How to get your child to practise speaking in English
Опубликовано Jo Yaish-Shooman в 14 Декабрь, 2011 - 11:10
We get many e-mails from parents who are trying to encourage their children to speak in English with them but are struggling to find a way to encourage this. Some people suggest buying books in English, using the content to ask questions in English and encouraging children to respond in English.
As a parent, how do motivate your child to practise speaking in English?
Jo YS
LearnEnglish Kids team
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I advise parents to reinforce the habit of speaking in english on the part of their kids by rewarding their kids when ever they use english in a good way. as a result, kids will like speaking in english little by little
Other people confused in using some easy grammatical such as to use '' a lot or lots of " how can the fix this .
sometimes it makes problem or pauses when they even write or speak.
Hello! How can people fix that they know the grammatical rule for example in written exams BUT they have a lot of grammatical mistakes in speaking?????!!!!!
I think that what's important when speaking is to be understood, and sometimes fluency is more important that accuracy. We spend longer focusing on grammar when we write compared to when we are speaking. For children, what's important is to encourage them to speak as much as possible and help them to both recognize their mistakes and learn from them, while also emphasizing that it's by making mistakes and not being afraid to make them that we learn.
For adults learning English, try to notice your own mistakes, and even if you are unable to correct yourself at the time of speaking, just realising you said something the wrong way is a good thing. It's also important to get feedback, so if you are in an English class, try to speak as much as possible. The teacher will pick up on the most common mistakes that you and the other students make, and then you will know what to focus on.
If you would like to practice your own English, there are lots of resources on our LearnEnglish site
http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/
I hope this helps.
Best wishes
Jo Blackmore
LearnEnglish Kids team
At MAMAFIO, Hemm.. What do you mean by "my son keeps making (not doing) mistakes?"You mean pronunciation wise or grammatically speaking? If the mistakes are on the way he pronounce words, you can correct his mistakes, by simply repeating the words with a correct pronunciation after him. In that way you can correct his mistake, without discouraging him from learning English. That's how I correct my niece and nephew when they pronounce the word wrong. If the mistakes are grammatical, then let the teacher fixes it ;)
While your son is at a very young age, it might be more beneficial, to set an even more optimistic goal. That is; not just simply able to communicate with English. But communicate fluently in English, which translates to: being able to speak English with a proper grammar and the correct pronunciation
Regards
hello there. What i'm doing right now is trying to grab the grammar point that is being taught at his school. he's 6,5 y.o and 1st grade in public elementary sch. For example, while the curriculum focus on things and the grammar focus on : "this/that" , i frequently use the language when it is possible to do so and hope he would keep it in mind.
But i also have problem: while i'm not taking his mistakes seriously, he keeps on doing mistakes. And the school exam/quizz sometimes focuses on the order of grammar. How can i deal with it? Should i remind him the right grammar or just let it be? I want him to get used to the language as communication tool instead of understand grammar correctly. he's got a long way to go!
Any help? Thanks
I think you are absolutely right - language is above all a communication tool, and when we are speaking, fluency can often be more important than accuracy.
But some correction is important too. If your son frequently makes the same mistake, remind him of the correct grammar, but not when he's in the middle of speaking. Find a separate time. You can also correct him indirectly, for example if he says "I want to go in the park" you can reply "Oh you want to go to the park, do you?"
Learning a language takes a long time! When children are young, it is important that they see learning a language as a rewarding and enjoyable experience. This will encourage them to continue as they get older.
I hope this helps.
Best wishes
Jo Blackmore
LearnEnglish Kids team