How to teach english for child

How to Teach English to Children: 3 Powerful Strategies for Impressive Results

By susanverner Last updated: January 10, 2023

Do you often hear precious little laughs and dramatic sobs in the same day?

Is your classroom is filled with color and creativity?

Have you ever felt like you’re becoming your mother (“Stop making that face or it will freeze that way!”)?

If you answered yes to any of these, you might just be an elementary teacher!

And if you teach elementary ESL, you may often find a smile on your face.

That is, until you run up against some of the struggles that are unique to teaching children—because they certainly do exist.

Language by nature is very abstract and intangible. Children, on the other hand, are very literal and concrete.

This makes it challenging to explain grammar or syntax rules to children. (How do you explain the conditional tense to a five-year-old?!)

But rest easy. As long as you know these three essential strategies for teaching English to children, your students will succeed. Even if they can’t articulate what a first conditional is.

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1. Make It Fun

Fun, fun, fun! This is one factor that really matters to kids. And that goes for kids on the playground as well as those in the classroom. I’ll never forget what my nephew said after his first day of kindergarten: “We didn’t learn anything. We just played!” And though I’m sure his class contained some academics, they were hidden well beneath a thick layer of fun.

That’s right. It’s entirely possible to teach a fun and educational class. One of the top ways to achieve this is with native content from FluentU.

FluentU takes authentic videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language lessons.

Some educators believe that kids learn best through play. And what is true of English-speaking children, in this case, will also be true of your English-learning students. Here are some ways you can make learning more fun with your students:

Play Games

Games are a great way to make learning fun. Not only do games play on the competitive nature of most children, but games also give them a goal to accomplish. When you win a game, you have really done something, and you can feel good about your success.

There are so many games that can be used in an ESL classroom, we’ll only be able to scratch the surface today. But here are a few games that require little to no preparation, and are super fun for young students.

• Simon Says: The classic Simon Says is great for practicing listening skills. You can use it to review body parts (“Simon says touch your head“) or prepositions (“Simon says put your foot on your chair”).

• Mother May I: Take your movement games a step further and play Mother May I. Your students can use all sorts of adjectives to describe the types of steps they would like to take as they race to the other side of the playing area.

• Memory: Memory is great for learning vocabulary. Try putting a vocabulary word on one card and a picture showing the word on another. Or put synonyms or antonyms on two different cards. Lay all the cards on the table and have students try to remember where the matches are.

Be Creative

Doing the same things in class every day is boring for your students, and you’re liable to fall asleep on the job, too. So be creative with your plans.

Change things up on a regular basis. Rearrange your students’ seats so they get a different inspirational view from time to time. Give your students the test before you teach the material, and let them answer the questions as they learn. Invite guest speakers in whenever you get the chance.

You can keep the same basic schedule every day, but vary the types of exercises you do. Rotate between doing exercises from the textbook, having students work on the computer on social media or ESL learning websites, and giving them real-life materials to work with rather than ESL materials.

Try a poem by Robert Frost rather than a simple reading passage. You can also have students come up with their own games, activities and exercises. Have your students write quiz question for each other, or give them some simple game supplies and let them make thier own review game for the latest grammar point. You might be surprised at how creative students can be.

Include Art in Your Class

Kids love to make colorful and exciting things in the classroom. Pablo Picasso observed that “every child is an artist.” Take advantage of that inborn quality and use art to teach your young students the English language. Of course you can talk about obvious things like colors and shapes when you use art, but creative projects have so much more potential.

• Cultural Traditions: Invite your students to make an art project based on different cultural traditions. Then talk about that culture as well as their own—either as you make the project or once it is finished. Since kids are more concrete than adults, so having a piece of art in front of them will help them make connections to culture, which is a super abstract topic for kids.

• Collages: Art projects are also a great way to talk about prepositions of location. Collages are easy, and you can make one with just about anything. As your students work, give them instructions on where to place different items using prepositions, or let them tell you what they are doing and where items in their collage are in relation to each other. Don’t forget to give each person a chance to talk about their completed artwork after any art activity.

• Cooking: Don’t forget about the art of cooking. When you make any food in class, whether it is traditional or international, you have a chance to talk about all five senses. There is a saying that we first eat with our eyes, then our noses, then our mouths. Talk about all five senses when you cook with your students, and be sure to include the process of cooking. As you instruct your students, you cover grammar topics like imperative statements, transitions between steps, and cause and effect relationships.

Take Your Class Outside

Have you ever tried taking a class outside? If not, you’d be surprised at what they can learn in the great outdoors. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Scavenger Hunt: Try sending your students on a scavenger hunt on your school grounds. You can tailor the items they are looking for to whatever unit you are in the process of teaching. If you want, you might have them look for items that begin with each letter of the alphabet, or items that are each color of the rainbow. You can have them look for certain shapes, too.

• Treasure Hunt: You can send your students out with clues to solve (either based on grammar or content) and have each clue lead them to another. Hide your clues outside before class, geocache fashion and give students plenty of time to gather all of them before heading inside and discussing the clues and their solutions.

• Make Signs: Copy the pages of a picture book and make them into signs. Put these signs up around your school property and have students read each page and answer a question before moving on to the next station. There are lots of ways you can bring books to the outdoors.

2. Make It Active

If there is one thing kids like more than having fun, it’s moving. In fact, Dr. Maria Montessori suggested that young children are not able to learn unless they are also able to move. In addition, involving the whole body in language learning is a useful teaching method. The more language learners move, the better and faster they understand what you are teaching and the more easily they can retain the information.

TPR (Total Physical Response) is a teaching method that works really well with children. In essence, you associate physical movements with language instruction. Students move as they learn. They follow instructions, copy your movements and get their whole bodies involved when they practice language concepts. This is one of the most effective ways to teach ESL to children.

