Speak English With Your Child Tips

Speaker 1 0:00

Hello and welcome to the English Like A Native podcast. This is not your typical English language learning resource. There are no textbooks, no grammar rules, just the weird and wonderful version of English that you will hear spoken in the UK. So tune in for your daily dose of very ordinary English chatter with a very ordinary English girl. I'm your host, anna, and today I'm having a conversation with a two-year-old Not just any two-year-old, this is my two-year-old. So I have two children. At the moment September 2023, I have a four-year-old, jacob, and a two-year-old, caspian. Now, because I'm a mother and because I'm teaching English online, I do get asked quite often by other parents how should they speak to their children in a second language? So many of you are keen for your children to grow up with the advantage of having multiple languages, and it is easier for children to learn a language. So introducing a second language at a young age is a great idea. But how do you go about it? Well, I'm going to share these little conversations that I've had with Caspian with you, and I will be releasing the video of this particular podcast episode. So I encourage you to watch that, because I will provide the subtitles on the screen for you, because Caspian definitely does need a translator at this age. There's lots of mispronunciations, he's not terribly clear, so I do encourage that you go over to the YouTube channel Englishlikeanative and look out for that video. But the first of my tips on how to speak English with your child is just to encourage conversation wherever you can. Now I encourage conversation by asking lots and lots of questions, any kinds of questions, any question you can think of ask. Open-ended questions are great because they allow the child to really open up and start talking, rather than just saying yes, no or giving a simple one-worded answer, but just asking questions. It gets the conversation going and once the conversation is in full flow, then continuing the conversation by asking more and more questions is really helpful, and you'll hear that in the conversation I'm going to share with you now. What is it, casper?

Speaker 2 2:45

There's three, three. What One? Two, three, three. What Three catfish, three catfish, yeah oh yeah, what are they?

Speaker 1 2:58

I do want to see. Show me when are they.

Speaker 2 3:01

Um, this one, this one, and, and where's the other one? Where's the other one, mommy?

Speaker 1 3:13

I don't know, darling, maybe he's hiding, maybe he's playing hide and seek. Do you like looking at the fish? Yeah, yeah. Which one's your favourite fish? Um, the shrimp fish, the shrimp fish. Yeah, okay, do you like the shrimp best? No what else is in the fish tank? Um, we've got catfish and shrimp. What else? And, and and what has a shell?

Speaker 2 3:51

Um, that snail, that snail. Yeah, it's sucking my finger.

Speaker 1 4:02

I want you to point to it with my finger.

Speaker 2 4:04

Oh yeah, it's sucking your finger. It's sucking my finger. No, it's in the fish tank.

Speaker 1 4:13

It's in the fish tank, so it can't really suck my finger. We're just pretending, yeah.

Speaker 2 4:18

Yeah.

Speaker 1 4:19

Now the second tip I'm going to share with you is to repeat what your child says to you, especially when they're younger, when they're harder to understand. Maybe they're not quite phrasing things properly or their pronunciation is is really hard to understand. I find that repeating what they tell me both gives them confidence that they've communicated with you, so they're confident that they have said it and you've heard it, and that you are 100% attentive to them. But it also helps them to realize where their mistakes may be, you know, on a subconscious level. So if there's a slight mispronunciation and I repeat exactly back to them what they've just said, then they pick up on that correction automatically, especially over a period of time, and then slowly they start to make that correction themselves naturally. And this isn't about shaming or telling them they're wrong. I never say to them you're saying it wrong. I never give them a hard time. I just repeat what they say and they hear that there may be a difference or a correction, and they do that naturally. They pick it up naturally. They're very good at noticing those subtle differences. So lots of repetition. Do you like nursery? No, come and tell me, come and sit on my lap. Come and tell me Come here.

Speaker 2 5:50

I don't like going to nursery. Why not?

Speaker 1 5:53

Because I don't want to. What do you do at nursery?

