Everywhere’s a classroom, everything’s a textbook.
01/04/26 Filed in: 勉強法
The goal of any parent is for their children to both have fun in their life, and to build out skills and habits that will serve them well as they grow up. This is especially true for English. More and more Japanese universities are emphasizing English skills and ability and some have even switched to offering or even requiring certain courses in English. Who knows how far things will have shifted to English by the time 8-year-old Shota starts applying for post-high school studies?
Of course, that's why so many of you bring your kids to English Now! every week, and that's great! We love seeing them and teaching them, and they love playing and studying with us. But, as much as we can do with them when they're here, we’re only with them for 40-50 minutes once a week. They are at home far more than that. And when they are, many would rather play and have fun, and not spend even more time with a textbook, especially when they already get so much school homework.
The most important part of learning English as a practical life skill, is not about using perfect grammar, or being able to write beautifully, it's about being able to communicate effectively—of getting the thoughts in your head conveyed understandably to the person with whom you're speaking. That is, English as a skill, not just a school subject. And the biggest part of that is using English regularly. Many Japanese parents worry about getting involved with their children's English study. Thought's like "my English isn't good enough", or "I worry I'll teach my child bad English", come up often when I talk to parents. So I've come up with a couple of things you can do with your child that isn't 'study', and doesn't need you to have Eiken Level 1 or 2 English.
The best thing you can do for your child at home is to provide ways for them to hear, see, and speak English regularly and naturally. Chances for them to naturally use the skills, vocabulary and grammar we teach them in our weekly lessons. At English Now!, we send email reports after every class explaining what material we covered. In that email we also say which textbook pages were worked on. It would be great for the parents to have a look at those pages in their kids’ textbooks and see what grammar and vocabulary we covered, and then find chances to bring them up throughout the day. Generally we teach a question-answer pair, so asking questions based on the ones we studied in the textbook will give your child chances to practice what we've learned in class.
It really does help to enjoy English media with your child and we often recommend this in our report cards. English children's books, TV shows, and movies are fantastic. They provide excellent context-rich examples of English in use that your child can engage with without even realizing that they're learning and practicing English. Singing fun children's songs together is even better, as they not only hear the English, but produce it as well, and pick up intonation and rhythm without thinking about it at all—and while having great fun to boot!
English board games like Scrabble are also great for practicing and building out vocabulary—and are a great way for Mom and Dad to stealthily learn English together with their child. These offer a great way to see your child's progress in action, as they get better and better at the games.
English isn't just about textbooks, homework, and tests. It's truly a living thing, and we can do so much with it without ever even thinking that we're learning. And why pass up the chance to learn a little English yourself while helping out little Shota?
Of course, that's why so many of you bring your kids to English Now! every week, and that's great! We love seeing them and teaching them, and they love playing and studying with us. But, as much as we can do with them when they're here, we’re only with them for 40-50 minutes once a week. They are at home far more than that. And when they are, many would rather play and have fun, and not spend even more time with a textbook, especially when they already get so much school homework.
The most important part of learning English as a practical life skill, is not about using perfect grammar, or being able to write beautifully, it's about being able to communicate effectively—of getting the thoughts in your head conveyed understandably to the person with whom you're speaking. That is, English as a skill, not just a school subject. And the biggest part of that is using English regularly. Many Japanese parents worry about getting involved with their children's English study. Thought's like "my English isn't good enough", or "I worry I'll teach my child bad English", come up often when I talk to parents. So I've come up with a couple of things you can do with your child that isn't 'study', and doesn't need you to have Eiken Level 1 or 2 English.
The best thing you can do for your child at home is to provide ways for them to hear, see, and speak English regularly and naturally. Chances for them to naturally use the skills, vocabulary and grammar we teach them in our weekly lessons. At English Now!, we send email reports after every class explaining what material we covered. In that email we also say which textbook pages were worked on. It would be great for the parents to have a look at those pages in their kids’ textbooks and see what grammar and vocabulary we covered, and then find chances to bring them up throughout the day. Generally we teach a question-answer pair, so asking questions based on the ones we studied in the textbook will give your child chances to practice what we've learned in class.
It really does help to enjoy English media with your child and we often recommend this in our report cards. English children's books, TV shows, and movies are fantastic. They provide excellent context-rich examples of English in use that your child can engage with without even realizing that they're learning and practicing English. Singing fun children's songs together is even better, as they not only hear the English, but produce it as well, and pick up intonation and rhythm without thinking about it at all—and while having great fun to boot!
English board games like Scrabble are also great for practicing and building out vocabulary—and are a great way for Mom and Dad to stealthily learn English together with their child. These offer a great way to see your child's progress in action, as they get better and better at the games.
English isn't just about textbooks, homework, and tests. It's truly a living thing, and we can do so much with it without ever even thinking that we're learning. And why pass up the chance to learn a little English yourself while helping out little Shota?
Gideon