learning together is fun! Helping your child to learn English - practical tips

2

English sess ions

Young child ren learn En glish differe Most have a ntly from m n innate ab ost adults. ili ty to pick u in activities, p English w by making se h ile taking pa nse of what rt up the adult they are do ’s language ing and pick that accom ing panies the a ctivity. You can fin d out more in the Briti children le sh Council arn English booklet ‘Ho as another w young parents pa language’, ges of the available o LearnEngli n the sh Kids we bsite.

Planned En glish sessio ns You c

an plan reg ular session s which will • at home usually take place: • on regula r days • for about ten to twen ty minutes a increasin djusted to fi g English ab t your child ility and abili ’s ty to conce • as a plan n trate ned progra mme that re activities views and b and introdu uilds on kno ces new on wn es.

Short Engli sh session s Th ese are mo re

informal an d can take p lace: – in the car, at bathtime , in a superm • any time arket queue • in respon se to a mo od or specia l experienc As your child e. ’s English ab ili ty increases, sh to occur mo ort English re frequentl sessions te y. Once you you may inc nd r c h ild understand lude an Eng s more Eng lish phrase lish, in a home la nguage con versation. • any place

3

Planning English sessions Programmes should follow the same structure each time, as knowing what to expect lightens stress and enab les children to concentrate their efforts on picking up Engli sh.

Basic programme • Warm up – rhymes, counting or singing to get used to hearing English and making the different soun ds. • New language presentation – re-present and add onto previous language and then introduce new langu age. • Activities – game, craft, family activity. • Ending – sharing picture books. • Follow-up – such as adding a drawing to the

English corner. • Involving the family – showing work, singin g a new song, saying a new rhyme or playing a game together, if there is time.

Introducing new materials or games Effectiveness of materials depends on how you bring them to life. Adapt them and personalise them to matc h your child’s needs and interests, which makes it easier for your child to absorb the new language. Home-made or customised materials are often more effective as they fit language needs better, espe cially in the early stages of learning. Making materials toge ther at home adds something special, including a feeling of achie vement.

4

Records Keep a written record of your sessions together, as it helps you to see what you have done, what you can plan for the next one and evaluate what you have done over a period of time.

Keeping it going If your child says ‘it’s too difficult, I don’t want to do it’, don’t give in and don’t switch into home language. Quiet ly change to an easy-to-play game you know they have enjoy ed. Have fun and if possible make sure your child wins. It is important that the English session ends with your child ‘feelin g good’ about him or herself and learning English. Later, it may be good to discuss with your child why they found it difficult. Consider what you could chan ge next time, such as the amount of new material or how it was presented. In the meantime, go back to using easier mate rials for several sessions to help them regain their confi dence.

English corner or English table An English corner (or table) provides a focus for anything related to English sessions. It is the display and storage place for: • games • a mini-library of picture books • displays of English culture such as pictures, flags , etc. • displays of drawings, home-made books or craft work.

5

Ideas for activities to Craft activities tend

have a purpose. be best when they

festivals ily birthdays and • Celebrating fam ys and family fun activity. Birthda a is s rd ca y da th y Making bir all shows and to pla casions to give sm oc od go e ar ls va . festi o speak English and friends who als games with family • Collage pictures as ‘five blue things’, ing to themes such lat re os ot ph t ou t Cu like for my ay’ or ‘what I would lid ho on go to nt ‘where I wa personalise these d weather. You can an t, or sp y’, da th bir of him or ild to add a drawing ch ur yo ng tti ge pictures by re. hidden in the pictu herself or the family • Simple puppets is a little shy helps if your child et pp pu a h ug ro th Speaking from an oval-shaped ke simple puppets Ma . sh gli En g kin ea sp ke the puppet secured by tape. Ma ck sti a d an rd ca piece of is can lead on to me is ...I am six’. Th na y ‘M : ve ali e m co ogrammes s with invitations, pr making puppet show and tickets.

Family activities

works well if your for family activities sh gli En e us to g a bag for Switchin e English - packing us to on as re a is e child feels ther ing a recipe al English dish copy pic ty a ing ak m or its with a holiday corating some biscu de y Tr . ok bo ok co from an English different faces.

6

Rhymes and songs

m a very young ost cultures and fro m in ist ex es ym Rh them up and to be able to pick em se n re ild ch t age mos en they are aloud, especially wh em th g yin sa y jo en couraged. supported and en l booklet the British Counci in e or m t ou d fin e You can rhymes’, availabl through sharing ish gl En g in rn ea ‘L nglish Kids ges of the LearnE on the parents pa ion of rhymes also find a select ll wi u Yo . ite bs we tolisten to. ish sessions: es within your Engl You can use rhym es your g one or two rhym yin sa by up rm wa • child knows feel your child rhyme, once you • introduce a new en repeat it – explain it and th has warmed up new rhyme and ish session say the • at the next Engl with the seem ready, join in ey th if , ild ch ur let yo ses me words or phra actions or say so e, ur child’s confidenc ssions build up yo se w fe xt ne e th • over selves by say the rhyme them step-by-step, to em to add: encouraging th to a line • the final word phrase • then the final • then a line a complete simple until they can say e lin r he ot an en • th m you. little prompting fro rhyme with a well-known ssion by saying a se e ym rh y er ev • end favourite rhyme.

