"There is a situation arising in China that is becoming more and more of a problem. It concerns the parents of children in our schools. No matter how hard we try to tell them what they can realistically expect a child of seven to learn, they still expect more. The biggest problem I have now realised is to educate the parents as much as the kids in our classes. We have introduced all the normal, open door policies for speaking to the teachers, observation classes, learning together classes. But now the big one, what can we do at home to help our children learn better? Remembering that these parents have little or no English themselves. HELP please. Any ideas, experiences that you can share I would love to hear about. Thanks."
Any advice or ideas for Andy? How can children improve their English at home when their parents may not speak the language? How can we help parents understand how a child is learning, and what represents good progress? Any tips, suggestions or comments? Contact us
This question is from Andrew Carte, China
Comments
rebecca2
Actually, now it is already a problem in China because most of Chinese parents are now learning english with their children together. The only thing Ithink you need to do is to tell little kids the way to practise what they've learnt in class, e.g. to address their parents, to greet their grandpa, to say good night to their family members. in all, it is the problem of how you as a teacher motivate kids to open their mouth on any occasion. Even if the parents know nothing about English, they still feel quite happy to hear that their kids are using English in daily situations. If kids learn well in class but are able to say nothing in real life situations when it is needed, it would be a failure for teachers.
Margot McCamley, Tunisia
If it is any consolation, this same question is often posed by Japanese and Korean parents - these are ones that I know of. It is difficult. While this is not the answer to your question, it leads to how parents can see what and how their children are actually learning. A scrap book of children's work is something I have used, also I invited parents to come into the classroom and see their children communicating in the classroom not only with the teacher but other children.
I also had some older children write a diary which they did at home. I worked with the students then on their writing skills to improve their written work from the diary.
I'm sure there are many ways teachers can show parents how their children are learning.
The expectation is of course, that a child walks into a classroom and comes out fluent, but that, as we know, is unrealistic. It is really up to the school to tell the parents that this is unrealistic. This is not your problem. You teach effectively, you show the parents how much the child is progressing - that is your task. The school management must sort out the expectations part of things.
Good luck with your teaching.
Val Forrest, England
They could subscribe to an English speaking TV channel and listen as a family - pronunciation and vocabulary would become more familiar. Using English sub-titles with a Chinese speaking programme would develop comprehension skills alongside exposure to text, word formation etc.
Tjahjaning Giemwarudju, Indonesia
The problems you describe about teaching English to young learners as a foreign language in China are the same as those I have in Indonesia. Here I would like to share my ideas on this matter, I teach children (from the age of 4 to 12) by motivating them through songs, nursery rhymes, memorizing things, animals, objects around etc. (starting with familiar objects first); then by using those words to try to teach them songs, and games (using the same vocabulary and sometimes also through games and songs, nursery rhymes, we teach them new vocabulary too). Parents at home (some understand English, some also have little knowledge or none in English) will be delighted and happy to see, watch and hear that their children are able to sing songs, recite nursery rhymes, point at objects in English etc. Learning a language is like learning a habit so there must be repetition; over and over. A good teacher must be able to create a good learning atmosphere by making the learning in such a way that the students will find the learning interesting and enjoyable. Make it a fun learning situation. By doing so I do believe the teaching will be successful, and the parents will also be happy.
In dealing with parents I usually ask them to have some recollection of the past and of how difficult it had been for them to make their beloved son/daughter say "mum" or "dad " (in their mother tongue) because they have to wait for the child at certain age to be able to speak word by word and later into sentences. That's why in teaching them we have to teach them by making some reviews on the subjects we teach over and over. They will surely understand. Hope this suggestion can be useful in teaching English as a Foreign Language to Young Learners not only in China but also in other countries as well. I look forward to receiving your ideas on this matter. Thanks.
Krzysztof Dabrowski, Poland
Why not ask the parents: When did you start speaking Chinese fluently. Depending on their idea of 'fluently' the answers will probably include any age between 5 and 25 (or more). Even if it's five, ask them: How many hours of Chinese had you had before you started speaking the language fluently? The true answer is: thousands, if not hundreds of thousands. The obvious question 3 is: How many hours of English has your child had? Please let me know if it worked for you. Best wishes.
David Noble, Australia
This is a suggestion for an activitiy that Andy may find useful for younger learners: After having done some 'house' vocabulary in class (window, fridge etc.) get the students to make some labels (post-it notes?) and take them home to stick on the appropriate objects. Parents can move them around and kids can put them back in the correct place.