At what age and how to teach a child English. How to help a child learn English How to teach English to children correctly

Many modern parents are wondering how to explain English to their child. Indeed, this is a very pressing problem, because everyone knows how important it is in our world to speak foreign languages ​​- often, their knowledge helps a person to significantly succeed in life, make a good career and move to a new level of well-being. And the best time to learn English is in childhood, when a person’s mind is as flexible and receptive to new information as possible. But how can we begin to solve this important task? How can parents help their child learn new information? You can succeed if you listen to the advice of experts.

Of course, the best person to explain English to a child is a specialist. Enroll your little one in courses so that an experienced teacher can work with him. After all, mom and dad themselves, even if they are fluent in a foreign language, are unlikely to be able to pass on their knowledge to the child - for this you need to be, first of all, a teacher.

An experienced specialist is able to interest the baby. In addition, it is important that the child will gain knowledge surrounded by his peers, and learning together is much easier and more interesting. So a professional English kindergarten, for example, will be an ideal option for you. In such conditions, a child will be able to master a foreign language no worse than if he lived in a state where everyone communicates in it.

However, it also happens that parents have to work with their son or daughter on their own. And then the question of how to interest a child in English becomes very relevant. Note that the easiest and most convenient way to do this is by playing. Use bright, beautiful, interesting books, cubes, toys, pictures with English letters or words. The more the child likes them, the faster and easier he will master new knowledge.

The method of collaborative learning is also very effective. In this case, the child and his parents (or at least one of them) learn a foreign language together. Moreover, mom or dad must make sure that everything is absolutely clear to the child, that he receives an answer to each of his questions, and that he does not have any blank spots left. Remember, even if some element of grammar or figure of colloquial speech seems insignificant to you, the little student should receive an explanation in any case. After all, it is impossible to master English if “blank spots” remain in the process of mastering it. Remember that you can become the best teacher for your son or daughter - the main thing is to try hard.

It's no secret that a child's success in school depends on his motivation to study a particular subject. When he is interested, new knowledge is absorbed by itself. A trip to Greece or to the Egyptian pyramids awakens in a little person a craving for history, a trip to the mountains - for geography. The children's construction set develops spatial thinking in the baby. The simplest experiments in natural history can inspire a passion for physics and chemistry. Children's perception is very specific. A little person enters a world where there is an overabundance of information. Therefore, from this mass he selects only that which may seem useful to him. Well, why study foreign languages ​​if everyone around you - in the family, at school, and on the street - speaks their native language? Insufficient understanding of the benefits often leads to poor grades in this subject. In this article we will tell parents how to motivate their child to learn a foreign language.

"New Latin"

So, someone else's speech. Russian is one of the world languages. All international agreements and conventions are translated into it. But still, English is considered the language for planetary communication. Explain to your child that in the Middle Ages, every more or less educated person had to know Latin. Only with its help could a Pole and a Spaniard, a Swede and an Italian understand each other. In the modern world, Latin has replaced English. Having mastered it, you can communicate with all people on the planet - the Japanese, the Germans, the French. In many countries besides Great Britain, this language is the official language. This includes the USA and Canada, as well as South Africa, Australia, and Malta. Let your child correspond with a girl or boy from these countries. First, help him compose messages and translate replies. Very quickly your child will understand why he needs to learn English. After all, he will want to tell his foreign peer something that parents should not know about.

Trips

Nothing develops a child's mind more than a complete change of environment. Another country, new acquaintances... What a pity that among numerous peers on the playground, your child feels like a black sheep only because “the great and powerful” is not enough to communicate with them. When children are small, sign language comes to the rescue. But in order to integrate more fully into the team and make friends, you have to go further. The child himself will understand why he needs to learn languages: so that he has someone to have fun with. In addition, a minimum vocabulary will allow a child to navigate a new country and prevent him from getting lost. Fluency in the language of the country will give you the joy of communicating with local residents and will allow you to learn more about the country.

