Teach English in ZhaoyuZhen - Jinzhong Shi

There’s no denying that English has played an important role in the modern world. In Vietnam, parents are willing to spend the great amount of money in paying English tuition fee for their children from their young ages. However, the number of children who can speak English as a second language is still low. Many parents thinks depending on teachers at school and extra class is the only way to improve their children’s English level. In my opinion, my parents can make a great contribution to the learning process of their children. In this essay, I want to discuss some methods that should be used to help their child in learning English. There are various ways that parents can do to help their children. Firstly, they can support their children to gain confidence and feel more motivated by giving them lots of praise and opportunities to practise English. In term of building confidence, children are usually afraid of speaking English in front of people because of making mistakes. They feel more comfortable trying things with their parents. Hence, parents give them more chances to practise English, like: practising their assignment, telling their favourite topics and stories. Parents can support their children’s to choose materials that they interest and provide an environment where their children can explore, learn new things. This is an effective way for children to boost their confidence and learning skills. Secondly, children spend only a few hours studying English at school. It takes children about 3-4 hours per week to learn English in Vietnam, so it is difficult for them to improve their level without practising at home. Listening skills are an example. Students, especially young learners, seldom spend some time every day listening to the audio material from the course by themselves, so this needs the support of their family. During my teaching, I realise that students improve much faster if their parents pay attention more to their homework, and students who listen to their audio material daily and interact with their parents in English, are the ones who speak English fluently. Thirdly, reading is an invaluable skill that only improves with practice. Parents can help by providing access to books and reading aloud to their children. It is not important to choose books written in English or native language. Reading everyday with children not only improve their overall reading fluency but also preserve their culture. For example, students who read well in another language are more bound to be success in English literacy. There is concern that is impossible for parents to help their children in learning English if they can not speak English fluently. Many parents are also afraid that their children will copy error if they pronounce English correctly. Fortunately, thanks to the development of technology children easily access different sources of learning English with different accents. As the result, their accents may be influenced by lots of things like: their teachers, their peer group, singers in songs, and so on. In addition, the accents of children can change easily when they grow up. Lastly, it is hard to say what is correct English pronunciation. There are over 100 different regional and local varieties of English like Australia, Canada, the UK and USA. For parents who know little about English, one of the greatest ways to help their children learn English is by attempting to learn English themselves. This is because parents set a good example of their children in an inquisitive mind, and then it will become a great motivator for their children. Furthermore, when parents are able to use English at home, more opportunities will arise for children to practice speaking and listening. In conclusion, it is obvious that parents have been nominated as a crucial factor of their children’s learning process. Parents should involve in their children’s English learning by supporting and providing their children a comfortable English environment.