Thursday 27 February 2014
Saturday 15 February 2014
HOW TO TEACH YOUR CHILD THE ALPHABET
HOW TO TEACH YOUR CHILD THE ALPHABET
1. Make an Alphabet Book
Make your own alphabet book with your kids. You can purchase a blank paper book at an
.jpg)
educational supply store or you can make one with construction paper and a three-hole punch. Help your child make a page with each letter. You can have him write the letter or find the letter in an old magazine and cut it out. Cut out pictures from an old coloring book or magazine that has words that start with the letter on the page.
2. Play the ABC game whenever you drive somewhere
This is an easy and fun way to teach your child the alphabet. Whenever you drive anywhere play the ABC game. Have your child find the letter A on billboards, or license plates, or signs. Start with the letter A and then look for letter b, c, etc. Once you finish the alphabet you can play again.
3. Sing the Alphabet Song
Children love to sing and what better song to sing than the Alphabet Song. Start your day off with a song or two and be sure to include the ABC song.
4. Play the Alphabet Memory Game
You can purchase flashcards of the alphabet or make your own with card stock paper or construction paper. Have your child match the capital letter A to the lowercase letter a. Or you can start with letters that are all lowercase or all capital. Each time your child matches the letters have him tell you what letter it is.
5. Make Alphabet Cookies
What child doesn’t love cookies? Get alphabet cookie cutters or use frosting to write the letter on each cookie. Have your child tell you which letter he wants to eat!
6. Make an Alphabet Photo collage
Purchase disposable cameras for your child. Take a trip outside, to the park, zoo, or wherever. Spend your time looking for pictures of words that start with the letter A or B, or whichever letter you choose. When you get the photos developed let your child cut them out and glue them onto a collage. Have your child write or trace the letter for your photo collage onto construction paper and glue the photos around. Children love taking pictures and this is a lot of fun.
7. Another Alphabet Game
We have probably all played this game before. Its fun for kids and can be fun for adults too. If your child is young you can just play a simple game. Start with the letter A. “A is for apple”, “B is for banana”, “C is for cat”, and continue on with all the letters. If your child is older you can play the game with a theme. For example, play lets do the alphabet game with fruit or animals. This way they are learning to sort animals or fruits and also practicing their alphabet.
8. Play Alphabet Bingo
Make your own Bingo cards with construction paper. Write the letters of the alphabet on it. You can make this simple by making your Bingo cards more like a Tic-Tac-Toe game or you can make them like a traditional Bingo card. Call out the letters and have your child mark them or put a Bingo chip on the letter. When your child wins they can yell out Bingo! Purchase little prizes from the dollar store to make this even more fun.
9. Make an Alphabet finger painting
Use poster board or construction paper and make a finger painting with different letters. Have your child paint the capital letter and lowercase letter. Let him decorate it with whatever colors he likes.
10. Play the Alphabet Hide Away Game
Fill a bag with different objects that start with different letter sounds. For example, you could fill it with a car, a book, a pencil, etc. Show the child all the items in the bag. Then put all the items back in the bag. Have them find the items by touching them only. Say can you find something that starts with the letter B? Say what sound does the b make? Then see if they can find the book in your bag just by touching. This game is not only good for learning letters and sounds but also helps them with using their senses and tactile skills.
Thursday 13 February 2014
Teaching Kids English: 10 Things to Consider
Teaching Kids English: 10 Things to Consider
Teaching children can be immensely rewarding, anyone who has taught children can tell you that.
Here are the top 10 things to consider if you’re serious about teaching kids English:
Are you really up for it?
If you want to teach kids English because you think it’s easy, then this is not the job for you. Teaching children demands a great deal of creativity and energy. Kids will always keep you on your toes! They will amaze you and surprise you, but don't think that just because you'll be teaching colors and animals, it'll be a breeze. You'll most likely feel exhausted after every class, but oh, so happy!
A little preparation goes a long way Never make the mistake of showing up for class with little or no ideas, and thinking that you’ll figure it out as you go along. Preparation is essential, mostly because you’ll need to gather lots of teaching materials. Seasoned teachers may be able to improvise an entire lesson with only a whiteboard and some markers, but why risk having a class that turns out to be a hellish nightmare? You can plan an entire week of lessons or a full month, but make sure you have a lesson plan for every class.
