English for Kids: Online Resources You Need to Bookmark! English for kids: where to start.

2017-06-07

Hello to one and all! My dears, I continue to form useful information and materials on such an important area for many as English for children. And there’s already a lot... So I decided to collect everything in an organized warehouse! (Or maybe a treasure :-)), so that everyone can look there and find what they need for themselves and their children.

This page of my website is the address of the location of this warehouse. It contains (and continues to collect) all necessary materials in English, which will be useful to the smallest representatives of the human race)) (2-7 years old, and even older), their parents or teachers. Here are my materials, and there are those that I found on the Internet, chose the best and present to you here. English can be interesting, free and accessible to every child!

By the way, be sure to voice your questions or suggestions for materials in the comments. Let's improve the treasure together!

Content:

Remember that the basic principles of teaching “young students” are brightness, interest and only playful form! So here everything is exactly like that - memorable and fascinating video English lessons, bright educational cartoons, game ideas, cards and pictures, songs and rhymes - everything that will allow you to plunge into the world of English with your baby!

By the way, many materials are suitable not only for those who are starting to plunge into the world of language from scratch, but also for those who are older! Such children can even use materials independently, listening, watching and repeating.

Always seek emotional involvement on your part and then the child’s passion for the subject will not take long to occur.

My tips and recommendations

One day I was asked a very question serious mom: “Tell me, how to teach English to my 3-year-old son? What’s the best way to structure a lesson... and in general, where to start?” I answered her: “Start with this - forget the word “teach”, “lesson” and the like! And remember the words “games, fun and bright pictures”!

Books and textbooks

There are some parents who believe that in the age modern technologies the book can be replaced with various convenient devices. And I say - no! A book is something that will never go out of style and will forever remain best friend any child! Especially when it comes to learning a new language.

If your child is already 4 years old and you want him to learn English not only with the help of songs and cartoons, it’s time to buy good book which will become for him the best assistant and guide to the world of language . I talk about good options for books and textbooks for children here:

Numbers and numbers (1-10, 11-20)

One spoon... two spoons... three spoons! How familiar this is to our children! After all, they hear numbers almost from birth. This is probably why this topic is especially easy for kids!

Numbers and figures...What a broad topic! But very young students don’t need to know all the numbers—they only need to learn 10 numbers! It's so easy - after all, there are 10 fingers on your hands! On your feet too! And in general, you can count anything around you - toys, books, adults and even seconds...

But if you want more, you can go up to 20!

Alphabet

Some people believe that teaching a child English should start exclusively with the alphabet. This is a big misconception when it comes to children 3-4-5 years old! Children learn a foreign language without any problems without even knowing the letters. After all, they understand Russian somehow already at 1-2 years old!))

But nevertheless, one day the moment comes when it’s worth getting acquainted with English letters. For example, before school - to be fully prepared, as they say. Or if the baby himself shows interest in them.

My daughter knew all Russian letters (by appearance and corresponding sound) at 2 years of age. We were ready to learn English letters at 4!

And here different ways of approaching this insidious English alphabet come to the rescue)). I talk about these methods in my article:

There with help songs, videos, cards, sounds, games and rhymes You can learn the alphabet very quickly.

Words for children by topic

It is with words that every child’s acquaintance with the English language begins! He must hear and see them! And this - the basis at the initial stages. But seeing does not mean looking at the written word! Each new word heard should form an image and picture in the child’s head. This is how he begins to see him! And only then will the child try to pronounce the learned words himself.

I have prepared for you a selection of the most popular words for children , and small thematic collections . Each word is voiced, translated and has a picture. Besides this, you can download cards with words to print, cut them out and work. It is very convenient and practical.

Words on the topic of family

Words about animals

Words on the topic of fruits and vegetables

Words about home

Words about food

Words on the topic of clothing

Words on the topic of profession

Colors in English

Pink became an even more favorite color for my daughter when she was introduced to it in the context of the English language. After that, “pink” was heard from her lips wherever she encountered pink objects))

Colors in English are kids' favorite theme which comes very easily to them. A child is able to remember even 10 colors within 2-3 days. To do this, you need to present these bright words “on a silver platter”)). And to do this, just go here:

Cartoons

Needless to say, cartoons today are one of the favorite entertainments of all children and teenagers. Some children manage to watch them all day long, and some parents manage to allow it!