Back to basics

Perhaps your ancestors come from other countries, belong to other nationalities. Convince your child that it is a shame not to know the language his grandfathers spoke. Even if you communicate in Russian with your family, let knowledge of this dialect be your small asset. Then you will be able to freely talk about private topics in public places. And one more reason why you need to study foreign languages: your foreign relatives may come to you. It doesn’t matter whether your family emigrated from there or they left Russia. It will be great if the child greets them with greetings in their native language. In addition, if you decide to change citizenship, all family members will have to demonstrate that they are fluent in the dialect of the new country of residence. For example, a Pole's Card or a Hungarian passport can only be obtained after successfully passing a language exam.

Continuing your studies

Is your child making progress in a certain school subject and dreams of continuing his specialized education at a university? Educate him in advance that in higher educational institutions, even technical ones, the requirements for mastering a foreign language are very high. After all, all scientific achievements are first published in American journals. A foreign language at a university assumes that the student has already mastered a basic level of knowledge. If a child misses school science and does not master the subject at a sufficient level, he will not only fail the session, but will not even pass the competition for some faculties. After all, a foreign language is included in the entrance exam program for many specialties, and not only philological ones.

Career growth: why you need to study languages

Moving up the career ladder is another reason to put in the effort and spend time cramming English. If you need to send an employee to a prestigious international conference, who will the boss choose for an overseas business trip - a dumb worker or a person who can express an idea, make new and useful connections, promote his products, and conclude a lucrative contract? The answer is obvious. This is why you need to learn languages: to stand out from your colleagues. Moreover, with knowledge of English, the latest information is available to you. You can read or google what is “closed sealed” for others.

Just for fun

Even the best translation cannot compare with the original. He is like a crutch when walking. Supports, but does not allow healthy legs to enjoy running. Each language has its own sound, melody, specificity, flavor, in a word, soul. An adverb conveys the character of the people who speak it. English is very logical and structured, German is precise, Spanish is passionate, Italian and Ukrainian are the most melodic, French has come up with so many words about love like no other. Intrigue your child - why do you need to learn languages? To be able to watch films and read books in the original, so that when listening to music, you can enjoy not only the melody, but also the lyrics of the song. Join the world treasury of culture, the key to which is given only by knowledge of languages.

We, adults, learn English for a long time and painfully. We are looking for a suitable method, trying to wrap our heads around the rules of a different linguistic system, “re-educating” our articulatory apparatus for other sounds.

It is much easier for a child to learn English from scratch: children literally absorb it! Those grammatical structures that we diligently learn are instantly “absorbed” by them. Without analysis, which we are not yet capable of, but just like that.

The child can speak both two and three languages. The main thing is to constantly work with him. Therefore, dear adults (present and future parents), we are preparing to raise English-speaking children! And we will help you with this.

So, on the agenda (table of contents of the article):

How to start learning English with your child on your own: the “immersion” technique

Recently, our entire country was conquered by a baby named Bella Devyatkina. This girl, at just 4 years old, speaks 7 (in addition to her native) languages: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Chinese and Arabic.

In fact, a child can master more languages, because, as Masaru Ibuka wrote in the acclaimed book “After Three It’s Too Late”:

“...a child’s brain can accommodate an unlimited amount of information...”

So, if in a family the mother is Russian, the father is English-speaking, and the nanny, say, is German, then the child will speak all three languages ​​without any difficulties. And there will be no “mixing” of languages ​​(as many skeptics say). Just the mother will be with the baby for “A Christmas tree was born in the forest”, and dad for ABC songs. 🙂

But Bella's parents are Russian! How then is this possible? It turns out that she Since childhood, her mother spoke only English to her(that is, the conditions for bilingualism were created artificially). After her parents noticed her interest in languages, they hired native-speaking tutors for her - and so the child turned out to be a polyglot.

And this example is far from alone. Masaru Ibuka in his work also talks about such bilingual children (by the way, read this book - it is amazing).