Speaker 2 6:02

I go to nursery last time but I didn't like it.

Speaker 1 6:08

You didn't like it? No, but you always seem to have fun when I come and get you. You play with jigsaw puzzles and you have a kitchen there, don't you, where you make food and you do crafts and painting. What else do you do? Do you have a garden? Yeah. Is it a big garden? Yeah. Does it have a slide? No, no. What does it have in the garden? Sand, yeah.

Speaker 2 6:42

Yeah, what else Down Garden?

Speaker 1 6:50

Downstairs garden and upstairs garden. Yeah yeah, three gardens, three gardens there's one and there's another one. Oh, now you're looking at the fish again. The third tip is to give them space to find their words, but at the same time also being ready when you can see that they really can't find the words or they don't know how to say what they want to say, then you're also there to catch them and to help them, maybe by providing a couple of options of possible answers or just asking them another question, rewording what you've just said, but initially giving them space. You'll hear that Caspian is earming a lot because he's trying to think about the word that he wants. So I don't jump in too quickly. I try and give him the space to find that word, unless I can see that he's really struggling to get there or maybe he's getting distracted, and then I'll try and guide him a little bit.

Speaker 2 7:53

Look at my magnetiles.

Speaker 1 7:55

You want me to look at your magnetiles?

Speaker 2 7:59

Yeah, look at this.

Speaker 1 8:00

Did you build this house? Yeah, wow, it's brilliant, isn't it?

Speaker 2 8:05

Yeah, let's knock it down. You want to knock it down? Yeah, oh no, but it's so good oh.

Speaker 1 8:12

Where's the door?

Speaker 2 8:14

Um there.

Speaker 1 8:17

There's the door. What else Tell me about this house?

Speaker 2 8:20

Um.

Speaker 1 8:21

Who lives in this house.

Speaker 2 8:23

Uh Caspian.

Speaker 1 8:24

Caspian lives in this house.

Speaker 2 8:26

Yeah, yeah, and I can do this one You're building it, making it bigger?

Speaker 1 8:36

Yeah, right, wow, what shape is that?

Speaker 2 8:41

Um.

Speaker 1 8:42

Green. What shape is it? Is it a square or a circle or a triangle?

Speaker 2 8:48

Triangle.

Speaker 1 8:49

Very good. So my other tips are to not shy away from using big words. Obviously, when they're tiny babies you're just going to be using the basic words, but as they start to grow you know they really are a sponge. So the wider the vocabulary that you surround them with, the more words they're going to onboard. Obviously, you know complicated concepts might be a bit tricky, so I always try and keep things relatively basic when it comes to concepts. But I don't shy away from using big words, and I find that Jacob is particularly interested in learning what things mean. So if I say a word that he doesn't understand, he asks me what does this mean? Or he'll remember it and ask me later and then he'll try and use those big words and phrases. Casper's just arrived in my office. You come here, casper, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 9:51

What are you doing? I'm coming. You come in my office, yeah.

Speaker 1 9:55

Why did you come in my?

Speaker 2 9:56

office, because I do want to come in your office.

Speaker 1 10:00

Do you like it here? Yeah, why? Because I do. What can you do here?

Speaker 2 10:05

Um, I can sit, you can sit. Yeah, yeah, kiss Mwah. Thanks, buddy, I'll ask you to Legoland and back.

Speaker 1 10:17

Oh, darling, I love you to Legoland and back too.

Speaker 2 10:20

We both love us.

Speaker 1 10:22

Legoland and back. We both love each other to Legoland and back. You're going to go now you say bye-bye.

Speaker 2 10:31

I want to visit on air.

