English

How to Help Your Child Learn English

1. Continue to speak in your native language at home, even if you are strongly committed to learning English. Children will learn a second language more easily if they are strong in their first language.

2. Read to your child in your home language, and/or have your child read in his/her home language. You will be helping your child become a strong language learner, and you will also be sharing your home culture.

3. Be a role model for learning English. By speaking English some of the time, you will be showing your children that you think learning English is a good thing to do, and that making mistakes is O.K.

4. Look for ways your child can practice English with one or two other people. It is less scary to speak English to one person than to a group. Try to make a play-date with an English-speaking child.

5. Understand that children often have a “silent period” when they first learn English. This is a time when they may not speak in English. Be patient. Your children are learning to understand English, even if they are not speaking it. Forcing a child to speak can have negative effects on how fast they learn English.

6. Remember that it can take up to seven years to learn a language well. Your child may be speaking English well in 6 months to a year, but academic skills can take much longer to achieve.

7. Understand that there is an emotional aspect to learning a second language. If learning English is a positive experience (if your children want to learn, if they think their parents are happy about learning English), learning will be faster. Do not pressure your children or be critical of how quickly they are learning English.

(Adapted from the Newcomer’s Almanac, Anne P. Copeland, 2001)