Language skills begin at home. A child learns their first words and parents are delighted. The delight doesn't have to stop after the formation of a child's first words. There is a whole new world of discovery to enjoy with your children in their learning of language and this article is written in an attempt to help parents realize the vital role they play in helping their child with English.
*Imitation.
*Learning new words.
*Joining words together.
*Encouraging full sentences.
*Reading out loud.
*Being amazed at what a child learns.
*Celebrating their achievements.
Imitation.
When a child pokes their tongue out at someone in fun, they have learned that from their interaction with mankind. It could be from a television program or other children, though what children do best in their formative years is to imitate. Parents can use this to its best advantage in the teaching of English skills. Pronouncing things properly, and making things clear in the way that you speak does rub off on the children. They learn the manner in which different approach works. Not only do they recognize the difference between anger, sadness and happiness, but they also learn the phrases and words which describe it.
Playing imitation games is great for English language skills, and here it works well if you write words on cards, and play "Repeat after me". Children love imitation and find it fun, although the manner in which you are helping them is that you introduce new vocabulary and show them how to use it. Initially with younger children, words are sufficient, though introduce extra words and teach them to link them together to make sentences.
Introducing new words.
Children will make mistakes though the game should remain a game. Play fun allows them to make mistakes, though repeating the sentences that they construct, they will begin to learn which ones work and which ones do not. Introduce "doing" words or verbs, and let them try and guess some more. The activity of a child will be such that they will be familiar with words like "play" or "sleep", "wake up" or "dress". These will be words they hear every day. Introducing mime into a game of things people do, the child is enthused and will guess the verb. When you discover a new one, write a card and let them introduce this into a new sentence.
At an early age, their sense of achievement helps to give them confidence. You can introduce words with several syllables and see how they get on with those. You may actually be surprised at what new words they pick up as they go along, whether from you or from others, and you can tell them to remember new words so the next time you play they can add more.
Joining words together.
This is a fun part of language. Here, a child will understand how silly it sounds if you say something backwards. This teaches them that there is a wrong way and a right way to say things. "Mrs Mopple morning good" sounds silly. Get them to put the words in the right order, and each time you say a sentence the wrong way around, get them to guess how it should be said.
If a child sees something as pleasurable and enjoyable they will excel, because they expect fun and that's exactly what you are offering them, rather than harsh disciplinary teaching where a child is punished for getting it wrong. They see this as positive interaction rather than negative and that is always a good place to start and to continue to draw their enthusiasm.
Encouraging full sentences.
Here, when they ask something which is not clear, make a game of it, and answer them saying that you don't understand what they want. "Tell me the whole sentence", you can explain and they will try to string spoken words together. You don't have to be mean but try to see how good they are at expressing what they want. Try explaining that in a school or a shop, the teacher or shopkeeper won't understand unless they really make things clear. Play shop and let them be the customer, asking for things in a polite manner.
Reading out loud.
At bedtime, when you read a story, show them how silly a story sounds if you don't use periods and commas. Read right past them as if they are not there, and they will giggle with delight and begin to understand why you have commas and periods. Get them to try reading a few lines, and even if they cannot manage it, showing them what the periods and commas do helps them later when they start to write things down. "Stop", says the period. "Pause" says the comma. They may show little reaction although when they start to use these in their own handwriting, you will realize that the lesson was worth teaching. "What's this squiggly thing at the end of a sentence?", ask them. Teach them how to write that question mark and say the sentence so they know that it means you are asking a question.
Being amazed at what a child learns.
During the childhood of any child, they do astound parents. Whether they learned a huge word from a television program or a best friend, or even learned from listening to you converse with others, the first time they use that word is amazing. Show them praise for their efforts to learn, as a child who is encouraged will try to learn more. Compare words and meanings in games. Show them cards which represent smiles, with words which are positive and fun. Show them sad words and have fun trying to pronounce words which look very difficult. Break them into syllables so they can say one at a time, and then build up their confidence until they manage to say the whole word.
Celebrating their achievements.
Make little certificates. To a child it doesn't matter that the award is a home made certificate. They will be so proud to get that award and the recognition that they tried. These can easily be made on paper and they can have different awards for different levels of achievement. A new word award can be given when they come up with a special word. A sentence award can be given when they achieve sentence structure. Little things that don't cost a lot let your child know that you approve of their attempts and spur them on to even more enjoyment and more learning.
In everyday life throughout their childhood, the celebration of language is essential to a child. This helps them go from childhood into adulthood confident in any situation that they can manage to communicate in a clear way, and never be afraid of words and how to use them. As a parent, this is the best start you can give your child. Turn off the television for a while and spend time with them, encouraging them to enjoy story books and words, and the rest will come naturally.