7

Rhyme cards

In the early stages of learni ng it is fun to make rhyme cards of rhymes your child knows. Write out or print out the rhy me on a card and let your child decorate it. Store it in the English cor ner so that, in their own time, they can take it out and look at it as they say the rhyme aloud to themselves.

Rhyme books

When you have made five or six rhyme cards, photoc opy them to make a book of rhymes for your child. A book is easy to carry around and they may want to take it in the car, to school, to bed or to show it to others.

Songs Introduce new songs in Eng lish sessions. You can gradua lly build up a selection of songs you can sing together, along with a CD or MP3 player. You can find a sel ection of songs on the Lea rnE ng lish Kids website. Many traditional songs can be adapted to fit different activities and circumstances. Adapting is fairly easy to do once childr en know the tune. For example, ‘if you’re happy and you know it’ can be changed to ‘if you’re hungry and you know it, eat an apple’ or ‘if you’re dirty and you know it, wash you r hands’. Adaptations like the se can add fun to daily home routines. You can also use actions or

props to help bring a song to

life. Alphabet Song [to the tun e of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star] 1. Make cards for the 26 cap ital letters and 26 small lett ers. 2. Before you sing, put the small letter cards, writing fac e-up, on the table. 3. Sing the song once and the second time, as you all sing a letter, each person in tur n picks up the matching car d. 4. Later do the same for the big letters and finally pick up two cards each time, the big and small letters.

8

Sharing books When selecting picture bo oks to share with your child, focus on those with limited, clear text that are engaging and fun to read. You can find out more in the British Council booklet ‘Learning English through sharing picture books’, available on the parents pages of the LearnEnglish Kids website.

Selecting books

When you are selecting bo oks ask yourself: • Is the text short – about five or six double pages? If more, you need to introd uce the story over a number of English sessions. • Is the print clear? • Are the illustrations interes ting and easy to understan d? • Does the book have som e interaction in the text (e.g .a refrain) or novelty interac tion through flaps, etc? • Do you like it and can you transfer your enjoyment to your child? Look out for DVDs of storyb ook characters. They can be useful, but are most effect ive if you watch them togeth er at first, making the experienc e interactive.

9

Reading aloud

cide how you book aloud and de re tu pic e th ing ad • Practise re the story to life. are going to bring the book. rds before reading wo w ne e th of e m • Introduce so ready to whisper duce a new book, be ro int u yo e tim st fir • The ild does not already y word that your ch a translation of an res. rk out from the pictu know or cannot wo ild begins rd in turn so your ch wo ch ea to int po , • As you read the words. king at the shape of to get used to loo this will make e way each time, as m sa e th in s ok bo • Try to read glish easier. picking up the En child will soon you don’t like. Your ok bo a ce du ro int • Try not to attitudes. el and reflect your detect how you fe courage iliar with a story, en fam es m co be ild ch • When your ish off phrases or using to let them fin pa by in n joi to em th sentences. e ; you might spoil th too many questions g kin as oid av to y • Tr . magic of the book

story books Making your own

ight like oks with you, they m bo y an m ed ar sh s After your child ha ry book: to make their own sto short blank book. e paper to make a m so er th ge to le ap 1. St ters, location, ent – theme, charac nt co e ibl ss po e th 2. Discuss from their ideas. the book is created at th re su en t bu c, et e story and tures and tell you th pic e m so aw dr to this. 3. Ask them not confident doing the text if they are ite wr en th n ca u yo ad and enjoy ur collection and re yo to ok bo eir th 4. Add it together.

10

Playing games

rning English ement and fun to lea cit ex ds ad es m ga Playing and development. n’s holistic learning and supports childre

e children the attitudes of som ge an ch en ev ay m Playing games em a chance to difficult as it gives th sh gli En ing rn lea d who fin her activities in es, unlike in many ot win. In playing gam well you can ly measured by how on t no is s es cc su , English speak English.

Types of games

ly grouped into: Games can be loose select one person ick games used to qu – es m ga g tin • star aser for a leader or ch t and space at involve movemen th es m ga l ica ys • ph • card games • board games Starting games

may need no d get a result. They an e nis ga or to ick These are qu here. Rhyme games played almost anyw be n ca d an t en m equip ency. unds and gaining flu help with saying so mes Rhyme starting ga e circle. One count people or around th o tw n ee tw be g tin Coun d wins. last person counte to each word. The

Red, white and blue. All out but YOU!

