English for kids. English for toddlers

You can learn a foreign language at any age, and if you decide to start from the earliest years, then it is in this article that we will tell you how to study English with a child from birth to three years old. A The English language for children from 1 year old and earlier has its own characteristics. And often parents have doubts - whether it is worth starting so early, or it is better to wait until the baby grows up. We will tell you about the features of early learning English, as well as how to organize it as simple, fun and interesting as possible.

In this article we will talk about additional language lessons, but if you want to raise your baby bilingually (that is, for example, talk to him in English for half the time), then the materials from the section will be more interesting for you.

Should you study English with your baby from birth?

Definitely worth it because:

So, if you decide to independently deal with a child from 0 to 3 years old, be prepared for what you need a lot of time and effort, because to achieve maximum effect, we advise you to create an English language environment at home (buy books, collect audio fairy tales for your home library, etc.), select materials and games for "lessons", improve your language level and work on your pronunciation.

Already from 1.5-2 years old, you can not be limited only to classes with relatives, because it is good when a child hears different pronunciation and communicates with different people, he understands that English can be useful to him outside the house, because not only mother speaks German You can attend English language schools for the little ones or holidays in English (look for them in).

Learning English from birth to two years of age

Many parents want their child to start studying before school, but only a few decide to introduce the child to English from the cradle, i.e. a year, two or even earlier. Is it worth teaching a foreign language from the very first months of life? Will there be problems with your native Russian? We are sure not.

And here are some more advantages of an early start:

The child does not need to be persuaded and motivated, she is not yet ready to resist, and the speech addressed to him by adults, especially mothers, is already motivation. In that At age, the baby will perceive the second language as a native one.
The kid absorbs everything. He is silent, but he hears, understands and remembers without translation. Of course, at this age, the child will not immediately begin to speak English, but there is an opportunity to create a huge passive reserve, which will make itself felt later.
You have a lot of time to grow linguistically with your baby.
Up to one year old, the child develops hearing, he learns to distinguish between sounds and intonations. According to a famous study Patricia Cool, which she talked about on TED conferences , after 9 months, children cease to distinguish by ear sounds that are absent in the languages of those people who communicated with them.

Determine how often and for how much you are ready to practice or just talk with your baby in English and try to stay on schedule. At this age, daily classes or immersion through language practice “work” best, although ensuring this regularity is not always easy.

Before classes, even if they only last 10-15 minutes, think about what you will do, speak or write down the entire text for yourself.

Class English for children 1-2 years old may consist of:

creative crafts or games in English;
action songs;
traditional English nursery rhymes;

In addition to such short lessons, you can try to “live” in English - to voice the regime moments in English. Translate in advance any expressions that you use in one of your daily "rituals" (eg, bathing, massage, morning exercises, eating, packing outside, going to bed with an English lullaby) and start using them. Special ones will help you with this. After you start to spend some of the regime moments in English every day and the kid is used to it, you can add the next one and so on!

Try to create an English language environment for the child: read children's books to him (where to buy them, we wrote), turn on audio stories, buy toys that speak English. You can also listen to radio broadcasts for adults, this is also a factor in creating a language environment in the house.

Learn more about how to study English with a child from 0 to 2 years old you can learn .

English for children 2-3 years old: learning features

It is more difficult to start studying with a slightly older heir, and therefore teaching English to a child of two or three years old will be slightly different. The kid is already beginning to speak in his native language with coherent sentences. If you start classes during this period, he may feel discomfort and start asking you to switch to Russian. You may have to make some effort to keep your child interested.

One of the secrets to getting started at this time is to make an "English friend". Buy a new toy and explain that she comes from England and speaks only her own language. So the child will have more motivation to use only English in "English time" and there will be no question "why is it that mom suddenly" spoke in a strange way. "

You know your baby and his interests well - use this! Offer to play or discuss in English what he loves the most, such as dinosaurs, unicorns, dump trucks or princesses. You can buy new board games that you will play only in English, or have a corner in the house where English books or language-speaking toys will "live", and all the time spent in this corner will be devoted exclusively to English.

