leahrenrinisg fun!

toget
How young children learn
English as another language
 How young chil
as another lang dren learn English
uage
Young children
are natural lang
are self-motivat uage acquirers
ed to pick up la ; they
learning, unlike nguage withou
adolescents an t conscious
ability to imitate d adults. They
pronunciation have the
for themselves and work out th
. Any idea that e rules
is difficult does learning to talk
not occur to th in English
by adults, who em unless it’s su
themselves pr ggested
academically at obably learned
a later age thro English
text books. ugh grammar-b
ased

The advantage
s of beginning e
• Young childre arly
n are still using
language-learni their individual
ng strategies to , innate,
language and acquire their ho
soon find they me
strategies to pi can also use th
ck up English. ese
• Young children
have time to le
arn through pl
activities. They ay-like
pick up langua
activity shared ge by taking pa
with an adult. Th rt in an
of the activity ey firstly make
and then get m sense
shared langua eaning from th
ge. e ad ult’s
•Young children
have more tim
e to fit English
daily programm into their
e. School prog
informal and ch rammes tend to
ildren’s minds be more
with facts to be are not yet clut
stored and test te re d
or no homewor ed. They may ha
k and are less ve little
achieve set stan stressed by ha
dards. vi ng to
 a second
opportunity to pick up
•
Children who have the
still young appear to us
e the
language while they are ghout
earning strategies throu
same innate language-l third,
languages. Picking up
life when learning other
guages is easier than
fourth, or even more lan
.
picking up the second

• Young children who ac

quire language rather
ad
than
ult s have
Stages in picking up English
older children and lly before reading and writing.
consciously learn it, as and feel Spoken language comes natura
ve better pronunciation
to, are more likely to ha al children
lture. When monolingu
for the language and cu
me more self-consciou
s, • Silent period iod’,
reach puberty and beco language, there is a ‘silent per
language diminishes an d they When babies learn their home ial
their ability to pick up may communicate through fac
usly study English throu
gh when they look and listen and ng
feel they have to conscio they begin to speak. When you
mmes. The age at wh ich this expression or gestures before n
grammar-based progra y be a similar ‘silent period’ whe
s greatly on the individ
ual ild’s
ch children learn English, there ma y
change occurs depend ding may take place before the
well as the expectations communication and understan
developmental levels as ds
actually speak any English wor
of their society.
not force children to take part
During this time parents should
them repeat words. Spoken
in spoken dialogue by making
the adult’s talk providing useful
dialogues should be one-sided,
k up language. Where the
opportunities for the child to pic
ed form of speech) to facilitate
adult uses parentese (an adjust
ny of the same strategies they
learning, the child can use ma
uage.
used in learning their home lang

