【講師コラム】マデル講師　No.11～What parents can do to encourage their children who are not confident speaking in English～

Good day, everyone!!! How are you doing, Mommies and Daddies? It is really hot in my country these days, but we are constantly having thunderstorms in the afternoon. Hot summer days are coming soon in Japan, I hope that you’ll always keep yourselves hydrated…

Anyway, today I would like to talk about one of the biggest worries of many moms who let their children study English, it is when their child does not talk in complete sentences when trying to communicate in English.  Learning a language is never easy for anyone. It can be tough and confusing for adults like us, and it can be really boring for young children if we let them study it seriously. The more that we push them to seriously learn the language, the more that we teach them to actually dislike it. We should not worry much if your child does not answer you or his English teacher in complete sentence.

There can be several reasons why they do that. It is already given that they are not yet familiar with English as it is not their native language, so it is only natural that they feel shy and hesitant to use it, and they struggle to find the right words to use in different situations. It is the same with adults like us, right?.. Some children are just shy to communicate in English even though they are quite familiar with it already simply because they don’t have a lot of opportunities to talk with other people in English. There are also cases where they are worried that they might make mistakes while talking in English, and they don’t want to see or hear their parents’ disappointment. As parents, I know that you are doing your best to make sure that they are going to have a great life when they grow up. But we must make sure that we are not giving them so much pressure while doing so, and we must always make sure that they’ll have wonderful memories of their childhood to look back on someday.

Patience, understanding, time, effort and a whole lot of encouragement are very important when we have a child who is learning a foreign language. You can practice and start a simple and easy English conversation with them while you are eating, playing, or taking a bath together. Try not to correct them too often as it sometimes annoys and discourages them when we point out their mistakes too many times. Please avoid saying the words, “that’s not right or that’s wrong”, when we are teaching them the right way to say something. And of course, do not forget to praise them even if their English is not perfect, or even when they say something very simple in English. Children just love it when they are being praised by the people they care about most. It makes them want to do things better and better.

Parents must also take note that it is extremely important to find the right approach for their children who are learning English. Some children love to read books and make stories, and there are also some who don’t really enjoy them. But that doesn’t mean your child is less smart. They might just be those type who enjoy more active ways of learning. That is why we need to choose our partner in our child’s education very, very carefully.

Here at Englishbuds, we do our best to help our students learn English without realizing that they are actually studying English. We let them enjoy and do what they love to do most while learning. And, we will continue to find ways to make sure that they will love learning English more and more.

Thank you once again for reading my entry. Thank you so much for trusting Mommy Kayo and Englishbuds tutors, dearest Mommies and Daddies… We are looking forward to having more amazing English learning adventures with your little ones…