Using hands-on material is also a great way to get your students moving as they learn English. You can use simple items like flashcards, but you can also be more creative with what you give your students to handle.

• Small World Play: Try collecting animal figures that show up in a book or story your class is reading, and let students retell the story using the figures. Try using this small world play when you do units on different subjects. Create a small scenario that includes play-sized items that represent those found in the real world.

• Mystery Bags: Really target your students’ sense of touch by putting items in brown paper bags. Then have them reach into the bags without looking and describe what they are feeling.

• Jenga Discussion: Rather than giving students a list of discussion questions on paper, write each question on a Jenga block. Then have students answer the question on the block they pulled for their turn.

3. Don’t Put Pressure on Your Students

One of the most important things to remember when you teach children is not to put pressure on them. Remember that children learn some aspects of foreign languages more easily than adults. So no matter what you do in class, they will already be on the road to fluency in English.

Their natural acquisition process will follow three simple steps. They will recognize words and grammar when you use them. They will be able to respond when you ask them questions about the words and grammar you use. And then they will be able to use those language structures themselves.

You can avoid putting pressure on students by:

• Not correcting every error they make. Focus on what you have recently taught, and correct errors with those words and structures. But if you haven’t covered a grammar point yet, let it go. Your students don’t have to have all of English perfect right away.

• Modeling correct language use. When you hear a student say something wrong or use a word incorrectly, just use it correctly right afterwards. The natural language learning feedback system in the human brain will notice the difference, and your students will likely use the language correctly just from hearing it right.

• Not giving everything a grade. Sometimes it’s enough to just go over correct answers with your students or have them discuss their answers together. You don’t have to collect every paper and mark it up with the mighty red pen.

Because language is abstract and children are concrete, they may not be able to articulate grammar and other technical aspects of language, and that’s okay. Just keep things fun, active pressure-free, and your students will be fluent in no time!

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

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How To Teach English To Kids

Teaching English to children can be incredibly fun and rewarding. However, without the right approach, teaching young learners can also be frustrating, stressful, and a lot of hard work. Learning how to teach English to kids takes time and practice. So, how do you teach kids English? In this article, we look at some practical hints and tips on how to teach English to kids.

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What Are Young Learners Like?

To successfully teach English to kids, you first need to understand what young learners are like and what motivates them to learn English.

The first thing to mention about kids is that they have a very short attention span and can become bored and distracted easily. This is especially true in ESL/EFL classrooms where the teacher is conducting the lesson in a language different from the children’s native language.

Another thing to remember about young learners is they are not in your class by choice. Unlike older learners who may choose to take up English classes to advance their career / enable them to travel, etc, young learners are made to study English by their school / parents.

That is to say that kids are not motivated to learn English in the same way that older learners are. So what motivates young learners to learn English?

Young learners are motivated by things that are fun and interesting to them. Therefore it is incredibly important when teaching English to kids to create lessons that are fun and engaging.

This will help to create an environment that makes young learners want to learn and participate in class. This is why games, activities, and songs are so effective when teaching English to kids. For more information on motivating students check out this article by the British council about motivating students.

It is also important to remember that children need constant encouragement. As such, a teacher should regularly praise students when they do something well, even if it is something small.

You can also praise your students in front of parents and other teachers. This will have a positive effect on your students’ motivation to learn and will encourage them to participate more in class.

How To Teach English To Kids Through Games

As was mentioned above, kids have a very short attention span and are more motivated to learn English when they find learning English to be fun and interesting. One very effective way to teach English to kids is through ESL classroom games. Games in the classroom create an enjoyable learning atmosphere and motivate young learners to take part in class and communicate using the target language.

Before Playing A Classroom Game

When creating an English classroom game to play in class the first thing to do is to decide the learning objective of that activity. That is, think about what target language / skill you want your students to develop by playing the game.

For example, if you are introducing new vocabulary to your students you may decide to play a ‘flashcard game’ to give your students ample opportunity to listen to and say the new words.

Or, if you want your students use the expressions they have learned in a communicative way you may decide to play an ‘information gap’ style activity where they would speak using the target language to get information from their class mates.

Whichever kind of activity you decide to teach in class, before students can play you must inform your students how to play the game. This can be a difficult task as you will be explaining the activity in a language that the students have not yet mastered. So, how can you explain the rules of the game?

1.Use Simple Words and Sentences

If your explanation is too long and too complicated the students will likely not be able to follow and may start to ‘day dream’ and become distracted. Remember, young learners have very short attention spans. Instead, make your explanation short and concise with simple words and expressions.

2. Modelling

Once you have explained the activity, it’s time to SHOW students how to play. To do this, invite one or two students to the front of the class to help demonstrate how to play the game. You may need to model how to do the activity 2 or 3 times before students grasp the game rules.

3. Check Learners’ Understanding

If you simply ask your students ‘Do you understand?’, most young learners will answer ‘Yes’ even if they don’t. To make sure your students understood how to play the game, ask them some questions about the rules. For example, ‘What’s the first thing you must do?’, ‘Then, who picks up the card?’, ‘How do you win the game?’, etc. If your students are not sure, explain / model the activity again.

During the Classroom Game

While students are playing the game, the teacher has the opportunity to observe the students using the target language. This allows the teacher to notice any common errors in the students’ language and to pick up on any language points that need revisiting later in the lesson.

This is also a great chance to praise the students when they are doing well, which will encourage the kids and increase their motivation to learn.

Types of English Classroom Games

There are many different types of classroom games such as flashcard games, card games, board games, information gap activities, mingle games, etc. For a list of different types of classroom games and some examples and free resources, check out our other post about classroom games HERE.

