Every child starts speaking a language at a different time. It all depends on how shy or afraid of making a mistake they are. What you should do as a parent is to encourage and help them them every day to improve their language skills, which will increase their confidence (no judging their mistakes allowed!). There are only so many ways to motivate your child to speak English at home. Here we give you a few foolproof tips:
1. Play and do crafts in English - Kids love to play and get messy - that's a fact. What is a better way for kids to start a conversation in English than doing their favourite activities? We have previously mentioned some classic English learning games for kids, and we're sure you are going to have the time of your life playing them. Apart from the games, try doing
crafts
. Get all messy and sticky while creating beautiful decorations. Speak to your child in English: ''Pass me the glue, please.'', ''Thank you!''. Try adding more and more short phrases over time.
2. Read bedtime stories in English - Before going to sleep, read stories in English to your little one. Try reading some that they already know in your native language - that way they will recognise and learn the words of the story easier and faster.
3. Expose them to native speakers - Starting to pronounce English words the right way is an essential thing to learn at the youngest age. That's why exposing your child to native English speakers is a must! Lingokids live offers online English classes for children with native English speakers. It is way more fun than any traditional English kids academy. Developing spoken English for kids is one of the most important skills to help them interact with other people around the world. Lingokids live also offers an opportunity for group classes with kids around the world which is a great way for your child to make friends and communicate in English with them. Give it a try today and book your class here (First class is free!).
The most important thing to remember is that every child learns and decides to speak at their own pace. Be patient and continue encouraging them every day!
The alphabet is the obvious starting point for learning English for kids and beginners. There are many ways to get your youngest to learn the English letters and, later on, to read. We have gathered a couple of easy and fun activities to get you started:
1. Animal cards - Print out cards with pictures of different animals and below the pictures write the name of your little one, your family members and friends. Next, cut the cards vertically so that you separate each letter of the name and make a "mini puzzle" from the image of the animal. Learn to spell the names as you put the puzzle together.The visuals will make it easier for your child to learn the order of the letters of the names. BONUS TIP: To mix things up, try some words too - your child's favorite food or some everyday objects.
2. Trace the letter - Download the English learning app for kids - Lingokids, and play "Trace the Letter" to learn to recognize and write the letters.
3. Learn uppercase letters - Now that your child has learned the lowercase letters on the Lingokids app, make cards with fruit basket shapes for each letter of the English alphabet and write down the uppercase letters. Make 26 more cards shaped like apples and write down the lowercase letters. Start the "apple picking" and match every letter with its uppercase pair.
A classic tip worth mentioning is singing a fun alphabet song! 🎶
No matter if it's summer or winter, if you want to make your child eat their soup or the daily portion of veggies or if you want them to learn English, the best way without a doubt is to do it through games. Below we have listed some of the English game classics:
1. Hide and Seek 🙊 - One of the players has to cover the eyes while the rest of the players find places to hide. The "seeker" then opens the eyes and starts looking for the players. The first player to be discovered is the next "seeker".
2. Simon Says 🐵 - Choose one player who will be Simon and will call out actions starting with the phrase “Simon says” (“Simon says..touch your toes”). The players have to do what Simon told them to. However, if Simon calls out an action without the phrase “Simon says”, then the players must not do the action. The last player left in the game wins and becomes Simon.
3. Freeze Dance 🐒- Choose some of your child’s favorite music and turn up the volume. Ask them to sing along and dance to the beat until the music stops. When it stops, they have to freeze in whatever you call out - be it an animal, shape, or a letter.
4. Educational Apps 🐵 - You can always use a little help from technology. Download an English learning app for kids such as Lingokids and get ready for some serious fun! You can play hide and seek in the forest or in the snow, you can cook with Eliot, the panda bear and enjoy many other fun activities.
Learning to read can be a daunting task for young children, especially in a language different from the native. As a parent you can help your children overcome this obstacle by doing activities as a family. In this article we're going to give you some ideas on how to teach a child to read in English.