I think this type of entertainment is for a child must be strictly limited. And of course, if you watch cartoons, then they should be useful and meaningful. Do you agree? And this is especially true if we are talking about cartoons in English . They can become completely unobtrusive but at the same time extremely effective English lessons that the child will perceive as fun! He may not even realize that he is thereby learning a foreign language!

I have selected the best, in my opinion, cartoons for children. Please note that such cartoons are divided into those with Russian comments and those only in English! I recommend Children under 4 years old should watch exclusively English cartoons without a single Russian word. . They will understand everything. Watch, learn and enjoy!

Educational video lessons

Here you also need to understand that very young children (up to 3-4 years old) do not have to listen to explanations in Russian - just watch English-language videos with bright pictures- they will be able to understand everything! The main thing is that you like the video and arouse interest. Choose:

Songs and Video songs

Beautiful combination of rhyme and melody always gives a wonderful effect in the process of learning and memorizing something!

In addition to the cartoons and educational videos (which also included a lot of songs), I offer you 2 more of my notes with materials for children. In the first there are video songs, in the second there are simply songs with an attached translation into Russian:

Games

Play and learn in fact, two identical words, because nothing gives such results in learning as the game form of any classes and any activity.

I have talked about games in English for kids more than once on the pages of my blog. And this topic is far from closed. IN There is still a large amount of materials in the process of preparation, which parents and teachers will soon be able to use for their very young charges.

And now you can familiarize yourself with these.

Modern parents, who care about the bright future of their children, are increasingly faced with the following question: when, how and where to start learning English with their child?

And not without reason, because knowledge of a foreign language, especially English, makes dreams of such a future closer.

English language: when to start?

You can start learning a language at any age, but the most favorable period is the age from 1.5 to 9-10 years. In this fairly wide time period, the child’s involuntary memory is best developed. He is able to remember everything “on the fly,” as they say, on an intuitive level, without making much effort.

There are methods that allow you to start learning from the cradle, even when the baby does not speak his native language. It has been proven that any early learning of foreign languages bears fruit. Psychologists believe that such a child is truly ahead of his peers in his mental development. But not in an emotional way, so in your desire to raise a genius, do not forget that every child needs a carefree and joyful childhood, and he needs live communication and a smile more than perfect knowledge English alphabet at 2 years old.

Children's language abilities

Does the child have the ability to learn languages? Will time and effort be wasted? Imagine: the baby is already drawing a little with pencils. Will he be able to paint with a brush and paints? Naturally! After all, he is already drawing. So it is with language. The baby is already starting to communicate in native language, that means you have a talent for languages! Of course, for perfect mastery of foreign speech, specific talents are required, as in any other fields of science and art. But if we are talking about learning a language to expand your general horizons in order to have a strong foundation for further development language skills and abilities, any child can do this.

What skills should a child have to start learning English?

To learn foreign languages, every child must be able to listen, see, repeat (at least in his own way), draw, run, crawl, jump, etc. A foreign language with small children is always a game. And any child can play. Important: he must know in his native language what he has to learn in English! You should not learn colors in English if your child does not understand them yet.

How and where to study English

You can study a language at home, with your parents, or in a children's studio, or invite a nanny-tutor who speaks a foreign language. It makes sense to send a child to a children's studio if he is 4-5 years old or older. At this age, learning in a team will be beneficial. Young children under 3 years old, as a rule, have not yet acquired the skills of playing together or fully communicating with peers, so it is better to study with them at home.

If at least one of the parents has a conversational level of language proficiency, the best option would be to communicate with the baby from birth in two languages. For example, an English-speaking father and a Russian-speaking mother. Growing up in a linguistic environment, a child quickly acquires communication skills in a foreign language. In this case, both languages will be native to the baby.

Do mom and dad only remember a couple of words and phrases from the school English course, or have they studied another language before? Not scary. There are textbooks for kids and their parents with detailed methodological advice and pronunciation instructions. There are many Internet sites where you can download audio recordings in English and texts for them absolutely free. And parents are given a wonderful opportunity to learn English themselves and teach their child.

English from scratch for children: where to start?

It makes no sense for young children to start learning a language from the alphabet. Especially if they have not yet mastered the technique of reading in their native language. the main objective Parents should: instill in their child an interest and love for a foreign language, and then expect great results.

Based on this goal, you need to start with what arouses the baby’s interest. The theme “Animals”, “Toys”, “Household Items” will be a great start. It is convenient to use visual aids - cards for teaching children a language. You can buy them or make them yourself in accordance with the child’s level of knowledge and interests.

