Today it is customary to introduce children to the study of foreign languages, and especially English, as early as possible. But at what age is it better to start? What are the benefits of classes for English kids? Why in many schools a foreign language is taught not from the first, but from the second grade? And if a beginner is 10-11 years old, is that bad? By Julia Boyun, specialist at Preply.com, an international marketplace for finding tutors.

Once the philosopher and teacher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in the pages of the novel "Emile, or On Education", ranked a foreign language in preschool age as useless. He explained this point of view by the fact that an immature child's mind cannot master the second system of thinking, since the first has not yet been formed.

The Swiss educator Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi also spoke about the possible harm of early education, believing that proper upbringing requires maturation, and many requirements for children are of dubious value. The master of Russian pedagogy, Konstantin Ushinsky, did not even consider the option of teaching a foreign language until the age of 7. Nevertheless, modern experience shows that such lessons are not always useless or harmful.

Children growing up in a bilingual family are lucky: they learn the language through regular live interaction: communication, reading, commenting on pictures. But is it worth taking a preschooler from 3-4 years old to English classes, where kids learn the language through games? If the child does not experience negative emotions, it is not worth giving up such lessons. But we must be aware that this is not yet teaching English, but only familiarity with the language and general.

In addition, it is important to take into account the individual characteristics of the child - especially if the child has speech defects. If a speech therapist believes that a child's speech development deviates from generally accepted norms, then the additional load in the form of a foreign language may interfere with the speech correction process. Violation of sound pronunciation in the native speech ("yba" or "lyba" instead of "fish") should not be aggravated by a foreign language. Experts recommend postponing English classes while the child is attending a speech therapist, because while the speech therapist puts the sound in his native speech, the English teacher can fix another sound that is defective for the native language.

English at school: from first grade or later?

For many children, starting school turns into stress: the child is faced with a number of requirements that seem impossible. The stressful state of a first grader can develop into emotional tension, anxiety and fear. This makes you wonder: is it advisable to start learning a foreign language from the first days at school?

It will not be superfluous to remember yourself in first grade. The new role is a student, the teacher requires you to understand and remember, in the classroom and during the break you need to behave in a certain way. To the growing flow of material there is added difficulty in dealing with classmates or teachers. Learning English or another foreign language in such a situation leads to an increase in the workload of both schoolchildren and their parents. There is no talk of creating positive motivation or at least interest.

That is why many Russian schools introduce a foreign language from the second grade, when the student has managed to adapt to the educational process. But this does not mean at all that the second language from the first grade is taboo. The secret is in the high quality of teaching - accessible, interesting and without pressure.

Foreign language from 10-11 years old

People often feel nostalgic for the Soviet education system. But a skeptic's eye can find many flaws in it. For example, it would seem that everyone learned the language, but only a few speak today. Why is that? Because the study of a foreign language began in the 4th grade? Rather, because the goal was not too impressive: reading special literature with a margin of a thousand words. In the USSR, they believed that a foreign language would not be useful anyway.

In reality, the age of 10-11 is ideal for learning a new language, since the relationship with the native language is already established. It is easier for the parents of a 10-year-old child to understand whether the child has a penchant for learning languages, or if they have an obvious "techie" in front of them. That is, it is useful to start at this time, you just need to choose a more modern approach and program. A good result will be achieved with an intensive and serious course. This age allows the use of adult manuals, as well as translating and memorizing favorite songs, thereby encouraging interest in music.

Sometimes the need to start learning a second foreign language at the age of 11 arises when changing schools. For example, a child studied French up to the fifth grade, but in a new school English is needed. How to be? Refuse to transfer to a good school or catch up? More than one discussion on forums and in publics on social networks has been devoted to this issue, since this is stress not only for children, but also for parents.

There are special intensive courses, many English tutors are ready to develop a strong individual program for the student. Parents, in turn, can write a statement asking them to postpone the certification in a new language for six months. It's also important to maintain your first foreign language so that your first four years of learning don't go to waste.

Discussion

The eldest has been learning English since she was 5, she really likes

interestingly, and all this only applies to English?
children in noble families were taught French from early childhood, there was no research then :))

Something from the age of five is already possible.

We teach from the age of 6.

On the grounds of the harm of early learning English for speech therapy problems, this is a big myth. There is not a single scientific study that has been conducted on this topic.

