Helping your Child learn English at Home in Key Stage 1

Many parents ask us ‘What’s the best way to help my child learn English at home?'

Please see Ms. Anna Dunhill, Primary Head of English as an Additional Language (EAL) share some practical and successful ways to support your child’s English learning at home for Key Stage 1 (Primary Years 1 and 2).

Be Enthusiastic

The most important thing is to be enthusiastic and to give your children lots of encouragement. Remember: it does take time to learn a new language so be patient and enjoy the process.

Establishing a Routine

After a long day at school, it’s important to have a good home learning routine that will not leave your child exhausted. Playing English games or reading stories together in the evening will give children the opportunity to use their new skills without feeling overwhelmed.

As well as the time of day, it is also important to think about how long the sessions will be. For very young children, 15 minute sessions will keep them engaged and entertained. Frequent, short sessions are beneficial for all age-groups, but sessions can increase in length as your child’s attention span increases.

Using Everyday Situations

Use everyday situations and real objects from around the house to practise English naturally and in context. For example, you can talk about clothes and colours when you are helping your child get dressed. Cooking with your child is a fun way to learn a life skill at the same time as using food words. Even chores such as cleaning can be an opportunity to use English verbs alongside vocabulary for things around the house.

Using Games

Children learn best when they are having fun, and there are many online resources with ideas for English games. The best and most effective language games are often the most simple: Tic Tac Toe, Bingo, and a range of other childhood games have simple rules, which children can comprehend quickly, letting them concentrate on the language.

Learning English through Songs

Songs are one of the best ways for your children to improve their English. They’re widely available for free on the internet, can be relaxing or stimulating, and provide a break from regular textbooks. More importantly, they help increase understanding and fluency of English. Here are some suggestions for improving their English through songs.

Using Stories  

Children love books with bright colours and attractive illustrations. Look at the pictures together and say the words as you point to the pictures. After a while, encourage them to say the words by asking ‘What's that?’ Listening to stories is also beneficial, as it will get your child used to the sounds and rhythms of English. 

Developing a life-long reading habit at an early age can set children up to succeed in learning environments. Through reading children can develop their vocabulary and spark a curiosity for knowledge. But what if your child doesn’t love reading?

Here are some practical ways you can encourage more reluctant readers to start.

1. Make a dedicated reading space
2. Read funny things!
3. Read anything anywhere
4. Talk to your children about what they have read
5. Follow their interests
6. Read regularly
7. Read for pleasure
8. Variety is the spice of life!

Phonics

Phonics teaches children the different sounds that individual letters and groups of letters make when they’re written down so children can blend the sounds together to read whole words.

Check which sounds they’ve been learning in class and start by watching some phonics videos online with them. This will refresh their memories and show you what and how they’ve been taught. The Alphablocks is an excellent BBC series of phonics videos available on YouTube as is Geraldine the Giraffe.

Anna Dunhill

Head of Primary EAL