Teaching English to children throughout their growth and development is highly important. English, as a global language, teaches children the capacity to communicate and connect between cultures. In this topic, we will examine 7 methods for teaching English to children for rapid learning. These methods simultaneously improve kids' listening and watching skills.
7 fun Ways to improve kids' listening and watching skills
1. Show the Difference
Commence by simply demonstrating to children the difference between hearing something and listening to it. Narrate the same story but in two distinct scenarios. First, let them walk around the room, engage with their toys, or look out the window to explore the outdoors. Subsequently, sit them down and make sure they look at you to truly listen to the story. They'll immediately perceive the difference between the two.
2. Anticipate the Story
Read a book or watch a short animation together, but pause after each page or every 20 seconds to assess whether learners can anticipate what’s going to happen next.
3. Listening Songs
Another good way to improve kids' listening and watching skills is listening Songs. Music is a powerful method for English language learning in children. By listening to English songs and music, children not only learn new vocabulary but also acquire proper pronunciation and practice the sense of rhythm and intonation. Choice songs that are suitable for the child’s age and language proficiency. Look for songs with clear lyrics and catchy melodies.
4. Sound recognition
Another good way to improve kids' listening and watching skills is to have children listen to various sounds or noises, and guess what they can hear. This activity enables them to concentrate on one sound and shut the world out a bit around them. The game could be about sounds produced by animals, household objects, or the traffic outside.
5. Short stories
Reading children's stories in English is one of the effective ways to improve kids' listening and watching skills. Stories, with their patterns, personalities, and simpler sentences, render the language more accessible and understandable for children. Choose stories appropriate to the child’s age and language proficiency.
Look for stories with simple words and sentence structures that children can easily understand. On the other hand, incorporate visual aids such as pictures or illustrations to bolster comprehension. Display the images while reading the story to assist children in linking the words with their meanings.
After reading the story, engage the children in a discussion. Ask questions about the plot, characters, and their favorite aspects. Encourage them to express their thoughts and opinions in English.
6. Poems
Using poetry is one of the attractive and effective ways to improve kids' listening and watching skills. Below are some guidelines for using poems in teaching English to children
- Choose poems that are suitable for the age and language level of the children. Choose poems with simple, repetitive, and understandable words for children.
- Read the poem aloud with correct pronunciation. Note that the correct and fluent pronunciation of the words and sentences of the poem is very important to strengthen children’s language skills.
- Repeat the poem several times and accompany it with movements and physical gestures.
- Translate some words or phrases of the poem for children and explain their meaning.
- Encourage children to act out the poem with feeling and allegory.
7. Video zone
Watching videos is a great way to improve kids' listening and watching skills. First, choose a suitable animated film for learning English. It’s preferable to choose animations that are suitable for your child’s age, as they contain simpler vocabulary and phrases. After watching the animation with subtitles, encourage your child to repeat certain parts of the dialogue. Repetitive practice of sentences and phrases from the animation helps your child become familiar with new words and structures and improves their pronunciation. To improve conversational skills, you can engage in role-play certain dialogues. This activity helps your child become acquainted with new language structures.
conclusion
Avoid translating videos for your kids. If you provide them with the option of translating from the beginning of the language learning process, they will expect every vocabulary and sentence to be translated, and their mind will become habituated to relying on translation, which is not recommended for language learning at this age. Don’t worry about your child's comprehension! Generally, cartoon stories are simple, and with repeated viewing, the child gradually grasps their meaning.