In general, some kind of empty article. About nothing. If anyone is interested in this topic, follow the link to my ancient article on this topic.

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? - this question is asked by most advanced parents. In fact, we are talking not only about English, but also other variants (German, French, etc.). The earliest possible study of a foreign language is promoted in specialized schools, lyceums, gymnasiums. Even in kindergarten, children are already offered basic knowledge of the English language.

Indeed, today's life sets quite stringent requirements for a successful person. One of the mandatory is knowledge of a foreign language, or even two. Since English is by far the most popular and demanded language, most parents give their children to English lessons. The only question that remains is, at what age can a child be taught English?

There are several common opinions on this score:

1. The child must begin to teach everything from early childhood, while his head is free.

2. The child himself must decide which language he has a craving for. Only after that is it worth starting learning the chosen language.

3. The time of the beginning of classes is not particularly important, the main thing is that then the child has the desire and the opportunity to apply it in practice.

Let's discuss each thesis separately.

Teaching a child a language very early gives the first amazing results. The kid, as a rule, learns the lessons quickly, easily memorizes individual words and whole phrases. In the early period, the child's memory is minimally loaded, so she easily perceives and processes the material. This is what concerns the "pluses" of this method. Now let's talk about the "cons". The disadvantages include the fact that the child perceives the material almost unconsciously. He memorizes words automatically, without thinking about their further use. Moreover, at this stage, teaching methods are completely built on the oral transmission of information; children are allowed to access the English alphabet much later.

Then there is the problem of applying the knowledge gained. Each of us knows that in any area of \u200b\u200bknowledge and skills, skills are lost if they are not put into practice for a long time. The situation is the same with English. Sense that your son in the kindergarten started learning the language, and in primary school will he have a big pause? There is only one way out in this situation: either do not torture the child from childhood, or already deal with him constantly.

If we want to talk about choosing a child, then everything seems to be correct here. A person with more dedication does what he likes. If your child likes English more than German, then go! The problem is that at a fairly early age, the vast majority of babies are not able to determine their priorities. Firstly, they still do not understand the importance of knowing a foreign language, and secondly, most children have a natural tendency to quickly get carried away by something and the same property to quickly lose interest in this hobby. With such an attitude, it is difficult to hope for the seriousness of an independent choice. Therefore, some parents are forced to exert a certain psychological pressure on the child for his own good in the future.

And the third option. Perhaps, at what age you can teach a child English really does not matter. The main thing is that the child himself matured to the point that he needs it. Parents of the old school will begin to argue that as a result of such an attitude, the baby will lose several precious years, that English can be learned only in 8-10 years, etc. In fact, this is far from the case. We will give below a few arguments that completely destroy possible negative statements:

1. When a child himself has reached the point that he needs a foreign language, then he has a desire and diligence in learning. These are two most important factors that significantly speed up any cognitive process.

2. The school, of course, does not require us to financially spend on learning English, but the question becomes the quality of the result. Leaving aside specialized schools and classes, it can be said that most modern school language teaching methods are outdated. In any case, this level of knowledge will not be enough for you to achieve high life goals. You still need to hire a tutor or take courses. Here then different techniques may collide with their heads, contradicting each other.

3. The most modern methods of language acquisition imply achievement of the result, if desired, within 1-2 years. Individual lessons, audio and video materials, and other methods of modern information delivery make it possible to achieve great success in a short time. In this case, the speed of achieving the first tangible results further encourages the desire to continue the work begun.

4. The older a person is, the better he imagines his future. In early childhood, parents teach children languages \u200b\u200bwithout a specific purpose - maybe it will come in handy. With a conscious choice, young men and women are already beginning to plan their lives more carefully, which allows them to accurately determine the meaning of English (or another foreign language) in their lives. This certainty makes it possible to focus on a specific area of \u200b\u200blanguage learning (technical part, spoken language, literature, American version, etc.). This, in turn, increases the efficiency of the end result.

Regardless of the age at which you decide to teach your child English, we wish you and your child good luck in the linguistic field.

Daria Popova

Everyone who wondered when to start was sure to meet the answer of experts - the sooner the better. However, many parents still doubt whether English is needed before school? Common myths and confusion of facts are used. Today we will take a closer look at why it is more correct to start English classes at an early age.

What are the pros and cons early learning of a foreign language?