A new person will also help to overcome the protest against an unfamiliar language - a teacher who will please the child and with whom the child will have to communicate only in English. Early language courses will play the same role - for the child it will be a place where they speak only English, and he will quietly start switching to it when he comes to classes. If the learning process is built correctly, then the child will perceive the classes as a game and receive only positive emotions from them (read how to choose foreign language courses for children).

If a protest still arises, then be sure to watch a video from Galina Becker about what you can do if a child opposes a foreign language:

If children are engaged from birth, they are already used to it, and it is much easier with them. But teaching English to a three-year-old child is built according to the same rules that apply to children from 0 to 2: interest, motivation, play, as well as consistency and regularity are important. As with any age, an English language environment is essential: remember to include age-appropriate videos, songs, cartoons. Do this regularly every day.

Find even more English learning tips for kids 2 and 3.

English learning methods for the little ones

Parents who want to teach their baby English from the first months do not have to reinvent the wheel and completely invent all the activities themselves. There are ready-made programs and courses in which you can start studying with children from an early age.

One of the best programs in which moms and dads can deal with a child independently from six months is Maria Eliseeva. Parents pay for the course and receive a set of materials: videos, texts and audio files with detailed scripts for self-study at home. The advantage of this technique is that it is designed with a focus on Russian-speaking users who do not need to know English well.
"Skylark English For Babies" developed in Cambridge by Clever for Toddlers from birth. It is based on the work of scientists who investigated the possibilities and interests of children under three years of age. The set includes books, songs and games that are played from all sides in different situations.
If you do not want to study on your own, take your child to courses, for example, to centers working on. The British linguist and teacher has developed an English language training program for children from the age of two. Classes for the smallest are aimed primarily at general development. At the lessons, where parents are always present with the kids, the guys get to know English through music and play, and at home the knowledge gained in the lesson is consolidated through watching a training video with a funny hero Flupe.

Materials for English lessons in 0-3 years

Songs, nursery rhymes, poems, texts, abstracts of English lessons for children and much more for lessons with a child can be found on Internet resources, and most of the useful materials can be downloaded for free. You will find a selection of 101 such resources.

For busy parents who cannot spend much time online, we recommend joining online clubs or 365 My Bilignual Life... You will get access to ready-made thematic glossaries and lecture notes for classes and will be able to ask questions that arise in the process, by the curator of the online club.

How to get your child interested in English

The rule is simple: all the most interesting things for a child should be in English. Take the time to play. We share ideas and materials for games. Let the child rest in his head: if the mother speaks English, then it will be interesting!

Cartoons and children's programs in a foreign language can be found Polina Boytsova

2017-06-07

Hello everyone! Dear ones, I continue to create useful information and materials in such an important area for many as English for children. And I already had a lot ... Therefore, 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 site is the address of the location of this warehouse. It contains (and continues to collect) all the necessary materials on the English language, 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 fun, free and accessible to every child!

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

Content:

Remember that the basic principles of teaching "young students" - brightness, interest and only playful form! So here everything is exactly like this - memorable and fascinating video English lessons, vivid 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 begin to plunge into the world of the language from scratch, but also for those who are older! Such children can use the materials even on their own, listening, watching and repeating.

Always strive for emotional involvement on your part, and then the child's passion for the subject will not keep you waiting.

My tips and tricks

Once a very serious mother asked me a question: “Tell me how to teach English to my 3-year-old son? What is the best way to build 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 parents who believe that in the age of modern technology, 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 the best friend of any child! Especially when it comes to getting to know 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 a good book that will become for him the best helper and guide to the world of language ... I am talking about good versions of books and textbooks for children here:

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

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

Numbers and numbers ... What a vast subject! But very young students do not need to know all the numbers - they only need to learn 10 numbers! It's so easy - there are 10 fingers on your hands! On my feet too! And in general, you can count anything around you - toys, books, adults, and even seconds ...

But if you want more, then you can reach 20!

Alphabet

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

But nevertheless, one day the moment comes when it’s worth getting to know the English letters. For example, in front of the school - to be fully armed, as they say. Or if the kid himself shows interest in them.

