Teaching children a foreign language: each age has its own methodology. Child and foreign languages: when to start learning? When to start teaching your child English

Knowledge of any foreign language is rightfully considered one of the most important modern skills that every loving and responsible parent dreams of instilling in their children almost from birth. We asked experienced linguist-teacher Yulia Kurennaya about how and when is the most correct and effective way to start teaching children a foreign language - so that mastering a “non-native speech” brings children and parents not only benefit, but also joy...

You need to approach the process of teaching children a foreign language very responsibly and at every stage of a child’s growing up, turn to those methods and teachers that will really give results, and will not become a waste of time and money, as often happens in reality...

Language classes and getting to know the language are two very different things!

When we're talking about about teaching a foreign (most often English) language to children, parents should understand the fundamental difference between the concepts of “language classes” and “acquaintance with the language.” According to many modern teachers and linguist tutors, teaching language to children under 5 years old makes little sense. The activity, as such, requires a certain level of concentration and consistent completion of tasks. And for young children, this is not only uninteresting and difficult, but can also “come back to haunt” them in the future - often it is early learning of a foreign language that can discourage a child from wanting and interested in that very language for years to come.

Yulia Kurennaya, professional linguist, teacher of the Puzzle English service, curator of the “Teacher Method” project, which allows you to learn English from scratch to an advanced level interactively:

“I support the opinion of many experienced teachers and psychologists that serious, full-fledged education of children younger age a foreign language, at least, is ineffective.

But acquaintance with the language, on the contrary, can begin as early as possible. My baby is only a month old, but I already turn on BBC programs in front of him and speak a foreign language. Psychologists have proven that young children perceive everything they hear around them, and subsequently use familiar sound combinations to construct speech and understand words. Thus, the presence of speech in different languages in early childhood will help the child learn English or other languages with greater ease and joy in the future.”

But don’t worry if your baby is already, say, a year and a half or two years old, but foreign speech has never been heard in your home. Until three or four years old, children are like sponges. And you can start learning the language in this passive mode at any time. At the same time, you should not demand anything specific from the child - repetition, correctness of phrases, pronunciation. If he wants, let him repeat some elements of words and speech, or even just individual sounds - everything will be beneficial!

It's good alone, but in company it's better

It is very good if you can send your child to a nursery or kindergarten, where acquaintance with a foreign language is provided. In some institutions preschool education Even native speakers work, and this is a very useful practice for a child - when he has the opportunity to hear foreign speech in everyday conditions, during the day.

And why are children's groups, in which the child hears foreign speech every day, preferable to a nanny or a parent who can also speak a foreign language in front of the child all day long? The fact is that children under 4-5 years old are a completely special “community” from the point of view of communication, in which children communicate with each other in “their” specific language. And it is extremely useful for the future successful mastery of a foreign language, so that foreign speech gradually “comes” to daily life child not only always from adults, but also from his peers. After all, it’s no secret that children who have the opportunity to communicate daily in a group learn new skills much faster and more willingly from each other than from adults. It’s enough to say a couple of new words to one kid, and by the end of the day the whole group will be happily chattering these words...

Serious training begins... with a game!

Starting from the age of 5, we can already talk about more or less serious and systematic classes in teaching children a foreign language. But for now they should be built exclusively in a gaming format. And here it is important to take into account that growing children have a lot of physical activity. They need to move a lot and their perseverance, as well as their ability to concentrate, is still minimal.

Therefore, all classes should be structured in the form of outdoor games. Children can jump up, shout something, run somewhere. Nowadays, there are a huge number of methods for teaching young children a foreign language, available today for parents with any income and amount of free time, but the most important criterion when choosing one or another teaching method is always the same - the child should have fun and interesting in the process!

For a 5-year-old child, learning a foreign language should be an exciting and fun game. And only you, as a parent, have the right to believe that this is also part of the learning process.

