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Many parents who decide to relocate to another country want to ensure they can pass on their cultural heritage to their children.
Language is an important part of the process, as it can preserve a child's cultural identity and allow them to understand key elements of their heritage.
Conscious that language retention is a pivotal part of identity, the Indian community in New Zealand has set up several opportunities for children to learn a wide range of languages from South Asia.
And that's one of the unique challenges the community faces - India is immensely diverse linguistically.
While the Indian Constitution lists 22 official languages, the 2011 Census identified 121 "major languages" that are spoken by more than 10,000 people.
Such diversity is being reflected in the latest Census data compiled by Stats New Zealand, with Hindi being the fourth most spoken language in the country and Punjabi the ninth.
Breaking each language down to percentages, 1.6 percent of New Zealanders speak Hindi, 0.99 percent speak Punjabi, 0.59 percent Fiji Hindi and 0.48 percent Gujarati.
A further 0.29 percent speak Malayalam, 0.25 percent Tamil, 0.13 percent Telugu and 0.11 percent Marathi.
Unsurprisingly, more community Hindi classes are available than other Indian languages.
Weekly Hindi classes are held at the Waitakere Hindi School in the Auckland suburb of Henderson, the Bhartiya Samaj Charitable Trust in Mt Roskill and the Swaminarayan Temple Complex in Papatoetoe.
Further south, the Hindu Heritage Centre Rotorua runs weekly Hindi classes, as does the Wellington Hindi School in the capital, which has been operating since 1992.
In the South Island, Kala Nand has been offering Hindi classes to children in Christchurch since 2007. Nand is a Fiji-Indian who was a primary school teacher in the Pacific Island nation before moving to New Zealand.
Finally, the Southland Hindi School in Invercargill has been operating since 2019. Himani Galbraith opened the school to serve the growing Indian community in the deep south.
Several Gujarati language options are available for those who come from a part of India that were among some of the earliest immigrants to New Zealand.
The Auckland Indian Association holds weekly classes at the Gandhi Gruh Gujarati School at the Mahatma Gandhi Centre. The school in Eden Terrace has been running since 1955.
Further south, the Indian Culture Society holds a Sunday school in Gujarati in Wellington.
Meanwhile, the Wellington Indian Association runs the Gujarati Learning Centre, which includes a pre-school and Gujarati school, at Bharat Bhavan in Kilbirnie.
One of the largest Sikh language schools in the country teaching Punjabi is the Sikh Heritage School that is operated by the Supreme Sikh Society in the South Auckland suburb of Takanini.
The society's annual Sikh Children's Day is attended by more than 1,000 children every year.
The Deg Tegh Fateh Sikh Society in Christchurch also holds Punjabi classes on weekends.
The New Zealand Telugu Association holds weekly Telugu classes in Auckland.
Meanwhile, the Auckland Tamil Association, New Zealand Tamil Society (Auckland) and Wellington Tamil Society hold regular Tamil classes in their respective cities.
Finally, Auckland Malayali Samajam and the Auckland Marathi Association also offer weekly language classes in their mother tongues.
Interestingly, around 150 students are studying the ancient Indian language of Sanskriti at Ficino School in Auckland.