It’s not a bad idea to look at books, even if they’re in Russian. The main thing is to name what is shown in the pictures in English. In addition to nouns denoting objects and animals, you need to teach the child during normal communication the most common verbs and verb phrases, such as give me, take, come to me, look at, etc. Cartoons, songs, poems in English will develop the child’s linguistic hearing .

Training should be unobtrusive and the child should like it. The duration of classes is from 5 to 15 minutes. The younger the child, the shorter the lesson. It is important to finish your “lesson” before your child gets tired and starts to get distracted, so that he wants to return to this type of activity again.

How to teach a child to think in English

Exist different techniques and different approaches to teaching children foreign languages. Some classical methods have a strong theoretical basis. It is described in detail in scientific works, pedagogical monographs and works. In its pure form, the step-by-step learning of English “from words to grammar” was used in Soviet schools. Most private English courses for children and tutors follow this method. In practice, all this theoretical baggage turns out to be not very effective.

English for children, especially the little ones, should be fun! It should not become a subject of study and cramming, but a full-fledged means of communication. What method has proven to be so effective that just 3-6 months after the start, the guys not only speak fluently in a foreign language, but also think in it?

An innovative method for teaching English to children in Russia is the communicative approach. In essence, it is practical communication with a native speaker or teacher who is fluent in English. The main focus is on speaking and listening. The technique is known and successfully used in the West. In Russia, the pioneer (and monopolist) of innovative technology was the network of Children's Language Centers "Polyglotiki", which has existed since 2006. This unique author’s technique was first used by the founder of the Polyglotics centers in cultural capital St. Petersburg and was a stunning success. Today "Polyglots" is international network with 60 branches in dozens of different cities in Russia and neighboring countries.

All English language courses for children offered in the Centers for study from 2 to 12 years of age are based on a communicative methodology with elements classical approach. Maximum immersion in a foreign language environment naturally stimulates bilingualism in a child, and not only... After all, he learns both the basics of the language itself and begins to easily understand mathematics, natural sciences, literature and creative tasks in English. This means it is developing comprehensively!

The main goal of Polyglot teachers is to teach a child to perceive language, speak, and then think in it. No mechanical repetitions! Only improvised game tasks in English, creative skits, demonstrations, musical and cartoon shows, colorful cards and posters, gestures, facial expressions and communication with the native speaker foreign speech. This is how English for children develops not only memory, but also intelligence and logic! And new knowledge contributes to the development of mental abilities and successful further education of children in Russian and foreign schools.

You need to return to English lessons at least 3 times a week so that the acquired knowledge is firmly entrenched. And, of course, this new “English game” for the child should bring him joy and pleasure!

Hello! Dear readers! Remember the famous method of learning English from Dr. Pimsleur? So, brilliant parents give birth to talented children. His daughter, Julia Pimsleur Levine, followed in her father’s footsteps and in 2007 created and released a video English language course for children, “Little Pim”. The course very quickly became one of the most popular, and numerous copies were literally snapped up from store shelves. English for kids with little PIM

The fact is that the program of this unique technique is designed for the youngest - from 0 to 6 years. That is, from infants to preschoolers, they can use this course to quickly, interestingly and effectively learn English. Keep up with "Little Pim" on this moment contains 3 thematic parts:

Eating and Drinking (About drinks and food)
Wake Up Smiling (Wake up and smile)
Playtime (Time for fun and games)

All three parts of the Little Pim program for the tiniest children are entirely in English. Each part of “Little Pim” contains 7 episodes, lasting about 5 minutes. In total, each disc lasts no more than 40 minutes. During this time, children get the opportunity to become acquainted with about 60 of the most common new words and phrases that are often used in everyday life.

"Little Pim" helps children

Animated educational lessons through the mouth of little Pim, a funny cartoon panda, talk about everyday, everyday actions (bathing, eating, playing, personal hygiene) and surrounding objects and things in game form. Little Pim gratefully accepts help from other little helpers from real life.

When the characters pronounce a new word, you can see its graphic spelling in English on the screen. Little Pim bear attracts the attention of the youngest children to video and audio information, and the little student, without realizing it, remembers a lot of new expressions in English. For children, this form of presenting new material is the most understandable and accessible for learning.

Small series of videos of the “Little Pim” course, lots of bright and vibrant colors, unobtrusive music on background support children's interest in the program. With regular revision of the series, the English vocabulary contained in the course is easily absorbed by children and their parents. So watch the educational video with your baby and learn the language together.