If you speak English perfectly and you feel confident enough to speak only it, then no theory and articles like “where to start learning English with a child from scratch” won't be needed. Just speak to your baby in English. That's all.

Please note: in this case, you will not be able to speak Russian with your preschooler. Other family members speak Russian to him, but you ONLY speak English.

But What should parents do who are not so confident in their English? Indeed, in this case, training using the “immersion in a language environment” method will be impossible (unless you hire a native speaker as a nanny). We will answer this question in the article.

At what age should you start learning English with your child?

A whole discussion has arisen between teachers regarding this issue: when is the best time to start, is it worth learning English with kids or not? Our answer is yes, it is worth it. But the main thing is to wait until the child completes the process of forming his native language. That is, he will have clear sound pronunciation and properly developed coherent speech. Since each child develops differently, it is impossible to give any exact time frame. But minimum ≈ from 2.5 years(not before).

How to learn English with a child on your own - where to start?

Best send your child to a special language nursery, if possible. Then you won’t have to take on such serious responsibility, and besides, the child will have that same “separation of languages” in his mind (Russian at home, English in the nursery). And you yourself can support your child’s interest and progress with games, cartoons, songs, etc.

If you still want to learn English with your child on your own, then you can motivate him with an “English doll”. Buy a doll (you can use a glove doll) and introduce her to the baby, saying that she doesn’t understand anything in Russian. In order to communicate with the “English woman,” he will have to learn a new, but very interesting language. Well, then you play with this doll, watch cartoons, learn songs and poems... all this will be discussed below.


For example, characters from Sesame Street are perfect as a doll.

What language skills can be developed in preschoolers?

Of course, no grammar, spelling, etc. A child of preschool age can:

  • perceive speech by ear,
  • speak for yourself
  • read (together with the parent, and then study/look at the book on his own if it interests him).

That is the child will master all the same skills English as well as Russian at this age.

By the way, you don’t have to worry too much about “speaking” and correct pronunciation of English sounds. It is we, adults, who are rebuilding our articulatory apparatus after the Russian sounds that are familiar to us. A The child will learn the correct pronunciation much sooner.

To develop this skill It's best to sing songs and learn Nursery Rhymes behind an English-speaking announcer: children's “monkeyism” and unique children's hearing will do their job. If there are still any shortcomings, then simply correct the baby, but without any complicated explanations.

We invite you to figure out English sounds yourself. Read the articles:

How to teach English with children from the very beginning: 5 concrete ways

1. Watch cartoons in English with your child. Do you think he won't understand? You are wrong :) Children at this age have incredible linguistic intuition. They may not understand the words, but the emotions in the voices of the characters and on their painted “faces” will help them, the music will help them, etc. You will be surprised, but after watching a cartoon, he may begin to repeat words from it and hum songs.

Also use special Russian-language cartoons to learn the language.

2. “Learn” English words and phrases with him(the first word is in quotation marks for a reason). These are not lessons or training sessions. This is your daily communication with your child, during which you speak English vocabulary to him.

- Mom, look - a car!
- Yes, it really is a machine. Do you know how it would be in English? Car! This is a car.

Main rules:

  • Words need to be used in the context of the situation: during lunch we talk about food, while walking around the zoo we talk about animals, etc.
  • Accordingly, we master only those words that are related to the child’s current life: family, colors, clothes, animals, fruits, etc.
  • Any word must immediately be visually reinforced: for the word “dog” – this is a toy, a picture/photo or a shaggy and barking dog next to you :)


This visual image will help you learn new words with ease.

One more thing: so that your child immediately “masters” English grammar (again in quotes), tell him whole phrases. After all, if you tell him individual words, he will repeat the words, and if you tell him whole sentences, he will begin to use sentences.

- Dog!
– This is a dog!

Also, to master new words, you can use various games, handouts (coloring books, assignments, etc.), while working with which the child will get great pleasure!