1. Cook as a family - What is your child’s favorite dish? Cook the meal as a family, and take turns reading aloud the recipe in English and mixing ingredients. If your children cannot understand the words, let them search for the numbers in the measurements first.
2. Compare books and films - Is there a movie coming out that your child really wants to see? If possible, find the book version of the film and read it first as a family. Then, go see the movie in English.
3. Grocery store list - Transform weekly chores into adventures! Kids learn English best if some of the words they learn include everyday objects (like the cookies they love or their favorite fruit). Make an English version of your typical shopping list. Decorate it together to make it more fun and colorful. Then head to the grocery store and let your little one help you do the weekly shopping while having fun!
4. Play with educational apps - Educational apps such as Lingokids are a great way to introduce reading readiness games in a playful atmosphere. After your child plays a lesson, check out the Additional Material to find even more learning fun for the whole family!
5. Make bookmarks - Make bookmarks as a family, and let yourselves be creative. After you children spend time making their bookmarks, they’ll be thrilled to show them off while reading. Check out these awesome ideas for bookmark-making.
Let us know which trick worked best for your little one! ☺️
Kids learn English best when they interact with the objects they are being taught about. Preschoolers are kinaesthetic learners, so identifying, touching and smelling the object and being able to tell how it feels helps them memorise it easier. Find a few ideas below to get started!
1. Gather some objects - Place the objects on the table and make a "word bank" with all the words your child would use to describe how the object looks, feels and smells. Use words like: "fluffy", "rough", "crinkly", "sticky", etc. To make it more playful, have your child describe the object and you take a guess.
2. Make a list of objects - On a piece of paper put all the objects you can think of in English. Download an English learning app for kids such as Lingokids and use the objects you have learned while playing - together describe how they feel.
3. Read "touching and feeling" books - These books are gold for early ELLs. They are a great help when it comes to learning vocabulary to describe textures of objects. Check out Usborne's touchy-feely series of books. In the books the main protagonist is a mouse looking for something, and as soon as he thinks he found it, he realises it's too bobbly/hairy/fluffy.
Recently we were talking about ESL games and activities to keep your children entertained when travelling while also picking up a new language. This time we have 4 English learning activities for your beach vacation! 🌞
1. Build a sandcastle - nothing ever beats this classic. Even though it almost never comes as a real success from the first try, your kids and you will have so much fun trying it over and over again. Along the way make up a story about a family of animals who will live in the castle. It's a fun and creative way to have your kids learn English if you use the English names of the animals.
2. Trace the letter - A perfect way for your child to learn the letters is by tracing their shape. Download Lingokids and do the traceable exercises every day before you start practicing writing in the sand. They will find writing their own name extremely entertaining!
3. Beach tag - This classic is even more entertaining on the beach, as the sand makes us slip and fall. Have some laughs running around and name the person who is ''it'' a shark, octopus or any other sea animal and learn the animal names in English.
4. Aim game - There are never enough games for learning the numbers and shapes in English, and every one of them is as equally entertaining as it is educational. This one requires you to draw different shapes in the sand and put numbers inside. Have your little ones aim for particular shapes and score points.
Travelling to your summer vacation destination doesn’t have to be annoying and boring at all. Instead you can turn it into an opportunity for learning English for your kid. Here are 4 ideas to make it more fun:
1. Count the cars - This is a great way to learn to count in English. Making a rule to only count cars in certain color will help your kid learn English colors too. For example - take only red cars and stop counting once you have counted 10. Bonus tip: Make it a competition - whoever finishes counting first gets the extra candy that we know you have!
2. Cloud shapes - You definitely did this when you were a kid (and probably even now, admit it!). Stare out the windows and let yourselves be creative and have your kid learn English shapes. Don’t limit yourself to basic shapes, try animals and any other objects that you know too.
3. Family members - If you’re on your way to visit family, it is the perfect opportunity to learn the English names for family members. You will find just the perfect English game for kids for that purpose on Lingokids app (Works offline too!)
4. Name the fruit - kids learn English best when you teach them about things they see in everyday life. Take out the bag with fruits and get your kid to name each one.