Try to cater to multiple intelligences Young ESL students have strengths and weaknesses and the best way to take advantage of their strengths and help them learn effectively is to cater to their learning styles or multiples intelligences, namelyVisual – Spatial, Logical – Mathematical, Bodily – Kinesthetic, Musical – Rhythmic, Intra-Personal, Inter-Personal, Naturalist, and Spiritual. How can we accomplish this? Let’s see some examples:
- For musical – rhythmic intelligence learners, teach an ESL element with a song, like Rock Around the Clock for telling time.
- For bodily – kinesthetic intelligence learners, teach body parts with a game of Simon Says, or sing Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.
- For visual – spatial intelligence learners, use maps, charts, and all types of visual aids. Teach them the different types of stores and locations they may find around town with a big map-like board game, and have them “visit” the different locations by throwing the dice.
Don’t let them get bored
If children are bored they won’t pay attention, and they won’t learn. You don’t have to clown around all the time, either; they're in class to learn, not to be entertained by you. Your job is to make learning engaging and fun.
Here are some ways to do this:
Here are some ways to do this:
- Once they’ve been sitting and focused on a task for a while, get them out of their seats for a more active game. They should never remain seated for the duration of the class, unless they’re teens.
- Use realia, or real life objects in class. No matter how colorful or big, students sometimes get tired of learning everything through flashcards.
Mix it up ESL classes may include singing, dancing, and jumping, as well as writing, reading, or listening. The best ESL lessons combine the right mix of teaching strategies. You may begin class with a short song, then move on to a reading exercise. The best rule of thumb is to switch between quiet, independent tasks to those that require action and movement. 
Be prepared to deal with parents Unlike teaching adult students, when you teach the little ones you have to interact with their parents as well.
These must be informed about:
- Your goals, i.e., what you hope to accomplish throughout the year
- The children’s learning goals, i.e., the syllabus for the school year
- Their children’s progress, i.e., if they have achieved their learning goals satisfactorily
It is also recommended to encourage parents’ active participation in their children’s English learning. Even if they don’t speak English themselves, they should be encouraged to ask the kids what they’ve learned, share songs, etc…
Gather an arsenal of materials When you teach children English it is essential to have a box of materials that can be adaptable to any game or activity. Must-have items are:
- a pair of dice
- flashcards
- blank bingo sheets (that can be filled in by students with either words or pictures)
- small toys – balls in several sizes, toy vehicles, animals, etc...
- bean bags
- puppets
Remember it’s not all about the games Each game or activity you propose should target a specific learning goal or ESL element. It’s not about coming to class to play. ESL games are highly effective teaching strategies as long as you know how to fully utilize their potential.
Teach in context
Lessons should be planned in accordance with learning goals. And vocabulary, grammar, and language should be taught in context. For example, when teaching children foods in English, it should be within a meal context like breakfast, lunch or dinner, and should never be a list of items they must study or memorize.
Keep them motivated As kids get older and reach their pre-teen years, some ESL games and activities may not interest them as much as they did in the past. Find out what does interest them. What kind of music do they like? What do they enj oy reading? What sports do they play? Which sports stars do they admire? Writing interview questions for their favorite NBA player will be a lot more interesting than just a list of questions in simple present.
The moments shared with your young learners will far outweigh any of the difficulties or disadvantages commonly associated to teaching children. Just make sure that learning English is not a chore for them, but rather a positive learning experience, one that they will remember for years to come. Make sure they have fun learning, and you'll have fun teaching them too!
Wednesday 12 February 2014
f English is the language spoken in your home, then your child will naturally start to pick it up. From a very young age children pick up on the phonetics and speech patterns of the language they hear every day in their home environment. Learning the English language like any other, requires exposure and of course some help on behalf of the parents.
Talk to your child.
One of the biggest keys to teaching your child English is to spend time talking with your child. “Adults help children learn language primarily by talking with them,” says Bruce D. Perry, PhD, a Professor of Child Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine. Every conversation matters, and children pick up words and sentences structure from the language they hear from the people around them.
You can make this teaching method even more focused by using your opportunities to talk to your child as learning opportunities. Work on a vocabulary-oriented learning activity together, and spend time asking your child questions and discussing what is being learned.
Read with your child.