Watch all parts of the English language video course for children “Little Pim” for free online on our website:

Eating and Drinking

Wake Up Smiling

Playtime

Enjoy and fruitful viewing for you and your children! Good luck!

This article was conceived by me just during the long-awaited summer holidays and holidays. “Education is hard work, and in the summer you should take a break from studying.” This is the stereotypical opinion formed by the majority.

But education, early development, and in particular, the learning of a foreign language by children under the age of three can be looked at differently. You can continue to “develop” and “learn” without weekend breaks. In any weather, at any time of the year, everywhere, on the street, at the dacha, at the resort, on the train...

My one-year-old baby and I began to master the English language we will be talking about without grueling cramming and class schedules, without tutors, while sunbathing on the beach or walking in playgrounds.

Why do children under three years old need English?

Opponents of early learning a foreign language believe that this can cause speech delay, speech therapy and other problems. Without endlessly weighing all the existing pros and cons, I will indicate two main reasons that prompted me to resolve this issue positively.

It is much easier to teach a foreign language to a child under three years of age than to an older child (I have verified this from personal experience).
Learning a foreign language, and even together with your baby, is incredibly interesting! The child absolutely loves it and causes a flurry of positive emotions, of course, subject to certain conditions.

Learning is not a burden, but a joy

In order not to deviate too much from the main topic, I will outline point by point the most significant provisions that help make “classes” of a foreign language as exciting and productive as possible.

Positive thinking and belief in the limitless creative and mental capabilities of man.
The absence of any violence, including in the form of coercion, rigid programs and class schedules, attempts to intrusively ask questions and “pull out” answers to check what has been learned, etc. Even skillfully veiled pressure or the intention to force one to engage can cause a long-lasting negative reaction and weaken emotional contact. This rule is almost impossible to implement in groups early development that require at least a class schedule. The smaller the child, the more unacceptable the pressure on him! Here it is reasonable to assume that if parents follow this rule one hundred percent, children will not study at all, so I will dwell in a little more detail on the next point 3.
Parental sensitivity and pedagogical insight, that is, the ability to notice what the child is currently showing interest in, respond to the child’s requests in a timely manner, and, using all your intellectual baggage, turn this seemingly fleeting manifestation of simple childish curiosity into an exciting “activity” .
The readiness and desire of the parents themselves to develop and learn. It is impossible to embrace the immensity. And yet, if you don’t know how to teach your child to draw, buy a suitable drawing textbook for the little ones. If you decide to study a foreign language with your child, enroll in the courses yourself... Search and try different variants, create, learn! Your efforts will not be in vain, because the willingness of parents to learn and develop will help today's kids grow up to be socially active and creative people.
Ability to give timely praise

Many adults are big fans of criticizing and teaching. The ability to praise is another important skill to learn. You can express your approval to your child wordlessly, with words, and in a comprehensive manner.

Wordless praise can include not only a simple pat on the head, but also applause, handshakes, kisses, twirling, hugging and tossing.

You can learn to express your delight with gestures from a boxer who wins a fight, a cyclist who wins a race, a football player who scores a goal, in general, from athletes, or, for example, from an expert from “What? Where? When?”, which gave the correct answer to a complex question.

Praise expressed in words does not have to be like a eulogy. Often they limit themselves to the words “well done” or “clever girl” and this is quite enough. In different situations, you can use other expressions and exclamations: Russian “Wow! How brave/smart you are!”, “How clever/smart you are!”, “You did well!”, “I can’t believe it!”, “Brilliant!”, “Keep it up!”, or the English “Well done!” , “Good job!”, “You're golden!”, “I knew, you could do it!”, “You're perfect!”, “You're the best!”, “You're the champion! ", "Excellent!" and a lot of others.

Complex praise refers to the simultaneous use of gestures, actions and words.

Of course, all of the above provisions relate to education and developmental education in general, but let’s move directly to the issues of learning English.

Principles of teaching English to children from 0 to 3 years old

The basic principles of training are:

maintaining the physical and mental health of children;
taking into account the characteristics of the psychological development of children under three years of age, the visual and effective nature of children’s thinking of this age(that is, cognition of the surrounding world occurs in the process of real object manipulations), and the leading type of activity (which is an object-manipulative game).
compliance of educational material with the level of anatomical, physiological, mental and mental development of children;
accessibility and visibility;
communication focus;
personal orientation;
interconnected/integrated training in types of speech activity, listening, speaking

Learning Objectives

The purpose of teaching English to children aged 0 to 3 years is to promote the full, timely development of the child, the development of his intellectual, emotional and social spheres in the process of mastering the basics of English-language communication.

