From 3 to 6 years old
My new aim is to give children a richer vocabulary range with everyday words. The stories I choose get more complex but still repetitive for them to memorize better.
You may be wondering if they can get confused with their mother tongue. The answer is no. Once again, language is music. Living in France means that French is the socialising language. The English I speak to them becomes the language of a new horizon. When I will be using the word « pink », children will hear the word « rose » at home or at school.
Sometimes, your child will use a word from the foreign langage he is « studying » instead of the word from his/her mother tongue but no panicking, it only means that it was the word the brain found at that precise moment.
The songs are made to strengthen that musical aspect of languages. I love using the books by Eric Carle or Eric Hill, to mention but a few. And it is with great pleasure that I am also using books by French publishers such as Oops et Ohlala, or Cat and Mouse.
Teaching English to children at an early stage is great because they are eager to learn. One of my favourite games is the Bingo game because children spontaneously repeat after me when I am the caller. And I am delighted to hear their perfect accent.
From 6 to 11 years old
French pupils have more English now at school than they used to have. It is a very good news. But as far as their potential is considered, it is not enough. Being completely immersed into English with a distinct person is a must-have.
As children grow older, from 6 years old onwards, they need to understand. They start asking questions about how the foreign language they are learning works.
I do my best to answer that new need.
Learning by playing is still the best way but I also introduce more and more words in the games, more complex sentenses. Learning how these words are spelt enables memory to link the words they know with its « written prints » as I would call them. Let us not forget that many sounds are different and many spellings are too. This is great stimulation for the brain !
I use board games as well and even if children love playing them over and over again, they memorize the vocabulary because it is used and repeated in context.
From 7 years old onwards, I teach more and more reading.
From 8 years old onwards, I love using magazines because there are word search, topics and it is a good way to discover the anglo-saxon world, its customs, their origins, etc.