In the last article, we talked about the reasons why it’s so important to help your child learn English at home, and some creative, fun ways in which you can go about this. However, as this is such a huge and essential topic, we thought you would benefit from hearing some further tips!

But before we delve into them, let’s ascertain once again, just why is it so key that you teach your child English skills from home?

Why is it important to teach your child English skills at home?

As mentioned, your child will learn a significant majority of their English skills from their teachers and peers while at school. However, it’s just as important that the time they do spend at home is filled with opportunities to reinforce and practice these skills. There are so many benefits of teaching your child English skills from an early age within the home, for example:

It helps expose your child to the language.

It helps your child develop a habit of communicating confidently in the language.

It offers cognitive benefits such as problem-solving skills, increased creativity, the flexibility of mind, and network critical thinking.

It opens your child up to a cultural environment.

It gives your child better access to information on the internet.

It gives your child a better chance of achieving academically in life.

Now that we’ve outlined the importance of teaching your child English skills at home, and the ways in which they can benefit from this teaching, let’s move on to the tips of how you can go about this!

How can you help to teach your child English skills at home?

Remember, many parents feel a little unconfident or unqualified to be teaching their children English from home. However, it’s important you remember that you don’t have to have an English degree or be perfect at communicating grammar to do this. The main thing is that you encourage your child, give them opportunities to practice, and be as patient and persistent as possible. Remember that they will pick things up in their own time, so don’t be disheartened if it takes them longer than another one of their peers.

Here are some further tips on how to teach your child English skills at home:

Know which phrases and words to teach first. It would work in your favour to first of all choose topics that your child finds interesting, before attempting to teach them English words and phrases. This way, you’ll probably have a whole lot more success in getting them to engage and actually want to learn. Have them pick from topics such as toys, clothes, animals, food, colours, adjectives, and numbers.

Have ‘English only’ days in your home. Delegating a particular day in the week for only English to be spoken in your family’s household, will help reinforce the message that learning English is one of the most important parts of your child’s education. Additionally, you can set aside a jar in your kitchen, into which a marble has to be dropped every time someone speaks a language that is different to English. At the end of the week, whoever has contributed the least amount of marbles is the winner!

Play ‘rainy day’ games. Games are actually a fantastic way to help your child become more enthusiastic about learning English skills at home. A good example of a game that will help with their skills in this area is Hangman. Hangman will help your child spell, communicate, and extend their vocabulary in a fun, interactive way.

Watch a movie in English. Watching a movie in English is a way for your child to have the chance to relax while learning vocabulary contexts, phrases, and words. Have them choose a movie to watch in English, and while it is playing, occasionally pause it to ask your child questions such as “How do you think the movie is going to end?”, or, “What did you like about that particular character?”.

Hire an English-speaking nanny/babysitter. Having an English-speaking nanny or babysitter will be extremely beneficial for your child’s development of English skills. It allows more opportunities for them to absorb the language in an organic way. Additionally, it will put your mind at ease that whenever you are out, your child will be having an exciting and educational evening by just talking to their nanny!

Play online educational computer games. Free educational computer games are a very useful tool or resource to help your child learn spoken English and the pronunciation of words. Whether your child is new to learning vocabulary or they are at a more confident level, computer games are very entertaining for children, and something many of them do for fun regardless. Therefore, they will be much more inclined to want to learn through this method. Just remember to make sure they are not on screens too much.

How to help your child's English skills at home (Part 2)

Your child's increased capacity for language will be the gift that keeps on giving.