The practical goal of training is the formation of elementary English-language communicative competence. The communicative competence of a child under three years of age is formed as speech, language and sociocultural competences develop. Speech competence implies the mastery and development of listening and speaking skills. This is nothing more than the ability to use language adequately and appropriately in specific situations. Linguistic competence combines phonetic, lexical and grammatical competence. Sociocultural competence includes regional and linguistic competence.

Thus, the practical goal of teaching English to children from 0 to 3 years old involves children mastering listening and speaking skills sufficient to either adequately respond to what they hear, or enter into verbal contact with an interlocutor, maintain a conversation, receive and transmit basic information , related to the content of children's communication, finish communication, etc., and not just say some words or phrases in English.

Learning Objectives

purposefully teach communication in English within those areas of communication that are associated with the world of early childhood;
introduce children to elements of English-speaking socioculture;
develop a positive attitude towards the world around you.

Where to begin?

If you decide to study a second language with your child, which is generally foreign to your original culture, the first thing you need to do is try to artificially create a different language environment and learn to feel comfortable in it. Young children do very well without explanations of grammar or phonetics. And the only way to develop cognitive motives and interest in a foreign language in children under three years of age is the interweaving of these motives and interests into an object-manipulative game and the visually effective nature of presentations of language samples.

Teaching children under three years of age the English language begins with developing the ability to perceive English speech by ear. Listening is not only the perception of messages, but also the preparation in internal speech of a response to what is heard. Listening prepares speaking; it contributes to mastery of the sound side of the language, phonemic composition, intonation, and speech patterns.

When playing with a small child, we quite often imitate the clatter of hooves, the barking of a dog, the buzzing of a bee, etc. In exactly the same way, you can try to “present” the sounds of the English language (there are 44 sounds, 20 vowels and 24 consonants in the English language). The number of sounds and the duration of the “presentation” itself should be chosen based on the principle of parental sensitivity; you should see whether the child likes it or not. In this way, the child’s phonetic competence will gradually develop. If you are not sure of pronunciation, or are not at all familiar with the sound composition of the language you are studying, take as many lessons from a specialist as you need.

The child should often hear English spoken, children's songs, rhymes, and fairy tales in English.

What materials should I use?

Any, if they come from the country whose language you are studying, and if they are connected with the world of childhood. These are toy books, fairy tales, alphabet books, music CDs, CDs with cartoons or films, and other video or audio resources from the Internet.

When selecting materials, take into account the age of the child - English nursery rhymes and simple English songs are more suitable for infants, and video materials can be offered to older children.

Many rhyming poems are ready-made finger, gesture or other active educational games. They can be found on English-language sites, or, for example, on YouTube. Just type in any search engine the name of the poem/song you are looking for and choose any option you like.

Work on the poem is carried out in several stages:

preliminary study of lexical and grammatical material (performed by the parent);
working on words that are difficult to pronounce, intonation, rhythm (performed by the parent)
expressive reading of the rhyme out loud (performed by the parent);
initial listening to the rhyme by the child, with visual and effective support, for example, on a drawing or visual actions;
consolidate understanding of the content;
memorize the poem;
show the child a finger or gesture game based on the content of this rhyme, and periodically invite the child to play it, but, I will not tire of repeating, in appropriate situations or when the child himself wants to play it; Depending on the age, the listed actions can be performed by the parent or the child himself.
repeat the poem in real life situations

Modern collections such as Mother Goose Books include more than 700 children's poems, songs, counting rhymes, riddles and tongue twisters.

In the first three years of life, it is quite possible to master 100 or more of these rhymes or songs. With frequent listening, singing or reading, these rhymes and songs are easy to memorize and use at appropriate times.

For example, when you put your child to bed, you can rock him in your arms and read a rhyme/sing the song Rock-a-bye, Baby, and with the final words Down will come baby, cradle and all - imitate a smooth fall and lower the child into the crib. When your baby is jumping in his crib, you can read Three Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. When you feed the ducks in the pond, you can remember the rhyme Bread for the Ducks. While playing catch, repeat the rhyme “Here’s a Ball for Baby.” And you can count your toes with the rhyme Five Little Pigs / This Little Pig Went to Market, etc.

