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Articles for Teachers

Learning by Doing is the Best Way to Learn English For Kids
By:Vladimir Chen

"Experience is the best teacher" - anyone who has ever had any noteworthy learning experience in life can attest to the truth in this statement. It really is true that we learn more when we do things ourselves. Take your high school chemistry class for example. You memorized the various elements and the chemicals and the formation of polymers and all the other nauseating chemistry stuff in order to pass your finals exam but I can bet that what you learned was lost to oblivion the moment you stepped out of your classroom's door. However, I can also bet that all those things that you learned in the laboratory were better retained and more useful than all those that you read in books. In fact, it was probably a lot easier to understand the concepts when you experimented with them yourselves in the laboratory, wasn't it? The same principle holds true for learning languages, especially English for kids.

Learning by Doing
Children's brains are like sponges that soak up pertinent information. They can grasp concepts easily and can assimilate new languages faster. It is therefore at this point in life when it is best to introduce a new language. And the best way for a child to learn English is for him to actually use it in speaking and in writing. The grammar rules will remain as simple and forgettable rules unless you start applying them to actual conversations or compositions.

The more your child does something, the more comfortable he becomes with it and the easier it becomes for him. It's like riding a bike, at first he'll start off all wobbly and unstable but after a few tries, it'll become second nature to him. English grammar for kids is like that, too. The more your child speaks English, the faster he or she learns it. Try to expose your child to the English environment by watching TV in English, listening to songs in English, reading English books or playing English games on the Internet.

As the last point above, you can use games for learning English to make it easier for your child to grasp the language more. There are English songs for kids that they can sing to or English dictionary for kids with lots of colorful pictures. There are many 'how to learn English for kids' edutainment products in the market that you can use, and make it a fun English for kids learning experience to help them grasp the language faster.

Obstacles to Learning
However, you have to be careful in giving criticism. Grammar mistakes can be rather funny, and some people are prone to being unjustly mean when criticizing. Criticism should always be constructive. This holds true especially for children who are learning to speak in English. Some kids are very hesitant to use the language for fear that they might say something awkward or completely wrong. Mistakes, however, are to be expected. And it is important that the child knows this so that he will not be afraid to actually use the language. After all, that's how we all learn.

Vladimir Chen is an expert in e-learning at Mingoville - a universally accepted English program to make language learning fun and enjoyable. To play English games visit Mingoville at http://www.mingoville.com and create a free account.


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