How Do Children Learn to Speak English?

Speaking English at Home

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• 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.