Here is a short list of resources that may be useful for children under three years of age:

Blue's Clues
Dr. Seuss's ABC book/DVD
Postman Pat
Dora the Explorer
www.kneebouncers.com
www.mingoville.com (an interactive online educational game that can be very useful for parents who are not confident in their English)
www.storynory.com (audio books for children are read by professional speakers, native speakers, useful for introducing children to the melody of English speech, intonation, pronunciation)

Simple, interesting and well-illustrated material, children under three years of age swallow, digest and assimilate at an incredibly high speed and demand more and more! And if we want a child to master a foreign language fluently, it is necessary to speak to him in this language.

What should I say?

Say only what you know for sure. Basic language functions on initial stage– this is a greeting (Hello/Hi!), in the morning (Good morning!), a wish Good night(Good night!), farewell (Bye-bye / Goodbye / See you / See you later), which you can say when leaving somewhere; declaration of love (I love you); the ability to ask for something (Give me, please), the ability to name an object, perform an action, etc. That is, it is necessary to constantly introduce children to speech patterns, but always in suitable situations.

Never learn individual words. Learn phrases. For example, don’t just teach your child the word rattle, but say This is a rattle or Shake this rattle, Give me, please, rat yourtle. your rattle”, What a wonderful rattle! / “What a wonderful rattle!”, Where's your rattle? / “Where is your rattle?” etc.

There is a great need for the formation of a clear vocabulary and there is no strictly thematic presentation of material when teaching English to children under three years of age. “Study” the names of food products while eating or going to the food market, the names of animals - where you meet them, that is, at home, on the street, in the zoo, in the village; names of plants - at flower stalls, in a square, park, botanical garden; clothes and shoes - while changing clothes; bath accessories - in the bathroom or pool; dishes - in the kitchen, etc.

Most quickly, children “learn” family members and the names of body parts (they are always with us).

Taking into account the visually active nature of the thinking of children of this age, “study” the English verbs crawl - when you crawl, hug - when you hug a child, tickle - when you tickle a baby, swing - when you swing with him on a swing, read - when you you read something, sing - when you sing, walk - when you walk, etc. How to use these verbs? Children under three years of age are not burdened with the burden of past years and thoughts about the past and future. They live in the present moment. Therefore the present long time The Present Continuous is perfect for our purposes: Oh, my! You’re humming/smiling/dancing/talking! (Just think! You're humming/smiling/dancing/talking something!)

Add variety to your speech by using the imperative mood: Look out!/ Be careful!, Wake up!/ Wake up!, Don't touch it!/ Don't touch it!, Look at me!/ Look at me!, Let's go out!/ Let's go for a walk!, Let's read your favorite book!/Let's read your favorite book!, Let him pass!/Let him pass!, Put it on!/Put it on!, Take it off/Take it off! and etc.

Can be entered into speech modal verb can/be able, be able to: You can walk/run/speak/You can walk/run/speak... and interrogative and longer affirmative sentences: Are you hungry/ thirsty?/Do you want to eat/drink?, What are you doing?/ What are you doing?, You're clapping your hands/ stamping your feet/ riding a pony/ kicking the ball!

Later, learn to give more detailed explanations of the “studied” words, objects and actions: A dog is an animal with four legs, fur and a tail. For this purpose, you can use English children's explanatory dictionaries.

What is important in this case is not the quantity foreign words and speech samples. The child needs to see with his own eyes, touch or even chew all the “studied” nouns with adjectives, and the verbs, phrases and cliches used in conversation must exactly correspond to each specific situation.

Preschoolers aged 5-6 years have long counted all their fingers and toes, learned and touched a lot, gained experience and even complexes. Arousing interest and motivation in them is much more difficult than in children under three years of age, when everything happens, occurs and is learned spontaneously and for the first time. This is one of the main advantages of early learning a foreign language.

The role of music in learning a foreign language

The role of music in learning a foreign language is invaluable. Music and singing attract the child’s attention, develop his listening ability, sense of rhythm, and auditory-motor coordination.

Listen to children's English music CDs as often as possible. Learn each song step by step, just like a rhyme (read the previous chapter). Over two years of regularly listening to different melodies and lyrics, you will learn to sing them yourself in appropriate situations:

Deedle, Deedle, Dumpling - when your child, without undressing or taking off his shoes, tries to fall asleep in the crib;
I’m a Little Tea-Pot – when you have a kettle boiling in your kitchen;
Happy Birthday – during birthday celebrations;
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star - while contemplating the starry sky;

Many of the English children's songs are also sign or other motor games and can be easily dramatized. Working with such songs helps develop speech skills, polishes pronunciation, improves expressiveness of speech, or simply improves mood and develops motor activity.

