryahodaei.com |