My daughter knew all Russian letters (in appearance and corresponding sound) at the age of 2. We were ready to get acquainted with 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 the help songs, videos, cards, sounds, games and rhymes you can learn the alphabet very quickly.

Words for children by topic

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

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

Words related to family

Words related to animals

Words related to fruits and vegetables

Words about house

Words related to food

Words related to clothing

Words on the topic of the profession

Colors in English

Pink became even more beloved by my daughter when she met it in the context of the English language. After that, "pink" was heard from her lips wherever she met pink objects))

Colors in English are kids favorite theme, which is given to them very easily. The 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 entertainment of all children and adolescents. Some kids manage to watch them all day, and some parents manage to allow it!

I find this kind of entertainment for a child should be strictly limited... And of course, if you watch cartoons, then they are useful and meaningful. Do you agree? And this is especially true if we are talking about cartoons in english ... They can become completely unobtrusive yet extremely effective English lessons that the child will perceive as fun! He may not even guess that by doing so he is 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 that are only in English! I recommend children under 4 years old watch exclusively English cartoons without a single Russian word ... They will understand everything. Watch, learn and enjoy!

Video tutorials

Here you also need to understand that very young children (up to 3-4 years old) do not need to listen to explanations in Russian - it is enough to watch English-language videos with bright pictures - they will be able to understand everything! The main thing is that the video should be liked and aroused 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 cartoons and educational videos (where there were also a lot of songs), I offer you 2 more of my notes with materials for children. In the first - video songs, in the second - just songs with an attached translation into Russian:

Games

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

I have talked about games in English for toddlers more than once on the pages of my blog. And this topic is far from closed. V a lot of materials are still in preparation that parents and teachers will soon be able to use for their very young wards.

And now you can familiarize yourself with these.

This article was conceived by me just during the long-awaited summer holidays and vacations. "Education is hard work and you should take a break from school in the summer." Here is the stereotypical opinion of the majority.

But education, early development, and in particular, learning a foreign language by children under the age of three can be viewed differently. You can continue to "develop" and "learn" without breaks for the weekend. 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, which will be discussed, without exhausting cramming and class schedules, without tutors, sunbathing on the beach or walking in playgrounds.

Why do babies under three years old need English?

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

It is much easier to teach a child a foreign language up to three years old than an older child (I was convinced of this from personal experience).
It is incredibly interesting to study a foreign language together with your baby! The child is madly in love with this 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 the points of the most significant provisions that help to make "classes" in a foreign language as fun and effective as possible.

Positive thinking and belief in the unlimited creative and mental capabilities of a person.
The absence of any violence, including in the form of coercion, rigid programs and schedules of classes, attempts to obsessively ask questions and "pull" answers to check what has been learned, and so on. Even subtle pressure or intent to exercise can cause long-lasting negative reactions and weaken emotional contact. This rule is almost impossible to implement in early development groups that require at least a schedule of classes. The smaller the child, the more unacceptable the pressure on him! It is reasonable to assume here that if parents follow this rule one hundred percent, the 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 showing interest in at the moment, respond in a timely manner to the needs of the baby / toddler, and, using all his intellectual baggage, turn this seemingly fleeting manifestation of a simple child's curiosity into an exciting "activity" ...
The willingness and desire of the parents themselves to develop and learn. It is impossible to grasp the immensity. And yet - if you do not know how to teach your child to draw - buy a suitable drawing textbook for the little ones. We decided to study a foreign language with the child - you yourself enroll in the courses ... Look for and try different options, create, learn! Your efforts will not go to waste, 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 praise in time

Many adults are passionate about criticism and teaching. Praising is another important skill worth learning. You can express your approval to the child wordlessly, with the help of words and in a complex way.

Wordless praise can include cheering, shaking hands, kissing, whirling, hugging, and tossing as well as cheering on the head.

You can learn to express your delight with gestures from a boxer who won a fight, a cyclist who won a race, a football player who scored a goal, in general, from athletes, or, for example, from a connoisseur from “What? Where? When? ”, Which gave the correct answer to a difficult question.