How To Teach English To Kids Through Songs

Using songs is another highly effective way to teach English to kids. As was mentioned earlier, children are easily distracted and may find it difficult to concentrate on learning a foreign language. However, using a catchy ESL song will grab and keep your students’ attention.

While singing and dancing they will feel less like they are studying, and more like they having fun a play time. Not only are ESL songs great for energizing and motivating your students. Singing songs can also aid in language learning.

The music and rhythm of the songs naturally helps learners to remember the words. Also, singing the songs repeatedly over many lessons helps learners to commit the words to their long term memory.

I can still remember the words to the ‘months of the year’ song I sang in French over 20 years ago. You can probably remember the songs and nursery rhymes you sang as a child, too. For a list of the best ESL songs for children, arranged by topic, click HERE.

How to Teach ESL Songs to Kids

1. Before Listening to the Song

Before introducing the song to the students, first put the song in context and find out what students already know about the topic. For example, if you’re teaching a song about the four seasons, you might ask learners to look outside to check what the weather is like. You might then ask students what the weather is like in winter / summer etc. This is to activate their existing knowledge which will help them to better understand the lyrics of the song.

2. Listen to the Song

Play the song and ask students to just listen and try to remember some of the key words from the song. Then practice some of these key words with the students and elicit their meanings.

3. Teach the Song

To teach students how to sing the song, teach the lyrics of the song little by little by playing and pausing the song and asking students to repeat (sing) after you. Once you have practiced the lyrics, try to sing the whole song from start to finish. Then introduce some simple dance moves and try to sing and dance to the song. It is quite easy to make up simple dance moves to many ESL songs, but to make it more fun why not ask your students to help you come up with some funny dance moves.

4. Practice Practice Practice

The first few times you sing the ESL songs with your students you may notice that they can’t quite sing the whole song from start to finish, but don’t worry. Kids are happy to sing and dance to the same song over and over again if it is fun. Sing the same song many times over the next 5/6 lessons and they will remember the song for years to come.

Teaching English To Kids: Classroom Management

Classroom management is incredibly important when teaching English to kids. Without the right classroom management techniques, the class may quickly turn into chaos.

This is especially true when you are playing games and singing songs in class. Here are some useful classroom management tips when teaching English to Kids.

Classroom Routine

A classroom routine is essential when teaching English to kids. This will help students to know what to do and when to do it. It may take several lessons to establish a classroom routine, but once it is set up, your class will run more smoothly. Here are some things you can do as part of your classroom routine.

Start Each Class in the Same Way

Beginning the class in the same way will help students to realize that break time is over and it is time to start the class. A great way to start your class is with a song. There are some great ESL ‘Hello Songs’ that you can start your class with. Or, you can use an ESL song to do with the topic you are studying, or even an English pop song.

Using a song to start the class also has the additional benefits of energizing the students and creating a positive learning atmosphere.

Establish an Effective ‘Call and Response’

A ‘Call and Response’ is a signal to students to stop what they are doing and look and listen to the teacher. This is an important part of your classroom routine as this will help you to get your students’ attention and get them listening to your instructions. There are many different call and response techniques. The one that I find works best is I begin a countdown from 3 to 1 and clap my hands two times after every number.

Then I call out ‘Look at Me!’ and the students respond with ‘Look at you!’. At which point students should look at the teacher and be quiet. Once you have established an effect call and response it will be much easier to get students’ attention and get them listening carefully. For some ideas, check out these Fun Classroom Attention Getters.

End Each Class in the Same 

Establishing a routine for the end of your class is also important. If students are packing their bags, moving around, cleaning their desks, etc, while you are trying to review the lesson or tell them important information, many students will not hear your instructions.

Also, a routine at the end of your class will ensure your students don’t go running for the door as soon as the bell rings. This can be quite dangerous, especially with large class sizes.

A routine which has worked well with my young learner classes is to ask students to pack their bags and then sit nicely at their desks. Then I look to see which students are sitting nicely and I let those students line up first. Soon, all students are sitting quietly looking at me as they all want to go first.

Eliminate Distractions

Kids can become distracted very easily and if they are distracted they are not listening to the teacher and are not following the teacher’s instructions. The best way to prevent students from becoming distracted is to prevent these distractions before they happen.

One of the major distractions that can cause students not to concentrate are the things on the students’ desks. Kids will pick up, touch, play with, look at, draw on, anything that is in front of them. And while they are drawing on their books, or rearranging their pencil case, they are not listening to the teacher.

So, to prevent this, make it a rule in your class not to open books, pick up pencils, etc until it is time to do so.

Also, if you plan to give students a worksheet, puzzle, board game, etc, don’t give it to them until you have fully explained and modeled how to complete the task. Otherwise, the students will be looking at and playing with the materials, rather than concentrating on the teacher’s instructions.

Other distractions are things like students wanting to go to the bathroom, drink water, etc during the class. With kids coming and going from the classroom, not only will those kids miss out on important information, but they will also distract the other students as they are moving around the class.

So, it is a good idea to encourage students to use the bathroom, drink water, etc, before the class starts.

Have a Reward System

A Reward system can be a very effective way to help control students behavior. Reward the students also encourages the students and increases their self-esteem and motivation.

A Reward system doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. An example of a reward system could be the following. Students can have a simple reward chart at the back of their books. Then every lesson students can get stamps / stickers on their reward chart for completing the tasks and good behavior.

At the end of the month / semester, count how many stamps the students have got and give out certificates that they can take home and show their parents.

Whatever reward system to you have, rewarding students for good behavior rather than just punishing bad behavior can have a real positive effective on your class.

Lesson Materials For Teaching English To Kids

Here on Games4esl.com you can find many free, fun, and engaging lesson materials to teach English to kids.

