Often Indian parents face a question regarding their kid’s education, how to effectively teach their child the English language at home?
Specifically, when English is not the first language at home, parents look to teach their children the English language at an early stage considering its importance in academics and in various spheres of life. But they do not know how and where to start with. In this article, Ms Sonu Goel, Founder, and Director of Café Converse Delhi’s top Institute for Learning the English language share effective manners in which you can start teaching your small kids English at home.
Why Must Kids Be Taught English at an Early Stage?
What would you say if someone asked you how you became fluent in your mother tongue? Easy– because you have been speaking it since you were a small child. English needs to be learned in a similar manner so that your child gains enough practice.
What are the Benefits?
There are numerous benefits of teaching your kids English, they are:
· It gives more exposure regarding the language to your kid.
· They form a habit of speaking in English.
· Learning a language often has some cognitive benefits such as flexibility of mind, improved creativity, better memory, good critical thinking, and problem-solving abilities.
· Enhanced access to information specifically, over the internet.
· Cultural Nourishment.
· Better academic achievement.
Methods to Teach Small Kids English at Home
Teaching small kids can be a bit challenging as they cannot learn the conventional way i.e., you can’t make them sit in one place and learn grammar rules using textbooks. This will be too boring for them and they might develop a fear of the language, which you do not want. Hence, they need to be taught in unique, interactive, and fun ways, like the following things.
Have a Routine: The ideal way to learn is to practice each day, hence it is wise to set a routine for your child. Fix a specific time and stick to it. Short sessions of nearly 15 to 20 minutes are enough for very young kids as they have a short attention span.
Also, bear in mind that short, regular sessions are better than long, inconsistent ones. Make the sessions fun in an attempt to keep the child engaged.
Play Games: Small kids learn better when they are having fun. Thus, engaging them in games is an excellent way to teach them English. Make flashcards, play games such as Pictionary or scrabble and do crosswords with them to learn and practice English.
Engage in Role-Play: Role-play means to act or perform the part of a particular character. Make a story with your child’s favorite cartoon character or a superhero and play it out. Speak out the dialogues and involve the kid in the storyline to practice speaking English.
Using Songs or Rhymes: There are various video songs and rhymes available over the internet nowadays. Most of those use actions that demonstrate the meaning of the song/rhyme. Videos like those are extremely helpful in teaching kids English as they learn the actions that assist them to understand the meaning even if they are not able to repeat the song or rhyme.
Using Stories: Reading short stories to your kids is a good way of teaching English. It helps kids learn the language as well as develop listening and reading skills faster.
Related: Comics can help your kids learn English.
Show Picture Books: Kids simply love bright-colored picture books. Use those to teach them the alphabet, names of birds, animals, fruits, vegetables, and so on. Start, by pointing at the picture and telling them what it is, then ask them where it is, and lastly let them name it on their own. For instance, point towards the picture of a cat and tell them “this is a cat” first. Once they begin identifying the cat, ask them” where is the cat?” and let them show you. Lastly, allow them to look at the several pictures and name the things on their own.
Using Everyday Situations: Describing daily life situations and routine activities makes language learning simpler. This supports kids become fluent speakers in English as they can talk about any given topic comfortably because of speaking practice. Therefore, always encourage your kids to converse with you in English and introduce them to things around them from the beginning. You can do so by:
– Talking about the task that they are doing as they do it. Suppose your kid is getting dressed, talk to them about their dress, ask them to describe how they are wearing them, what color the clothes are, and so on.
– Discussing the kind of furniture around the house, kitchen utensils, electrical appliances, and so on to improve the vocabulary. Tell them the function of each of these in small sentences so that they can remember them.
Teach them when they are young so that they do not hesitate or lack confidence when they grow older. Several adults hesitate while speaking English as they are not confident of themselves, this can be simply avoided by following the above steps. Also, remember that every child learns at a different speed, so do not worry if your child is taking a little bit of time to speak English. Be patient and never hurry.
These tips will surely help you teach your kids English at home.
Ms Sonu Goel is a professionally acclaimed certified ESL trainer from the British Council having 15 years of strong background for teaching the English language in both online and physical classes. She is dedicated to teaching of English in an interactive and practical way, whereby learners feel enriched with knowledge and experience the language hands-on. She uses creative ideas and aids to let the learning happen as organically and efficiently as possible. Ms Goel has travelled to various European countries and experienced an array of cultures and linguistic skills for the English language.
To learn more about Sonu Goel please visit : https://cafeconverse.com/best-english-tutor-coach-teacher-sonu-goel.html