Speaker 1 10:33

Tip number five is give lots of praise. I try to give as much praise to my children as I can, within reason, as long as it's deserved. I don't just praise them for sitting and breathing, I praise them for trying hard and making an effort. You know, children love attention. They crave attention In the first instance. They want positive attention. But if they don't get enough of that, then they'll do whatever it is to get any kind of attention, which can lead to negative behaviors, because that brings in a form of attention, even if it's being told off. So giving lots of praise, especially when they're doing something that you want to encourage them to do. For example, I want my children to be very independent and to be involved in the housework. I want them to have a respect for their own environment. And so, rather than me saying, go and sit down or go and play, get out of my way and I'll do everything, or come here and I'll get you dressed, I'll put your shoes on, I'll do your coat, I try to encourage them to do their own. And now initially they they push back and they complain and they say, oh, I can't do it, I need help. And I am there to help them if they need it, but I encourage them to do it themselves, and when they do it, when they try to do it, I praise them. And so if I was teaching my children English as a second language, when we're doing anything in English, then I'd be praising them for making an effort, for giving it a go and also being very wary not to make a big deal out of mistakes that they may make. So it's okay to correct mistakes, to guide them towards the right words or the right pronunciation. You know, giving them a little helping hand but saying to them, oh, that's wrong, don't say that. Or telling them they just made a mistake, could lead them to shut down and not want to try again in future. So just being very mindful, not to highlight their mistakes, but just giving them lots of praise for trying and making an effort mo seeds. Don't you sing along with me, casper? Do you know any other songs? Yeah, what songs do you know?

Speaker 2 13:54

Um all the songs.

Speaker 1 13:55

All the songs, yeah, and my final and probably biggest tip is just to have fun with them. So anything that involves enjoyment is always going to be more effective. So with my kids, we play lots of games, we sing lots of songs, we do lots of role play. They will just suddenly tell me that I'm a tickle monster, or I am a magic statue, or I'm a doctor, or I'm the dentist or whatever it is. I'm a tiger, I'm a ghost. They just decide what the character is, what the game is, and I play along with it. And we have so much fun doing this kind of role play and singing songs and all this kind of stuff. So just enjoy it. Don't worry too much about whether you're using the right words or teaching them in the right way. Just have fun. You know, I have to admit I often say things that don't really make sense in terms of, like grammatical structure or whatever. When I'm talking to the kids, I occasionally will say things wrong, I'll give them the wrong sentence structure, but it doesn't matter. We're just having a good time and, at the end of the day, life is short. So just enjoy yourselves, enjoy your children and enjoy speaking English Until next time. From a Caspian and I take very good care and goodbye. Help you. What's happened?

Speaker 2 15:36

I want to go on my lap. You want to go on my lap, because that one is lava.

Speaker 1 15:41

Oh, the floor is lava, yeah, so you need to go on my lap.

Speaker 2 15:44

Yeah, oh no, my feet are burning.

Speaker 1 15:47

Ow, ow, ow, it's okay, I'll keep you safe. Are you okay now? Yeah, yeah, you're not scared, are you? No, no, do you need a doctor? I've hurt my arm. Ouch, are you a doctor? Yeah, yeah, hello, dr Caspian, what are you going to do to me? My arm hurts.

Speaker 2 16:08

I'm going to put a blue plaster on you.

Speaker 1 16:11

You're going to put a blue plaster on me. Yeah, oh, thank you. Oh, I think I need some magic cream. Oh, it hurts so much.

Speaker 2 16:18

There's some cream. Okay, do I need?

Speaker 1 16:22

a needle, yeah, yeah, is it going to hurt.

Speaker 2 16:24

No Promise, it's a little needle, a little needle, no, no.

Speaker 1 16:32

No, sharps on it okay.

Speaker 2 16:34

No, no, no. You have to close your eyes. Close my eyes and be brave.

Speaker 1 16:40

Okay, oh, I didn't feel that. No, okay, now you can put the blue plaster on. Oh, that feels so much better. How long is it going to take until I can take the plaster off?

Speaker 2 16:56

It's going to feel better.

Speaker 1 16:58

It's going to feel better very soon, yeah, okay, now I'm going to put the blue plaster on.