Arguments "FOR" early teaching of English to children

1. The hemispheric trap

The child's brain is constantly growing and changing intensively. At the beginning of a child's life, there is no significant difference in the activity of the right and left hemispheres. But the child begins to grow up, and the two halves begin to strictly distribute responsibilities, including those related to speech.

The left hemisphere is conscious and speech. It is "the main thing" in speech. His responsibilities include:

• storing the meaning of a word
• logics
• grammar
• reading
• letter

The right hemisphere is unconscious and creative. In speech, it is responsible for:

• pronunciation
• intonation
• facial expressions
• gestures
• and most importantly - a language guess

Thus, the right hemisphere is responsible for the unconscious understanding of the meaning of the unknown phrase from the context, "judging by what is happening."

Up to 7 years old, the perception of speech by a child, including foreign speech, causes activity in both hemispheres of the brain, from 7 to 9 years old there is a fading of excitation in the right hemisphere, and from 10 years old foreign speech is recorded only with the left.

Thus, for a child who began to learn a foreign language at the age of 8, as our school suggests, it is not just difficult, but unnatural to the nature of the brain, the ability to easily distinguish foreign words, overseas intonations and linguistic guess, that is, understanding the main essence of what was said, even if you and don't know the meaning of some words.

2. The opinion of the English coach

For me, the question is "When to start learning English?" sounds exactly the same as "When should the child start exercising?" The thing is that most parents perceive English as physics or chemistry, that is, a set of knowledge that needs to be understood and applied where necessary. In fact, English is not mathematics, it is physical education.

You can know a lot about the technique and strategy of playing basketball, but you never learn how to play it. Teaching English in a Russian school, as a rule, boils down precisely to gaining knowledge of how to jump and run, but not jumping and running. Now think - how successfully will your child be able to master the ball game if you give him this sports object only at the age of 8?

Remember english is not taught. They train him. And the earlier training starts, the more perfect the skill.

3. Smart barrier does not jump. He does not create it

The best way to overcome a language barrier is not to shape it. Children who started learning English at least at the age of 5, or even earlier, rarely develop a language barrier. First of all, this is due to the fact that they have experience of success in English from the very beginning. Language tasks are so simple that children can cope with them with ease. Moreover, the younger the child, the less he feels the difference in success between native and foreign speech.

Kids do not understand all words in Russian either, so the situation when they do not know the meaning of what has been said, but guess, is natural, daily and does not pose much stress.

The very same native speech of children is not yet replete with sophistication and complexity. And the first dialogues that children learn to build in English are inherently a foreign copy of their usual daily role-playing games of mothers and daughters, doctors or the store.

5. Transfusion from dictionary to dictionary

Usually for parents, the main result is teaching English to children is how many words the child knows on it. In fact, it is much more important not how many words the child speaks (active vocabulary), but how much he understands in the interlocutor's speech (passive vocabulary).

In an adult, as a rule, these dictionaries hardly differ. But in babies, at first, a passive one is formed (remember how long the child pronounces only a few words, but already understands almost everything that you say to him), and then the words from it pass into the active dictionary, that is, into speech. It's the same with English - preschoolers, with competent teaching, form into a huge passive vocabulary, which then tremendously saves time on learning new words (they just over time spill over into active speech)

6. Spongy memory

Children are known to absorb everything like sponges. But few people think that the sponge dries easily if you do not keep it constantly in water.

The child's memory is indeed capable of assimilating a huge layer of foreign language material, but only on condition that the child regularly immerses himself in the language environment (hears a foreign speech, tries to speak it, understand what they are talking about).

Have you already guessed that with age, memory loses its spongy appearance?

7. Translation difficulties in teaching English to children

An adult thinks in words. Children from 7 to 12 years old - mostly in pictures or images, but verbal thinking is already gaining momentum. From 3 to 7 years old - children think in pictures, images.

When a preschooler encounters a foreign word, he first of all associates it not with a translation, as an adult does, but with a picture, a toy, an action, a property of an object, that is, with something real. Thus, preschoolers do not have intermediary translators in the form of Russian words between English and reality (with the correct organization of classes, of course).

To be successful in English, you need to learn to think in it, and not think in Russian, and then, what happened to translate into a foreign speech.

It is much easier for a child to learn to think in English than for an adult, because the child thinks like this:

Before school:

• The child thinks "cat" \u003d the child imagines a cat.
• The child thinks "a cat" \u003d the child imagines a cat.

