Anyone who has done it once will acknowledge the fact that teaching children a new language is immensely rewarding. But sometimes the going gets tough and it is not fun and games all the time. There is a striking difference between teaching adults and teaching kids as kids may soon get bored with your lectures if you start giving them in a boring manner. There are different sorts of challenges which you may have to face when you teach children English. Hence you require preparing accordingly.
Parents usually love the idea of teaching English for kids but most of them are confused about how to start. It doesn’t really matter whether your own English is perfect; all that matters is whether you’re enthusiastic and give your children lots of praise and encouragement. If you’re enthusiastic, you will see your child pick on your enthusiasm. Not all children start speaking English immediately as you teach them, so you need not fret about a slight delay. Be patient and give them time to learn the language in their own way.
Things to consider if you’re earnestly interested in teaching kids English
- Are you ready for it?
If you think teaching English to your kids is easy, then step back! Teaching demands great deal of energy and creativity as your kids will always keep you on your toes. They will keep surprising you and amazing you and hence you have to be patient enough to tolerate all these and yet continue with your teaching.
- A little bit of dedication & preparation can go a long way
Don’t commit the blunder of showing up in the class with no ideas or thought process. It is essential to have minimum preparation and this is because you require gathering lots of teaching materials. Don’t just turn your class into a nightmare by using some markers and a whiteboard only. Try something interesting.
- Seek help of multiple intelligences
Young students have their own weaknesses and strengths and you can best teach them if you cater to their strengths and learning styles. Stir them visually, logically, musically, bodily, spiritually and inter-personally. Make use of songs, poems, games and exercises.
- Don’t bore them
When children get bored, they don’t pay attention and they stop learning anything that you teach them. That doesn’t demand you to clown around all the time but you should keep entertaining them. Make learning as engaging and fun as is possible.
Some approaches to teaching effective English to kids
- Engaging in immersion activities
How are children supposed to access poems, stories and other texts if their imagination is not engaged fully? If you can immerse children in a string of creative activities, they are fully prepared and interested in moving ahead with the journey. Engage them in painting, composing music, film project, drama or sculpture and give them a chance to share their ideas with you.
- Tell them the clear purpose of learning
Is there a point in writing or reading anything if you don’t know the purpose of it? Teachers should have the aim of offering children a clear purpose to all writing and reading tasks. Irrespective of whether it’s an article for school newspaper or an invitation to the head teacher, kids need to understand that their quality of writing matters a lot. There will be real audience who would publish their work.
- Plan out a range of ways for publication
There’s one effective way of valuing the work of children and offering a real perk; you can plan out different ways of publishing their writings and tasks. You may design a school bookmaking project or publish a shared book for all classes. You can add some spooky stories which may have been composed by a 6 year old. This way parents also enjoy and take pride in the writings of their children.
- Use drama to inspire and engage
The use of drama can be a dramatically powerful tool. You may take the lead from the drama specialist and utilize a range of different techniques to promote character exploration, historical events and situations. This process will expand the imagination of the children and provide them with ideas which they need to bring in the extra spark to their writing.
Therefore, if you’re eagerly interested in teaching your kids English, take into account the vital points mentioned above. It is only when you take the right steps that you can see your children learn English as fast as possible. Keep learning newer techniques of engaging and inspiring them as that is the key to success.