Why do We Learn English?
People began to speak many centuries ago, and since then they have been speaking different languages. Every language reflects the soul, behaviour and temperament of each nationality. Peoples created their own alphabets and rules, but they always wanted to communicate with each other, to understand and to know more about each other.
Languages help people to understand each other better, they help them to solve different economic and political problems, which stands before them, and so people learn foreign languages.
All languages are different. Some are very hard, some are easier, some are similar, but there are no identical languages in the whole world. There are more than 2,700 languages in the world. Many of them are "alive" because people use them, but there are some "dead" languages, for example Latin.
Two thousands years ago, Latin was the world's most important international language. Today this title belongs to English. It's a global language of travel, business, pop culture, sport and science.
Over one billion people speak English. That's almost one fifth of the world's population. For over 400 million it's their first language. For the other 600 million it's either a second language or a foreign language.
Today, in fact, over 250 million people are learning English. That's more than the population of the USA.
The average person in Britain has a vocabulary of between 10,000 and 15,000 words. In his plays William Shakespeare used a vocabulary of about 30,000 words. Shakespeare was born over 400 years ago. At that time, only six or seven million people spoke English.
Now English is spoken practically all over the world, it has become the world's most important language in politics, science, trade and cultural relations. It is spoken as a mother tongue in Great Britain, the United States of America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Besides, a lot of people speak English in Japan, India, China, Africa and many other countries. English is one of the official languages of the United Nation Organisation. Half of the world's scientific literature is in English. It is the language of computer technology.
To my mind English is worth studying. There is a proverb: "A new language is a new world". "Knowledge is a power", one great man said. Speaking a foreign language one can not only read the papers, magazines and original books by outstanding writers, but as well watch satellite programmes, travel easily to different parts of the world. Besides, understanding and speaking a foreign language became necessary while applying for a good and well-paid job.
How Do Children Learn to Speak English?
The ability to speak English is a huge asset in the increasingly global workplace. As future employers and employees, children can benefit most from learning a second language at an early age. Linguists generally agree that it is easiest for children to learn a new language at the same time as they learn their native language, but children can be taught at any age. Young children can learn to speak fluent English with at-home activities and parental coaching.
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Speaking English at Home
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Children and adults are prone to learning language through immersion, and speaking English in the home exposes children to the language. Young children especially like to imitate parents, so using simple English phrases at home can influence a child's English vocabulary. Speaking English at home also reinforces that the English language is important to the family and children have a positive impression of learning the new language.
Reading
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Books can be educational and entertaining for children. Picture books can be helpful for children to learn new English words through association with an illustration they recognize. English translations of a child's favorite books from her native language can also be a valuable resource for comprehension of English words. Seeing English words in context or with illustrations can be helpful to recognize the many English homonyms that are often difficult for those learning the language. Reading aloud alone or with a parent can put the emphasis on speech and pronunciation.
Repetition
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Children can learn correct pronunciation of English words through repetition. Parents or teachers can introduce a few new words each week and integrate their use into everyday activities to encourage understanding. As the words are used repeatedly, they become memorized and integrated into the child's English vocabulary. Speech patterns and combination sounds from Asian dialects sometimes make correct English pronunciation difficult. Even if words are not spoken with a perfect English accent, the emphasis for childhood learning should rest on comprehension first and perfection later. Repetition will help to improve English pronunciation.
Encouragement
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Children need praise to reinforce positive actions. Parents should be supportive to motivate children to continue learning. Since English conjugation is so different from European and Asian languages, correct verb usage and grammar is often a challenge. Mistakes are a natural part of learning, but the British Council suggests that parents ignore grammatical errors as they occur, and instead correct the mistakes through role modeling the correct English phrasing.
Relevance
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Children are more interested in learning when they understand the reason for the new information. Instead of focusing a lesson purely on speaking English, use spoken English as a vehicle to introduce other information that will feed a child's curiosity. Explanations of how the world works are common questions for children. If English is used to explain the answers, both educational objectives can be satisfied at once.
School
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School-age children can benefit from learning English in a structured learning environment. Classroom learning can encompass many of the techniques used at home, such as songs or games, but textbooks and worksheets are often used to introduce more vocabulary. English as a second language, or ESL, classes can focus on correct phonetic and grammatical speaking before moving on to teaching writing and reading.
Teach English to Children
Children have minds that are growing quickly. The rapid development of their minds makes it relatively easy for children who do not speak English as their native language to learn English as a second language. The younger a child is when she begins to learn English, the less likely she will be to speak with an accent. With a little dedication and a little planning, the child who is just learning English will be able to acquire the language quickly.
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Cultural Exposure
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Expose your child to the culture that surrounds the English language. Encourage your children to watch movies and TV in English. Play games in English with your child. Find an age-appropriate radio station that broadcasts in English that your child can listen to. Make friends with an English-speaking family. Learn how to prepare traditional American food. Associating culture with language will make it easier for your child to learn English.
