Samuel Ajayi

Turn lessons into songs. The ABC songs and other English rhymes are perfect way to start with children.

Create visual diagrams to illustrate new vocabulary: Highlighting, underlining, and circling are all common visual tricks adults use to recall snippets of information. Creating visual diagrams is the same basic idea, so that the little ones can start to visualize what English looks like. As a bonus, students can more easily locate learning aids with distinct colors and illustrations among their folders of messy papers.

Encourage mnemonic devices to memorize grammar rules: Every Big Girl Deserve Adequate Education is a popular mnemonic device for recalling the order of strings in a guitar. When it comes to teaching English to children, memory aids make it easier to remember hard-to-spell words or complex grammar points.

Chip in spontaneous or consistent dialogues throughout the lesson :What did you do this weekend? By kicking off class with an expected question, you can get your students thinking about what they’ll say long before class even starts. Natural dialogue also introduces students to everyday vocabulary relevant to their own lives and interests.

If you’re working with a class, rather than a single student, you can also sprinkle in some side conversations with students as they work diligently on differentiating between I and me. Ask what’s for lunch, how the last soccer game went, or anything at all that gets them excited to share!

Review vocabulary through role playing: After all, teaching English to children should be about building up speaking confidence and a solid foundation. Pick up some wacky wigs, sunglasses, and hats to help students step into character and feel more like they’re acting, not just presenting a dialogue.

Repeat previous lessons in every class: Assuming the average class duration is only an hour or less, that leaves a whole lot of time in the day to forget everything a student just learned. Children won’t retain as much information as adults, so repetition is key in English for young learners.