Children are at a prime age when learning a new language comes relatively quickly and easily. If you want to teach Spoken English to your kids, start early. Take advantage of this young age and immerse your children in the English language as soon as possible. Make sure spoken English is incorporated into daily routines to facilitate an ease of speaking and an extensive vocabulary. Try out these child-friendly ideas to teach Spoken English to your child from a young age.
Have ‘English only’ days in your home
All children like games, especially when those games involve friendly sibling competition. Set aside one weekday every week to be ‘English only’ in your home. This means only English speaking is allowed. Create a small jar for each member of the family and place the jars in a highly visible area, such as the kitchen counter. If a child or parent speaks in their native language, they have to put a marble into their jar. At the end of the day, the family member with the least amount of marbles wins!
Play ‘rainy day’ games
Rainy day games are quick and easy games you can play without many materials. Hangman is a perfect ‘rainy day’ game that will get kids spelling and speaking in English. All you need is a piece of paper and pencil! Another great ‘game’ isn’t really a game at all, create a developing story! This is perfect for a small group. Each child writes their name at the top of a piece of paper and then writes, “once upon a time” on the first line. Then, have each child pass their paper to the person on their left. Now, each child will make up and write the first sentence of a story on the second line of the paper. Fold the paper down again so no writing is visible. Pass the papers to the left again. At this point, the children should not be seeing any of the previous written material but will still write another line of the story. Keep folding and passing along the papers until they reach the original owner. Have each child read their crazy English story out loud. Children love this game and will want to play over and over again! It is a fun way to teach Spoken English to your children without leaving the living room!
Watch a movie in English
Let media and technology work in your favor! Allow your children to pick out a movie they want to watch in English. Occasionally pause the movie and ask prompting questions such as, “What do you think will happen next?” or “Why did he/she say that?”. At the end of the movie, have them say their favorite part or least favorite part in English.
Watching movies in English introduces children to a greater variety of vocabulary words, contexts, and phrases. In addition, they are internalizing correct English pronunciation. Try having English movie night on the same night every week, perhaps the same night you have ‘English only’ day in your home! If you really want to be proactive, have the winner of ‘English only’ day pick the English movie for the night! This will give your children even greater motivation to speak English.
Hire an English speaking caretaker
On nights you need to leave your children at home, hiring an English speaking caretaker is the perfect win-win solution for parents and children. Parents can be at ease while their children are having a safe and educational evening. Unlike siblings or parents, an English speaking caretaker may only be able to speak English. Your children will naturally put more effort into speaking English, in attempts to communicate with their caretaker. Furthermore, speaking with another English speaker is one of the best ways to enrich your speaking skills.
Play online educational computer games
There is a surprising amount of free educational computer games to help children learn the English language. These are great tools to help children learn spoken English. Many of the games speak to your child and teach them pronunciation. This matching game speaks to your child while showing them pictures of objects. This method provides context as well as repetition of words so your child will begin to naturally pronounce them correctly. This suffix matching game is perfect for children who are beginning to learn more in-depth vocabulary. After mastering this game, children will be able to better understand what a plethora of vocabulary words pertain to, despite not knowing their meaning.
f you teach Spoken English to your children using creative methods like these, they will learn to speak English naturally without thinking. Incorporate these learning ideas into your child’s hobbies and lifestyle! Once you try them all, ask your child what they enjoyed and what they didn’t. And as always, never become discouraged. Even a little English practice everyday will amount to a head start in mastering the English language later on.