7 Key Actions Parents Can Do to Help Their Children Learn English
Children begin learning from their parents. Parents teach their kids how to walk, how to eat and how to behave. Children learn from their parents as soon as they are born and always look up to their parents as role models. Therefore, parents have a responsibility to be involved in their child's education. Children are more likely to be encouraged if parents take time out of their day to sit down with their child and ask about school. There are many reasons why parents should play an active role in the education process.
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This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Ammarah R. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT.
Attention
First, parents are able to give individualized attention to their children. Parents can encourage their children to see the power of education. When a child enters school, a parent can encourage the student to see the many opportunities learning can offer. Parents can also help a child organize their time and their work. Parents can model what is being taught at schools at home.
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Connection
Second, parents can connect what a child learns in school to the world around them. Instead of bombarding a child with information and homework, use everyday life to connect school and homework with the world. If the student is learning about fractions in school, then bake a cake together and measure out the ingredients. If the child is learning about the weather in school, then take the child out for a walk and ask questions about the clouds and temperature. If the child needs more practice writing, encourage them to write letters to their friends or keep a journal.
Interest
Third, parents will be able to gage a child interest and teach based off of what the child is interested in. Teachers try to use different learning levels in order to encourage different students to participate. However, some students might not be able to fully understand the material in a formal classroom setting. Therefore, parents can teach the student the information in a proper more effective way. If a student learns better with visuals, then a parent should use more visuals when teaching a concept. If the student enjoys learning through videos and discussion then the parent should find videos that relate to the course work.
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Reading
Fourth, read to your child every night. Even if the child is older, reading with your child will expose them to new grammar and vocabulary. Parents should start reading to their children at a young age in order to encourage them to read independently. If a child is unwilling to read on their own then the parent should read to them in order to expose them to new stories and ideas.
Rest
Fifth, don't over teach your children. Children are already in school for 6-8 hours and have homework to do. Parents might notice that their child is starting to become annoyed by their presences and might want a break from school and homework. Therefore, parents should try to sign up their kids for other extracurricular activities. Parents can sign their children up for sports, music, arts or volunteer work. It is important to give the children a break from learning in a formal classroom setting and have them learn how to draw or sing. Make sure to not over schedule the student because school work is always a priority.
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Learning Process
Sixth, the parent can learn something new too! Parents might not remember how to do long division or how to classify all the different trees. Therefore, a parent can learn new information as well. This can motivate the parent to want to sit down with their child in order to learn new information.
Involvement
Lastly, it is important for the parent to be involved with their child's education in order to encourage the student to stay in school. In some cultures, parents are a greater authority figure than teachers and children listen to their parents more. It will be difficult for the parent to get their child to listen all the time but it is important to be patient and gentle with the child.
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