• Beginning to talk s,
the frequency of English session
After some time, depending on le
ckly than boys) begins to say sing
each child (girls often more qui ’s that?’,
made short phrases (‘What
words (‘cat’, ‘house’) or ready- ues
car’, ‘Time to go home’) in dialog
‘It’s my book’, ‘I can’t’, ‘That’s a d the m,
The child has memorise
or as unexpected statements. e may
ctly without realising that som
imitating the pronunciation exa time
This stage continues for some
consist of more than one word.
uage, using it as a short cut
as the child picks up more lang s.
dy to create their own phrase
to dialogue before they are rea
 • Building up English language Mistakes
Gradually children bu
ild up phrases consist
memorised word to wh ing of a single Children should not
ich they add words fro be told they have m
m their because any correct ade a mistake
vocabulary (‘a dog’, ‘a ion immediately de
brown dog’, ‘a brown motivates.
or a single memorised an d black dog’) Mistakes may be pa
language to which the rt of the process of
y add their the grammar rules wo rking out
own input (‘That’s my of English or they m
chair.’ ‘Time to play’). ay be a fault in
the frequency of expo De pending on pronunciation. ‘I go
sure to English and the ed’ soon becomes
quality of the hears the adult repe ‘w ent’ if the child
experience, children at back ‘yes, you we
gradually begin to cre nt’; or if the
whole sentences. ate adult hears ‘zee bus’
and repeats back ‘th
As in learning their e bus’.
home language, if ch
an opportunity to he ildren have
ar the adult repeat
th e same
Understanding piece of language co
in their own time.
rrectly, they will self-c
orrect
Understanding is alw
ays greater than spea
young children’s abilit king and
y to comprehend shou
underestimated, as the
y are used to underst
ld not be
an ding their
Gender differences
home language from
a variety of context clu Boys’ brains develop
may not understand es. Though they differently from girls’
everything they hear this affects how boys and
language, children gr in the ir home pick up language an
asp the gist – that is the Sometimes mixed cla d use it.
a few important word y understand sses make little prov
s and decipher the re who may be oversh isi on for boys,
clues to interpret the st using different adowed by girls’ na
meaning. With encour language. If young tu ra l ability to use
soon transfer their ‘gi ag ement they boys are to reach th
st’ understanding skills they need some dif eir po tential,
meaning in English. to interpret ferent language expe
girls and their achie rie nces with
vements should no
compared with thos t be
e of girls.
Frustration
After the initial novelty
of English sessions, so
children, especially bo me young
ys, become frustrate
to express their thoug d by their inability
hts in English. Others
quickly in English as wa nt to speak
they can in their home
Frustration can often langu age.
be overcome by prov
with ‘performance’ pie iding ch ildren
ces like ‘I can count to
English’ or very simple 12 in
rhymes, which consist
ready-made phrases of
.
 Reading
read in their home
Children who can already
to find out how to read
language generally want
w how to decode
in English. They already kno
age to get meaning
Language-learning words in their home langu
from text and, if not helpe
d to decode in English,
environments may transfer their home
language-decoding
more difficult to pick ding English with the
Young children find it is techniques and end up rea
t provided with the home language accent.
up English if they are no
es, accompanied by English, young children
right type of experienc Before they can decode
rentese’ techniques. habet letter names and
adult support using ‘pa need to know the 26 alp
feel secure and letters but on average
• Young children need to sounds. As English has 26
obvious reason glish), introducing the
know that there is some 44 sounds (in standard En
r left until children have
for using English. remaining sounds is bette
language and reading.
ked to some interesting more experience in using
• Activities need to be lin
t which they already h goes easily if young
everyday activity abou Beginning reading in Englis
glish picture book, language they are trying
know, e.g. sharing an En children already know the
saying a rhyme in Engli
sh, having an rk out by themselves
to read. Many children wo
they have shared picture
‘English’ snack. how to read in English if
d rhymes, as they are
ied by adult language books with adults or learne
• Activities are accompan the language. Reading
entary about what likely to have memorised
giving a running comm is an important step in
s using adjusted what they know by heart
is going on and dialogue children opportunities
learning to read as it gives
parentese language. de simple words by
to work out how to deco
and interesting, have built up a bank
• English sessions are fun themselves, Once children
epts children have y feel confident and
concentrating on conc of words they can read, the
their home language. structured approach.
already understood in are then ready for a more
not learning two
In this way children are e,
as well as new languag
things, a new concept out
English to talk ab
but merely learning the
know.
something they already
by specific objects,
• Activities are backed up
helps understanding
where possible, as this
interest.
and increases general
 Parental su
pport
Children ne
ed to feel th
continual e at they are
ncouragem making pro
ent as well gress. They
as any suc a s praise for g need
cess motiv o
motivate a a tes. Parents are od p e rformance
nd so help in an ideal ,
basic Englis their childre position to
h themselv n le arn , even if the
young child es and are y have only
ren. learning alo
ngside the
ir
By sharing
, parents c
language a an not only
nd activitie bring their
s into family child’s Eng
young child life, but can lish
ren’s attitu also influen
It is now ge des to lang ce their
nerally acc uage learn
e p te ing and oth
formed by d that mos er cultures
the age of t lifelong a .
eight or nin ttitudes are
To find out e.
more, visit
www.british
council.org
/parents
One of a series of booklets commissioned by the British Council to support parents.
Written by Opal Dunn, Author and Educational Consultant from the UK

The United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland).