The modern, dynamically developing world dictates its own rules - mastering English from the age of 4 onwards allows the child to optimally fit into the surrounding space and not experience communication barriers. Our English courses in St. Petersburg will help you with this.
How to teach English to children of different ages
The effectiveness of learning a foreign language at this age depends on how to teach English for children . The use of classical methods for teaching school-age children used in educational institutions, can form a persistent aversion to the subject. And selection individual programs, the use of author's methods, taking into account the physiological characteristics and interests of the child allow us to achieve amazing results in a fairly short time.
Each child has a certain type of memory - someone can easily memorize sounds, words and expressions by ear, and someone will certainly need to write them down, someone cannot remember a word without demonstrating the corresponding image. Determining the abilities, preferences and interests of the child about the subject, the first step is to determine what the student is like - what type of memory and perception he has. It all depends on the efficiency educational process. And then the most interesting and main thing begins - we awaken interest in the subject!
Let's play English!
We did not accidentally use this word - "play". It is the game that can captivate, inspire excitement and arouse genuine interest in its essence. Teaching English to children aged 4 to 6 years is built precisely in the form of a game.
Maximum interactive materials, pictures, songs, poems, fairy tales, role-playing games, the use of toys to form language situations - all this together is perceived by the child as fun game, during which counting rhymes, songs, fairy tales, words and expressions in English are simply remembered. We have done everything to ensure that the EF Small Stars course becomes a way for your child to make new friends, discover the new kind communication and gain an extra advantage over their peers (there will be something to show off in the yard).
At this stage, we introduce only common vocabulary, words that occur daily in everyday speech - the names of products, animals, flowers, greetings, names of household appliances, furniture, etc. That is, everything that a child sees every day at home and knows how it sounds in Russian. Trying at this age to explain what “English weather” and other more complex concepts are is not worth it. You still have time. Our task at this stage is to arouse a steady interest in learning the language, learning the names of things and objects, as well as the desire to learn how to read English fairy tales.
EF High Flyers Advanced Course
Schoolchildren younger age- from 7 to 9 years - already and the needs are more adult. Back and forth and learning modern English online will become your child's favorite pastime. The task of the teacher at this stage is to make English an alternative means of communication for them.
In general, at this age, children's games have already faded into the background, and serious perseverance has not yet come. Our teachers work taking into account the peculiarities of the behavior of younger students. In the learning process, the focus is on finding an equal partner with whom it is interesting to talk and learn his opinion.
The form of teaching is somewhat different from working with the junior group but still playable. They just change the themes of game situations for more age-appropriate ones. Everything will also have to be interspersed with explanations with game moments, musical pauses. But the whole process is aimed at awakening the desire to communicate and not just communicate, but in English. And for this, more words are already needed, and the basic rules of grammar will have to be remembered. Here you can't do without interactive materials and original, colorful textbooks.
Does your child enjoy watching cartoons and films in English and trying to understand everything himself? Then we are waiting for you on the course for teenagers - EF Trailblazers!
Most parents understand that being able to speak English fluently will be critical to their child's future success, especially if they want to study at prestigious universities. However, language learning is not easy, especially for children. Many parents would like to teach their children English language right at home, but don't know where to start.
English for kids online for free
There are many online games for memorizing grammar rules and development vocabulary, songs, stories and poems in English, videos and whole line interactive exercises and assignments that make learning English a pleasure.
In order for English lessons to bring a visible result, you need to interest the child. We want to present you with several resources, the materials of which can truly captivate the child in the process of learning English.
A great online resource with a huge selection of games for children. The site is very colorful, everything is written capital letters and in Russian - it will be easy for your child and you, if you do not speak English, to find topics suitable for you. Read, color, learn words, the alphabet, Teremok will help you!
This site is British and here you can find not only exercises for learning English, but also for learning other school subjects in English! Suitable for children with a more advanced level of language proficiency and for those who are interested in in-depth study of English.
This resource is divided into sections (grammar, vocabulary, etc.). Each section has a number of exercises to practice. Do not be afraid that this portal is presented in English. If your child still does not know English very well, then the English-language site, the wording of the tasks will do him good.
Finally
Remember that it is important to help your child learn a foreign language, support, praise him, and then in the future it will not be difficult for him to speak like a real native speaker! Confidence in English can give your child an edge in making the most of educational and career opportunities in the future. But don't forget that for best results you can always turn to qualified specialists who can even give via Skype.
In contact with
So, you have decided that you will teach your child English on your own at home. So where do you start?
First, pick one that suits you, or pick a few that you'd like to try.
Secondly, determine the time and place of classes. The frequency of lessons should be at least 2 times a week, and at the very beginning it is better to deal with the child every day for 15-20 minutes.
Third, prepare everything necessary materials. Our site contains 8 categories of free materials in English for children: books and, educational, and riddles, and presentations. The choice of certain materials depends primarily on the age of your child. For example, they are intended for children of primary school age. If your baby is still 2-3 years old, then it’s better to do without textbooks for the time being and try to study with cards.