Do I need to translate?

Once I met a mother who, showing to a small child some object or thing, for example, a sock, was called in two languages at once - Russian and English (“sock/a sock”).

In all competent foreign language courses, teaching is conducted in the target language from the very beginning. Attempts to translate everything at once slow down the process of learning new words and expressions. Children under three years old do not yet distinguish languages and certainly do not need translation.

When and how much to “work out”?

We started “studying” English when my baby understood her native speech well and was already able to pronounce a few simple words like “mom”, “dad”, “lala”, “aunt”, “uncle”.

If we express in percentage terms the use of English and native languages in the process of communication, including listening and reading, then in our case Russian speech will score on average 90%, English – 10%.

The duration of stay in a “foreign” language environment ranged from one minute to 3 hours a day.

The words “study” or “practice” are deliberately placed in quotation marks. In fact, there is no need to give “lessons.” You need to live with everyday activities, and the time and topics for playing with your child should be chosen based on the principle of parental sensitivity. The duration of communication, listening, reading or video viewing should be determined by the interests and desires of the child and not harm his health.

The main thing is that this happens regularly and without long breaks, and the sounds, words, speech patterns, songs and rhymes presented to the child should be repeated often, but, I will not tire of reminding you, only in suitable situations.

results

What can a three-year-old child from a Russian family say in English? I will give a few typical examples from my English speech three year old daughter, from entries preserved in my diaries.

After another visit to the zoo, she, bending over funny, came up to me importantly and said: I’m a peacock. “I am a peacock,” and, noticing a wooden stick lying nearby, she immediately picked it up, put it behind her and quickly added: “And it’s my tail.”
In the morning he comes to my bed, wakes me up, pulls my pillow over himself with a laugh: Good morning, mummy! Get up! I want to take a shower. This pillow is not yours! It's mine! “Good morning, mommy! Get up! I want to take a shower. This is not your pillow! She is mine!".
Diving into a filled bath: One, two, three, dive! Look, I'm diving. “One, two, three, dive!” Look! I'm diving!"
About sour milk: This milk is off! Just smell it! “This milk has turned sour. Just smell it!”
Pushing a rubber mouse under the sofa: Look! The mouse is hiding in the hole. “Look, the little mouse is hiding in a hole.”
After watching the movie “Shrek” (we only watched this movie in English), puffing out our cheeks and flapping our arms like wings: Mum, let’s pretend that you’re a donkey and I’m a fire-breathing dragon. I'm going to fly. See you later! “Mom, let’s imagine that you are a donkey, and I am fire-breathing dragon. I'm going to fly! Bye!"
I try to get her to have breakfast, she answers very decisively: I’m not hungry. I won't have breakfast. " I am not hungry. I won't have breakfast."
During a picnic, she found a secluded place in the bushes and intends to take a toy elephant there: This is my personal cave. I'll bring my elephant into my cave. (addressing the elephant) Don’t be afraid, Elephant, you’re in good hands. “This is my personal cave. I will take my elephant to the cave. Don’t be afraid, Elephant, you are in good hands.”

As you can see from these examples, the first results of English classes with children under three years old can appear just by the age of three, if you started studying a year or earlier.

From three to six

When my daughter turned three years old, I had to graduate from university and get a job. There was less time for activities with the child, and we enrolled her in kindergarten. We just periodically found the opportunity to read English books, watch english cartoons or listen to your favorite fairy tales in English, usually before bed.

English at school

I felt the real results of our “classes” when my daughter went to school. Despite the fact that she became seriously interested in sports, and this caused some damage to her academic performance, and she did not become an excellent student (she is a stable A student), her grade in English was always excellent.

She reads well, remembers and retells texts and dialogues, and perfectly translates from English into Russian and vice versa. Excellent at composing his own stories in English. At the same time, I never resorted to the help of tutors (which saved us a lot of money), and I never helped her with school English.

Sometimes she complained that English lessons at school were boring for her, but this did not turn into a tragedy. At school English lessons, she still studied transcription signs, rules of reading and writing, in general, everything that is inappropriate to do in early preschool childhood.