From 7 years onwards:

• The child thinks "cat" \u003d the child imagines a cat and remembers its properties (animal, 4 paws, loves mice, etc.)
• The child thinks "a cat" \u003d the child remembers that this translates to "cat" \u003d maybe, then he will imagine a cat.

But teaching preschoolers to translate is a difficult task. For them, this is a double job: to remember what the word means, and then also to remember what it is called in Russian.

Arguments "AGAINST" early English teaching of children

However, despite the compelling arguments in favor of early learning a foreign language, no less convincing are the CONS:

1. Children confuse languages. English interferes with the development of native speech.
2. Bilingualism creates such confusion in a child's head that it interferes with the development of his intellect.
3. Children confuse the letters of Russian and English. English gets in the way of learning to read Russian.
4. English is difficult. The kids won't understand the grammar rules anyway. Do not deprive the child of his childhood.
5. For a speech therapist child (and there are many of them nowadays, unfortunately), English interferes with the correct pronunciation.
6. There is little sense from English to school. Then, at school, everyone is aligned anyway.
7. English must be taught "correctly": from the cradle or with a native speaker (a person who was born and raised in an English-speaking country), and immerse yourself in English for several hours a day, then the child will master English as a native. And everything else is just "toys" before school.

Do you recognize your point of view at some point? Congratulations on debunking another delusion! All these arguments are based only on myths and "confusion" of facts. But about this -

Anna Pochepaeva, head of the English language department of the largest private school, shares her advice on when to start teaching a child English.

Everybody needs English for modern life. Does it mean that teaching the child English is necessary in advance? From the cradle? Or is there a special age to start learning foreign languages? Let's try to figure it out.

A child is often compared to a sponge that absorbs everything new. Of course, children are more susceptible to any new information, and therefore there is an opinion that learning a foreign language should start from a young age. On the other hand, a number of experts believe that it is necessary to start when a person understands and consciously makes a choice of language. In addition, there is a theory that you can start learning a foreign language whenever you want, there would be a scope and serious motivation. Who is right?

Early education of the child in English. Pros and cons.

To begin with, I would like to emphasize that problems with native speech can be called an absolute contraindication to teaching a child English. If a child has a poor vocabulary in his native language, he confuses the meanings of words, there are gross violations of sound pronunciation, there is a sinking of certain sounds or there are other speech therapy problems, then learning a foreign language will only interfere with speech development in his native language. We need to solve the problems with the native language!

In other cases, there are no contraindications to teaching a child English from an early age and it is better to start, no matter how trite it may sound, from the age when the child is ready. And he is ready when he speaks well in his native language, mostly this happens by 5 years.

There is a scientific explanation for this. Physiologists have proved that a child under nine years old is a specialist in mastering speech, this is how our brain works. Later, the brain's speech mechanisms become less flexible and from about 10 years of age the student has to overcome many obstacles. Experts know that it is easier for young children to learn to pronounce sounds that are different from their native speech. Moreover, they often demonstrate such a phenomenal ability to memorize words or expressions, which adults have never dreamed of.

However, teaching three or four-year-old children a foreign language is not an easy task. Excessive activities that courses are stuffed with children early development (who try to live up to the parents' dream of being child prodigies) are fraught with serious consequences for the child's psyche.

At best, he will simply stop enjoying learning the language. At worst, failing to satisfy the parents' "request", the baby will withdraw into himself. The unsuccessful child is unhappy, and this self-esteem slows down the child's emotional and social development. Therefore, special attention should be paid to the teacher who will begin teaching the child the English language.

Teachers teaching preschool children must be specially trained, have experience working with a child's audience. In addition, training can take place only in a playful, interactive form, in constant dynamics, with variation different types activities throughout the lesson.

So why are most parents, nevertheless, so eager to start teaching their child English practically from the cradle? In my opinion, the early introduction of children to foreign languages, which is so fashionable today, can be justified only in those cases when parents are able to create an appropriate language environment around the child: by inviting a foreign tutor to the house or constantly communicating with him in a foreign language, as it happens in bilingual families.