The first serious language lessons with a child a little over 5 years old should be based on those activities that the child prefers and loves. If he loves colorful books, use them in your lessons, but if he is a “passionate collector” of animal toys, then they will become your main assistants during lessons. And if your baby jumps, runs, and spins like a top from morning to evening, it means that your foreign language classes should follow the same rhythm. Who said that effective learning is only possible “at the desk”? Not at all!

Until the age of 6, there should be no talk of any cramming or systematic memorization of elements of a foreign language. In fact, at this age it is already quite easy for children to remember useful phrases and words if they learn them during the game. Try, for example, the practice of fun exercises and exercises with your child, when commands are given only in a foreign (for example, English) language: “Lay on the floor!”, “Jump like a frog!” and so on.

If you have invited a teacher or tutor to work with your child, it is extremely important that he is competent, understands the psychology of children of the appropriate age, knows how to attract their attention, but at the same time very clearly senses the line beyond which learning for the child turns into a routine and boring duty. Ideally, the highest quality foreign language teachers for adults and children are different people: A tutor who successfully works with children never works with adults, and vice versa. If only because these are fundamentally different teaching methods.

If you have invited a foreign language tutor to a young child, do not hesitate to insist on your presence in the lessons, at least for the first time. You must make sure with your own eyes that your child receives not only knowledge, but also pleasure from the game-based learning process.

Applications - to help

So, from about 5 years old, the practice of children's acquaintance with a foreign language begins to turn into still playful activities, but already. Keep in mind that everything a child absorbs in early childhood will stay with him forever. But only on the condition that the knowledge he has accumulated gradually, albeit slowly, develops into a more complex practice - without interruption! But if you stop “presenting” a foreign language (in any form) for at least six months, the chances are high that the child will quickly lose those “pieces” of foreign speech that he has already learned.

Special interactive applications can help your child move further in learning, or at least not forget the knowledge already accumulated. For example, as part of the online project for learning English Puzzle English, there is a program called “Teacher’s Method”, where kids can playfully, but at the same time very successfully learn the alphabet and some other basic fundamentals of the English language. Also in the AppStore, GooglePlay or Yandex.Market there are many worthy applications with the ability to teach children a variety of foreign languages.

Remember: for children 5-6 years old, there should be no written language or grammar when learning a foreign language. It's too early! It is much better and more fun to learn songs and dances.

After 6 years, it’s a great time to study a foreign language in a group. This could be a group of preschool children at the lyceum you will be attending, or just a development group with a good teacher. In such groups, it is possible to integrate language learning into joint gameplay, such as, for example, staging a play in a foreign language, team games and quests. It is important that children continue to play without paying attention to the fact that they are learning a language.

Grammar

The time for real linguistic knowledge comes closer to 7-8 years. It is at this age that children begin to seriously master writing and reading skills. native language. In parallel with this, you can already start learning to read and write in a foreign language too. However, for now, these exercises should take no more than 20 minutes - that is, only a small part of the usual game format of the lesson.

An experienced teacher understands that children aged 7-8 years are already interested in many regional studies things - they are curious to learn about distant countries and the people who live in them, about natural phenomena, about science and technology, etc. And this provides an opportunity for deeper contextual learning of the language.

“For children aged 7-8 years when learning a foreign language, such as English, our so-called “puzzle” concept is perfect. It is already quite possible for children to be given tasks for arranging words in the application, putting together sentences from individual words, like a puzzle. The essence of the idea is that the student listens to live speech, watches a video or special animation, and then combines what he heard from the original words. That is, the student is required to arrange the members of the sentence in the correct syntactic and semantic sequence, but in game form. For which word cards, magnetic boards or specialized applications are successfully used.”

Everything is grown up

When a child reaches the age of 12-13 years, it is too late and ineffective to captivate him with games alone. If he was previously instilled with an interest and love for a foreign language, it will be easy to build an adequate learning model - at this age, sincere passion for a foreign language and awareness of the results already achieved makes children take on the most complex linguistic tasks with interest and complete them with ease.

