Start the ball rolling and tech your children to speak with your encouragement and help.
Children are not born natural talkers. They need to learn to become one. You can help your child become a confident speaker by making learning a fun activity. Most kids are afraid of speaking because they are afraid of others laughing at them and their mistakes.
When you speak to your child, use the necessary " big " words. explain the meanings in an open, interesting way. You can help your child keep a notebook on new words she encounters. This will keep track of her new vocabulary and also to serve as an incentive to spur her to learn more and more words to add on to her list. This gives a sense of accomplishment to the child. Encourage her to use her new vocabulary in expressions. If she makes mistakes, gently correct her without bursting into guffaws. Children are especially sensitive to ridicule and may be put off from learning and speaking confidently.
For young children, interest in the English language can be cultivated through nursery rhymes and rhyming poems. The sounds of the words makes learning fun. For older children, you can progress to crossword puzzles and play word games like Scrabble. You'll be spending constructive family time together. Make this more fun by giving prizes, praises and incentives for winning the game or chalking up points.
You can encourage your child to speak confidently by listening to her stories. Get her to talk about her day at the Playskool or school. Read story books together daily. Ask her to re-tell the story in her own words. You'll be surprised at how young minds perceive things. Initially, she may be tongue tied but you can try to elicit longer and longer sentences from her as she gains confidence speaking.
Try to bring your child to language enrichment activities like story-telling sessions at your local library. Attending speech and drama activities need not be expensive if you can get them free or for a minimal fee from your community library or clubs.
Needless to say, nurture the love of the printed word by reading books together with your kid. If she can read independently, go to the library together regularly to borrow books. Involve her in the book selection process. She will be very interested and motivated to finish a book which she has personally chosen. If your child doesn't read alone, you can start the reading habit by reading the book together.
There is no doubt that exposure to language will encourage the child to learn. Learning and practice in the language makes a confident speaker. It is a monumental task to get the ball rolling but the success rate is almost 100%. Once reading becomes a habit, you will be free from all the initial hard work of persuasion. Your guidance is still needed for the choice of books and suitability of content material. When your child becomes a confident speaker, both of you will enjoy many hours of pleasurable small talk together.