Historical example

Native language of Vladimir Nabokov

In the aristocratic Nabokov family, English culture, traditions, and language were organically woven into the life of the Nabokovs. In addition to the governesses and the English Bonn, the entire family structure was English. The writer's mother, Elena Ivanovna, was fluent in five foreign languages \u200b\u200band, while studying with children, often switched to English, my uncle spoke in a bizarre mixture of French, English and Italian, fundamentally ignoring Russian. Six-year-old Vladimir and his younger brother Sergei wrote and read perfectly in English, but they did not know the Russian alphabet at all. Before school, the parents noticed and began to correct their pedagogical mistake. But literary historians know that Vladimir Nabokov, living in exile, wrote books in English, and then translated them into Russian himself.

Language environment

An unconditional advantage in creating a fruitful atmosphere for a child to learn English or another foreign language is teaching children of different nationalities at the same time. For them, teaching a child the English language becomes not a boring discipline, but a means of communication.

Playing together, children in three to four months begin to understand what they are being told, in six - to answer, in a year - to speak. The emphasis in this form of education is not on the study of foreign languages, but rather on the general developmental effect that such classes give. The speech environment in which children are immersed is a decisive factor especially in teaching a child to speak English. With her four-year-old son, my friend (a linguist-teacher by education) studies English unobtrusively, just from time to time weaving English phrases into her speech. He can already distinguish familiar English words by ear in songs, he can read them in magazines or on a computer screen.

A friend of mine, a teacher, began teaching a child English from childhood, from about one and a half years. Now he is about 20 and understands native speakers, films in English are better than him! Of course, he has more knowledge, but children have a big advantage - a sense of language, instilled in childhood. If you want to practice from an early age, you need to pay special attention to the development of perception, listen to cassettes in English, watch fairy tales and cartoons. By the way, later children begin to love the second foreign language and readily study it. They do not have the problem that most people suffer - “learning a language is difficult and boring”.

How to teach English / foreign language to a child

As a practicing teacher, I will add that intelligently teaching a child English in early childhood facilitates the perception of foreign languages \u200b\u200bin the future, enhances children's self-esteem and colors the child's life with additional colors. Just let's clarify what is necessary at an early age acquaintance with language, not learning. Before school, language is needed in order to develop children, so that they understand that there are different languages \u200b\u200bin the world, and each of them is somehow different from the other. To instill a sense of language, to prepare the brain for future learning. This is exactly what the competent methods of teaching a foreign language are aimed at. All activities should be playful - this is due to the peculiarities of the child's psyche. Therefore, I advise parents, when choosing a course, kindergarten or school, to ask the teacher what methodology will be used to teach.

Very popular now playing technique Meshcheryakova. Everything is told on toys. The teacher does not tell the children that a bear is a "bear", but shows the bear and names the English word. In the classroom, children sing songs, play different games, for example, in the "store". Children memorize phrases such as “How much does it cost?” Because they understand the meaning of what they are asked about. For children, this is a kind of immersion method. Two months later, classes are held without Russian at all, five-year-olds begin to talk. They make up, albeit incorrectly, phrases that they did not know before. If a child says a phrase incorrectly, he is not scolded or corrected. The teacher says: "Yes, you are right", and pronounces the correct version. And this is constant encouragement: you say everything correctly, well done, and then the teacher's pronouncing the correct option gives a much greater effect than criticizing the child. If you force children to cram, the result will be negative.

And one more important point. Regardless of which path parents choose, it is worth remembering that any knowledge lingers in the head only as long as it is needed, as long as the memory addresses them. So it's useless to start early if you don't use them later. Otherwise, by the time of entering the university, only the most trivial phrases may remain from the vocabulary.

Intensive

In the Soviet past, there was a popular myth that a foreign language cannot be learned quickly. Parents do not know that there are modern, more intensive teaching methods that allow you to master a foreign language in just 10-11 months. If you stop believing that “you cannot learn a foreign language in less than 6 years”, “but it is better to learn all ten”, then the conclusion suggests itself that, in principle, it is unimportant when exactly to start learning the language. After all, having come to the courses, you can always learn to speak and understand speech in English in a year. We often see people who started teaching a child English at school, however, having come to the courses, they learn more new things than in all ten years at school. But most importantly, if at school it seemed to them that teaching a child English was impossible, then after the first lesson it becomes clear that there is nothing complicated, you just need to attend classes and do homework. And if the ability to communicate in a foreign language is considered as the ultimate goal, then a clear idea of \u200b\u200bthe result and the desire to achieve it can make learning more effective.

Asking the question about when is it better for a child to start learning a foreign language, think, why would he need English? And at what age will he feel the need to speak English?

