Useful Tips On How To Help Your Kids Improve Their English Skills
Do you have children who need help with their English skills? Do they find it hard to read, speak, listen, and write in English? Do they feel embarrassed because of their mistakes in class or at home? Learning English is not an easy task for anyone, especially young kids who are only starting to learn this difficult language.
This article shares some tips to help your kids learn and improve their skills in English
Read Story Books Aloud To Your Kids
One of the best ways to improve your children’s English skills is by reading storybooks aloud to them. Choose a book that is age-appropriate and connected with their interests so they will enjoy listening to it. Try going through the entire book more than once with your children as it will help them become more comfortable with the language and better understand what they are reading.
Pause to ask your children questions about the story as you read. For example, if it is an adventure story, you can ask them “What do you think is going to happen next?” Or if it is a fictional story, you can ask them “If you were the main character in this story, what would you do?” These kinds of questions will encourage your child to think about what they are reading, which will sharpen their understanding skills and give them confidence.
Listen to Audiobooks Together
Even if your child is not reading on their own yet, it may be interesting for them to listen to an audiobook. You can buy the Kindle version of these books to read along with them. You can also look up the text-to-speech option that comes within most eBooks and change the settings so that your kid can listen to the book being read out loud. This is a great method for kids to improve their English skills while enjoying a good story.
Tune in to an English Program and Leave it Playing in the Background
Another useful tip to help your children with their English skills is by turning on a TV show, movie, or radio station in English. You and your kids can watch or listen together. You can also leave it playing in the background. For the TV shows and movies, you can also turn on subtitles when possible, so your child can read along while watching the visuals. By doing this you will be helping your child improve their reading skills without them even knowing it. They will find themselves better at understanding what is being said and watching the show more often because of this. Experienced writers at https://grammarhow.com/ recommend watching shows with simple conversational English for children to understand common expressions and phrases. Parents should also watch these TV shows or movies together with their children to answer questions the young viewers may ask. Some expressions might be too complex for some children to understand, and parents should be there to explain to them.
Teach Your Kids Basic Phrases Through Singing and Playing
Sing with your kid! Pick out a couple of songs that they like and play them in English. You can listen to them at home or in the car. Sing the basic phrases that are repeated throughout the song, so they can get used to them and learn them properly. Another fun strategy is to speak English when playing games with your child. This will encourage them to pick up the new language and it may become easier for them to understand what you are saying if they already hear you speaking it on a regular basis. These are great ways to have fun with your kid while also improving their English skills (often without them even realizing it).
Come Up With Stories Together
Coming up with stories can be a fun activity for you and your children. When you are doing this kind of activity, try using words that are known by both of you already so they can get used to the language. You can improvise or make something up together. It helps if you think it out beforehand so your kids will know what they are supposed to do right away. You should encourage your children to ask questions about your story as well because this is a great way for them to learn new words and phrases by themselves. Once your children get the hang of it, you can ask them to tell you stories about what they did that day or about something that happened in the past. This could help them become more comfortable with the language and speak a little more fluently.
Treat Your Children As a Communication Partners
The most important thing to do when you’re learning a new language is to use it. Try making a conscious effort to speak with your children in English only so they can become accustomed to speaking this way too. When you are speaking to your children, try not to speak in a monotone voice. Instead, correctly pronounce every word so that they can get a sense of how you’re feeling and understand what each word means too. This will help your kid to better understand what you are saying and encourage them to learn the language quicker. Be patient with them during this process.
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve provided some tips on how to help your kids improve their English skills. But before you can even start teaching them, it is important for you as the parent or caregiver to understand what they need and expect from an instructor. Tailor instructions based on their needs and interests. Then it will be meaningful and engaging for you all!