No matter how old you are, you are reading an article on the English language school blog right now. This means you have some kind of motivation. And this is commendable. If your question sounds like “at what age and until what age can you start learning English,” then we will answer right in the first paragraph. In any. From infancy to old age. After all, it's never too late to learn. If this answer was enough for you, we are glad that we could inspire you to learn :)

But now let's look at the features of learning a language at different ages. What to consider is who will have it easier and who will have to put in more effort.

Cognitive flexibility

Let's dive a little into science. When is a person most capable of learning?

Any of our skills, any information in memory or association are neural connections in the brain. A kind of wiring that connects one part of the brain to another. When we learn something new, a new wiring is formed.

In the first months of life there are very few of these connections. Until the child is one year old, the structure of the brain itself continues to form, and already from the age of one we can talk about learning. The human brain can be thought of as clay. In children and young people it is soft, you can sculpt anything from it without any effort. Over time it hardens. And as an adult, you can still change your shape, but you have to try.

But it all depends on the person himself, how strong his motivation to learn is. How less people strains its cranium, the faster it “dries out,” and with constant loads and a continuous desire to learn new things, it will remain plastic longer.

Features of learning English for preschoolers

At what age is it better to learn English? The earlier the better. But it is important to consider that young children learn differently than we are used to. Until the age of six, a child is just beginning to develop speech. At this age, he is most susceptible to memorizing new words, perceiving them by ear, and reproducing them. This is the age when a child is able to understand most of the language intuitively, without any explanation. Just as children learn to speak their native language from their parents, they can learn another or even more if given an example.

IN pre-revolutionary Russia children hired French-speaking nannies for their children so that they could master French at a native level. And as a result, these children had two native languages.

Therefore, at this age there is no need to explain grammar, learn words from pictures, come up with some games for learning the language and train pronunciation. The child himself will be able to understand all this. The main thing is that he hears speech in the language we need. Parents can either speak to him in English themselves (but then he will also borrow the accent from his parents), or invite a native speaker to communicate. English cartoons are also good, but they are ineffective on their own, since there is no opportunity to practice.

English for primary school

The first years of school are the period when the child’s speech has already formed. Now he can only learn English as additional language, and not as a second relative. But this is not a problem, because a junior student is still receptive to receiving new information.

The main thing here is to find an approach. After all, perseverance and the desire to study for hours are definitely not about kids. English is already included in school curriculum, and the task of parents at this stage is to help them learn the proposed material. Do it with him homework, help with grammar, give hints. But you shouldn’t limit yourself to just the school curriculum.

Watch educational cartoons and films with your child, study using interactive children's textbooks, send your child to children's language clubs. We wrote about this in more detail in this article. Concerning teaching aids, you need to be extremely scrupulous in choosing them. Not all of them are effective. You can find a huge number of educational cartoons on YouTube, but for the most part they only help you learn counting, animals, colors, and so on, but do not provide comprehensive knowledge.

English for children 10-15 years old

At this age, the character is already fully formed, life priorities, values, in general, you can already communicate with your child on equal terms. And at this stage it depends on the parents how conscious their child will be in adulthood.

If you force a child to study and constantly control him, he will become unconfident and dependent. But if you manage to interest the child, convey to him that learning English is important for him, this will be useful.

At this age, children tend to get excited about something, but can just as quickly lose interest. At the age of 10-15, the child himself can take the initiative and look for opportunities for learning if he is interested. For example, study in online schools or go to language classes. The task of parents is to maintain motivation and help.

Language learning at 15-20 years old

This is the most effective age. The teenager already knows what he wants and consciously learns English. The same methods are suitable here as for adults; there is no point in choosing something adapted at 16 or 18 years old.

By the way, according to scientists from the Netherlands, during the period of 17-20 years it is easiest for a person to assimilate new information. They came to this conclusion after measuring brain activity in more than 200 people of different ages.

Another bonus is that at this age you can fully concentrate on learning. There is enough free time, work and family are not as tiring as in later life. It's easy to learn, as long as you have the desire.

