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 in this article we will tell you how to study English with a child from birth to three years old. A English for children from 1 year old and earlier has its own characteristics. And often parents have doubts - is it worth starting so early, or is it better to wait until the baby grows up. We will talk about the features of early English learning, as well as how to organize it as simply, fun and interesting as possible.

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

Is it worth it to study English with a baby from birth?

Definitely worth it because:

So, if you decide to work on your own with a child from 0 to 3 years old, be prepared for what you need enough time and effort because in order to achieve the 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’s good when a child hears different pronunciations and communicates with different people, he understands that English can be useful to him outside the home, because not only mom speaks German You can attend English language schools for the little ones or holidays in English (look for them at).

Learning English from birth to two years

Many parents want their child to start studying before school, but only a few decide to introduce their child to English from the cradle, i.e. a year or two or more. Is it worth teaching a foreign language from the very first months of life? Will there be any problems with 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 in itself the speech of adults addressed to him, especially mothers, is already motivation. In that At the age of the baby will perceive the second language as a native.
The baby absorbs everything. He is silent, but 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 plenty of time to grow linguistically with your baby.
Before a year, a child develops hearing, he learns to distinguish sounds and intonations. According to a famous study Patricia Kuhl which she spoke about TED conferences , after 9 months, children cease to hear sounds that are absent in the languages of those people who communicated with them.

Determine how often and how much you are ready to study or just talk to your baby in English and try to stick to the schedule. At this age, daily classes or immersion through language practice “work” best, although it is not always easy to ensure such regularity.

Before classes, even if they last only 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;
songs with movements (action songs);
traditional English nursery rhymes (nursery rhymes);

In addition to such short lessons, you can try to "live" in English - to voice sensitive moments in English. Translate in advance all the expressions that you use in one of the daily “rituals” (for example, taking a bath, massage, morning exercises, eating, getting outside, going to bed with an English lullaby) and start using them. This will help you special. Once you have started to spend some of the routine moments in English every day and the baby is used to it, you can add the next one and so on!

Try to create an English language environment for your child: read children's books to him (we wrote where to buy them), turn on audio fairy tales, buy toys that speak English. You can also listen to radio programs 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 grown-up heir, and therefore teaching English to a child of two or three years old will be a little different. The kid is already starting to speak his native language in connected sentences. If you start classes during this period, he may experience discomfort and start asking to switch to Russian. You may have to make some effort to interest the child.

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

You know your baby and his interests well - use it! 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 can play only in English, or you can have a corner of your house where English books or toys that speak the language 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 be forced to communicate only in English. The same role will be played by early development courses in the language - for the child it will be a place where they speak only English, and he will begin to switch to it imperceptibly 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 nevertheless arose, 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 at any other age, an English language environment is necessary: do not forget to include age-appropriate videos, songs, cartoons. Do this regularly every day.

You will find even more tips on learning English for children two and three years old.

Methods of learning English 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 working with children from a very early age.

One of the best programs, according to which mothers and fathers can deal with a child on their own from six months old, is Maria Eliseeva. Parents pay for the course and receive a set of materials: videos, texts and audio files with detailed scenarios for independent homework. The advantage of this technique is that it was created with a focus on Russian-speaking users who do not need to know English well.
Skylark English For Babies Designed in Cambridge by Clever for babies from birth. It is based on the work of scientists who have studied the possibilities and interests of children up to three years old. The set includes books, songs and games that are played from all sides in different situations.
If you don’t want to study on your own, take your child to courses, for example, to centers working on. The British linguist and educator has developed an English language training program for children from the age of two. Classes for the little ones are aimed primarily at general development. At the lessons, in which parents are always present with the kids, the children get acquainted with English through music and games, and at home the knowledge gained in the lesson is consolidated by watching a training video with the funny hero Flupe.

Materials for English classes in 0-3 years

Songs, nursery rhymes, poems, texts, outlines of English lessons for children and much more for classes 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 notes for classes and will be able to ask questions that arise in the process, the curator of the online club.

How to get your child interested in English

The rule is simple: all the most interesting for the child should be in English. Don't waste time playing games. We share ideas and materials for games. Let the child be deposited in the 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 and everyone! My dears, I continue to generate useful information and materials on such an important direction for many as English for children. And a lot has already accumulated ... 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 interesting, 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” are brightness, interest and only playful form! So here everything is exactly like this - memorable and exciting 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 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 seek emotional involvement on your part, and then the child's enthusiasm for the subject will not take long.

My advice and recommendations

Once a very serious mother asked me a question: “Tell me how to teach English to my 3-year-old son? How best 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 colorful pictures"!

Books and textbooks

There are parents who believe that in the age of modern technology, a book can be replaced by various convenient devices. And I say no! A book is something that will never go out of fashion and will always remain every child's best friend! 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 a good book that will be for him the best assistant and guide to the world of language . I talk about good options for books and textbooks for kids here:

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

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

Numbers and numbers... What a vast topic! But very young students do not need to know all the numbers - they only need to learn 10 digits! 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, then you can reach 20!

Alphabet

Some people think that teaching a child English should only start 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 in 1-2 years!))

But nevertheless, one day there comes a moment when it is already worth getting acquainted with English letters. For example, before school - to be fully armed, as they say. Or if the baby 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 begins to get acquainted with the English language! 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 picture in the child's head. That's how he starts 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 popular words for children , as well as small thematic collections . Each word is voiced, translated and has a picture. In addition, you can download cards with printable words, cut them out and work. It is very convenient and practical.

Words about family

Words about animals

Words about fruits and vegetables

Words on the theme of the house

Words about food

Words about clothes

Words on the theme of the profession

Colors in English

Pink became an even more favorite color for 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 comes very easily to them. The child is able to memorize even 10 colors within 2-3 days. To do this, you need to present these bright words “on a silver platter”)). And to do that, just go here:

cartoons

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

I think this kind of entertainment for a child should be strictly limited. And of course, if you really watch cartoons, then they are useful and meaningful. Do you agree? And this is especially true when we are talking about cartoons in english . They can become completely unobtrusive but at the same time super effective English lessons that the child will perceive as fun! He may not even realize 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 have to listen to explanations in Russian - just watch English-language videos with vivid pictures - they will be able to understand everything! The main thing is that the video is 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 remembering 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 kids. 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 class and any activity.

I talked about games in English for kids more than once on the pages of my blog. And this topic is far from closed. V a large number of materials are in the process of preparation, which parents and educators will soon be able to use for their very young wards.

Now you can take a look at these.

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

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

The English language that will be discussed, my one-year-old baby and I began to master without exhausting cramming and class schedules, without tutors, sunbathing on the beach or walking on playgrounds.

Why do kids 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 weighing to infinity all the existing pros and cons, I will point out two main reasons that prompted me to resolve this issue positively.

Teaching a child a foreign language up to three years is much easier than an older child (I was convinced of this from personal experience).
Learning a foreign language, and even with a baby, is incredibly interesting! The child is madly in love with it and causes a flurry of positive emotions, of course, under 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 most significant provisions point by point, which help to make “classes” in a foreign language as exciting and productive as possible.

Positive thinking and belief in the limitless creative and mental possibilities of man.
The absence of any violence, including in the form of coercion, rigid programs and class schedules, attempts to obsessively ask questions and “pull out” answers to check what has been learned, and so on. Even artfully veiled pressure or the intention to force one to study can cause a negative reaction that does not go away for a long time and weaken emotional contact. This rule is almost impossible to implement in early development groups, which require at least a schedule of classes. The smaller the child, the more unacceptable pressure on him! Here it is reasonable to assume that if the parents fully comply with this rule, the children will not study at all, so I will dwell on the next point 3 in a little more detail.
Parental sensitivity and pedagogical insight, that is, the ability to notice what the child is currently showing interest in, respond in a timely manner to the needs of the baby / baby, and, using all their intellectual baggage, turn this seemingly fleeting manifestation of simple children's curiosity into an exciting “occupation” .
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 a child to draw - buy a suitable drawing book for the little ones. We decided to study a foreign language with your child - enroll in courses yourself ... Look for and try different options, 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 praise

Many adults are big fans of criticism and teaching. Praise is another important skill to learn. You can express your approval to the child wordlessly, with the help of words and in a complex way.

Wordless praise can include not only a banal pat on the head, but also applause, handshakes, kisses, whirling, hugs and tossing.

You can learn to express your delight with gestures from a boxer who won a duel, a cyclist who won a race, a football player who scored a goal, in general, from athletes, or, for example, from an expert 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 limited 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/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 host of others.

Comprehensive 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

The main principles of training are:

maintaining 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, knowledge of the world around us occurs in the process of real object manipulations), and the leading type of activity (which is an object-manipulative game).
compliance of the educational material with the level of anatomical, physiological, mental and mental development of children;
accessibility and visibility;
communicative orientation;
personal orientation;
interconnected / integrated training in the 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 communication.

The practical goal of training is the formation of elementary English-speaking 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 adequately and appropriately use the language in specific situations. Language competence combines phonetic, lexical and grammatical competences. Sociocultural competence includes country-specific and linguistic-cultural competences.

Thus, the practical goal of teaching English to children from 0 to 3 years old involves mastering children's listening and speaking skills, sufficient to either adequately respond to what they hear, or make verbal contact with the interlocutor, keep up the conversation, receive and transmit elementary information. related to the content of children's communication, end 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;
to acquaint children with the elements of the English-speaking socioculture;
develop a positive attitude towards the environment.

Where to begin?

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

Teaching English to children under three years of age begins with the formation of the ability to perceive English speech by ear. Listening is not only the perception of messages, but also the preparation in inner speech of a response to what is heard. Listening prepares speaking, it contributes to the mastery of 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 buzz of a bee, etc. In the same way, you can try to “present” the sounds of the English language (there are 44 sounds in English, 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 if the child likes it or not. In this way, the phonetic competence of the child will be gradually formed. If you are not sure about pronunciation, or are not at all familiar with the sound composition of the language being studied, take as many lessons from a specialist as you need for this.

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 whose language you are learning, and if they are connected to the world of childhood. These are toy books, fairy tales, alphabet books, music CDs, cartoon or movie CDs, and other video or audio resources from the Internet.

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

Many rhyming rhymes are ready-made finger, gesture or other active educational games. They can be found on English-language sites, or, for example, in youtube. Just type in any search engine the name of the poem / song you are looking for 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);
study of 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 visual-effective support, for example, on a drawing or visual actions;
consolidate understanding of the content;
memorize the rhyme;
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 suitable situations or when the child himself wants to play it; Depending on age, the listed activities can be performed by the parent or by the child himself.
repeat the rhyme in real life situations

Modern collections such as "Songs of Mother Goose" / Mother Goose Books include more than 700 children's poems, songs, 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 the right time.

For example, when you put your baby 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 child jumps in the crib, you can read Three Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed. When you feed ducks in a pond, you might think of the rhyme Bread for the Ducks. While playing ball, repeat Here's a Ball for Baby. And toes can be counted with the rhyme Five Little Pigs / This Little Pig Went to Market, etc.

Here is a small list of resources that may 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 (interactive online learning game, 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 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 become fluent in a foreign language, it is necessary to speak with him in this language.

What should I say?

Say only what you know for sure. The main language functions at the initial stage are greetings (Hello / Hi!), In the morning (Good morning!), Good night wishes (Good night!), Farewell (Bye-bye / Goodbye / See you / See you later), which you you can pronounce, 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 acquaint children with speech patterns, but always in situations suitable for this.

Never learn single words. Learn phrases. For example, instead of teaching your child just the word rattle, 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 a strictly thematic presentation of material when teaching English to children under three years old. “Learn” the names of food products during meals or trips to the food market, the names of animals - where they meet you, that is, at home, on the street, in the zoo, in the village; names of plants - at flower stalls, in the square, park, botanical garden; clothes and shoes - during dressing; bath accessories - in the bathroom or pool; dishes - in the kitchen, etc.

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

Given the visual-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 give him 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 by the burden of past years and thoughts about the past and future. They live in the present moment. Therefore, the Present Continuous is perfect 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 mood: Look out! / Beware!, Wake up! / Wake up!, Don't touch it! / Don't touch it!, Look at me! / Look at me! Let's go for a walk!, Let's read your favorite book!/Let's read your favorite book!, 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 / be able to be able to: You can walk / run / speak / Can you 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!

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, fur and a tail. For this purpose, you can use English children's explanatory dictionaries.

What is important in this case is not the number of foreign words and speech patterns. The child needs to see with his own eyes, feel or even gnaw all the “learned” nouns with adjectives, and the verbs, phrases and clichés used in the 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 interest and motivation in them 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 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 attention of the child, develop his ability to listen, sense of rhythm, 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). In two years of regular listening to different melodies and texts, you will learn how to hum them yourself in suitable situations:

Deedle, Deedle, Dumpling - when your child, without undressing and without 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 contemplating the starry sky;

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

Do you need to translate?

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

All competent foreign language courses are taught from the very beginning in the target language. Attempts to translate everything at once and all slow down the process of assimilation of new words and expressions. Toddlers under three years old do not yet distinguish between languages and certainly do not need translation.

When and how much to "do"?

We started to “learn” English when my little girl understood her native speech well and already knew how to pronounce a few simple words like “mom”, “dad”, “lyalya”, “aunt”, “uncle”.

If we express as a percentage 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 the "foreign" language environment ranged from one minute to 3 hours a day.

The words "study" or "engage" are specially enclosed in quotation marks. In fact, there is no need to arrange "lessons". It is necessary to live with everyday affairs, and the time and topics for playing with a 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 desire 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 often repeated, but, I will not tire of reminding you, only in situations suitable for this.

results

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

After the next visit to the zoo, she, having bent 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. “And this is 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 bathroom: One, two, three, dive! Look, I'm diving. “One, two, three, dive in! Look! I'm diving!
About sour milk: This milk is off! Just smell it! “This milk has gone sour. Just smell it!”
Pushing the rubber mouse under the sofa: Look! The mouse is hiding in the hole. "Look, the little mouse is hiding in a mink."
After watching the movie "Shrek" (we watched this movie only 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 pretend that you are a donkey and I am a fire-breathing Dragon. I'm going to fly! Till!"
I try to get her to have breakfast, she replies very decisively: I’m not hungry. I won't have breakfast. " I am not hungry. I won't have breakfast."
At a 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. Don't be afraid, Elephant, you're in safe hands."

As you can see from these examples, the first results of English classes with children under three years old can appear just 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 from high school and get a job. There was less time for classes with the child, and we assigned her 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 going to bed.

English at school

I felt the real results of our "classes" 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 a straight A student (she is a stable A student), her English grade has always been excellent.

She reads well, memorizes and retells texts and dialogues, perfectly translates from English into Russian and vice versa. She writes her own stories in English very well. At the same time, I never resorted to the help of tutors (on which we saved 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. In school English lessons, she nevertheless studied transcription signs, the rules of 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 the fifth graders (!) passed the Cambridge exam for knowledge of the English language (Movers level) at the local British center. Passed excellent.

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

There are many websites in English for children on the Internet. Among them come across both good and not so good. In this review, I will talk about several interesting resources that will be useful to parents who decide to study English with children, as well as teachers.

Warning: I am neither an English teacher nor a parent. However, I am well acquainted with the sites discussed in the review, I used them myself and recommend them to others, including acquaintances 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 the form of a game. In the Teacher Method, theory is given not only in the form of text, as in Lingvaleo, but also in short videos with teachers.

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

The teacher explains a new topic.
You are doing some exercises.
After completing several lessons, you take 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:

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

Classes are held in the form of interactive tasks, 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 he or not.

Duolingo - English for kids in a playful way

There are such 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. All of them are well designed. For example, if you open a video, it will not just be a page with a video (which everyone watched), but a whole set of tasks: first, an exercise where you need to match words and a picture, then a video, then a test, plus a pdf is attached to the video -files for printing - text from the video, assignments 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, sign a picture).
Speak and Spell– video and text materials, pronunciation exercises (reading rules) and spelling.
Grammar and Vocabulary- video lessons (skits), grammar exercises and games. The rules are explained very simply.
Fun and Games- mini-games for learning English.
Print and Make- printout materials: vocabulary cards, coloring books, mini-worksheets (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.

Also, the British Council has released a number of mobile applications, on this page their list: http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/apps.

InternetUrok.ru - free online school curriculum lessons

Where can I find cartoons in English?

There are many cartoons in English created specifically for educational purposes. There are skits, dialogues, new words are explained, etc. Here's where to 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 kids, 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 simply 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.
On Lingualeo. In the “Materials” section there is a topic “For Children”, which includes such cartoons. The disadvantage is that they are collected randomly, plus - the presence of convenient subtitles with a translation that pops up when pressed.

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