Download and print free ESL flashcards, student cards, and board games from our printables page. And visit our activity videos section for free ESL classroom games you can stream straight into your classroom.

Teaching a child English from scratch 👨‍🏫 English for kids

English for 3-4 years old

Disputes about early learning are as old as the world - there is no consensus on this matter. But the generally accepted "starting" age can be considered 3 years. As for the first acquaintance with foreign languages, the period from 3 to 7 years is considered the best time for this.

This is due to the fact that it is at this age that the child develops logical forms of thinking and voluntary attention. The formation of the latter leads to the fact that the child begins to resort to already mastered methods of memorizing information: he repeats what he heard, tries to comprehend what is remembered in the right sequence.

In the same period, speech and phonemic hearing develop intensively, vocabulary expands and the morphological system of the language spoken by everyone around is fixed in the mind.

Some parents refuse preschool education of their child in order not to “deprive him of his childhood”, because education is associated with coercion, routine, punishment for mistakes. Thick textbooks with yellowed pages and teachers who have never been in English-speaking countries are a wall between us and free English. It is up to our children to overcome or even break this wall, young millennials today are tomorrow's bilinguals.

Gradually, the fear of early learning recedes, because it seems no longer necessary to explain that a little person can be taught anything just by playing with him.

At this early stage, it is not necessary to enroll a child in special courses. You yourself will be able to perfectly cope with the first stage of mastering English. In addition, classes with a parent eliminate the stress factor in the form of an unfamiliar place, a teacher and other children. Here's how to do it.

By the way, classes English for children 7 years old online takes place in a comfortable environment: students can study even at home, even at their grandmother's, even in the country. In individual lessons, no one will distract the child from acquiring new knowledge, and textbooks and notebooks are not needed - only the Internet.

English proficiency test

This English proficiency test was compiled by the Skysmart online school tutors. They prepared fun and relevant tasks on modern topics to make the test both useful and interesting

How a parent can practice English with a child

Surround your child with English. Integrate English speech, individual words into everyday life. When preparing dinner, name the ingredients. On a walk, describe the objects you encounter in English. When asking your child to do something, use basic English verbs (look, take, sit).

You will be very surprised when you realize that your child does not need translation - the meaning of any word becomes clear from the context. Of course, for this you need to have basic knowledge. If you do not know English at all, then this will be an excellent reason for you to make sure that not only a child, but an adult can learn anything through the game.

Get large jingle dice with English letters and flash cards with words. Children adore such cards, bright pictures contribute to quick memorization.

Do not start with the alphabet. Many are accustomed to the fact that learning any language begins with the alphabet. Parents can now exhale - this routine and really stressful part can be skipped. Why not learn the alphabet?

Reading in any language starts with sounds and then syllables. It makes sense to teach whole words with the child so that he easily and naturally gets acquainted with the variations of sounds. The alphabetically learned "h" does not correlate with the pronunciation of the word "hippo". It is unlikely that you will be able to explain to a three-year-old kid why “hippo” and not “eychipo”.

Therefore, memorizing the letters of the alphabet separates the child from his first success in learning English, and the parents from the motivation and fuse to continue learning. In addition, you can save a lot of money by ignoring the purchase of "speaking alphabets" and other useless and loud toys.

You can connect online games to the educational process from the age of four. But it is better at this age to focus on cartoons and songs. Here are some sites where you can find educational games for the little ones.

Online learning games are not the only way to help your child learn English. When they are tired or, on the contrary, carried away the child too much, songs come to the rescue in their most diverse variations.

Why is it necessary to sing with a child, and how can this help him learn English?

Singing songs and chants (short rhythmic chants) is an essential learning tool for a more or less progressive teacher.

New words and grammatical structures are learned much easier if they are accompanied by rhythmic music. The phenomenon of "learning" children's songs does not require special confirmation - is there anyone who does not remember the Russian Christmas tree born in the forest, or the overseas farmer MacDonald ia - ia - oh?

If suddenly you don't like or don't want to sing yourself - save links to resources where you can find a variety of songs and chants in English.

If you have already played and sung enough, you can start watching cartoons. For us adults, learning English through TV shows is exciting. Why not try the same thing with a child, but instead of serials, include cartoons. The effect is one to one and even better.

Finding the right cartoon that can captivate a child is not an easy task.

It's great if it will be a whole animated series with regular characters. A familiar character on the screen will help the baby focus more on his speech, and not on his appearance.

In order to achieve the desired educational effect from watching, record the knowledge gained after each watched series. It is advisable to limit the number of episodes viewed in a row.

For a 3-4 year old child, 15-20 minutes is ideal timing. After each series, ask the child about what they watched, ask them to repeat familiar and new words they heard. If there are blocks, ask the child to collect these words.

Operate not on the principle of quantity, but on the principle of quality. It is important that the child not only learn the words, but also actively use them in speech.

Let's summarize and repeat what needs to be done so that the child starts learning English with fun and pleasure.

How to study English with a 3-4 year old child

1. Play more with the baby, offering him a variety of types of games: from quiet, where perseverance and attention are required, to fast ones, where speed and reaction are needed.

2. Invite your child to join online education. Choose some exciting games from our selection and turn learning English into a real adventure.

3. Sing songs: the more the better. There are so many songs in our collections that any child will find something that he likes.

4. Watch cartoons with your child. Pick up a few animated series in English that he will like and spend 15-20 minutes every day watching and the same amount to fix everything.

5. Surround your child with English: insert the words he has learned into everyday speech. Ask the child to do something: bring a book, drink milk, walk the dog - all in English.

6. Maintain a balance between study and free time. Do not turn the child's acquaintance with the language into a routine - let the child form only positive associations with the subject. The school will get better anyway.

7. Do not compare your child's progress with other children's. It is better to praise and reward for small victories - the more motivation, the greater the progress in learning.