Fourth, determine the topics and schedule of classes for the coming week. Read our article on how to plan an English lesson with your child. It is better to start with simple topics (Animals, Colors, Numbers, Family) and then switch to more complex ones (Body Parts, Clothing, Food, Weather).
And fifthly, while studying English with your child on your own, observe the following rules:
1. Follow the sequence, do not try to teach the child everything at once. Go to new topic only when you are confident in mastering the previous one.
2. Repetition is the mother of learning. During the lesson, take the time to review the material learned in previous lessons. It is better to do this at the beginning of the lesson.
3. Alternate lessons-introduction of new material with watching videos, cartoons and presentations on this topic.
4. The younger your child, the more games should be included in your classes.
5. In no case should a child be scolded for the mistakes that he will make during his education. After all, this is a completely new language for him, and he will get used to it for a long time.
6. During class, try to speak English, not Russian. Our special will help you with this. Use some key phrase to switch to English, like "Now we'll speak English" or "It's English time now".
7. Maybe not everything will go as smoothly as you would like. If your child does not like some technique, postpone the lesson for the duration of the lesson, and then try to interest him in the language in another way.
Many parents are right: you can not wait for school hours and start teaching your child English at home. It is believed that the sooner he comes into contact with English, the easier and easier foreign languages will be given to him later.
But, before starting classes, it is important to find out: how to do it correctly, what are the features of teaching at home, what can you encounter?
From zero to infinity, or when is the best time to start learning English
Linguists say that children are unique beings when it comes to learning languages. Without exaggeration, they can do any feats on the shoulder and it's all about the brain.
There is a point of view that at birth in the brain of all people there is already a certain universal language code, which is subsequently transformed into a specific language. Those. a person is born without knowledge of the language, but with some kind of foundation, pre-training - he knows how to master it. If a child is placed in a completely different language environment, for example, in Vietnam or African countries, then he will perceive Swahili or Vietnamese as his native language.
Based on this, teachers conclude that children can learn foreign languages from infancy, and more than one special mechanism in the brain will help to distinguish and not confuse them. However, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of learning, to use teaching methods for children.
A simple approach to the complex: features of teaching children
English is not an easy language to learn so easily at home, and from scratch. It will take hours of painstaking grammar, reading, translation, and endless conversation practice. But this is all later, when the child has already grown up, became a schoolboy and understood how to study.
In order for the baby to quickly master English, teachers advise adhering to the following principles:
- Classes should take place in the form of a game, only in this way, through the game, children in the first five years of life learn the world gaining experience and knowledge.
- Parents, if they teach at home on their own, should not somehow single out lessons, focus on them, for example, speak - now we will learn English, get ready and be attentive.
- The child should not feel pressure and responsibility for unlearned material, parents can gently and unobtrusively remind what has been passed, but not ask how the lessons are.
Any method requires mandatory approval and support. It is impossible to overpraise children, but it is very easy to underestimate self-confidence.
We speak English. A start.
Talk to your child in English, i.e. imperceptibly, but truly create a base, you can practically from the cradle, there are no age restrictions.
Learning to read in English: important steps in learning
After English word has become familiar, the baby does not hesitate to include it in his speech, you can proceed to reading.
The technique is simple: first letters, then short, but sonorous words, then the complication of the material (diphthongs, combinations). Small, but daily exercises in a playful way help to consolidate the material.
Reading is useful in that it develops visual memory, the baby has a clear graphic image of the word that correlates with the concept. Sounds and familiar words acquire their concrete embodiment.
At this stage, previous experience of developing vocabulary is invaluable. The kid easily pronounces the word and knows what is behind it, the amount of information is smaller and simpler.
By the way, here parents can draw a conclusion about the type of perception of information - their child is auditory or visual.
How to teach writing: it's never too early to start
By experience foreign schools, where children go to school from the age of four and are already mastering writing, it can be judged that already at a tender age the baby is ready to fully perceive a new language.
Of course, it is worth starting gradually and giving chances for a mistake. For this, teachers recommend using not sheets of paper, but a flip chart, a magnetic board, where you can easily and simply fix everything. The same method is ideal if it is difficult for a child to concentrate on writing, to sit in one place.
Tasks should be simple, quick, but interesting and attractive. For example, draw a fish on the board and sign it and name the colors used, show eyes, mouth, tail in English.
Psychologists advise paying attention to children's character and temperament, starting from this, to develop their own methodology for teaching a child English. If the baby is diligent and attentive, books, cards, posters are ideal, for fidgets and hyperactive it is better to prefer talking toys, cartoons, songs, so that most of information was given by ear. And, of course, all teaching methods must be alternated, periodically modified so that the process always arouses children's interest.
And finally the most main advice: looking for best options how to teach a child English, it is important not to forget that everything should go easily, naturally, in a playful way.
Relative pronouns in English are pronouns that form a relative subordinate clause. These include: who, whom, which, whose, that.
It is quite easy to start learning English with a 5-6 year old preschooler. This is an exciting and multifaceted process, and parents will have to make considerable efforts not only to educate a preschooler, but also to develop their own language skills.
What and how to teach with a child?
Methods for teaching English to children aged 5-6 years are different from those intended for toddlers. At the age of 5, a preschooler is already fluent in Russian, knows letters and even knows how to write. Therefore, it will no longer be possible to introduce a foreign language as a second native language as organically as it happens with children of 2-3 years old.
- Buy or draw and hang posters with the alphabets of both languages in the nursery. Immediately on initial stage learning is to study the letters, learn to write them. But you should not focus on the rules for reading vowels in open and closed syllables, diphthongs, etc., as in school English lessons. It is enough to inform the child that, as in Russian, one thing is written and another is pronounced.
- When learning new words, be sure to show how they are spelled. Thus, in parallel, learning to read in English will take place. Since there are a lot of exceptions according to the reading rules in this language, it is worth memorizing words with their visual presentation. At the beginning of training, it is worth using words with a simple spelling.
- Use cards, or even better - stickers with which you can sign the right things. If there is no place in the kitchen to place a “still life” consisting of a plate, cup, spoon, glass and other signed items, you can place them in the nursery on a special shelf. Or create a kind of "dictionary" of thematic cards that the baby could use.
At the initial stage of education, in order to maintain the child's interest in a foreign language and give him the opportunity to develop communication skills, you need to learn words and phrases that:
- often used in your home in Russian;
- belong to the sphere of interests of the child (dolls, cars, robots, little animals, drawing, cycling);
- will be needed in everyday life for active communication - the names of dishes, furniture, clothes, body parts. They also include the main verbs and adjectives used for communication - “sleep, walk, eat, give, show, look, go, good, tasty, hot, cold” and others.
This approach will allow the child to quickly learn to understand and actively use English speech in everyday life.
It is easy and simple to learn a foreign language in a group. If you manage to find like-minded people with children of the same age, you can organize joint walks, tea parties, themed gatherings, and cartoons. With a well-thought-out organization, the mother will no longer need to urge the child to use the language - the kids will learn to communicate with each other in English. At the same time, it will be possible to see and analyze what words the baby is missing, at what moments he switches to Russian. It is also good if the children hear the conversations of adults in English.
How to make a child concentrate?
It is not necessary to tire a preschooler with hourly pre-planned activities - he is still quickly tired, it is difficult for him to keep concentration for a long time. It is best to discuss with him some rules and stick to them. For example:
- fulfillment of some requests made in English;
- using the language in any situations - during lunch, walking, etc .;
- encouragement for the correct completion of any tasks (for example, you can make new cards with English inscriptions for new toys).
In order not to discourage the desire to learn English, in no case should you punish a child for refusing to speak English. foreign language in some situations. In this case, it is important to understand what is hindering him - constraint, fatigue, lack of the necessary baggage of vocabulary. Ideally, when English is heard in the house constantly and freely used by at least one of the parents in everyday life, the child grasps words and phrases very easily and quickly and does not have any problems with communication in a foreign language.
How to avoid possible mistakes?
If a child is not interested in learning a language, it is the parents’ inability to organize classes correctly. Although, strictly speaking, the very wording “organize classes” is already incorrect. Communication in a foreign language must be entered into everyday life– and this can be quite difficult for adults themselves. On the other hand, if you can do this, you will definitely be able to teach your baby English and raise your own level.
Before you start learning a language with a preschooler, you need to talk with the rest of the family and discuss a few fundamentally important points.
- It will be necessary, if possible, to create a language environment. These are conversations on English at home, watching TV channels, the ability to communicate with other children and adults in English. Ideally, if you manage to find English-speaking friends for your child, a nanny, a tutor. Do not force your child to watch cartoons forcibly. It is enough to turn on the TV on English-language channels more often, and it does not matter what is on there - news or talk shows. The child will get used to the melody of the sound of the language, intonations.
- The rest of the family, more or less familiar with English, will have to take part in the child's education as much as possible: answer his questions, fulfill requests made in English.
- Adults will have to repeat or learn a large amount of vocabulary. It will not be possible to avoid the direct question: “What is the socket in English?” When the child needs to ask his dad to connect the tablet to charge. You need to be ready for any questions and own a large vocabulary yourself, because in no case should you teach a child to be clever and build phrases differently at the initial stage of learning. This may disappoint him with his parents in general and the need to learn English in particular.
From the point of view of psychology, for the effectiveness of English classes, it will be easier and more useful to change your attitude to what is happening: not “we create a language environment for teaching a child English”, but “we create a language environment in order to improve English ourselves”. The child will simply be confronted with the fact that a second language has appeared in the house, in which he also needs to communicate. If parents wisely present this idea (for example, they explain that the language is necessary for a future trip abroad), then the child will have fewer whims and demands to switch to Russian when he has no desire to speak a foreign language. Mom, dad and older sister need English - so they speak it, watch movies online and news on TV. With this approach, adults will have more opportunities to passively teach the child the language, even in those moments when he is not in the mood to study. Realizing that nothing really depends on his desire, the child will be more calm about the need to speak a second language, fulfill requests addressed to him, answer questions, which will ultimately increase the effectiveness of learning.