English as an adult

If it suddenly happens that you didn’t learn English as a child, then it’s never too late. Let’s say you had another foreign language at school, or English, but you didn’t learn it well. Now is the time to start, especially since this is an extremely useful skill in modern world. Any serious position in any company now requires knowledge of English at least at the Intermediate level.

There are special courses where you can start learning the language from scratch. You can sign up for group classes in your city, or if you want to save time, you can take classes online. EnglishDom has several courses for different levels: Elementary, Pre-Intermediate, Intermediate and Upper-Intermediate. Classes are held one-on-one with a teacher via Skype. Sign up for your first introductory lesson is possible for free.

There are many examples of how people started learning a language at the age of 25-30 and achieved success in this. Therefore, everything will work out for you.

Learning English in old age

Life doesn't end after retirement. For example, in Europe, retirees lead a very active lifestyle: travel, learn new hobbies, and play sports for the soul. Age is not a barrier.

Firstly, it is a kind of hobby. Learning English in retirement is like a hobby that helps you keep yourself busy and while away your free hours. And it’s very motivating to see that there is progress. Secondly, it is good for the body. The sedentary lifestyle of many older people is very harmful to health. And learning something new will help keep your brain sharp. And although it is indeed more difficult to learn something new in old age, this is not an excuse for not doing anything.

Conclusion

At what age can you learn English via Skype - from birth. Until what age can you teach until you are a hundred years old? Just go towards your goal!

EnglishDom #inspiring to learn

Daria Popova

Anyone who has wondered when to start has always met the answer from experts - the sooner the better. However, many parents still doubt whether English is needed before school? Common myths and “confusion” of facts are used. Today we will take a closer look at why it is better to start learning English at an early age.

What are the pros and cons early education foreign language?

Arguments FOR early teaching of English to children

1. Hemispheric trap

A child's brain is constantly growing and changing rapidly. At the beginning of a child's life, there is no significant difference in the activity of the right and left hemispheres. But the child begins to grow up, and the two halves begin to strictly distribute responsibilities, including those related to speech.

The left hemisphere is conscious and speech. It is “the main thing” in speech. His responsibilities include:

storing the meaning of a word
logics
grammar
reading
letter

The right hemisphere is unconscious and creative. In speech it is responsible for:

pronunciation
intonation
facial expressions
gestures
and most importantly - a linguistic guess

Thus, the right hemisphere is responsible for unconsciously understanding the meaning of an unknown phrase from the context, "judging by what happens."

Up to 7 years of age, a child’s perception of speech, including foreign speech, causes activity in both hemispheres of the brain; from 7 to 9 years of age, a decline in excitation in the right hemisphere is observed, and from 10 years of age, foreign speech is recorded only in the left hemisphere.

Thus, for a child who began learning a foreign language at the age of 8, as our school suggests, it is not just difficult, but unnatural to the nature of the brain, the ability to easily distinguish foreign words, overseas intonations and linguistic guesswork, that is, understanding the main essence of what was said, even if you you don't know the meaning of some words.

2. English coach's opinion

For me the question is “When to start training English language? sounds exactly the same as “When should a child start doing physical education?” The thing is that most parents perceive English as physics or chemistry, that is, a set of knowledge that needs to be understood and applied where necessary. In fact, English is not mathematics, it is physical education.

You can know a lot about the technique and strategy of playing basketball, but still not learn how to play it. Teaching English in a Russian school, as a rule, comes down to learning how to jump and run, but not jumping and running. Now think about it - how successfully will your child be able to master the game of ball if you give him this sports object only at the age of 8?

Remember English is not taught. He is being trained. And the earlier training begins, the more perfect the skill.

3. The smart barrier does not jump over. He doesn't create it

The best way overcome the language barrier - do not create it. Children who started learning English at at least 5 years old, or even earlier, rarely develop a language barrier. First of all, this is due to the fact that they have experience of success in English from the very beginning. The language tasks are so simple that children can cope with them with ease. Moreover, the younger the child, the less he feels the difference in success between native and foreign speech.

