Kids who are yet to read or write can become good language learners if we have rational training methods. To learn more about this matter, Vietnam Business Forum has an interview with Mr Gavan Iacono, General Director of Language Link Vietnam.
Many parents care very much about teaching English to their kids. Could you tell us some misconceptions about teaching English to children?
According to many studies, the sooner children start learning English, the more they can capture because the younger they are, the less dependence on and domination of shaped grammar interpretation and lingual thought they have. However, this does not mean that young age learning ensures excellence. It is noteworthy that the efficiency of English learning also depends greatly on the frequency of contact and the English environment with which they interact. Thus, parents who want their kids to have a good command of English should provide more opportunities for their children to contact everyday English like listening to music, watching movies with English subtitles, playing games or other activities.
Many parents fear that, without knowledge of English, they cannot mentor their children. With this perspective, they unintentionally reduce their important role. At present, many websites and online English learning tools have automatic function of giving scores, correcting and summarising errors with the aim of helping kids remember and understand quickly. Therefore, parents can grasp the learning progress of their children with those tools to mentor and help their study, although they have limited English.
Another important thing is that kids must be free of psychological pressure for learning results at this stage. Vanessa Reilly and Sheila M. Ward, the authors of “Very Young Learners” Book, say: “Kids may take a long time to acquire a language before using it to speak and write. Forcing them to speak or write a language is not a good way, because it may cause pressure and stress for them.” Furthermore, learning a language always starts with a “silent period" which is characterised by the acquisition of tones and characteristics of the language. It means that a kid does not really speak, but can still receive and remember what they learn.
At
Language Link, we use picture books that kids love very much, simple games, songs, creative activities, and toys to help them interact and inspire them communicate with teachers and tutors in English. These forms will help them develop interest and love learning a new language, while helping them gain confidence with peers in a joyful and relaxing way.
However, these methods are suitable for children under 8 years old but they are not suitable for older ones. Learning with games, repetitive activities, and songs becomes less attractive when they have a more developed brain.
What are the differences in teaching English for young learners at Language Link?
Our
Pre-Starters course is based on interests and psychologies of children aged between 5 and 7. This is generally a transitional period of kids. Some have never been away from home before and some may be accustomed to school, but may not attend a Western-style class. Our Pre-Starters classes can help them experience this cultural transitional period in an expected manner in terms of behaviours and learning styles.
These young students like to talk about themselves and their families, like colourful painting books, love to do crafts and make drawings, like to listen to songs and sing to catch everyone's attention, love snacks and plays, and love to listen to stories. We take advantage of these activities to help children participate in interactive lessons and learn the most basic English.
During the Pre-Starters course, native English teachers - with pedagogical qualifications, passion and experience - always know how to stimulate an active learning environment and make kids feel secure and comfortable. When they are free of psychological pressure, kids will speak English very confidently. You can trust that when you enrol your kids in a Pre-Starters course at Language Link, they will speak with strong pronunciation and rhythm, although they know just a few words and some simple sentences. They will be surely confident to communicate with foreigners.
For more information, please contact:
Language Link Vietnam:
- 62 Yen Phu Road - Tel: 04 3927 3399
- 80A Lang Ha Street - Tel: 04 3776 3388
- 24 Dai Co Viet Street - Tel: 04 3974 4999
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