Ways to help your child improve English speaking skills

So… Why does my child seem to know English but can’t speak fluent English?

Possible reason #1

This is the most common one: children learn to read and write in English, but they are not taught to communicate. Communication is not something they pay attention to in English classes at school. You need to create the right environment for the child to learn. It’s like trying to tell someone how to ride a bike, what a bike is, where the wheels and pedals are and how they work, without actually putting them on a bike. They might learn a lot about it, but they won’t be able to ride it! As an example, by simply reading books in English your kid won’t start to speak English. But, reading in English out-loud is a great method for teaching English which boosts confidence in speaking English.

Possible reason #2

This one is also quite common: your child is learning to speak English and they seem to have every opportunity to do so… but the teacher is always correcting the child’s mistakes. What happens then? No one likes to be corrected all the time. This takes away the desire to do anything, especially when it comes to children. They want to try and do everything on their own. They need to try it until they fall or get burned, and warnings from their parents mean very little to them. You need to let them try it, and if they fail, explain what to do to get a better result. A position of an observer means always supporting your child, not overcomplicating things by unloading a lot of theoretical knowledge on them. Use as few words as possible and don’t interrupt during speaking practice despite your kid’s level of English. Kids don’t like to listen, they want to learn. Listening is tiring and creates an illusion of the subject in question being too complicated.

Let’s get back to English. If the teacher doesn’t encourage children’s efforts to speak English and only corrects their mistakes, this will make them stop trying to speak. They will have this misconception that speaking is difficult, “I always make mistakes”, “No one understands me…” There are a lot of recommendations about how to correct the mistakes children make without doing any harm. If a child is trying to take the first step to learning a foreign language, it is important to try not to scare them away. And this means no interruptions. You can repeat what they said without the mistakes they made so that they can see how to say it correctly. But if kids are trying to create a dialog between each other, it is better to just listen.

Possible reason #3

The child is very shy and quiet, it’s hard to hear them among the loud voices of their classmates, and after making a few attempts to talk they give up. So, the main condition for learning is not being met – they are not practicing speaking. You need to make sure to create the right environment for each child in the group to participate in the lesson. An individual approach is needed, so that everyone can take part in the interaction. 1:1 lessons with a native English speaker teacher is a great opportunity for raising a bilingual child who feels confident about speaking in front of many people in English.

Possible reason #4

The child is not interested in the topic being discussed, so they don’t want to participate in the conversation. Maybe the topic of the lesson or a particular task at hand is not suitable for the child’s age? It’s like teaching someone to ride a bike when their feet can’t reach the pedals. Or teaching someone to swim before they learn to tread water. Anyone would be confused in a situation like that… Do you have a huge fan of Disney movies at home? Practice speaking activities in English while pretending to be one of the Disney princesses or characters. 

Furthermore, all the tasks have to be suitable for the child’s age, they need to be interesting and relevant to children and their daily life. Asking for strawberry ice cream is relevant for 4, 6 or even 12-year-olds. But the language tools used will differ depending on the age. At 4, it’s enough to say “strawberry ice cream?” At 6, kids can use the full sentence “Can I have some strawberry ice cream, please?” And at 12, you can learn difficult constructions, such as “Is there any strawberry ice cream available?” But booking a hotel room, on the other hand, is not a relevant topic for kids of any age. It does not make them want to participate in the conversation and does not correspond to their individual needs. In everyday life it’s parents who deal with matters like that.