Reading is one of the ways in which children learn language. It is a combination of hearing it spoken as you read aloud and connecting the words with the images that helps to cement language skills. “Reading out loud exposes children to proper grammar and phrasing. It enhances the development of their spoken language skills, their ability to express themselves verbally,” explains Barbara Freedman-de Vito, a children’s librarian and teacher turned publisher of children’s books.
Remember that what you read matters! Always choose age appropriate books, and look for the right combination of images and words to help impart both sentence structure and the connection between images and the words that describe them.
You are the best teacher!
Parents have the power to start the process of teaching English or any other language. Children learn first from parents, so your dedication to the process, along with the right learning tools, can put your child on the road to success. Remember these simple tips:
- Your child is always listening, so make every conversation a learning opportunity
- Books are the best tool you have to teach language
- Use appropriate learning activities and talk with your child as you complete the tasks
Learning English is difficult, but at no age is a human being more up to the task than in childhood. Your child can learn a language faster than you as an adult can! Invest your time and you will see incredible advances.
http://www.etllearning.com/for-parents/testimonials/The-Best-Way-to-Teach-Your-Child-English
Tuesday 11 February 2014
How to Teach Math Word Problems to Kids
Word problems offer a different way to practice the math operations your students already know by applying math to real-world situations. Some students struggle with word problems because they have to wade through the text to find the relevant data before solving. Students who are below grade level in reading may struggle just to get through the problem. Teaching strategies to solve word problems helps your students spot the relevant info for math success.
Highlight Key Terms
Teaching your students the common terms found in story problems helps them sort out exactly what the problem is asking. For example, common terms for addition include more than, in all, total, added to, combined, sum and together. Give students examples of word problems and either individually or in small groups have them highlight the terms that give clues about the required operation. As a group, come up with lists you can post in the classroom as a reference. Remind students they should read the entire problem carefully to make sure that operation makes sense. Story problems sometimes include extra information, including extra key terms that aren't necessary.
Represent Information
Visually representing the information in the math problem helps students make sense of the data. A drawing is a simple way to show what's happening in the problem. Work through a word problem as a class, drawing a picture on the overhead to demonstrate this strategy. Take this word problem, for example: "Suzy has 15 pieces of candy. How can she divide the candy between herself and two friends evenly?" You can draw the 15 pieces of candy on the overhead so the kids can better see from the picture how to divide it into three groups. Math manipulatives offer another way to represent the info. In the candy example, each child gets 15 cubes or other small objects to represent the candy. The kids move the objects into three groups to find the answer.
Use Real-Life Situations
Events that happen right in the classroom create real-world math problems to solve. The daily lunch count is a simple option. Count the number of kids who choose each school lunch option and turn it into a problem. Say, "10 classmates chose lunch option A, nine chose lunch option B, and six classmates brought cold lunch. How many classmates are eating hot lunch at school?" This activity shows kids how math is used in everyday life and gives them additional chances to practice solving word problems.
Write Story Problems
Letting the kids create their own math word problems helps them better understand the components. The kids also get a chance to use their writing skills in a different way. Remind the students of those keywords that often are used in word problems. Using manipulatives also helps the students write their own story problems. Let the kids swap word problems with classmates to solve them.
http://www.education.seattlepi.com/teach-math-word-problems-kids-3770.html
Sunday 2 February 2014
Saturday 1 February 2014
5 Speaking Rules you need to know!
5 Speaking Rules you need to know!
1. Don't study grammar too much
This rule might sound strange to many ESL students, but it is one of the most important.jpg "5 speaking rules you must know")
Studying grammar will only slow you down and confuse you. You will think about the rules when creating sentences instead of naturally saying a sentence like a native. Remember that only a small fraction of English speakers know more than 20% of all the grammar rules. Many ESL students know more grammar than native speakers. I can confidently say this with experience. I am a native English speaker, majored in English Literature, and have been teaching English for more than 10 years. However, many of my students know more details about English grammar than I do. I can easily look up the definition and apply it, but I don't know it off the top of my head.
I often ask my native English friends some grammar questions, and only a few of them know the correct answer. However, they are fluent in English and can read, speak, listen, and communicate effectively.
Do you want to be able to recite the definition of a causative verb, or do you want to be able to speak English fluently?
2. Learn and study phrases
Many students learn vocabulary and try to put many words together to create a proper sentence. It amazes me how many words some of my students know, but they cannot create a proper sentence. The reason is because they didn't study phrases. When children learn a language, they learn both words and phrases together. Likewise, you need to study and learn phrases.If you know 1000 words, you might not be able to say one correct sentence. But if you know 1 phrase, you can make hundreds of correct sentences. If you know 100 phrases, you will be surprised at how many correct sentences you will be able to say. Finally, when you know only a 1000 phrases, you will be almost a fluent English speaker.
The English Speaking Basics section is a great example of making numerous sentences with a single phrase. So don't spend hours and hours learning many different words. Use that time to study phrases instead and you will be closer to English fluency.
Don't translate
When you want to create an English sentence, do not translate the words from your Mother tongue. The order of words is probably completely different and you will be both slow and incorrect by doing this. Instead, learn phrases and sentences so you don't have to think about the words you are saying. It should be automatic.
Another problem with translating is that you will be trying to incorporate grammar rules that you have learned. Translating and thinking about the grammar to create English sentences is incorrect and should be avoided.
3. Reading and Listening is NOT enough. Practice Speaking what you hear!
Reading, listening, and speaking are the most important aspects of any language. The same is true for English. However, speaking is the only requirement to be fluent. It is normal for babies and children to learn speaking first, become fluent, then start reading, then writing. So the natural order is listening, speaking, reading, then writing.First Problem
Isn't it strange that schools across the world teach reading first, then writing, then listening, and finally speaking? Although it is different, the main reason is because when you learn a second language, you need to read material to understand and learn it. So even though the natural order is listening, speaking, reading, then writing, the order for ESL students is reading, listening, speaking, then writing.
Second Problem
The reason many people can read and listen is because that's all they practice. But in order to speak English fluently, you need to practice speaking. Don't stop at the listening portion, and when you study, don't just listen. Speak out loud the material you are listening to and practice what you hear. Practice speaking out loud until your mouth and brain can do it without any effort. By doing so, you will be able to speak English fluently.
4. Submerge yourself
Being able to speak a language is not related to how smart you are. Anyone can learn how to speak any language. This is a proven fact by everyone in the world. Everyone can speak at least one language. Whether you are intelligent, or lacking some brain power, you are able to speak one language.This was achieved by being around that language at all times. In your country, you hear and speak your language constantly. You will notice that many people who are good English speakers are the ones who studied in an English speaking school. They can speak English not because they went to an English speaking school, but because they had an environment where they can be around English speaking people constantly.
There are also some people who study abroad and learn very little. That is because they went to an English speaking school, but found friends from their own country and didn't practice English.
You don't have to go anywhere to become a fluent English speaker. You only need to surround yourself with English. You can do this by making rules with your existing friends that you will only speak English. You can also carry around an iPod and constantly listen to English sentences. As you can see, you can achieve results by changing what your surroundings are. Submerge yourself in English and you will learn several times faster.
TalkEnglish Offline Version is now ready for download. In this package, you can utilize over 8000 audio files to completely surround yourself in English. There are over 13.5 hours of audio files that are not available in the web form. All conversations and all sentences are included, so even if you don't have many English speaking friends, you can constantly surround yourself in English using your MP3 player. This package is available at the English Download page. Take advantage of this opportunity and start learning English faster. Click on the link or go tohttp://www.talkenglish.com/english-download.aspx.
5. Study correct material
A common phrase that is incorrect is, "Practice makes perfect." This is far from the truth. Practice only makes what you are practicing permanent. If you practice the incorrect sentence, you will have perfected saying the sentence incorrectly. Therefore, it is important that you study material that is commonly used by most people.Another problem I see is that many students study the news. However, the language they speak is more formal and the content they use is more political and not used in regular life. It is important to understand what they are saying, but this is more of an advanced lesson that should be studied after learning the fundamental basics of English.
Studying English with a friend who is not a native English speaker is both good and bad. You should be aware of the pros and cons of speaking with a non native speaking friend. Practicing with a non native person will give you practice. You can also motivate each other and point out basic mistakes. But you might pick up bad habits from one another if you are not sure about what are correct and incorrect sentences. So use these practice times as a time period to practice the correct material you studied. Not to learn how to say a sentence.
In short, study English material that you can trust, that is commonly used, and that is correct.
Summary
These are the rules that will help you achieve your goal of speaking English fluently. All the teachings and lessons on TalkEnglish.com follow this method so you have the tools you need to achieve your goal right here on TalkEnglish.com.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