How many English words do you already know?

Let's define your vocabulary - without complex questions and with the help of smart algorithms.

English for 5-7 year olds

Teaching English to a 5-7 year old child is not very different from teaching a younger child. The basic rules and techniques remain the same. The base is the game. Only in this way can a child at this age really effectively learn the material.

After four years, parents may start thinking about courses, language schools and tutors. During this period of development, the child experiences a great craving for communication with peers.

While a three-year-old child may perceive such a situation as hostile, a six-year-old child, on the contrary, should have enough social interaction. In addition, courses and various language circles will help the child overcome the fear of speaking in a non-native language.

We all know firsthand what a “language barrier” is. The sooner a child gets used to communicating in English, the more likely it is that, growing up, he will only become more confident, getting into one or another language situation.

As a rule, if the study started from the age of three, then by the age of 5-7 the child can already quite coherently express himself in simple sentences in English, understand simple speech and more or less correctly build grammatical constructions.

Such progress should not be a reason to take a break or rest before starting school. You must be prepared that you will have to learn a second language, if not all your life, then most of it. Because the human brain has an unpleasant habit of forgetting all the most necessary things very, very quickly if we don’t use it in any way.

Continue to play with your child and integrate new words into everyday situations. You can play in different ways. Now many parents are leaning towards online education. There can be many reasons: lack of time, lack of confidence in one's own teaching talents, or simply a desire to dilute live classes with online learning games.

The myths around online education have been dispelled and refuted a long time ago. We know that as a means of development, online games are in no way inferior to communication between a child and a teacher.

With the help of online resources, the child will easily learn to read and count in English, develop intelligence and logical thinking. The gameplay in educational games is designed in such a way that in addition to the main skill (reading or counting), the child acquires secondary knowledge about the world around him.

At the same time, the issue of using gadgets to teach the youngest causes a lot of controversy. To strike a healthy balance between live learning and online education, keep gadget use under strict control. Limit the time your child spends in front of a screen. Do not forget to involve him in live outdoor games.

Also, don't forget to turn off in-app payments if your child is learning from a smartphone or tablet - this will help you avoid unplanned in-game purchases.

Of course, there are never too many games, but it is better to continue to alternate between online and live moving lessons. You can also connect fine motor skills: ask the child to draw a number, letter or object. In the future, this will help him begin to write and memorize words.

It is assumed that at this age it is already possible to start reading books. Choose thin books with large print and colorful pictures. In this case, the more pictures, the better. Read aloud, ask to repeat and retell. Reading is a process that forms new neural connections in the brain. It is unlikely that something more useful in learning a language has been invented so far than reading.

The older the student, the longer and more complex the cartoons they watch should become. From 15-20 minutes you can move on to 30. Choose such cartoons where the phrases of the characters become more complicated. The storyline should also become a little more complicated.

Your A in English.

With detailed homework solutions from Skysmart

English for Juniors

Usually a second language is taught at school from the second grade. But if you start studying earlier, by this time you can achieve good success: you can easily count to 20 and discuss the simplest topics.

If, at the age of eight, a child starts learning a second language from scratch, then it is worth adhering to all the same principles: games, songs, repetition.

It is usually much more difficult to get a student interested in a subject - they have many other interests. At this stage, it is important to carefully integrate additional activities into the child's daily routine.

It is necessary to act as delicately as possible so as not to frighten off the student. Most likely, it will not be easy to explain to a second-grader why it is not enough for him to learn English at school and why he needs to study extra. So just keep playing.

At this age, it is worth paying more attention to reading, teaching the child to work with text. Gradually, the book should become thicker, and there should be more text in it.

If you decide to work with your child on your own, without a tutor, be prepared to figure out intensive reading on your own.

Intensive reading implies a detailed analysis of the text. So the child learns to clarify for himself incomprehensible places in the text, gets acquainted with grammatical constructions, learns to ask the right questions based on the content.

Foreign language text for intensive reading should be short and interesting. The longer the text, the less likely the child is to understand it to the end. Choose texts of this type:

• I am nine years old. I love all holidays. Birthday is my favorite holiday. My birthday is on the fifth of November. I usually have a party on this day. I invite my friends. We have much fun during the party. We eat cakes, sweets and ice cream. We play games. I get a lot of presents on this day.

Find texts in English. language to practice reading skills. For example, on the website of the British Council. Here we have collected a lot of interesting texts, distributed by difficulty levels. Each text is accompanied by pictures and exercises to reinforce reading comprehension. The child should be interested in working with texts of this format.

However, to develop reading skills, it is recommended to read on paper. For a long time, all possible experiments have been carried out that have proved the high efficiency of such reading. If there is no book with texts, then you can print texts from the Internet.

You can also use audio books to learn a foreign language. After reading the text, and then listening to it, the child will soon learn new vocabulary and will not get confused in the pronunciation of new words.

How to learn English with a child: advice for parents

It may seem that helping a child learn a foreign language is very difficult, but it is not. To make it bring only pleasure, follow some simple recommendations, and everything will definitely work out.