Building Vocabulary
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Reading is one of the best ways to learn vocabulary. Go to the library and pick out a book in English. Challenge your child to read a certain number of books in a month. Choose a word that will be the vocabulary of the day. Make a game of seeing how many ways the child can use it. Give a treat to your child when she learns 10 new English words. Take a walk and see how many objects your child can name in a minute.
Encourage usage
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Create a safe, fun environment for your child to learn to speak his new language. Have your child's English-speaking playmates over for a party. Hire an English-speaking babysitter to spend time with your child one day a week. Have your child learn English stories and songs. Coax your child when he is shy. Encourage use of the language, even if it is incorrect. Praise any effort your child puts into learning English.
Confusion with Native Language
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When you speak to your child do not mix English and your native language. If you do, vocabulary from both languages will become mixed up in the child's mind. Spend one day speaking only English to your child and the next day speaking the language you normally speak. Do not allow the child to mix the languages when speaking to you. Be consistent in your insistence that your child learn English. In time, he will be able to communicate fully in this second language.
Games to Teach English to Children
Language acquisition is an active learning task, and there are many games that can be used to help teach English to children. Games are motivating and can be used to teach reading, writing and speaking skills. Many games can be used for both native speakers and ESL learners.
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Team Games
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Many games that help build English language skills can be accomplished in groups. Have teams do a relay race to write out the alphabet, one person and one letter at a time. The hangman game, in which you draw blanks for each letter of a word and students are given a certain number of turns of guessing letters before they must figure out the word, is another game that can be done in groups. You can give each child a card with a letter on it, have the children walk around the room during some music, and when the music stops, you can ask the children to line themselves in the order of the alphabet. You can also have children practice conversations with one another.
Musical Games
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There are many popular children's songs that require active listening and following directions, all of which encourages knowledge of words in the English language. For instance, a freeze dance will reinforce understanding of the words "stop," "wait" and "go." The song "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" helps children with body awareness and the names of body parts. "Old MacDonald" encourages knowledge of animals and what sounds they make. Any song that gives commands like "stop," "fast," "slow," "turn" or "clap" reinforces language skills.
Crosswords and Puzzles
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Written games like crosswords or puzzles are great ways for children to learn letters and words. These games can be done individually or in groups. Write a few letters on a board and ask children to come up with as many words as they can using those letters. Ask children to name words that begin with a certain letter. You can have cards with words from different parts of speech, such as subjects and verbs, and ask children to arrange the cards to make complete sentences.
Considerations
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Any games you use should be age-appropriate. Young children who are just beginning to learn their alphabet or who are just learning how to read may have difficulty writing full sentences. Children who are more advanced may be bored with alphabet games. Give clear and concise directions to children before or after the activity, explain the purpose of the game. Repeat activities multiple times to help aid learning and memorization. Games can be very motivating, so make the activities fun and enjoyable for children.
English Learning Games for Children
Teaching English to kids is no easy task, but playing games is one reliable way to capture their attention and create an entertaining learning environment. Games can be used to teach nearly every aspect of the English language, including vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. These days there are dozens of excellent online resources in which teachers share their unique game ideas, and you can easily create your own English learning games with a little imagination.
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Weird Faces
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This game is designed to teach children vocabulary related to the parts of the face and is also useful for practicing colors and other descriptive vocabulary. The game is simple and only requires paper and crayons. Begin by passing out a piece of paper to the students and instruct them to draw a large oval in the center of the page. Next instruct the students to draw the best nose they can in the center of the oval using whatever color they want. When they are finished with this, have the students pass their paper to the left and, on the new paper in front of them, tell them to draw a mouth and pass again. Next they'll draw eyes, ears, hair, etc. until all of the faces are complete. Each face will be totally unique, and you can use these wacky faces to practice vocabulary ("what color eyes does this face have?" "what kind of hair does this face have?"). Many children find this game very amusing, and they´ll enjoy the creative aspect so much that they may forget they are learning!
Preposition Monkey
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This game is intended for younger children learning the basic prepositions such as under, on, in and behind. You don't need any materials for this game, only some willing students. First, clear the room by moving all furniture to the side and divide the class into two teams. Each team chooses one student to be a "monkey;" the student can change after a few rounds. When they are ready, start giving Simon Says-style orders using prepositions, for example "everybody under their monkey!" The kids race to the floor so that they are crouching at their monkey's feet, and the first team to do this successfully wins a point. Continue doing this, changing the preposition each time. Make sure these are prepositions with which the students are familiar. Avoid the preposition "on top of" or you might wind up with some injured students.
ABC Bingo
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This game is great for children at the most basic level of English acquisition, who are still learning the letters of the alphabet. You'll need to prepare bingo-style game boards with each space a letter of the alphabet. Fill a hat or fishbowl with pieces of paper that have each letter of the alphabet written on them. You'll also need tokens to place in the spaces such as coins or small colored pieces of paper. To play, pick letters out of the hat and call them out one by one. Students cover up the spaces when one of the letters on their board is called, just like in bingo. The winner is the first player to form a complete row. You can use bingo to teach lots of other English lessons as well.