Even in Russian, kids don’t understand all the words, so the situation when they don’t know the meaning of what is said, but guess it, is natural, everyday and does not represent much stress.

The very native speech of children is not yet replete with sophistication and complexity. And the first dialogues that children learn to construct in English are essentially a foreign copy of their ordinary daily role playing games to the daughters and mothers, the doctor or the store.

5. Transfusion from dictionary to dictionary

Usually for parents the main result teaching English to children is how many words the child knows in it. In fact, what is much more important is not how many words the child speaks (active vocabulary), but how many he understands in the interlocutor’s speech (passive vocabulary).

In an adult, as a rule, these vocabularies are almost the same. But in children, a passive one is first formed (remember how long it takes a child to say only a few words, but already understands almost everything you say to him), and then the words from it turn into an active dictionary, that is, into speech. It’s the same with English - with proper training, preschool children develop a huge passive vocabulary, which then saves enormous time on learning new words (they simply turn into active speech over time)

6. Spongiform memory

It is known that children absorb everything like sponges. But few people think that the sponge dries out easily if you do not keep it constantly in water.

A child’s memory is indeed capable of assimilating a huge layer of foreign language material, but only on the condition that the child is regularly immersed in the language environment (hears foreign speech, tries to speak it, understand what they are saying).

Have you already guessed that with age, memory loses its sponge-like quality?

7. Translation difficulties when teaching English to children

An adult thinks in words. Children from 7 to 12 years old use mostly pictures or images, but verbal thinking is already gaining momentum. From 3 to 7 years – children think in pictures and images.

When a preschooler meets foreign word, he first of all connects it not with translation, as an adult does, but with a picture, a toy, an action, a property of an object, that is, something real. Thus, preschoolers do not have mediocre translators in the form of Russian words between the English language and reality (with the correct organization of classes, of course).

To be successful in English, you need to learn to think in it, and not think in Russian, and then translate what happened into a foreign language.

It is much easier for a child to learn to think in English than for an adult, because a child thinks like this:

Before school:

Child thinks “cat” = child imagines a cat.
The child thinks “a cat” = the child imagines a cat.

From 7 years onwards:

The child thinks “cat” = the child imagines a cat and remembers its properties (animal, 4 legs, loves mice, etc.)
The child thinks “a cat” = the child remembers that this translates as “cat” = perhaps, then he imagines a cat.

But teaching preschool children to translate is a difficult task. For them, this is double work: to remember what the word means, and then to remember what it is called in Russian.

Arguments “AGAINST” early teaching of English to children

However, despite the convincing arguments in favor of early learning a foreign language, the arguments “AGAINST” are no less convincing:

Children confuse languages. English interferes with the development of native speech.
Bilingualism creates such confusion in a child's head that it interferes with the development of his intelligence.
Children confuse the letters of Russian and English. English interferes with learning to read Russian.
English is difficult. Children won't understand grammar rules anyway. Don't deprive your child of his childhood.
For a speech therapy child (and there are many of them these days, unfortunately), English interferes with correct pronunciation.
English before school is of little use. Then, at school, everyone evens out anyway.
English needs to be taught “correctly”: from the cradle or with a native speaker (a person who was born and raised in an English-speaking country), and immersed in English for several hours a day, then the child will master English as a native language. And everything else is just “toys” before school.

Do you recognize your point of view at some point? Congratulations on debunking yet another misconception! All these arguments are based only on myths and “confusion” of facts. But about this -

Hello, dear parents. Today we will talk about when to start introducing your child to English. You will find out what age is most optimal for this by considering all the pros and cons.