3. Learn children's songs and rhymes with him. You can find them on the sites below (or search in Yandex and Google). It is best to present the poem itself to the child in the form of a small “dramatization”, because many poems have a certain plot behind them and are easily acted out (live or on dolls).

The kid may ask you to translate the verse into Russian - you translate it, and then again act out the “performance” in front of him. The main rule: DO NOT ask your child to repeat after you. Yours the task is to interest him in this incomprehensible language. Many children can at first just listen and listen and listen, and then suddenly begin to “scramble” these poems by heart :)


For example, the song “Old Macdonald had a farm” has been played out in many different cartoons. Lyrics available .

Stages of working on a poem:

  • First, you yourself study the content of a poem or song, practice your pronunciation (sounds in words, intonation, rhythm).
  • Then you practice reading it expressively and think of a visual support for the child: a performance with toys, some kind of dance... in general, turn on your imagination!
  • Now you can present your work to your child’s judgment. After this, discuss the performance with your child: what he understood, what moment he liked the most.
  • Then invite your child to “join” your production and prepare a joint performance for other family members. But for this, the child will have to learn this rhyme (this will create motivation).
  • You can also find (or invent) a finger or sign game based on this rhyme. Then you can periodically invite your child to play it in any suitable situations (of course, if he wants to).

4. Read books in English with your child. You can start when he already knows individual words. Simple stories will be quite understandable to children, and pictures will explain the incomprehensible.

If a book really interests him, he will take it on his own and look at it, study it (this will create motivation to learn to read). In addition, the child will “photograph” words with his eyes and remember their appearance. It turns out, your task is to interest him in reading.

Systematic learning to read begins only at 4-5 years of age according to the principle from simple to complex:

An amazing website will help you teach your child to readwww.starfall.com . For example, go to this section and learn with your child to read words with the short sound / a / (æ). Each sound is pronounced in a cheerful child's voice and is accompanied by explanatory animation. Just a find!

Where can you find books to read in English:

And remember that still An e-book can't compare to a real one., which you can touch and then leaf through with enthusiasm. So be sure to buy some colorful English books for your library!

5. Play fun games with your baby! And he won’t even notice that during this game you are teaching him something. When the child is very young, organize joint games. For a grown-up “student,” you can offer online games for learning English. Below you will find a list of both.

Learning English words for children - games

The classic way to learn new vocabulary is vocabulary cards(that is, word + translation + picture). By the way, there is a whole one on our blog.


Examples of vocabulary cards from Lingualeo. The full list is available.

But it will be even better if you create them together with your baby. Together you will select pictures, glue them to pieces of paper or cardboard, etc. Then, already during preparation for the “English language games”, the child will learn something. What to do next with the cards? Here are some options:

1. Cards can be used to play pantomime. First, you tell the baby an English word (and show it on the card), and the child must represent this word with gestures. Then you can play “reverse” pantomime - the child (or you) depicts the animal, action, object that he pulled out, and the rest of the participants guess.

2. Game “Show me”. Place several cards in front of the child, and then call out one word from this list - the child must touch the desired card.

3. “Yes-No game.” You show the cards and say the words correctly or incorrectly (when showing a hippopotamus, say “tiger”). The child answers “Yes” or “No”.


– Is it a tiger? – No!!!

4. Game “What’s missing”. Lay out a row of cards (4-5 pieces). Look at them with your baby and say the words. The child closes his eyes, and you remove one word. Tell me what's missing?

5. Game “Jump to...”. You lay out the cards on the floor in a vertical row and give the child the task of jumping to a certain word (great if the baby is bored).

These are just a few mechanics using cards. By turning on your imagination, you can come up with even more variations of games. And we will move on. What other games can I use?

5. Game “Is it. ...?”. You gradually draw an object, and the child tries to guess it. For example, draw half a circle, and the child guesses:

– Is it a ball? Is it the Sun?
– No, (continue drawing)
– Is it an apple?
– Yes!🙂

6. Another version of the game “Is it. ...?” - a card with a hole. Cut a hole in a piece of fabric (or a sheet of paper) and place it on a vocabulary card. Move the hole around the picture, and the child guesses what is hidden there.