• Don't take language learning too seriously. Do not forget for a moment that this is just an exciting game in which there are no losers and winners.
• Your task is to captivate the child. He will do the rest himself.
• Use as many playing techniques as possible. Do not try to evaluate the material from the point of view of an adult. The more varied the games, the faster and more fun the child will learn. The same actions, albeit in the form of a game, will still one day turn into a routine and get bored.
• So support diversity. Connect surrounding objects, relatives, pets to educational games.
• Don't neglect online education. You can protect your child from gadgets for as long as you like, or you can learn how to benefit from them. The benefits of interactive online games have long been confirmed, so you should not be afraid of them anymore. Choose games with your child, track the process.
• Online learning does not mean that the parent is not involved in the process. You should record the results, ask the child test questions and ensure that the learned words are used in speech.
• Track your child's progress. Buy or make your own large board that you can write on with colored markers. Children are arranged in such a way that in the “achievement-prize” combination, any information is absorbed better. However, it's not just children.
• To constantly feed the child's interest, start a prize fund. It doesn't have to be toys or candy. The prize can be stars cut out of paper. The joy of getting such a star is nothing less than the joy of candy, you'll see.
• Show your child cartoons in English. Let such viewing become a family tradition - support the baby in his occupation. Until the age of seven, children copy the behavior of their parents, so show your child an interest in English in every possible way.
• Play the game "I see" in English. The rules are simple. Anywhere: at home, in a cafe, on a walk, say I see ... and name the objects around - house, car, dog. When you realize that the level of the child's English has grown up, you can add adjectives to the game: big house, red car, black dog. This is a very simple and incredibly effective game.
• If a word is unknown, a suitable flash card should immediately be at hand. A set of such cards can be bought at a bookstore or ordered online. Choose cards with colorful pictures and carry them with you, showing your child at every opportunity.
• Work on your pronunciation right away. Usually this point is missed, because there is an opinion that it is important to know grammar, and only pronunciation is a delight. It is better to take care of the correct pronunciation and correct intonations in advance, so that later your child, who has already grown up, does not have to painfully get rid of the “Russian English” accent for a long time. Moreover, the younger the child, the easier it is for him to remember and reproduce the intonations he hears.
• Songs will help with pronunciation. Sing with the child for so long until you are finally convinced that the work of songs is done. If for some reason singing does not give you pleasure, let your child choose songs to their liking on the YouTube channels that are in the selection above.
• To prevent all these points from getting mixed up in an uncontrollable mess, make a study plan. It is not necessary to make a strict schedule, where the day of the child is scheduled by the minute. A plan is needed to keep a balance in a child's life: play, learning, sleep and free time - everything should be comfortable for the child during the day. This rough schedule will also be useful for tracking your child's progress.
• Spend no more than 60 minutes a day with English at first. This time includes watching cartoons, online games and reading. Moreover, all three aspects should not go one after another. It is better if there is a pause of half an hour or an hour while reading and watching a cartoon.
• Be consistent. Only regular practice will bear fruit. In the end, you can stop treating the study of English as a study. Then the process will go much faster and more fun.

In matters of teaching a child, there are many pitfalls, subtleties and tricks. Most often, behind the simple reluctance to sit down for English there are many reasons that are far from the subject itself.

A child's education is always a parent's education. To make the process effective and overcome all sorts of difficulties in interacting with a child who does not want to learn English, we offer a selection of books for parents.

These books are written in a simple and understandable way; reading them will not only be useful, but also interesting.

At what age is a child ready to start learning English?

Contents:

• 1. Theory №1. The child should start learning English as early as possible
• 2. Theory №2. The child should be taught English no earlier than 7 years old
• 3. Where to teach English to a child
• 4. How to teach a child English at home

Each child is different, so it is difficult to name a universal age to start learning English. In the article, we considered two options for teaching children and asked the opinions of experts - teachers of our school.

Theory #1. A child should start learning English as early as possible

Adherents of this theory say that children from birth to 5-6 years of age can easily learn any language. To learn their native language, they do not need a school, so they can also easily learn English.

Positive aspects of this approach:

1. The child learns the language unconsciously

   Parents believe that babies learn English as a native language: they listen passively, and then reproduce words and phrases in speech. By the age of 7, any child speaks Russian well, despite the fact that he does not understand what the subject, noun, present tense are. The conclusion follows that it is also possible to learn English - naturally and without rules.

2. The child is not afraid to speak

   Children are not afraid to make mistakes. Toddlers do not have a language barrier, because they are spontaneous and less constrained than adults. They speak without paying attention to their pronunciation or errors in speech. Adults correct them, and gradually the child gets used to speaking correctly.

3. Children have a good memory

   There is a theory that before the age of 5, every person has an ability for languages ​​that is above average. Children repeat everything they hear and quickly memorize new words. Every adult has had such an embarrassment: you pronounce an abusive word in front of a child, and he instantly remembers it and begins to use it in his speech.

4. It is easier for a child to develop good pronunciation

   It is also believed that it is easier for a child to learn to pronounce English sounds, since he quickly remembers the correct pronunciation and more easily catches combinations of sounds.

Disadvantages of this approach:

1. Need a language environment

   The success of the approach is possible if a suitable language environment is created. The child should hear English speech from others every day. This is possible if he lives abroad, one of the parents constantly speaks English or the child has an English-speaking nanny. In the XVIII-XIX centuries. in Russia, representatives of the high society knew French better than Russian. And all because in those days it was customary to invite governesses and tutors from France.

2. The danger of mechanical learning

   The child still does not know his native language well, he pronounces sentences automatically and does not understand what new words mean and how they combine with each other. Mechanical memorization of English phrases is not the most effective method of learning a language. Think about it, maybe it's worth waiting until the child grows up and learns English consciously.

3. It is difficult to create the right mood

   For a preschool child, the right mood is important both at home and in the classroom, but it is not easy to create it. In addition, you will need to find a teacher who knows how to teach through play and instills in the child a love of learning the language.

4. The risk of spoiling the pronunciation of Russian sounds

   Some speech therapists believe that the study of English sounds can cause poor pronunciation of Russian. They do not recommend learning English until the child has a good pronunciation of the sounds of his native language.

The opinions of our teachers on the question "At what age is it better to teach English to a child?"

Teaching experience: 16 years

Englex experience: 10 years old

Julia

A child can start learning English from birth, if the family speaks several languages.

