|
Many children are under the impression that English is all about reading stuffy books with no relevance to today’s world, verbs, nouns, and funny men in tights. This misapprehension will lead to them losing out on a whole world of ideas, stories and in fact can seriously hinder their progress forward in an information-obsessed world. Teaching your child to read, and enjoy reading even in our highly technical world, will help your child gain perspective on himself and his surroundings. The best gift we as parents can offer our children is to infuse them with a love of reading and by turn a love of learning. Here are some tips on getting your child interested, and keeping him interested in English.
Choose the books your child reads carefully. Make sure they are good: just because they have red fire engines on the front and your toddler is fire engine obsessed, does not make it a good book. Look for a story line, a plot, look at the words used; do they extend your child’s vocabulary? Your child does not want to read inane stories, nor does he want them read to him (for the younger ones), make story time or reading for the older children a fascinating experience. When reading to a toddler, change your voice, as well as the tempo. If it is an exciting part, then speed up a little and raise your voice (don’t do this at bedtime, rather read slower, calmer books or your little one won’t fall asleep). Don’t be afraid to try new authors, for yourself as well as the little ones. A new author brings a new perspective, as well as a new frame of reference. Most people write from experience and no two people experience something in the same way so you will always be getting new input. Always make sure what they are reading is age appropriate, however never tell them they won’t understand a book and shouldn’t read it. Rather say that they may not enjoy the book as it can be rather hard to understand in places, but if they have questions then they must come to you or go to a teacher to explain what is meant. Don’t underestimate what your child knows. If your child is a little older don’t be afraid to let them read slightly risqué material. Obviously make sure there is nothing damaging in the book, but lets face it, teenagers are hormonal and a little kissing and fooling around is often enough to keep them reading. When I was in high school we had a boy in my class who only ever read Jilly Cooper, it was the only thing he would read, however he now has a passion for horses as well as Opera.
Another way to spark an interest is to buy your children books on tape. My two year old adores Winnie the Pooh, and it’s all I am allowed to play in the car. Your library will also have numerous titles you can take out on loan.
Only try and push your child into reading classics once he is already an avid reader. The language can sometimes be a little cumbersome and may put him or her off reading for a while.
Get your child interested in plays by allowing him to write one. Encourage the use of strange characters and timepieces he has to research to make realistic. Allow them to present them to you and dress up with make-up, old clothes and props. All children adore showing off, so often with just a little encouragement from mom and dad, your child will be more than a little enthusiastic to learn lines and perform for you. Dressing up and putting on a performance starts young so encourage your child’s creative side by helping set things up when they are little. By the same token, take your child to see as many plays, poetry readings and even movies as possible. Though I have to question the literary value of Terminator, movies are a great springboard for an active imagination. The upside of course is that you can always buy your child the book after he already has an interest in the movie.
Debating (sometimes called arguing) can also help your child gain an interest in the world around him or her. Encourage them to read something in the paper, and then ask them what they thought about it. Was it a morally correct action? What would he have done? Why? All of these are questions that would encourage rational thinking.
Encourage your child to keep a diary, and write about everyday events. If your child is writing about fun things he begins to think that writing itself is fun. Poems written on things your child thinks of as important may help him clarify his ideas. Keeping your child interested by allowing him to write on that which interests him is key to helping him enjoy English. Writing on shopping for a sporty little boy isn’t going to keep him interested, but maybe writing on a baseball game will. Find out what he thinks of as interesting and allow him to write on that. Similarly comprehensions in school should include current songs as well as older ones. Comparisons can be done, the evolution of English as a language can be discussed, and the songs can be listened to, to gain a greater understanding of their meanings. Music in the classroom always introduces an element of fun and so can encourage the child’s creative side.
We are living in an interactive world, so try and bring that into your child’s life as much as possible. Allow them to design web sites (even on paper, with a new page for every link). Making tapes of their talking or poetry as well as video’s, should you have a camera, can all help your child to be creative, and will help him see English as fun rather than a necessary evil.
Last of all bring passion to your teaching of the language. If you are excited about it, that excitement can transfer itself to your child, and he will be more enthusiastic. Your child has to learn to communicate properly in the international language so he may as well learn to enjoy it as well.
|
| |