If this age turns out to be not 6 or 10 years old, maybe it would be better for him to decide when to start learning a language? For adults, of course, learning a foreign language is not so easy and spontaneous, but adults are motivated and can achieve success, even if they don't really have communication practice. Today, English can be learned in a year and not "out of hand", but with pleasure, and can significantly change the idea of \u200b\u200ba future profession.

Opinions of members of the forum on the topic "How many years to learn English with a child"

lvovaNV
I want my daughter to know English well. From what age is it better to start training and how? That is, send to a specialized kindergarten or hire a teacher?

Miroslava
For a child to know English better, it is not necessary to hire a teacher. It is enough that you will study with him for twenty minutes a day, starting at two years old, if possible, you can do it earlier, buy a book for kids, where each word is indicated by a picture. It is very good if the child, on an equal basis with his native, will learn a foreign language, so he will quickly master both.

LenaMas
I think it's better to start learning the language before school. But you cannot overload the child with activities. You can send your baby to an English circle for preschoolers. But if you don't want to, then start learning the language with your child in a playful way. In order for a child to master the language, it is necessary to immerse him in the language environment. And preferably from the age of 2-3 years, that is, from the kindergarten. And of course a tutor won't help here, you need a team.

Diana
There is no exact answer to your question, lvovaNV. Firstly, it all depends on how much you yourself speak a foreign language. Secondly, why do you want to teach your child to speak a foreign language. If, for example, you are planning to travel abroad with your child and are fluent in a foreign language, then you can start teaching your child from infancy by constantly talking to him in a foreign language.

yra0203
In my opinion, it is not necessary to immerse a child in learning another language from early childhood, this should be done from about 5 years old.

Melena
If we take it seriously, then from early childhood. But you have to talk constantly, you or the governess. If it's never too late for show-off.

Ruslan
How you can start teaching a child English at two years old is difficult for me to understand - the child even does not really speak his native language. But somewhere with four or five, you can start and, moreover, in a playful way, it is desirable.

Belladonna
I once studied German at school, so when the child turned two years old, I began to think about how I could help him in mastering English. At the age of three, we went to an early development school, where one of the subjects was English. The group consisted of 10 to 12 people. We practiced there in a playful way. The first three years, in general, only learned words by ear. Now my child is 8 years old, we are writing auditory dictations. For myself, I concluded that teaching a child English with a tutor is not enough, because the child in this case hears only the teacher's speech and his own. It is very important to study in a group with children in order to hear not only the correct speech of the teacher, but also the erroneous speech of their peers, in order to learn to find and mentally try to correct their mistakes. All this helps to quickly learn English, which is now used almost everywhere.

aleex72
From what age to learn English with a child - It seems to me that you should not start learning English at a too early age either. I think seven is the most suitable age! Although this is my personal opinion!

fenist
Speaking English is the dream of many of us! But learning a language for years? We don't have time. If only I could learn this faster! .. There is a solution! You have the opportunity to make a real breakthrough in learning English, namely to speak English!

YUliya_1989
I agree that you need to start as early as possible. Because they remember this way better. When I went to school, I knew the basic phrases, knew how to count and knew the alphabet. And already at school it was hard to understand something. And with my baby I I started studying when I was a year old. I bought a book with pictures, and he is interested, and I remember myself. Sometimes it even seems that for him words in English are easier to remember.

ursiks
How old are you to learn English with your child? It seems to me that this is individual. When deciding when to start learning languages, you need to look at your child's development and abilities. The fact is that we are all different guys.

Otiniya
Agree with ursiks... Everything is individual, one child at 3 years old knows the names of all animals in English and everything is fine with speech. And another child at the age of 6, is engaged with a speech therapist - struggling with acquired speech defects (thanks to learning English at the age of 5).

Hello.
For a year now I have been dealing with the question of how to teach kids the English language. I even wrote a book on this topic. If interested, write me a private message, I will share a book.

Greetings to all parents who are concerned about the upbringing and education of their children!

So, we, adults, could not tear our children away from the game ... They were so carried away by these truly educational toys that I had the idea to find the same ones, so that my daughter would enjoy them, and I had free time.

By the way, these toys can be safely used at the initial stage of your kid's acquaintance with English. How? Read my article and find out!

Today more and more parents want their children to know a foreign language. Better yet, they learn it as early as possible. As a mother, I perfectly understand this desire and support it with my hands and feet! And as a teacher, more and more often I hear doubts, worries and hundreds of questions from familiar mothers, about what to do, how to do, when to start, how to interest and many, many others.

