Parents in The ESL Teaching: Is their Help Valuable?
The boundaries of global communication are rapidly diminishing with the advent and pervasiveness of social media amongst other technologies. With parents recognizing this, they have taken the initiative to admit their children into English classes from a young age with the hope that they would be fluent in the language by the time he or she is old enough to venture out on their own and create his or her legacy. With the enrollment of children into English classes, their success is not only dependent on the teacher; the parents’ interest and encouragement play a critical role, regardless of the age. There are ways in which parents can aid their child or children to become fluent in English.
This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Avery C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT.
The parents can take classes themselves.
Children seeing their parents learning the same language as them and enjoying the process will foster a positive attitude towards English as a language. By learning English, you can set an example for your children by showing them how useful it is and help them to understand that making mistakes is a part of the learning process. This will give the child the ability to not be too disheartened by making a mistake and he or she will be even more excited when success is achieved.
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Children naturally adapt behaviors they see every day without an adult intervening.
This usually occurs when they play, which is an everyday activity for children. Having them play games in English is a great way to incorporate the language into their everyday routine. This can be done through the use of cue cards with English vocabulary and playing hide and seek using the English words along with a wide variety of other activities. Playing games adds excitement and fun to learning English and supports children’s holistic learning and development.
Another way parents can help their child or children to learn English is to read bedtime stories in English.
Reading illustrated storybooks is an excellent way to develop the language, as there is a visual aspect on each page, for example, pictures. The language is simplified, repetitive, and introduces features such as rhyming. It increases the child’s vocabulary and encourages questions when they do not understand something within the plot of the story. Audiobooks can also be used to incorporate a listening aspect, which will benefit the child in the future, as he or she will start becoming familiar with the pronunciation of words in English.
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Turning on the radio and leaving it on as background noise is another way in which parents can aid in their child’s learning of English.
As children learn their language, they go through an incredible process in the brain where they absorb any and everything around them. They compile this information and use it when they feel to. A child does not imitate the word ‘juice’ the first time he or she hears it; however, instead will have heard the word many times by different people prior to attempting the word. The radio provides the opportunity to hear English spoken by a variety of speakers and this will aid in their comprehension of the language.
Introducing new materials and games can aid in the child learning the English language.
These visual aids must be adapted and personalized to fit the child’s interests. This adaption will make it easier for the child to absorb the content.
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No need to hear if the child makes mistakes or does not commence speaking English immediately. As it is something new to them, it will take time for the brain to process new information and pattern-finding during the process of learning the language. The aforementioned tips will surely be useful throughout the process.
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