Making your child proficient in English gives them the advantage of communicating efficiently and ensuring your child carries out a conversation smoothly. Besides, Spoken English for kids is necessary for their academic and social development. This creates a huge need for teaching English to your kids.
But we understand that the traditional methods might get a bit uninteresting for kids. So instead, we are here with three engaging ways in which spoken English can be taught to your child!
1. Word Games
If kids could control their schedule, they would probably decide to play games all day long - this is how obsessed kids are with them! Fortunately, word games exist, and they are targeted toward growing your child’s literacy skills.
How do they help?
Your kids can benefit a big-time if you incorporate word games into your family routine. You will be impressed with the number of new words your child will learn by playing word games daily.
As your kids continue to play word games, you will find their vocabulary growing each day as they learn a new word and increase their confidence.
Examples of word games
-Find That Colour
To play this game, start by giving a command to your child: “Go touch something that is blue.” Furthermore, depending on your child’s knowledge of words, you can add more details like: “Go and get me a red pen” or “Find a book that is green in colour.”
This game is great for teaching your child new colours and other everyday vocabulary.
-I Spy
Parents love playing this popular British game with their kids while travelling.
You have to start this game by saying the phrase “I spy” and then adding anything from the alphabet. For example, “I spy something that begins with a t and ends with an n.” then the child has to guess the object by remembering words that start with t and end with an n.
This game improves your child’s vocabulary alongside killing their boredom!
-Scrabble
If you have kids around the age of eight and above with at least two to four players in the house, scrabble is the perfect board game to develop their vocabulary.
A letter tile and a grid board of 15x15 squares are used in this game. Each player has to use the letter tiles to create words.
-Charades
This miming game is excellent to make your child associate words with things.
To play this game, you need to write down some English words on small pieces of paper depending on the theme you chose - for example, simple action words (swimming, running, walking) or any cartoon character. Take turns to pick a piece of paper and act it out to the person. Remember, the person acting out the action is not allowed to speak or prompt the word.
2. Rhymes
Who does not love a good rhyme? Rhymes have been around for decades and are fun to listen to and memorise! But did you know that these repetitive words are not only meant to entertain your child but also enhance their spoken English skills?
How do they help?
Repetition of words is an excellent way to help your child understand and memorise vocabulary. It might seem boring to you, but by repeating words, your child develops an awareness of sounds and phonology and gives them speech clarity.
Not only their literacy skills, but even their emotional skills develop with rhymes. Because of the repetitive nature of rhymes, the child learns how and what emotion is conveyed.
Examples of rhymes
- Old MacDonald Had a Farm
- Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
- I’m a Little Tea Pot
- Mary Had a Little Lamb
- Humpty Dumpty
- Baa Baa Black Sheep
- Hickory Dickory Dock
- Jack and Jill
3. Cartoons
We get it! Learning English can be stressful at times. With different rules to understand and memorise, kids are bound to get overwhelmed. But - it isn’t always the case when cartoon shows exist! They might seem meaningless to you, but a few cartoons do contain some value that can help your child develop their literacy skills.
How do they help?
Cartoons are created with the aim of teaching children communication, words, ethics and morals in a fun manner. Since they are made for kids, they are easy to grasp, and there is a lot of repetition of words to help them fix their vocabulary.
Cartoons show actions that the character is talking about in abundance. For example, the character will talk about waking up while performing the act of waking and getting up from bed. This action-to-word connection makes the child absorb content faster and learn words by visualising them.
Many cartoon characters are shown interacting with the viewers, forcing them to practise their pronunciation by answering the questions loudly. Your child can even hone their speaking skills by watching cartoons.
Generally, the voice actors have to show how the character is feeling by using their voice, so the characters have a lot of tone variations in their speech when trying to convey a feeling. If your child pays attention to this detail, they will see a difference in their speech.
Examples of cartoons
Peppa Pig
Peppa and her family communicate in British English, which is a great way to teach and get your kids used to different pronunciations and spellings
You can make your child utilise this cartoon series to their advantage by telling them to pay attention to what the characters do in their daily activities. Let them focus on the way characters frame their sentences.
Dora the Explorer
Dora is an excellent cartoon for your child to develop their spoken English by practising their pronunciation, because not only does she asks questions but also waits for your feedback! Another good point to focus on is that nothing seems rushed and confusing for your child to grasp.
There are enough pauses in between her questions, and even the story unfolds slowly, so there is no chance of misunderstanding anything in this cartoon series.
Final Thoughts
As a parent, you should always encourage your child to develop language skills. There are so many other ways to develop your child’s English speaking skills. We hope this study tips will help your child develop a good understanding and command over the language!
