Child's Play

March 1999

English alive in Malaysia

Children learn when they are confident, motivated and enthusiastic. English language learning can be easy and fun if pupils are stimulated, interested and encouraged to participate fully in activities which are meaningful to them. After all, we all love to communicate, to put over our point of view and to express ourselves fully.

With a positive approach, English language learning can be creative and fulfilling. Even grammar can be creatively taught. Unfortunately English is often taught in a passive manner, where the child learns rules by heart and then applies them in meaningless exercises.

In order to learn in a positive, interactive way, the pupil needs to be in a comfortable environment, in a small group situation. It is difficult to be interactive in school because the classes are large, so not everyone can join in. One can be more flexible in a learning centre or at home with parents and at the same time extend what is taught at school.

Building high self esteem is of prime importance and this involves encouragement and praise. Students gain confidence with success. To scold or make fun of an error will only discourage.

Learning a language encom-passes the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. Whilst listening and speaking come first, quite soon the four skills are integrated and complement each other.

It is important to start young. The younger a child starts, the more easily and naturally he or she accepts the language. Older boys and girls are sometimes more inhibited and so one can build confidence by playing games with an inbuilt response guide to ensure the correct language structure is practised. All relevant skills should be introduced at every lesson and activities should be changed frequently so there is no time to be bored.

Age appropriate topics take advantage of common interests. For example, group of 11-year-olds might be learning about space exploration, a group of 9-year-olds about dinosaurs and a group of 5-year-olds about teddy bears.

If themes are used to provide a project base through which pupils can explore and extend their skills, they will enjoy the work because it is carefully structured to meet their needs. They will learn through active participation and be interested in the subject matter.

In exploring space, 11-year-olds can extend their vocabulary, work on dictionary and thesaurus skills, have practice in reading and compre-hension, factual and imaginative writing, note-taking and discussion. They can learn and review grammar structures and tenses in related games and with relevant follow-up work.

If there is opportunity for individual attention, children can be taught to have high expectations of themselves and interaction forces a close association within the group.

How can you help as parents?

It is important for the family to speak some English together at home regularly. This reinforces the idea that English is an alternative way of communicating and brings the language into everyday life. Some parents feel that their English is not good enough and that they might therefore set a bad example, but the overriding factor is that English becomes a part of the family experience and everybody can learn together.

You can also introduce some English into everyday activities at home.

• Children can make shopping lists in English for mother, or make a cake from a recipe written in English, or even keep a diary when the family goes on holiday. This can be a record to be shown to grandparents and can include photographs, postcards, tickets and other momentoes.
• Collecting and sorting by size and colour is a great vocabulary-learning experience for small children and you can discuss the different elements.
• Do read stories to children, even when they can read themselves and provide plenty of books of all kinds.
• Games such as Boggle, Scrabble and Monopoly can be good. The key is a positive, encouraging and interactive approach.

In the next issue we will explore how to teach reading and how, as parents and teachers, we can instil a love of books in children. A child who reads has a tremendous advantage, not only in primary school, but looking to the future as a potential university student.

In today’s world, young people need to be comfortable and proficient in English as well as their mother tongue if they are to succeed in international business.