7 Fun Ways to Help Children Learn English Speaking

Do you want your child to learn English Speaking? As an international English language teaching institute we talk to a lot of parents everyday and one of the biggest challenges they have is how to improve their children’s English speaking ability. Most parents understand that the ability to speak English fluently will be critical for the success of their child in the future, specially if they wish to study and work in an English speaking country like the USA or the UK. Also, most parents understand that leaning English speaking is much more difficult than learning to read or write in English. Is it possible to teach your child to speak English fluently like a native?

The good news is that you actually can help your child improve English speaking. If you start at a young age, there is a very good chance that you can help them become extremely fluent in English, even to the level of a native English speaker. Children absorb languages like sponges, a lot faster than adults. With the right approach and environment, you can help your children learn English speaking the same way they speak their first language.

How can you help your child learn English speaking?

Here are some fun ways you can help your child learn English speaking.

1. Practice English speaking with a Native Teacher

The only way to be truly fluent in English is through continuous practice. If you practice with a Native speaker, you will learn with more accuracy in things like pronunciation and accent.

Find a Native English Teacher to work with your child 2-3 times a week. Make this a time where your child only does conversational practice, not learn grammar. There are a lot of free resources available to learn grammar – use the Native English teacher more for Conversational practice.

Want to try this tactic with a Native English Teacher? Click link below to sign up for a trial lesson:

2.) Listen to English audio books

Immersing your child in “English” is the best way to get them to learn English. Listening is an extremely important part of language immersion.

This includes activities like listening to broadcasts, such as the BBC, or  allowing your child listen to audio books read in English. If your child has a long commute to school use that time to listen to an audio book. Use can use a website like Audible to try out audio books for kids.

Always use audio books that is slightly above your level. This will allow you to improve your English skills at a faster rate.

4.) Make English the medium to learn other subjects

Think of how your child would learn English if they lived in an English speaking country like the UK or US? They will learn to speak English fluently without formally taking any English classes. That’s because they will use English as the language to “absorb” everything else.

You can create a similar learning environment within your household too. If you are teaching your child a history lesson use English. If you are  having a conversation about a holiday happening in another country use English. Or use explain to talk about a science project or a sport.

The more activities you can talk about in English with your child, the faster they will be to learn English.

5.) Invite friends for an “English Day” at home

The only way to improve English speaking is by speaking English as much as possible. Learning English speaking like learning to ride a bike or learning swimming. You can’t learn by just memorizing theory. You have to practice.

Invite your  child’s friends over for an “English Day”. The rule is that you can only speak in English. You cam add some fun rules – for each word spoken in any other language other than English, you have a fine!

Encourage the group to just speak English, from whatever limited words they know. This will teach children how to think in English. In other words, this activity will encourage children to process ideas in English, and avoid any mental translation.

You can make this activity a weekly Kid’s English Speaking Club

6.) Keep a diary in English.

Children love keeping diaries. Diaries give them a fun opportunity to keep track of things happening in their life.

Encourage your child to write their diary in English. This activity will push them to think and form ideas in the English language. Learning English Speaking is 90% about muscle memory and the more activities you can do to train your child’s brain to use English as the medium to communicate, the faster you will see improvements.

7.) Listen to English music

Children of all ages love music. Whether it is singing or dancing, music appeals children of all ages.

Music is also a great way to help your child improve English speaking. Songs usually involve a lot of repetition, and the rhythm helps you remember words easily.  Also when children sing with the lyrics in front of them, it teaches them pronunciation patterns in a very natural way.

Where should you start? Depends on your child’s age but we would recommend Mother Goose Club and Sesame Street as too great palaces to start.

March 11, 2016