My daughter showed interest in various videos with songs and rhymes in English at the age of 2.5 (naturally, it was I who suggested them to her). She immediately chose certain ones and then simply demanded to turn them on 20-30 times in a row. Just a couple of weeks later, I started singing them. At this age, children absorb new words and pronunciation at an astonishing rate. But the time came when she was tired of her favorite videos in English and there was an interest in cartoons in Russian. When she was 5, I tried to turn on the same videos, she immediately recognized the picture, the motive, and even sang excerpts, but she could no longer fully reproduce, as before. Which confirms the well-known fact: without constant practice, the language is forgotten.

It seems to me that the earlier a child is introduced to a new language (this is the task of parents), the easier it will be to learn it in the future. The desire of the child himself is also important - do not try to impose at an early age what is not interesting to him, otherwise the result will be negative.

As for learning a language as an activity, from the age of 3-4, children can be sent to courses, but always in a group, and not individually (this is my subjective opinion). At the same time, it is worth weighing the pros and cons very well, given the nature of the child, his readiness to learn and communicate with peers and the teacher. The first experience is the most important!

Teaching experience: 11 years

Englex experience: 4 years

Julia

I can not say that I am an expert, but this topic is close to me. My first education is an elementary school teacher, specializing in English.

You can start teaching a language from the cradle, because that's what happens in bilingual families. And the result is magnificent - the child speaks two languages, as if they were native. But this, of course, is an exceptional option.

In teaching my child, I follow the “do no harm” principle:

• do not torture the child and do not cause negativity in relation to the language;
• do not disturb the psyche and the development of speech in the native language.

When my son was one and a half years old and I made sure that he is developed, sociable, cheerful and already speaks phrases in his native language, I added children's poems, cartoons and songs in English to his program.

Until 6-8 years old, I would recommend only counting rhymes, songs, cartoons and games with parents or in language clubs. It is also important to remember that the pronunciation in these audio and video or the teacher must be at the level, otherwise it will be difficult to correct what has been memorized. Naturally, there can be no question of any writing and grammar with such crumbs.

When can one start teaching a language to a child consciously, albeit fun, but systematically? is an individual question. There are children who are more assiduous and less assiduous, someone begins to talk at the age of one, and someone at three is laconic. There are many nuances, and first of all, parents themselves need to assess what their child is now ready for.

It is worth teaching your child English from infancy if:

1. You live or intend to live in an English-speaking country and your child needs to know the language to communicate with others.
2. At home, someone constantly speaks English: one of the parents, grandmother, nanny. In this case, the child will realize that he needs English to communicate with a specific person.
3. You know how to teach your child knowledge in an unobtrusive and interesting way, or you have found a tutor who knows how to do it.

Theory #2. A child should be taught English no earlier than from the age of 7

Adherents of this opinion believe that foreign languages ​​should be taught at a conscious age, and not torment the child with words incomprehensible to him. Supporters of learning from the age of 7 agree that a child up to 5-6 years old easily learns a language that he constantly hears. But if the child is not in an English-speaking country or his parents do not speak English as often as they do Russian, then a foreign language will not be able to be learned on its own.

Positive aspects of this approach:

1. The child gets used to learning

   At the age of 7 and older, the child goes to school, so he gets used to the routine. Children become more organized and able to learn, do homework, listen to the teacher.

2. The child has a good command of his native language

   School-age children have a wide vocabulary - they do not need to explain the meaning of words, it is enough to provide a translation into Russian.

3. The child has formed pronunciation

   By the age of 7, the child has already formed the pronunciation of the sounds of his native language, so he will not confuse them with English sounds. Moreover, at this age a person has good phonemic abilities, so he can quickly learn how to pronounce the sounds of foreign speech correctly.

4. Children are easier to motivate

   At this age, children develop hobbies, so you can offer your child a reward system that will motivate him to learn the language. In addition, it is easy to find advantages in learning English: the ability to watch cartoons in the original, read interesting fairy tales and stories, play online games. Find something that will captivate your child, and you will not have to force him to the next English class.

5. Variety of courses

   Finding courses for children from 7 years old will be easy: they have learned to concentrate on the subject being studied, they have developed interests. With children under 7 years old, it is a little more difficult: it is not easy to attract and hold the attention of a small child, it is even more difficult to get him to do something consciously. Not every teacher will be able to find the right approach to teaching a child.

6. It is not difficult for a child to overcome the language barrier

   Children at this age are not afraid to make mistakes, they willingly carry on a dialogue with the teacher, they do not think about the accent.

Disadvantages of this approach:

1. It is more difficult to captivate a child

   If a child can be captivated to learn English by playing, then with a child older than 7 years this approach may be ineffective. You will have to figure out how to motivate the student to learn English. Keep in mind that long-term goals like getting into a foreign university or getting a well-paid job are weak motivation for a child.

2. Less time to learn a language

   Some students are loaded with large amounts of homework, so there may be very little time left for English. However, you can also find a way out of this situation: enroll your child in courses where learning takes place in a playful way.

The opinions of our teachers on the question "At what age should a child be taught English?"

Teacher experience: 10 years

Englex experience: 3 years

Irina

I think that from the age of 7 you can start teaching a child, since at this age the vocabulary of their native language is quickly enriched in children, they actively communicate with their peers. The child already has a sufficiently large stock of knowledge about the world around him, and therefore there are no difficulties in learning new words of the English language if the child already has an idea about this subject or concept.

Teaching experience: 18 years

Englex experience: 8 years

Julia

My personal conclusion: if there is time and opportunity, then why not send the child to a language studio from an early age. However, do not wait for him to suddenly speak. This is a general development that may take off in the future. If it is worth highlighting priority classes, I would give preference to the development of motor skills, music, aesthetic and physical development, and from the age of 6-7 I would connect the study of languages. I now mean the majority of children who learn a language without daily contact with it and regular immersion in the environment.