Why teach a child

Today, getting a normal profession, in particular a highly paid specialty, is difficult without knowledge of English.
This is a universal language that will allow you to communicate while traveling around the world; it will be useful when searching for information on the Internet and reading foreign literature. Don't forget that English is an international language.
When the question arises, at what age to learn English, then it is worth understanding that the earlier acquaintance with a foreign language begins, the easier the learning process will be.
You need to realize that children perceive new information much easier and faster than adults, since they do not have an analysis of the linguistic structure of language.
Children do not have the same fear of failure, fear of failure, as adults do.
If the child is given the right motivation, he will treat classes as a game.
It has been scientifically proven that a child who learns an additional language has a broader outlook and better communication skills.
It is worth considering that a person who speaks two or more languages is much less likely to experience depression and stress, is purposeful and more intellectually developed.
If the child’s parents travel frequently, then knowledge of a foreign language is also very important, because they will have to communicate in an unfamiliar country.

Three features

If we consider how to learn English for a child aged three to six years, then it is worth considering three important features.

Rules for immersion in a language environment. It is important to create an environment that allows you to get in touch with the culture of the country whose language you have started learning. It is necessary that the person who will teach the child has the correct pronunciation. During classes, it is necessary to resort to game techniques. It is necessary to understand that if there is no opportunity to properly conduct training at home, then it is better to send the child to a specialized club or to language school.
Experienced teachers. In order for the learning process to be successful, great importance has what kind of people teach the child. Ideally, if the teacher has experience communicating with preschoolers, and also practices gaming techniques. Therefore, if you decide to send your child to a specialized school, it is important to first communicate with the teacher and even attend his lessons. It is necessary to understand that the presence of an incorrectly selected methodology, heavy workload and other mistakes of the teacher can lead to loss of interest and even serious mental problems for the child.
Dynamism. It is important that classes with a preschooler take place in an interactive form, like a game. It is necessary for alternation to occur various types activities. It is also important that the child does not lose interest in the activities being conducted. It is also worth considering that earlier acquaintance should include more of an acquaintance factor than cramming vocabulary or grammar. It is important to focus on overall development.

Two opinions

The first theory is that language learning should be early. The advantages of this approach include: learning takes place at an unconscious level; the baby does not experience fear of communication; having a good memory; opportunity to learn correct pronunciation. The disadvantages of this theory include: the need to create a cultural environment; likelihood of mechanical learning; difficulty creating the right mood; the likelihood of difficulties when learning native sounds. It is recommended to resort to such study in the following situations: moving to a foreign country (English-speaking) is approaching; in the immediate environment they communicate in this language; parents have proper teaching skills.
The second theory is that learning should begin no earlier than age seven. The advantages of this approach: the child gets used to learning, he attends school, and in classes it is easier for him to become familiar with the language; there is a Russian language database, correct pronunciation sounds; at this age it is easier to motivate a child; for such age period there are many courses; the child does not experience difficulty overcoming the language barrier. Negative points include: difficulties in memorizing new words; the child has much less time to learn the language, since he has started school.

Age periods

First year of life. Of course, a child of this age will not attend a language school or even study with a tutor. During this period, the baby learns the world, learns to recognize parents. Therefore, the first acquaintance can be made by listening to songs in English. The positive aspects include: the baby’s increased sensitivity to information of any kind; the need to copy parents' skills; perception on an intuitive level; simultaneous knowledge of two languages. It is also worth considering the arguments against such early acquaintance: parents who do not know the rules can aggravate further language learning; There is an opinion that at such an early age children are not ready to learn English.
Children from one and a half to two years old. Classes are usually held in the presence of one of the parents. It is important to take into account the wishes of the child himself. The positive thing about such a study is that it is at this age that the brain centers are aimed at mastering language. Negative - there is a risk that an improperly organized learning process can create a negative background regarding learning English.
From three to five years. Many experts agree that this period is the most optimal. Along with learning English, you can develop fine motor skills, as well as the perseverance and imagination of the child. The positive aspects include: the presence of developed skills in learning the Russian language; the presence of a sufficient degree of perception of unknown information; The baby already knows how to find parallels between himself and other children and analyze his own actions. The negative points include: if learning is not done in a playful way, the child may quickly lose interest; In the absence of the right motivation, the child will not complete tasks, and it is possible that a negative attitude towards English will develop. It is important to take into account that at the age of three the baby experiences an age crisis and additional load can negatively affect him.
From five to seven years. During this period, the baby’s knowledge of the parent’s language is rapidly expanding, and children practice communicating with peers. Therefore, at this age, group classes are the best option. The baby’s attention becomes more concentrated; he can spend 20 minutes doing something that doesn’t interest him too much. However, this does not mean that classes should not be interesting; they are also recommended to be carried out in the form of a game. The positive aspects include: good command of the primary language, so it is easier for the child to learn an additional one; there is developed self-organization. Arguments against: it is possible that stress may arise as the baby begins to go to school.