Therefore, today I decided to do absolutely practical lesson... I want to answer all the questions that I have ever been asked in the simplest way and give you a dozen sensible tips so that you and your baby choose your own path of learning.

Everything is clear, understandable and on the shelves!

Let's start?

• The earlier the better! Scientists say that children remember information much faster than adults aged 2 to 9 years. From here, you can easily answer the question of when to start teaching English to your child! The answer is simple - as early as possible! Teach your child to speak English from the earliest possible age (). There are hundreds of ways to do this. Look for those that will work with your baby and the result will not keep you waiting! And how to teach children English - read on!
• Divide the roles! Do you know how bilinguals are made of children in Western countries (that is, those who speak 2 languages \u200b\u200bat once)? Parents share roles. If someone in the family can speak a foreign language, great, do so. Let the child get used to 2 languages \u200b\u200bat once from childhood (). If nobody in your family knows a foreign language, then this is another question. Well, then we will use other methods.
• Incorporate English into your daily life! In the event that you yourself do not speak English fluently, you can still learn a few phrases to help your baby at the initial stage. For example, you might start saying “ Good morning"Instead of" Good morning "," Good night"Instead of" Good night ", give him a toy and call it in English. Try to do this as often as possible. Before you have time to look back, your child begins to say at a passing car “ a car».
• Play with them. The girls' favorite game is “mothers and daughters”, so imagine that the dolls come from another country and speak only English. Or a bunny dropped by to visit you (a helicopter flew in, a car from cartoons like "Robocar" arrived), who needs to be told what toys you have.

• Get interested! What I repeat from time to time: children should be interested! Get them interested in interesting stories. Your baby probably does not even understand why he needs it at all, why someone can speak another language, why he needs to do it. Explain this in an interesting way. Come up with a fairy tale about how countries and languages \u200b\u200bwere created. For example:

There were several brothers of wizards. The brothers went in different directions, found land for themselves and began to settle there. They built houses for children, created various parks for children, came up with new games that others did not have. Yes, they worked so hard that they forgot that they spoke the same language. And every brother has his own language in the country. But millions of children from different countries wanted to come to the country of their uncles. And therefore, to make it easier for them there, they learned the language of this country ...

Come up with similar different fairy tales that will explain the kid why he needs to learn something. Make it interesting to him and then you will not have to torment him and pressure him with studying.

If you are a caring parent and are interested in the development of your child, then you may like one of my discoveries, which is not related to English, but can be a great tool in class with your fidgets. it name book ! It is printed individually for your child, and the idea in it is simply amazing, in my opinion! And what do you think?

The most common mistakes!

We all make mistakes. And in teaching our children too. Try to eliminate the possibility of these errors.

1. Unwillingness to understand your baby.
   If you see that your child does not really want to do something, does it through whims and tears, change your tactics. Listen to your kids. Let me remind you that the most important thing is to generate interest! If learning for him is tears and screams - you are unlikely to be on the right track!
2. Classes "from time to time".
   Consistency is needed here. You cannot work out 1 time a week for 10 minutes and postpone everything "later." It won't work that way. But here's my advice: set aside 40 minutes 2 times a week, but still somehow associate the rest of the time with English. The main thing is not to be lazy and take small steps every day!
3. You crush!
   Children are very susceptible at any age, so don't push them. Don't expect them to abruptly repeat everything after you. Don't expect instant results. Learning is a long and difficult process. But it is in our power to make this process enjoyable for our beloved children.
4. Don't criticize!
   It's okay to correct mistakes. But you need to do this in such a way as not to kill the child's desire to learn. Point out mistakes, but don't emphasize them. Praise your children. Rejoice in their accomplishments with them. Be their friend who helps them, not a strict teacher with a pointer at the ready!

Dear ones, I tried to close as many questions as possible today, but I am sure that you still have (or will appear) more! So don't wait for the answer to come by itself. I will be happy to help you. Leave your questions in the comments, share your experience as you teach your children! And I, in turn, will be very happy to help you if you get lost along the way.

I have recently created a special section "". There I tried to collect all the materials necessary to start your journey to the country of the English language. Use them for health. Write your wishes or questions in the comments!

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Good luck on your way to learning the language with your little ones.
Until next time!