Praise expressed in words does not have to be like a panegyric. Often they limit themselves to the words "well done" or "clever" and this is quite enough. In different situations, you can use other expressions and exclamations: Russian “Wow! How brave / smart you are! ”,“ How clever / quick-witted you are! ”,“ You did well! ”,“ I can't believe it! ”,“ Brilliant! ”,“ Keep it up! ”, Or 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 host 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 on directly to the issues of learning English.

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

The main principles of training are:

preserving the physical and mental health of children;
taking into account the peculiarities of the psychological development of children under three years of age, the visual-effective nature of the thinking of children of a given age (that is, cognition of the world around them occurs in the process of real object manipulations), and the leading type of activity (which is object-manipulative play).
correspondence of educational material to the level of anatomical, physiological, mental and mental development of children;
accessibility and visibility;
communicative focus;
personal orientation;
interconnected / integrated teaching of the types of speech activity, listening, speaking

Learning objectives

The goal 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-speaking communication.

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

Thus, the practical goal of teaching English to children from 0 to 3 years old presupposes that children master listening and speaking skills sufficient to either adequately respond to what they hear, or enter into verbal contact with the interlocutor, maintain a conversation, receive and transmit elementary 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 spheres of communication that are associated with the world of early childhood;
to acquaint children with the elements of the English-speaking socioculture;
to form a positive attitude towards the surrounding world.

Where to begin?

If you decide to study a second language with your child, generally foreign to your native culture, the first step is to try to artificially create a different language environment and learn to feel comfortable in it. Young children do just fine without explaining the rules of grammar or phonetics. And the only way to form in children under three years of age cognitive motives and interest in a foreign language is the interweaving of these motives and interests in the subject-manipulative game and the visual-effective nature of the presentation of linguistic samples.

Teaching children under three years old English begins with the formation of the ability to perceive English by ear. Listening is not only the perception of messages, but also the preparation in the inner speech of a response to what was heard. Listening prepares speaking, it contributes to mastering the sound side of the language, phonemic composition, intonation, speech patterns.

While 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 the same way, you can try to "present" the sounds of the English language (in English there are 44 sounds, 20 vowels and 24 consonants). The number of sounds and the duration of the "presentation" itself should be chosen according to the principle of parental sensitivity, you should see whether the child likes it or not. Thus, the child's phonetic competence will gradually form. If you are not sure about the pronunciation, or are not at all familiar with the sound composition of the target language, take as many lessons from a specialist as you need.

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

What materials to use?

Anything, as long as they come from the country you are studying, and if they are related to the world of childhood. These are toy books, fairy tales, alphabets, music CDs, disks with cartoons or films, and other video or audio resources from the Internet.

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

Many rhyme rhymes 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 desired poem / song and choose any option you like.

The work on the verse is carried out in several stages:

preliminary study of lexical and grammatical material (performed by the parent);
working out difficult words in pronunciation, intonation, rhythm (performed by the parent)
expressive reading of the rhyme aloud (performed by the parent);
primary listening to a rhyme by a child, with a visual-effective support, for example, on a drawing or visual actions;
reinforce understanding of the content;
learn a rhyme by heart;
show the child finger or gesture play based on the content of this rhyme, and periodically invite the child to play it, but I’ll never tire of repeating it, in suitable 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 rhyme in real life situations

Modern collections such as Mother Goose Books include over 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 learn from memory and use at suitable moments.

For example, when you put your baby to bed, you can shake him in your arms and read a rhyme / sing a song Rock-a-bye, Baby, and with the final words Down will come baby, cradle and all - imitate a smooth fall and lower the baby into the crib. When your child is jumping in the crib, you can read Three Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. When you feed the ducks in the pond, you can think of the rhyme Bread for the Ducks. Repeat Here's a Ball for Baby while playing the ball. And toes can be counted with the Five Little Pigs / This Little Pig Went to Market rhyme, etc.

Here is a small list of resources that can be useful for children under three years old:

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

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

What should I say?

Only say what you know for sure. The main language functions at the initial stage are greeting (Hello / Hi!), Morning (Good morning!), Saying good night (Good night!), Farewell (Bye-bye / Goodbye / See you / See you later) which you you can pronounce it when you go 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 acquaint children with speech patterns, but always in suitable situations.