I, like my son, began learning a foreign language at the age of five. Meetings with the teacher were held at the base kindergarten. I don’t think that it was sooner or later, as for me, this age is the most optimal. Due to the fact that the classes were conducted in a playful way, the language became easier and the time passed interestingly.

Now you know that you can learn English from an early age. However, it is worth considering how effective early training will be and what harm it can cause. Remember that in today's world it is very important to know foreign languages, especially English. Therefore, it is worth introducing your child to this language, but doing it when he is ready.

Greetings to all parents concerned about the upbringing and education of their children!

So, we, adults, could not tear our children away from the game... They were so captivated by these truly educational toys that the idea came to me to find the same ones so that my daughter would enjoy them, and I would have free time.

By the way, such toys can be safely used at the initial stage of your child’s acquaintance with the English language. How? Read my article and find out!

Today more and more parents want their children to know a foreign language. It's even better if they learn it as early as possible. As a mother, I perfectly understand this desire and support it with my hands and feet! And as a teacher, more and more often I hear doubts, worries and hundreds of questions from mothers I know about what to do, how to do it, when to start, how to get interested and many, many others.

So today I decided to do absolutely practical lesson. I want to answer all the questions that I have ever been asked in the simplest way and give you a dozen sensible pieces of advice so that you and your baby can choose your own path of learning.

Everything is clear, understandable and to the point!

Shall we begin?

The earlier the better! Scientists say that children remember information much faster than adults aged 2 to 9 years. From here you can easily answer the question of when to start learning English child! The answer is simple - as soon as possible! From as early an age as possible, teach your child to English speech(). There are hundreds of ways to do this. Look for those that will work with your baby and the results will not be long in coming! How to teach children English - read on!
Divide the roles! Do you know how in Western countries they turn children into bilinguals (that is, those who speak two languages at once)? Parents share roles. If someone in the family can speak a foreign language, great, do so. Let the child get used to 2 languages at once from childhood (). If no one in your family knows a foreign language, then this is a different question. Well, then we will use other methods.
Incorporate English into your daily life! In the event that you yourself do not speak English fluently, you can still easily learn a few phrases to help your baby at the initial stage. For example, you might start saying " Good Morning" instead of "Good morning", " Good night" Instead of "Good night", give him a toy and call it in English. Try to do this as often as possible. Before you know it, your child will start saying to a passing car, “ a car».
Play with them. Girls' favorite game is “mother-daughter”, so imagine that the dolls came from another country and speak only English. Or a bunny dropped by to visit you (a helicopter flew in, a cartoon car like “Robocar” arrived), and you need to tell him what toys you have.

Interested! What I repeat time after time: children should be interested! Get them interested interesting stories. Your baby probably doesn’t even understand why he needs this at all, why someone can speak a different language, why he needs to do this. Explain it in an interesting way. Make up a fairy tale about how countries and languages were created. For example:

There were several wizard brothers. The brothers went in different directions, found land for themselves and began to settle there. They built houses for children, created various children's parks, and came up with new games that others did not have. They got so busy that they forgot that they spoke the same language. And each brother appeared in the country with his own language. But millions of children from different countries wanted to come to the country of their uncles. And therefore, to make it easier for them there, they learned the language of this country...

