9 Effective Tips to Teach your Kids English at Home

English fluency has multiple benefits like higher pay, ease of communication and networking, immigration benefits, and access to more global opportunities. Teaching your kids English at home equips them with these while improving their brainpower.

Unlike what most say, teaching your kids English at home is simple. Thankfully, the current age has made resources for English teaching at home more accessible. Besides, more people realize the benefits and are open to learning or teaching English to their children.

Whether staying in a household where English is a foreign language or not, these tips will help you teach your kids English at home in the best way possible:

Speak Everyday Words to them in English

If you want to teach your kids English at home, we assume that English is neither the native language nor the current everyday communication language in the household. We advise that you teach them everyday words like greetings and apologies in English.

For instance, you could start by teaching them ‘good morning’ and ‘goodnight’ and how to respond. Also, teach them words like ‘sorry’, ‘thank you’, and ‘welcome’. Encourage them to use them daily, even if it involves mixing them up with their native language.

The more they speak these everyday English words to you, the more they understand how to use them. Such boosts memory and confidence in English speaking. Soon, you will hear them speaking to their friend, who is a native English speaker.

Teach them Using English Songs

Most English tutors hold that using songs is an underrated way of teaching kids English at home. Songs or music, in general, help capture children’s attention and boosts memory, hence helping them remember English vocabulary.

Besides, children love songs; hence, using them will sound more like fun than learning. You could go to YouTube and search for songs suitable for their age. For instance, if they are under five, let them listen and sing along to Nursery Rhyme songs.

Please encourage them also to act along. For instance, if they are singing “the wheels on the bus go round and round”, let them act out how the wheel is going. This way, they understand what a wheel and going round are. It also sharpens their English vocabulary, and they learn how to construct sentences in English.

Include English in their Daily Activities

The best way to teach your kids English at home is by making it fun. The classroom environment can be too intense for them, so we encourage you to incorporate English learning into their daily activities naturally.

Experts encourage making the English learning process for your kids as natural as possible. They encourage using it alongside your mother tongue. For instance, name the colors they are using while coloring and ask them to repeat after you. Another example would be saying words like’ here is your food’ or ‘finish your food’ when you serve them dinner.

The more they interact with these English words, they will understand them and start using them in their sentences.

Set a Regular English Learning Routine

Being intentional about teaching your children English at home involves setting aside regular time for them to learn English. Routine boosts discipline in children and allows them to learn more through repetition.

You could decide that you focus on English learning skills interchangeably every day between, say, 4 pm and 5 pm. Decide that for 10 minutes, you will be speaking to each other purely in English. Encourage and reward them by giving them a snack or a toy at the end of each session.

Another way is by asking them open-ended questions in English, such as ‘how?’ and ‘why?’ You could also initiate conversations in English by asking them, ‘how was your day?’. Such boosts self-expression. It also lets you see how good their English grammar is and find ways to help them improve it.

Read Storybooks and Comic Books Together

Reading is an effective way to teach your children English. The secret here is to encourage them to practice loud reading. Help them pay attention to the expressions and intonation as they read to boost understanding.

You could also encourage them to give you a summary of their understanding after every page they read. Make it interactive to reduce tension and promote self-expression. Such allows you to gauge their knowledge of English in a fun way.

An excellent place to start is Marvel Comic Books. However, you are free to use any storybook at par with their age and understanding of English.

Help them Write Stories in English

While you might be tempted to teach them more about verbal communication, English writing could help kids express themselves more. You could ask them to write about, say, their favorite pet or teacher and ask them to read it aloud afterward.

By doing so, you notice patterns in how your child forms sentences in English. It also helps you realize and solve gaps in grammar that verbal English could not expose.

Practice Role Play with your Kids

Children love fun activities like role-playing. It can be your chance to teach them and gauge their understanding of English. Practice role-play with them by listening to a short clip and asking each to act on what the clip instructs them to do.

Use Home Educators

Sometimes, you either do not have time to teach your children English effectively, or your understanding of the English language is subpar. In such cases, we encourage you to use other resources like finding a home tutor for your children.

Home educators are trained to teach your children English in a caring and understanding manner. If you cannot find them in your area code, find them on online platforms like Preply.

Reward and Praise them

Nothing lights up a kid more than being rewarded with a gift or showered with praise. Encourage English learning by telling your kid that you will give them a gift when they do something simple, like, constructing a sentence in English.

Rewards and positive affirmations to your kids affirm them and encourage them to want to learn more.

Conclusion

These tips tell you that teaching your kids English at home is simple and fun. You could include English in their everyday vocabulary, set aside time for learning, sing songs in English, and read storybooks together. All in all, do not forget to reward and praise your kids after a successful English learning home session.

Also read: How to Prepare for the IELTS Exam with 7 Free tips