Never learn single 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, your rattle. your rattle ", What a wonderful rattle! /" What a wonderful rattle! ", Where's your rattle? /" Where is your rattle? " etc.

There is no great need for the formation of a clear vocabulary and strictly thematic presentation of material when teaching English to children under three years old. “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; plant names - at flower stalls, in a public garden, park, botanical garden; clothes and shoes - while changing clothes; bath accessories - in the bathroom or pool; dishes - in the kitchen, etc.

The fastest way children "learn" family members and the names of body parts (they are always with us).

Given the visual and effective nature of the thinking of children of this age, "learn" 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 old are not burdened with the burden of past years and thoughts about the past and the future. They live in the moment. Therefore, the present Present Continuous is ideal for our purposes: Oh, my! You’re humming / smiling / dancing / talking! (Just think! You're humming / smiling / dancing / talking!)

Add variety to your speech by using the imperative: Look out! / Caution !, 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.

You can enter into speech the modal verb can / can, 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 ?, You're clapping your hands / stamping your feet / riding a pony / kicking the ball! / You clap your hands / stamp your feet / ride a pony / kick a ball ...

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

The important thing in this case is not the number of foreign words and speech patterns. The child needs to see with his own eyes, touch or even gnaw all the "studied" nouns with adjectives, and the verbs, phrases and clichés used in conversation must exactly correspond to each specific situation.

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

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, a sense of rhythm, and auditory-motor coordination.

Listen to children's English music CDs as often as possible. Practice each song in stages, just like a rhyme (read the previous chapter). In two years of regular listening to different melodies and lyrics, you will learn how to hum them yourself in suitable 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 a kettle is boiling in your kitchen;
Happy Birthday - during birthday celebrations;
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star - while gazing at the starry sky;

Many of the English children's songs are also gesture or other movement games and are easy to stage. Working with such songs contributes to the development of speech skills, polishes pronunciation, improves speech expression, or simply improves mood and develops physical activity.

Do I need to translate?

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

All literate foreign language courses are taught from the very beginning in the target language. Attempts to translate everything at once inhibit the process of mastering new words and expressions. Toddlers under the age of three do not yet distinguish between languages and certainly do not need translation.

When and how much to “do”?

We began to “study” English when my baby understood her native speech well and already knew how 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 gain an average of 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 "study" are deliberately enclosed in quotation marks. In fact, there is no need to arrange "lessons". We have to live our daily activities, and the time and topics for playing with the child should be chosen according to 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, only in suitable situations.

results

What can a three-year-old child from a Russian family say in English? Here are some typical examples from the English speech of my three-year-old daughter, from the entries preserved in my diaries.

After another visit to the zoo, she, bending over ridiculously, came up to me importantly and said: I’m a peacock. “I am a peacock,” and noticing a wooden stick lying next to her, she immediately picked it up, put it on the back and quickly added: And it’s my tail. “And this is my tail.”
In the morning he comes to my bed, wakes me up, pulls my pillow over 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 bathroom: 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 the rubber mouse under the sofa: Look! The mouse is hiding in the hole. "Look, the mouse is hiding in a burrow."
After watching the movie "Shrek" (we watched this movie in English only), puffing out my cheeks and flapping my 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 pretend that you are a donkey and I am a fire-breathing Dragon. I'm going to fly! Bye!"
I try to get her to have breakfast, she replies very emphatically: I’m not hungry. I won’t have breakfast. " I am not hungry. I will not have breakfast. "
At the picnic, I found a secluded spot in the bushes and intends to take a toy elephant there: This is my personal cave. I'll bring my elephant into my cave. (to 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. Do not be afraid, Elephant, you are in good hands. "

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

Three to six

When my daughter was three years old, I had to graduate and get a job. The time for classes with the child became less, and we assigned it to kindergarten. They just periodically found the opportunity to read English books, watch English cartoons or listen to their favorite fairy tales in English, usually before bed.

English at school

I felt the real results of our "lessons" when my daughter went to school. Despite the fact that she was 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 good student with us), her grade in English has always been excellent.