Come up with similar different fairy tales who will explain to the child why he needs to learn something. Make it interesting for him and then you won’t have to torture him and put pressure on him to study.

Instill a love for languages!
There is nothing better than studying what you like! Develop a love of language in your baby. Show him how interesting and useful it is.

More poems, songs, dances!
Even more useful than learning a language by playing is to learn a language with songs and poems. Children aged 3 years and older instantly remember simple and. This will help you quickly develop a good vocabulary base and also train your memory well. Thus, turn boring training into an interesting game.

Start simple!
When a child reaches the age of 4 years, many mothers wonder how to teach English with their child at home, when the phrases “ Good morning", "good night" and everything I talked about earlier is a passed stage. I can only add: try the most simple words and expressions. Obviously, your child will not remember grammar, verb forms and other complex things. You should start with flowers, animals, his toys. Here such cards They will help you with this - as they have already helped and are helping me and many other mothers and teachers!

Consider your child's learning needs!
You probably know that there are different ways to remember information. So, if your child visual perception- pay attention to the drawings and coloring books with names in English or cube toys ( this is such an awesome option or this one is simpler) , where animals are drawn or letters of the alphabet are written. There are children who perceive more by ear- then, as I said, use more oral speech, listen together, special children's audio , look - everything depends on the age of your baby. There are also children who remember new information best, when they write. This, of course, already applies to those who are 6-8 years old, when they are just learning to write, or already know how. In this case, you can come up with an interesting activity for them, taking into account this strength of theirs. But remember that children are just children; they understand everything better through play!

Choose the learning method that suits you!
Choose a way to teach your baby depending on his age. When he has not yet reached 5 years of age, you can teach him on your own, somewhere around the age of 6-7 years, when your capabilities are running out, you can either send your child to courses. As an excellent option, I can offer you to go with your young student Children's online course from Puzzle English. It will be interesting and effective - and my short video review confirmation of this.

Choose the right textbooks!
Naturally, at the age of 2 years, your baby is unlikely to need a textbook. But when you are already 4-6 years old, you can’t do without! You need to choose them depending on his interests, the usefulness of the book and the ease of study.

If you caring parent and are interested in the development of your child, then you may like one of my finds, which is not related to English, but can become a cool tool in teaching your fidgets. This name book ! It is printed individually for your child and the idea behind it is absolutely amazing in my opinion! And what do you think?

The most common mistakes!

We all make mistakes. And in teaching our children too. Try to eliminate the possibility of these errors.

Reluctance to understand your baby.
If you see that your child doesn’t really want to do something and does it through whims and tears, change your tactics. Listen to your kids. Let me remind you that the most important thing is to arouse interest! If learning for him means tears and screams, you are unlikely to be on the right track!

Classes "from time to time".
Consistency is needed here. You can’t exercise once a week for 10 minutes and put everything off “until later.” Nothing will work like that. But here’s my advice: set aside 40 minutes 2 times a week, but still somehow connect the rest of the time with English. The main thing is not to be lazy and take small steps every day!

You are pressing!
Children are very susceptible at any age, so don't put pressure on them. Don't expect them to suddenly start repeating everything after you. Don't expect instant results. Learning is a long and not the easiest process. But it is in our power to make this process enjoyable for our beloved children.

Don't criticize!
It's okay to correct mistakes. But you need to do this in such a way as not to kill the child’s desire to learn. Point out mistakes, but don't focus on them. Praise your children. Celebrate their achievements with them. Be their friend who helps them, not a strict teacher with a pointer at the ready!

My dears, I tried to answer as many questions as possible today, but I am sure that you still have (or will have) more! So don't wait for the answer to come on its own. I'll be happy to help you. Leave your questions in the comments, share your experience of how you teach your children! And I, in turn, will be very happy to help you if you get lost along this path.

I recently created a special section "". There I tried to collect all the materials necessary to start your journey to the country of the English language. Use them for your health. Write your wishes or questions in the comments!

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Good luck on your language learning journey with your little ones.
See you again!