7. Magic bag. You put different objects in a bag, and the baby takes them out and names them. An even more interesting option: he puts his hand into the bag and guesses the contents by touch.

8. Game “Touch your…nose, leg, hand…” (generally parts of the body).

“Touch your mouth,” you say, and the baby touches his mouth.

9. Games will help children learn English colors easily. For example, you give him objects of different colors and ask him to find and select things of a certain color from them (by the way, the same task can concern words starting with a certain letter, etc.).

10. Another example of playing with colors– “Find something…. in the room.”

“Find something red in the room!” - and the child looks for something of the specified color.

11. How to learn verbs. Perform some action with your baby and talk through what exactly you are doing:

- “Fly! We are flying,” and pretend that you are flying.
– “Let's sing! We are singing!” – and hold an imaginary microphone in your hands.
– “Jump! Jump!” - and you happily jump around the room.

Don't forget about role-playing games. For example, play “shop”. The child’s task is to buy groceries from an English-speaking saleswoman (that’s you). Before this, you remember words and phrases that will be useful to him in the store, and after that the child acts out this situation. This game can be played under any imaginary conditions.

And definitely act out plays, fairy tales etc. For example, invite your child to make a video or film! The girls will definitely be delighted. 🙂

Useful sites. Learning English from scratch for children: games, alphabet, videos, printable materials

When your child is older, you can invite him to play online games. Particularly when you need some free time to do things around the house.

1. Online games for children: learn the English alphabet and words

www.vocabulary.co.il

This site was already mentioned above when talking about the game “Hangman”. It has a huge number of online word games. For example, Whack a mole helps you repeat the alphabet in a fun way: you need to hit the letters with a hammer and collect the correct sequence of the alphabet.


We aim and hit the desired letter with a hammer

Or the game Word paths, where children must assemble words from available letters with a certain vowel sound. As you can see, the games are designed for different ages, which means the site will help your children for many years.

www.eslgamesplus.com

Another great site with online games for kids. For example, this game, where hidden behind the emoticons:

  1. verb,
  2. picture for this verb.

The task is to combine. With each attempt, the words are spoken out. Playing is a pleasure.

Game Pirate Waters Board Game also deserves special attention. First, choose a topic that the child already knows (for example, body parts). Then you throw the dice (to do this you need to click on the image of the cube) and walk along the board. You are asked a question, and you choose an answer. If it is given correctly, you roll the dice again.

If you encounter a pirate, start over. In this case the child will repeat the correct construction several times while the game is running. The only drawback is that there is no voiceover of the correct answer (which would develop auditory skills). Therefore, advice: for the first time, play with your child in order to:

  1. help him understand the conditions of the game (then you won’t be able to drag him away by the ears),
  2. teach him to pronounce the correct answer on his own every time (so that the constructions are deposited in memory).

www.mes-english.com

This site also has printables (+ opportunity to make your own worksheets), and videos and games. Let's focus on games. For example, there is a great online vocabulary game. First, go to the Vocabulary column and listen and memorize the words. Then we go to the Question and answer section and listen to the question and answer:

– What’s this?
– It’s a Lion!

And then to the Question only column, where you and your baby need to answer.

supersimplelearning.com

This site also has cartoons, songs and games. For example, interactive alphabet games, which are suitable for beginners. Select a set of letters and a level (first Level 1).

Next, click on a letter (for example, “a”) and listen to the pronunciation of this letter (or rather, the sound, of course, but kids don’t need to know such difficulties) and the word starting with it. All this action is accompanied by a funny picture.


The voice acting and animation of the game are simply excellent!