She perfectly reads, remembers and retells texts and dialogues, perfectly translates from English into Russian and vice versa. Perfectly composes own stories in English. At the same time, I never resorted to the help of tutors (on which we saved a lot of money), and 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 for reading and writing, in general, everything that is inappropriate to do in early preschool childhood.

At the end of the third grade, she, without any preparation (!), Together with fifth-graders (!), Passed the Cambridge English Proficiency Exam (Movers level) at a local British center. I passed it perfectly.

I hope our example will inspire many parents! I sincerely wish you good luck!

There are many sites on the Internet for English for children. Among them, there are both good and not so good ones. In this review, I will share a few interesting resources for parents who decide to take up English with their children, as well as teachers.

Warning: I am neither an English teacher nor a parent. However, I am well familiar with the sites discussed in the review, I used them myself and recommend them to others, including friends, who study English with their children.

"Teacher Method" - detailed English lessons for children 5 - 10 years old

Another popular site in English Puzzle English(also with very wide functionality) offers large and very detailed courses for beginners "Teacher method"... Courses are made in a playful way. In Teacher's Method, theory is presented not only in the form of text, as in Lingvaleo, but also in short videos with teachers.

Classes are held according to the "explanation - exercises - test" scheme:

The teacher explains a new topic.
You are doing several exercises.
After passing a few lessons, you pass an exam (test).

Most of the site's features are free, but some features are paid, for example, some modes of memorizing words, almost all courses.

Separately, it is worth highlighting the course, designed, in fact, for the smallest.

There are three blocks of tasks in the course:

Learning the alphabet.
My family and pets.
How do you feel?

Classes are held in the form of interactive assignments, where you need to choose the correct answer, match a word and a picture, add words from letters, etc. Like all courses, “English for the little ones” can be taken in a free demo mode to understand it or not.

Duolingo - playful English for kids

These are cute cards on the British Council

On this site you will find materials for preschool and primary school children: songs, short stories, videos, games, exercises, etc. They are all well designed. For example, if you open a video, it will not be just a page with a video (which everyone watched), but a whole set of tasks: first an exercise where you need to compare words and a picture, then a video, then a test, plus pdf are attached to the video -files for printing - text from the video, tasks and answers.

Listen and Watch- videos and exercises for them. Songs are highlighted in a separate sub-heading.
Read and Write- short reading texts and simple writing exercises (for example, signing a picture).
Speak and Spell- video and text materials, pronunciation exercises (reading rules) and spelling.
Grammar and Vocabulary- video lessons (scenes), exercises and games on grammar. The rules are explained in an extremely simplified manner.
Fun and Games- mini-games for learning English.
Print and Make- materials for printing: vocabulary cards, coloring books, mini-workbooks (worksheets) and others.
Parents- a section for parents with articles, useful tips on how to help children learn English. Includes video tutorials where teachers explain how to play educational games with young children.

The British Council has also released a number of mobile applications, on this page there is a list of them: http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/apps.

InternetUrok.ru - free lessons of the school curriculum online

Where can I find cartoons in English?

There are many cartoons in English created specifically for educational purposes. There sketches, dialogues are played out, new words are explained, etc. Here's where you can find them:

On YouTube- YouTube is full of such cartoons, it will not be difficult to find them. For example, here a selection of educational cartoons about the dragon Gogo and his friends... In this series for toddlers, simple words and phrases are given in small stories about the adventures of a funny dragon.
In the English Conversation for Kids app Is not a tutorial, but just a collection of YouTube videos, conveniently sorted into directories. The same cartoons about the dragon Gogo and many others. The app is available on Android.
At Lingualeo... In the “Materials” section there is a topic “For children”, which contains, among other things, such cartoons. The disadvantage is that they are collected randomly, plus - the presence of convenient subtitles with a pop-up translation.

In addition to educational cartoons, there are also just cartoons that you can watch without translation. But this, of course, is a more difficult task. They can be found on Puzzle Movies (section Puzzle English with TV series) - in addition to TV shows and series, this service also has cartoons.