Singapore - Praise kids for their English

A LITTLE encouragement can go a long way in improving your children’s grades in English. This is because when you motivate children, you are building up their confidence, which makes them want to speak the language more frequently.

“When they make a mistake, don’t say things like ‘Why are you so stupid?’, and don’t be on a constant lookout for errors in their speech,” said Dr Tan Khian Seng, 55, a management consultant and motivational teacher.

Despite going through a recent leg operation, he remained upbeat and cheerful.

“The general rule of thumb is to correct the behaviour, but never attack the identity,” added the father of three children who are aged between 14 and 23.

Dr Tan, who holds a PhD in psychology, said that if children are constantly made to feel stupid, they will feel ashamed and demoralised . This will discourage them from trying to speak proper English.

He added that if parents are too quick to rebuke their children, they may be afraid to approach them with further questions.

“This is why, sometimes, teenagers choose to confide in their peers, instead of their parents,” he explained.

Dr Tan encourages parents to help their children grow in confidence by being more generous with praise. Other ways include expanding one’s vocabulary.

“As adults, we always try to master the rules first, and we concern ourselves with getting the grammar and syntax right,” he said.

“But words are the currency of language; the more words you know, the more confident you get in speaking in English.”

Tried and tested ways to improve a child’s vocabulary include watching English movies and playing games.

While some parents may raise an eyebrow at the suggestion of playing games, Dr Tan pointed out that learning needs to be fun, in order for a child’s interest to be piqued.

“The Singaporean culture is too serious and play is often looked down upon. But, for kids, play is learning.”

Another way in which learning can be more effective is for parents to understand a child’s learning style.

Dr Tan explained that there are four types of learning styles : visual, auditory, kinesthetic and digital.

Children with a visual learning style are systematic in their approach and enjoy reading, so the best way to improve their English is to show them printed pages, such as those in a book.

For those with an auditory learning style, he pointed to audio recordings, such as songs and audio books.

“I am an auditory learner myself, so, when I was studying for my doctorate, my car became my library.”

On the other hand, kinesthetic learners love to interact with other people, so they learn more effectively when engaged in group discussions.

And, if your child is a digital learner, then you must be prepared for an endless barrage of questions and be patient with him or her. This is because digital learners like to “just go for the facts” and “take down a lot of notes”, he said.

“If you know these four styles and adapt (your teaching style) accordingly, then your child will learn very fast,” he added.

Another thing that parents need to take note of is to impart good English to their children when they are three to five years old, which is often described as the opportune period for education, as that is when a child’s brain is developing.

But, more importantly, parents must also be realistic and set long-term goals for their children.

“Parents have to see that learning is a lifelong process, and that they have up till when the child is 19 years old to get them to speak good English.

“There is no mad rush, both for the parent and child.”

Sophie Hong | my paper

AsiaOne

Three tips from motivational teacher Tan Khian Seng

Tip 1:

LEARN A WORD FROM THE DICTIONARY EVERY DAY

The more words in the English language a child knows, the more confident the child will be in using the language because words are the currency of language.

If you learn how to use one word from the dictionary every day, you would have learnt 365 words by the end of the year, without taking up too much of your time or tiring yourself out.

Tip 2:

PAY ATTENTION TO HOW YOU ENUNCIATE WORDS

Children pick up a language by listening intensively to their surroundings.

So, if parents enunciate their words correctly at home, it will lead to their children speaking proper English.

Parents can also help their children pick up English from watching movies or listening to songs on the radio.

Tip 3:

NEVER LOSE YOUR TEMPER WITH CHILDREN

Lashing out at children, even if it is unintentional, will cause them to clam up. This will make it even more difficult to correct their mistakes in English subsequently.

Exercise patience when teaching children English and, if you feel your temperature rising, take a deep breath and count to 10 before pointing out their mistakes.

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