【講師コラム】デイジー講師 No.8 ～Exposure to English at an Early Age as Foundation to Develop Good Communication Skills～

Pocket

オンライン英語スクール Englishbuds 管理人 Mommy Kayo です。

今日は金曜日、講師コラムの日です。

前回グレイスの回よりテーマを設け、

各講師がどのように英語を習得したのか

を語ってもらっています。

今日の担当はデイジー講師です。

現在、１歳半になった

かわいいマシューの子育て真っ最中であるデイジー。

ママとしておうち英語にも取り組んでいます。

自分の体験、ママとしての体験、

両方から語ってくれています。

これは見逃せませんよ！それではどうぞ♪

I have always been interested in speaking English ever since I was young. My mother exposed me to the language at an early age. She taught me about the alphabet even before I turned one year old and she would always read to me simple story books before I go to bed. She tried her best to talk to me in English until I got used to it. Looking back, I really appreciate my mother’s efforts to teach me English as a secondary language while I was young.
My early exposure to the English language was further bolstered in school. In the Philippines, our medium of instruction is in English. Our teachers would use the language to explain all academic subjects to us. We studied Math, Science, History, Literature and other relevant subjects using English terminologies and discussions. When I was in elementary school, I used to represent my class in declamation and poetry reading contests. I would memorize English poems or speeches so that I can deliver them with confidence in front of the audience. This experience helped me gain more confidence in public speaking.
We were also trained to engage in meaningful discussions and sharing of ideas in English debates, I am grateful because I was enrolled in an exclusive school that was very stringent in their implementation of the “English only” policy in elementary school and high school. All these trainings and practices served as my foundation. They have truly equipped me with the proper skill sets to help me thrive in the legal profession. Having good communication skills truly is the hallmark of a good lawyer.
Based on my experience, I can attest that if children start to study English very early, they will absorb the new language in an innate and natural way. Now that I’m a mother myself, I see to it that I also expose my son Matthew to English stories and conversation like what my mom did when I was young. My husband also talks to our son in English.
We believe that young children are natural language acquirers. They are self-motivated to pick up languages without conscious learning. They have the ability to imitate pronunciation and work out the rules for themselves. It is easy for them to pick up language by taking part in an activity shared with an adult.
They firstly make sense of the activity and then get meaning from the adult’s shared language. At present, our son is 1 year and 6 months old. Whenever we ask him questions in English like “where is mommy?” or “where is daddy”, he already understands the language and responds to us with confidence. Gradually, we look forward helping our son build up more words and phrases to enhance his vocabulary. We believe that frequent exposure to the English language can be a very good foundation for him.

デイジーがコラム中で使っている

【exposure】という言葉。

これほどにおうち英語のことを

端的に表す言葉はないかもしれないですね。

exposureは「自然環境にさらされること」を意味しますが

ただ英語に触れさせるという意味で

この言葉はおうち英語を説明するのに最適かなと思います。

この点はまたnoteの方に書いてみようかな～と思います。

デイジー、ネタをありがとう！(笑)

ということで、

次回の担当はアンソニー講師です。

アンソニーの英語習得法、