At the end of the third grade, without any preparation (!), together with the fifth graders (!), she passed the Cambridge English language proficiency exam (Movers level) at a local British center. I passed it perfectly.

I hope our example will inspire many parents! I wish you good luck with all my heart!

The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein argued: a person's world is what his language is. Learning a foreign language affects thinking processes and the characteristics of consciousness. We study a foreign language in order to build a successful career, move to a permanent place of residence in another country; or because we enjoy learning about another culture. When we teach a child English, we thereby reveal all these possibilities to him - with the only difference that this happens ahead of time, one and a half to two decades earlier than his beginning. adulthood. With knowledge of English it is much easier to build a career; and if the desire arises, then change your destiny by moving to another country. – this is the key to many doors of their future.

Why should a child learn English?

For what other reasons English for children is the best method of intellectual development?

The age range from 4 to 6 years is considered sensitive in relation to learning a foreign language. This means that learning English for children at this age is much easier. The phonetics of the native language have already been mastered, so there is no risk of “mixing” the two languages. Kids don't just learn English; they "absorb" it. If mom calls a spoon “the spoon,” this means that this is what this item is called. The child does not need to learn anything additional; the information settles in the unconscious in blocks. It is especially useful to master at an early age, because then there will be no difficulties with it at school.
Children learning a foreign language have better concentration abilities. A child who speaks a foreign language (in particular, English) is distinguished by the ability to better understand phenomena and delve into their details. For example, coming to new team, the child will quickly grasp the essence of relationships between other children. Funny stories in a foreign language, interesting exercises - all this develops the child’s ability to concentrate.
One of the main difficulties in learning English for adults is that they transfer already familiar grammatical structures of their native language into a foreign language - as if using tracing paper. Children have not yet developed such stereotypes. Therefore, for a child, the English language is a completely new sign system; he does not compare its grammar with the phrases of his native language, but learns it “from scratch.” He develops a “feeling” of foreign speech. Psychologists recommend that children start learning English from scratch at the age of 4-5. Already from this age you can start playing with your child simple games in a foreign language, learn with your child, master.
In addition, the baby develops intellectually and learns to think differently. Children who learn a foreign language adapt better to an unusual environment; they are more flexible and relaxed in communication. Learning English is one of the most highly intellectual types of workload for the human brain. English for kids is more than just rote learning new vocabulary and grammar; it is the embedding of a new system of concepts that supports the functioning of the developing brain on high level.

English for children: learning principles

There are no children who are incapable of learning a foreign language. Every child in childhood spends titanic work on mastering their native language. Therefore, they are not a fundamentally new area of knowledge - compared, for example, with teaching writing or arithmetic. A child who has learned to communicate in his native language is equally potentially capable of mastering English.

It happens that at school a child experiences difficulties with foreign languages. What could be the reasons for the difficulties? How to make learning a foreign language effective for a child? And what is the best way to organize teaching English to beginning children? Let's look at a few fundamental principles.

One of the fundamental principles is the correct selection of training intensity. Teachers agree that for a child aged 2 to 4 years, the duration of an English lesson should be about half an hour. At the age of 4 to 6 years, you can practice a little longer - up to 1 hour. As a rule, English lessons for children are held 2-3 times a week. One lesson is usually devoted to a specific topic - family, animals, my home, summer holidays, school life. This lesson also contains elements. Based on the topic of the lesson and the grammatical structure that is introduced in the lesson, the parent or teacher selects the material -,.
If a younger student has difficulties with English, it is necessary Special attention focus on improving his self-esteem. Perhaps the child is experiencing stress due to high school demands and the need to “catch up” with more successful classmates. Difficulties may also arise because the child hears reprimand much more often than praise. Praising a child means providing him with the psycho-emotional comfort that is so necessary for learning. It is necessary to convey to the child the fact that abilities can be developed through training. There are many resources that provide English materials for children online for free. Suitable for improving a student’s conversational speech. Additional activities at home will improve your academic performance at school.
The easiest way to teach a child English is through games. The game is the leading activity before the onset school age when school takes the place of children's fun. However, younger schoolchildren still love to frolic and play. Will be useful as play activities with a child, as well. By approaching your child’s education wisely, he will not have to be forced to learn English “under pressure.” The child himself will look forward to the next lesson. After all, for him this is the time when he can enjoy fun games.
They also show effectiveness - after all, by watching them, the child has fun and at the same time masters the language. Plots are often based on