At the next level you are asked to choose a letter based on the word you hear. At the third level - only by sound.

learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org

Another super useful site (it’s not surprising - it’s the British Council). For example, word games, where you need to match a word and a picture. Or Trolley Dash game, where you need to quickly buy all the products on your shopping list (tested: very exciting!)

www.englishexercises.org

A large number of tasks (online and for downloading). For example, you need watch the video and fill in the blanks in the right words (for older children).

The logic of the English question

If you have explained to your child what “is”, “am” and “are” are, you can easily explain how to ask a general question in English. It is enough to use a simple example to show how words change places. The logic of the explanation could be something like this:

Say in Russian that the cat is white.
- The cat is white.
-Now ask.
- Is the cat white?
- How will I understand whether you are saying this or asking?
- (The child tries to explain that using intonation).
- Now write that the cat is white.
- (Writes: “The cat is white.”)
- Now ask me in writing.
- (Writes: “The cat is white?” If he forgets to put a question mark, you need to ask what is missing.)
- How will I understand where you just said and where you asked?
- (Here it’s easier for the child: he points to the dot and the question mark).
- Is there any other way to understand? Suddenly you forgot to put a period or a question mark... I can somehow determine what you wanted: to tell me that the cat is white, or to ask me if the cat is white.
(Usually it is obvious to the child that there are no other differences in the sentence).
- And in English it is very easy to understand, even if you don’t put periods and question marks. Because the sentences turn out to be completely different, and if they are not made different, then no one will ever understand whether you are asking or just speaking.
- (How to do this?)

This is easy to explain to an adult: you need to say, for example, that the linking verb changes places with the subject. However, a child is rarely ready to easily perceive information through abstract categories and terms (although this does happen). Usually you need to look for a "workaround".

Write in English that the cat is white.
- (Writes: “A cat is black.”)
- Is this a question?
- No.
- Let's learn to ask a question.

Before telling a child exactly how an English question is asked, you need to prepare him so that he perceives the information clearly and structuredly, so that he can easily summarize the information and easily remember the rule. To do this, I usually circle the subject and linking verb in a common frame and enclose them in separate cells.

Then I draw the same frame, only not filled with words, and after the frame I put a dot and draw the child’s attention to it.

To make it clear to the child what happened, I use arrows to show that the cells have swapped places:

Is a cat black ?

What happened? Read it.

With the help of such a simple explanation, you can avoid explaining the need for terms and concepts, but at the same time help the child understand the rule precisely at the level of abstraction. Then, based on what concepts your child knows, you can describe the formation of the question: “Verb and noun swapped places. Verb became the first. The verb became at the beginning of the sentence."

If it seems to you that the child is not yet ready to perceive this information with the help of such signs, you can make the explanation even more clear. Write the sentence “A cat is black” on a separate sheet of paper, and then cut it in front of the child. Don’t forget that the result should be four fragments: “A cat” - “is” - “black” - “ . (dot)". On the back of the piece of paper with a dot, write a question mark. Fold the resulting leaves into a sentence, and then swap “a cat” and “is”, and turn over the card with a dot. After this, you can again put together an affirmative sentence and again show how the question “adds up.”

In the future, you need to make sure that when performing exercises related to the English general question, the child has a simple sign in front of his eyes:

... .
... ?

It will help the child visualize the differences between a question and a “non-question” and construct questions, clearly understanding their structure.

Exercises

After the explanation, you can move on to the exercises.

    Make a question out of an affirmative sentence, and an affirmative sentence out of a question.

    If you suspect that it may be difficult for a child, exercises to make an affirmative sentence from a question, and a question from an affirmative sentence, can be done at first by cutting the sheet into fragments and “folding” the sentences: this will make it easier for the child to understand “ mechanism of the question.

    After you make sure that this mechanism is clear to the child, write a sentence and ask the child to write a question under it, or write a question and ask to write an affirmative sentence (in order not to overload the child with the term “affirmative sentence,” I often resort to the phrase “regular sentence” “just a suggestion”… “not a question”, etc.).

