Children’s brains are like sponges, and studies have shown time and time again that a child’s capacity for learning a language quickly and easily is at its best between the ages of two and ten. So, it’s no surprise that one of the most common questions we get from families is: “How can I help my child practice English at home?”
The short answer: Frequent and repeated exposure to the language.
But you might be thinking, “How? What? And can I do it for free?” Well, even if you aren’t confident in English yourself, here are our top tips for helping your child improve and practice their English at home:
- Music and Songs: The importance of learning through exposure, repetition and rhythm cannot be stressed enough! This is not only helpful for English vocabulary, but above all, pronunciation! YouTube channels such as Super Simple Songsand WeeSingoffer a variety of options. But if your kid prefers the Rolling Stones or Taylor Swift – even better!
2. Storybooks in English: Start reading or listening to English storybooks or audiobooks together. Picture books with repetitive phrases, such as “Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?”, help children associate words with images and build vocabulary. Audiobooks are great for listening skills and pronunciation, too! Search “English storybook read aloud” on YouTube and you will find lots of free videos of classic children’s books being read. For example, our favorites, The Gruffalo, or The Very Hungry Caterpillar.
3. Daily Words and Phrases: Label items around the house in English and practice using the words in your child’s daily routine. A great tip is to have your child help make the labels (drawing a picture to go with the word, for example), as this will help to reinforce the vocabulary. You can even play memory games with the vocabulary around the house.
4. Arts and crafts or experiments with instructions in English: Do something your child already loves to do while following simple English instructions. For example, making paper animals, origami, or decorating a card while naming colors and shapes in English can be both fun and educational. You can find instructions online to read out loud, or you can watch or listen to a video, if you’re unsure about pronunciation.
5. Watch cartoons in English! We know, we know, we want them away from screens as much as possible, but if they are going to watch something anyway, why not make it in English? At first it might not be easy for them, but we promise – you will be amazed at how quickly they start to understand!
6. Interactive Apps and Online Games: Again, we know that too much screen time can be a bad thing, but there are many free and paid apps, such as Duolingo Kids (DuoLingo ABC) or Lingokids, designed specifically to teach children English through games, stories, and activities. These tools make learning interactive and fun for kids of all ages.
Without a doubt, by incorporating one or more of these strategies at home, learning and speaking English will become second-nature to your child and you’ll be setting a strong foundation for their future success. Try a few and see how it goes!
Joanna