11

Counting out around the circle using one coun t to each word. The last child counted is out and it begins again from the next person. The remaining person wins.

Acker backer soda cracker Acker backer boo! Acker backer soda cracker Out goes you! Alphabet starting games

Counting between two people or around the circle. One count to each word. The last person counted wins.

A E I O U You! ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRS T U You are it. Physical games Simon says Make sure your child knows the names of parts of the face and later the parts of the body. You are Simon and give instructions. Your child has to listen and do exactly what ‘Simon says’ . 1. If you say ‘Simon says touch your nose’, your

child touches their nose. 2. If you say ‘Simon says don’t touch your mou th’, your child freezes where they are and does not touch their mou th. 3. If your child makes a mistake and touches their mouth, they lose one of their three points. 4. When they have lost all three points, they are out

12

and the game finishes.

Where’s the bear? Introduce a soft toy like a teddy bear or similar. Make sure your child knows ‘on’, ‘in’, ‘behind’ and the nam es of some furniture. 1. While your child shuts their eyes and you both count to five or ten, you hide the bear under a chair. 2. After counting, say ‘Open your eyes.

Where’s the bear?’ 3. You can then talk to your child as they look for the bear using words such as ‘on’, ‘under’ and ‘behind’ and name furniture in the room. 4. When the bear is found, you can swa p roles.

Outdoor games Farmer, farmer, can I cross the wate r? 1. Players ask this question while standing on a pretend river bank, wanting to cross the river to the other side. 2. The farmer replies ‘Yes, if you have got something yellow.’ 3. Anyone with something yellow replies ‘Yes, I have got something yellow’ and walks across the river. 4. Anyone who has not got something of the right colour, races across trying not to be caught. 5. Anyone caught has to drop out and wait until the farmer has caught everyone. 6. The game restarts and each time the farmer selects another colour. 7. When everyone has been caught the farmer then selects the next farmer and the game restarts.

13

lf? What’s the time Mr Wo use in a marked corner. 1. Mr Wolf stands in his ho d ask him ep, approach Mr Wolf an 2. The players, who are she lf?’ ‘What’s the time Mr Wo lock.’ 3. Mr Wolf replies ‘One o’c and ask closer to Mr Wolf’s house 4. The sheep get a little Mr Wolf?’ again ‘What’s the time lock.’ 5. Mr Wolf replies ‘Two o’c se and til the sheep are quite clo 6. The game continues un sheep. ner time,’ and chases the then Mr Wolf replies ‘din one turn. y in Mr Wolf’s house for 7. Any sheep caught sta

Card games

n download these games or you ca You can make cards for ite. LearnEnglish Kids webs picture cards from the I went on safari safari – animals you might see on Make 12 cards featuring or any other animals. and I s to say ‘I went on Safari 1. Each person, in turn, ha the card] card and say what is on saw [they turn over a an elephant.’ . ture down, on another pile 2. They put the card, pic elephant nt on Safari and I saw an we ‘I s say r ye pla xt ne 3. The imal] a parrot.’ adds the name of the an and [turns a card and ds the name of an animal. 4. Each player, in turn, ad out of animals in the list, they are 5. If they forget any of the the game. me begins re than 12 animals, the ga 6. If the list grows to mo . o is already out, can re-join again and anyone, wh

14

Memory game e items l picture cards of the sam Make 12 pairs of identica n on a flat surface. and place them face-dow s’, then er a card and says ‘a bu 1. The first player turns ov turns a second card. d keeps and ‘a bus, two buses’ an say y the e sam the is it f 2. I the two cards. from they replace both cards 3. If the card is different where they took them. e picture. cards (a pair) with the sam 4. The aim is to find two are left, count the pairs. 5. When no more cards knows se cards, once your child 6. Add more items to the of the first 12 cards. the names and plurals to of the cards; for example, 7. Later change the theme , a red T-shirt, etc.). clothing (a pair of socks

Board games

are easy kes and ladders or ludo Board games such as sna ring English s of opportunities for sha to make and provide lot s ability them to match your child’ together. You can make and needs. l and tips in this booklet usefu We hope you found the ile continue to have fun wh that you and your child er. learning English togeth

15

http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/parents One of a series of booklets commissioned by the British Council to support parents: ■ How children learn English as another language ■ Speaking English with your child ■ Learning English through sharing picture books ■ Learning English through sharing rhymes ■ Helping your child to learn English – practical tips Practical tips from this booklet are also available on a DVD from the British Council Written by Opal Dunn, author and educational consultant from the UK Designed and produced by The Burst Proof Bubble Limited, Manchester © British Council 2010 The United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland).