Children learn languages best when they're interested, engaged and having fun. The good news is that helping your child practise English doesn't need to feel like schoolwork. Everyday activities such as reading stories, singing songs, watching videos and playing games can help your child build confidence and practise English naturally at home.
The most important thing is to choose activities your child enjoys. When children are motivated and interested, they're more likely to keep practising and using their English.
Learn English through stories
Stories help children learn new vocabulary and language patterns in context. They can also spark imagination, creativity and conversation.
But, of course, stories don't only offer the young reader a chance to read. The experience also creates an opportunity to talk about the story. As a parent, you can encourage your child to describe their favourite person, part of the story or picture.
Try this at home
- Choose books with characters and topics your child will enjoy
- Look for books with pictures to support understanding
- As you read together, ask questions such as:
- What do you think will happen next?
- Who is your favourite character?
- What was your favourite part of the story?
Learn English through songs
Songs are a fun way to hear and repeat English. They help children learn new words, practise pronunciation and become familiar with the rhythm of spoken English.
For younger learners, choose songs with lots of rhyming words and rhythms that repeat. Our Sing and Learn videos are a good starting point:
Try this at home
Ask your child to listen to a song and invent an action for each line or verse. Then ask them to teach the dance to you. Did you know that actions can help children to understand and remember new words? Research shows that dancing increases memory, concentration and understanding at all ages – so get the whole family to join in!
Learn English through videos and TV
Children experience real-life English in videos and TV programmes. They can support listening skills through visual clues, facial expressions and context.
Try watching a video or TV series – the episodes are usually much shorter than films. Your child will get to know the characters and how they talk. This repetition is really useful for learning.
The best videos and TV shows for learning English will have:
- Lots of visuals that illustrate what is being said
- Clear pronunciation, spoken not too fast
- Lots of language repetition
- Good picture and sound quality
If you need some ideas, here are some of the top-rated children's TV shows. For example, check out these TV shows that promote literacy and TV shows that promote communication.
Learn English through games
Games create opportunities for children to use English in a fun, low-pressure environment. They can help develop speaking, listening, reading, writing and vocabulary skills.
Try these simple games at home
- Scavenger hunt – Create a list of things your child needs to find around the house or outdoors and ask them to take photos as they find them.
- Memory challenge – Place several familiar objects on a tray and let your child study them. Remove the tray and ask them to write down or say the names of the objects they remember.
- Funny sentences – Write nouns, verbs and adjectives on separate cards and combine them to create amusing sentences together.
- Play our award-winning Minecraft game – Complete puzzles, solve mysteries and learn to use new words. Adventures with English is our world built in Minecraft to inspire children to learn English and have fun.
Learn English through everyday moments
Everyday activities can provide valuable opportunities to build English skills and confidence.
Try this at home
- Ask your child to name things they can see when you're shopping, travelling or out for a walk
- Look at pictures together and ask your child to describe what they can see
- Create a 'magic word box' and add new English words throughout the week. Pick a few words each day to review together.
What to do next
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