by Amanda N.

Created on: May 02, 2009   Last Updated: October 20, 2010

The ability to master the English language is not only useful to your children’s daily life, but also beneficial to their learning. How you teach them today will very much affect their future; your role as parents is especially important. To get started with this especially important mission, check the tips below:

Vocabulary
The traditional way to getting your children remembering new vocabulary is rote learning. But given that the quantity of English words your children have to remember, rote learning is not an effective method because they may forget what they learned quickly.

To learn vocabulary in a more effective way, try image association. One way to do this is by sticking a label on objects which you want your children to learn. For example, if “table” is the word that you want your children to learn, stick a label with “table” written on it on your dining table. Your children can easily associate the word “table” with the real object. However, this method mostly works for concrete objects like table and chair; for abstract nouns such as honesty you may have to think of another way, like story-telling, to help them with memorization.

Reading
Reading is beneficial to children at all ages. If your children are not of the age to read on their own, grab a book and read with them together. Make reading an enjoyable experience, and your children will grow to love reading. The earlier you get them reading, the better.

Writing
While you work hard on building your children’s vocabulary and reading skill, writing is an aspect that you shouldn’t ignore at all costs. Encourage your children to keep a journal to help them get started with writing.

Speaking
Speaking confidently is a virtue that is advantageous to a child’s development. However, speaking with parents comfortably doesn’t guarantee your children would be comfortable doing so with a stranger. To find out whether your children have problem in speaking confidently, simply observe how they respond to strangers’ questions. When you spot they have problems with speaking, encourage them to speak more or get them enrolling in a speaking course in your neighborhood.

Home learning and school learning are both very important in nurturing a child’s language ability. Don’t rely solely on the school to do parents’ job. When you can help your children with learning English, chances are your children can learn more than what they learn at school.

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