I see many examples of early language learning. There are children who come after many years of training from the age of 3, and they do not hold a group lesson with children of their age, with whom we have been working for the second year. It happens that in the process they adapt quite quickly and excel the rest, and it happens that they lag behind or simply remain at the level of the rest of the students.

As you can see, we found more advantages in the second approach, but it should be remembered that this is not a hard and fast rule. Every child is different, so the final decision about the best age to start learning English is up to you.

Where to teach English to your child

So, you have decided to start teaching your child English. What to choose: homeschooling, courses or private lessons?

Homeschooling

Homeschooling with a parent is the best option for a child. If your child is not yet 4-5 years old, try to teach him at home. At the end of the article we will tell you how to do it.

You can teach your child English at home if you know the language yourself at least at an intermediate level and use fun learning methods. The child is just starting to get acquainted with a new language, so it is important that this acquaintance is interesting. You do not know English? You can try this option: you go to courses and begin to transfer your knowledge to the child. In our school, many adults learn the language for exactly this purpose: they want to teach English to children, help with homework, etc.

Teaching English in courses

At the age of 3-4 years, the child can be sent to a special kindergarten or early development center with English lessons, and after 7 years - to children's courses. At this age, it is important for children not only to learn English, but also to communicate with their peers, expand their social circle, and perform interesting tasks in a competitive environment.

The main point that you should consider is the level of knowledge of the children in the group. It is important that all children know English in approximately the same way, otherwise the child may be uncomfortable in the classroom.

When your child reaches an intermediate level of English, you can try to send him to a special language camp. This will be a great encouragement and good motivation to further study English, and it will also allow the child to make friends from different parts of the world.

Individual education

We do not recommend that children under 7 begin individual education. Firstly, it is difficult for a stranger to attract and hold the attention of a baby. Secondly, a child may not be interested in such activities: it is one thing to learn a language with the same kids, and quite another to be alone with a stranger.

Individual learning has significant disadvantages: you will need to take your child to a tutor or invite a teacher to your home, which creates certain inconveniences. However, they can be avoided, because there is an alternative - from the age of 9, children successfully begin to learn English via Skype. If you want your child to try this way of learning, sign them up for a free trial lesson. You will be present at this class and will be able to understand if this way of teaching is suitable for him.

How to teach your child English at home

If you know English at least at an intermediate level and you have a desire to teach your child the language at home, follow our recommendations.

1. A playful approach to learning

It is up to you whether your child will fall in love with the English language or whether each lesson will be perceived as hard labor. Therefore, do not impose anything on the child, find such exercises that he will perform with pleasure. Use a game form of learning, not lessons from textbooks. If you can't get your kid interested in learning a language, try waiting until he grows up.

2. Proper motivation

Define a learning goal appropriate for the child's age. For example, watch cartoons and play games in English, read English fairy tales.

3. Short lessons

It is difficult for a young student to sit through 45-60 minutes of studying English, so break the lesson into small segments of 10-15 minutes. A variety of exercises related to movements will also come to the rescue, for example, you pronounce a word in English, and the child performs the specified action. Also, change activities: study words for 10 minutes, watch a cartoon for 10 minutes, sing a song for 5 minutes.

4. Illustrative Pictures

Use Glen Doman's cards, with objects drawn and signed. Find beautiful images of fruits, vegetables, animals on the Internet, print and sign. Children usually remember words easily by associating them with a picture. In addition, you can use the ready-made online dictionary in pictures on the site anglomaniacy.pl. The child will enjoy the game form of learning.

5. Useful games

Today, even 2-year-olds can easily manage their phones and laptops. They enjoy playing simple games and coloring pages. Such entertainment can be turned into a mini-lesson in English, just go to learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org and invite your child to play one of the mini-games. This will not take much time and will allow you to learn a couple of useful words.

In the article "English learning sites for kids" you will find 9 more resources where your child can learn the language in a playful way.

6. Educational cartoons

Watching cartoons is the best way for a child to develop listening skills. Try to offer your kid an educational cartoon about Gogo. The characters speak slowly and clearly, using simple phrases. With fascinating cartoons, learning English for children will definitely not be boring. In the article “How to Learn English from Cartoons: Tips and Useful Links”, we told you why this learning method is interesting and where to watch cartoons in English for free.

7. Short poems

By memorizing English poems, the child will expand vocabulary and develop memory. Simple poems for children in English can be found at kenglish.ru.

8. English songs

It's probably hard to find a kid who doesn't like to sing. Lyrics for children's songs work in the same way as poems: the child has fun, develops memory, and remembers useful words. Many simple songs for kids with lyrics and translation can be found at english5kids.russianblogger.ru. If your child is still small, you can include songs for him to listen to. So the baby will get used to the sound of foreign speech from childhood, and some psychologists believe that in this way the baby can even unconsciously memorize some words.

9. Educational videos

Educational videos for children are bright and interesting video tutorials. Today on YouTube you can find dozens of channels with exciting and educational videos. We can recommend KidsTV123 and Busy Beavers.

10. Interesting exercises

Older children can do simple tasks and tests. It is important that the exercises are not too difficult and are presented as a game, then the child will not perceive them as another boring homework. Have him do the exercises at englishexercises.org or easygrammar4kids.

11. Fairy tales and short stories

If you are fluent in English yourself, you can read books to your child, for example, good and fascinating stories about Paddington Bear. And if you want your child to listen to exemplary English pronunciation, you can turn on an audiobook. Free materials for children are available at bookbox.com and storynory.com.

12. A good textbook

To prevent your child from associating the word "textbook" with a boring book, choose materials appropriate for his age and interests.

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