    Finally, say a sentence and ask your child to say a question.

    Ask your child to determine whether he read (heard) a question or a regular sentence. As an independent task that your child can do in your absence, you can invite him to place periods and question marks at the end of the sentences you write.

    If you have already told your child about the forms “am”, “is”, are”, exercises on word order in an English question can be combined with exercises on the ability to use these three forms. For example, an exercise when you say a question in Russian and the child pronounces the first word from an English sentence can be very “giving”:
    - Is this dog striped?
    - Is...
    -Are we on the second floor now?
    -Are...

    The child’s vocabulary is still too small to fully translate sentences, but he is absolutely ready for numerous grammar tasks, while the absence of restrictions on the subject matter of the “translated” sentences creates the illusion of diversity.

    This exercise can also be done in writing, in the form of a kind of dictation: the child writes down his answers, and you then check them.

    Do not forget that the English translation of Russian sentences should not contain a semantic verb. Do not allow your child to mistakenly “translate” questions like “Is Tolik running?” or “Is the dog squinting?”

    The next step could be an exercise in translating the first two words of the question you are saying. In this case, the subject should be either a word very familiar to the baby, or a pronoun that does not cause him any particular difficulties:
    - (Pointing to something) Are they pink?
    - Are they...
    - Is the pig green?
    - Is a pig…

    This exercise is also good because it removes the fear of speaking English and translating sentences from Russian into English. The child is not faced with the task of translating the entire question, and that is why, when pronouncing the first two words, he is often surprised to discover that he has already translated the question almost completely. If he knows all the words, after a pause he often tries to translate the rest of the question:
    - Is a pig … … … green?

    In this case, you can alternate “very simple” questions, which the child can fully translate, with complex ones, the complete translation of which he is clearly unable to translate. At the same time, it is important that the child’s attention does not “slip” from the grammatical task. If the child “translates” the first two words of a sentence with errors, do not rush things and say questions that the child cannot fully translate, only then will he return to the task of correctly translating the first two words.

    If the previous exercise is successfully completed, you can move on to having the child learn to choose between the order of words in an affirmative sentence and in a question. You say “ordinary” sentences or questions, and the child says the same first two words, but now he must understand in time in what order to pronounce them:
    - Are they chocolate?
    - Are they...
    - They are very tasty.
    - They are...

    As with the previous exercise, the child may want to translate the entire sentence. In this case, you need, of course, to give him such an opportunity, however, I remind you that it is important not to miss the main goal of the exercise: to learn to make a choice between the order of the first two words.

    Only after it becomes obvious that the child can translate the first two words in a sentence can one proceed to the targeted translation of specially composed sentences and questions containing those words whose translation the child is familiar with. This can be done both orally and in writing.

    Write short dialogues for your child containing both questions and affirmative sentences. Some of them can be read aloud to the child (for example, act out a dialogue between toys), others can be read to the baby.

    Try talking to your child, asking him basic questions and teaching him basic answers.

In conclusion, it should be clarified that one should begin studying general issues only from the present time. Even if your child seems to have quickly grasped the structure of the question, take your time and do not complicate the task by using future and past tense forms. Even if at first glance he quickly copes with this task, later, as experience shows, he will begin to get confused, different structures will become confused for him. And, on the contrary, if he has mastered the form of the present tense to the point of automatism, then it will help him quickly and reliably master other tenses.

And the last, but by no means unimportant note. Children, as a rule, quickly grasp the proposed grammatical structures, and therefore the illusion may arise that the child has already mastered everything and in the next lessons this topic can be touched upon only in passing, as if it is already known to the child. But practice shows that in reality everything is a little more complicated. The next day it may turn out that the child is not able to cope with tasks that yesterday he solved very easily. Don't be surprised or annoyed. It’s enough to do all the exercises with it again, but faster. The child will remember and recognize them. After a while, the answers will become self-evident to him. Then you can move on to explaining the next grammatical material (the auxiliary verb “do”).