Pronunciation is a big problem, and there are many people who are afraid that their pronunciation will not affect their children. There are also mothers whose English level is not high. Even if they don't consider pronunciation, they won't read sentences and dare not read them to their children.
And some mothers, who are good at English, dare to read aloud to their children, but often follow the previous model and have to translate every sentence into Chinese for their children to understand.
In fact, China people's English level, especially their ability to read fluently, is generally poor. Even in China, few people can read picture books like English-speaking mothers.
Are these children unable to enjoy parent-child reading of English picture books?
I think the mother's English level will affect her children, but it is not the decisive factor. Just like a mother who can play the piano, must the child play well? Many mothers can't play by themselves, but they can find their children's problems, especially a set of good methods to stimulate their interest and let them learn independently.
The same is true of English learning. Many mothers have a good level, so in the process of accompanying their children to study, they always set a standard and plan in their hearts, and always ask their children to reach a certain level through a book. And because of my high level, I can see clearly some mistakes of my children, so I am always eager to correct them and always want to teach them everything I know. But it is these practices that deprive children of the right to be masters of their own affairs and make them feel frustrated. Finally, it directly leads to the child losing interest. Such a mother may not be as active as a mother who doesn't know much English in cultivating her children's interests.
Before discussing how to read English picture books to children, I think we need to think about several questions:
1. What is the purpose of parent-child reading? This problem can actually be understood by China's parent-child reading. Some people, the purpose is very direct, that is, they hope that reading can make children read more. I feel that if the words in a book are not recognized well, the book will be abolished. But more people don't take literacy as the purpose of reading. Books are read casually. In the end, literacy not only became a by-product, but also came naturally, and children became real book lovers.
Think about English picture books in the same way. Do you have to understand the meaning of every word? Is it necessary to read all the words to children in order to make effective use of English picture books? Is parent-child reading to learn the specific knowledge of English immediately, or to build children's English thinking platform through English books, so as to improve children's ability to learn English constantly, observation, imagination and curiosity to explore the outside world?
Secondly, what are the common problems in English reading in China? Is the pronunciation of a single word incorrect, or is the whole rhythm wrong? Judging this question is simple. Listen to a foreigner reading a book, and then we repeat it-we all know the simplest words, but can we read other people's feelings? What's the difference if you don't understand? If rhythm is a big problem, then the pronunciation of individual words is not so important. The pronunciation of a single word is good, and the rhythm and prosody are not as good as the original. Who can be much different from who? Is it meaningless to struggle because of poor pronunciation?
Third, what is the difference between translating Chinese and using Chinese to assist understanding? In foreign libraries, we can often see that China people mark some uncommon words with phonetic symbols and Chinese meanings in simple children's books (words that are basically invisible in China textbooks, but commonly used by other foreign children). We disapprove of translation, mainly to prevent children from consciously or unconsciously matching the literal meanings of the two languages and looking for English words that can match the literal meanings of Chinese, and eventually many jokes will appear. But from the perspective of understanding the scene, for a child with a small listening vocabulary and no established English thinking, you must not describe the scene with the language in the book, and the child will not understand it. The result of not knowing is to lose interest.
In this case, it goes back to the first question. Is interest important or instant knowledge important? Knowledge has different degrees of difficulty. If you don't respect children's cognitive laws, even if you want children to learn knowledge, it will be futile in the end. Therefore, it is more important to help children understand and improve their cognitive ability in a language that children can understand.
After all, neither Chinese reading nor English reading is for immediate literacy. Books themselves are a way for children to improve their cognitive ability and complete their internal construction. As long as you can meet this function, you can watch whatever you want, no matter what language. Literacy, especially English suitable for spelling, comes naturally.
Having said that, I have to talk about the grading of reading materials. I remember turning over a Chinese reading bibliography for primary school students recommended by the publishing house. At that time, a blogger said that her bibliography was unscientific. Look at what he said about books for children aged 6-8. My child is only three years old. I asked, is it independent reading? Say no, I'll read it to her. This also shows the relationship between parent-child reading and autonomous reading level.
At present, there are not many children who can read English independently in China. Many children are old enough, but because there is no systematic reading learning method, even simple reading is difficult to complete. Therefore, in the parent-child reading stage, when choosing books, the focus is still on children's interest in the theme. As long as you are interested in the topic, the reading method of the book can vary from person to person, and the same book can be read differently every time. On the other hand, children learn a lot from different reading methods.
For example, I saw a book yesterday, which is the following book: I don't like reading! The recommended age of publishers is 5-8 years old, Level-2. But three-year-old Bao Xiao and I finished reading the book with relish.
Read the cover with him first. who is it? A mouse, it seems very angry! Are the two people behind (animals are just people) angry, too? No, they are reading happily-all these can be in Chinese. If you want to highlight some English that children can understand, you can increase it according to the situation. There are also questions. Some people say that asking questions will make children nervous. In fact, the key to this problem is to look at the method. Ask questions and let the children answer them, but you can ask yourself and answer them yourself!
Then go in and look at the pictures. What are these people doing? There is a big bear in front, and there are many children sitting below? Who is the big bear? Teacher-originally I said blackboard, but Bao Xiao didn't know the blackboard and had never seen it, so I said that the one your kindergarten English teacher used was, um, a projector, which was different from this one. This can be written. Did you see what they wrote? Well-January, February, March, April, he knows all these, and naturally he can speak in English.
Then continue to guide him to look at the picture. Mr. Xiong is sitting in a chair. What are you doing around him? Oh, storytelling-this can go with school. So what's next? Oh, doing homework-Bao Xiao recently read a math card and played with his sister. He knows this is math.
At this time, I took the opportunity to take out the following words and even repeat them, and then by the way: this mouse has done a lot of things at school!
Please look at the picture on the next page. What is everybody doing? Oh, reading! What about the mouse? Yes, his name is Henry, Henry mouse-I learned a song called Jenny mouse in the parent-child class before, and sang a few words of that song by the way. At this time, the child is particularly happy. Everyone is reading a book. Where is the mouse? Bao Xiao said: so is reading. Well, I also took a book, but are you reading it? Bao Xiao said: No, he looked at the front like this and said that he also learned to do an action.
When I turned to the previous page, I deliberately exaggerated and shouted: Wow, who is this? What are you doing? Bao Xiao immediately said, handstand. Oh? Can you still read when you stand upside down? Then, read this sentence and say, well, handstand can really read!
On the right, I asked Mr. Xiong what he was doing-I usually talked to myself when I asked. If he responds, he will come with me. If he doesn't respond, he will talk to himself. At this moment, Bao Xiao said loudly: Step on the letter! I don't understand. What is stepping on letters? What I saw was the book he wrote for everyone to read. Bao Xiao confidently pointed to the picture and said, Look, isn't this stepping on letters-what he saw was the letters that the bear stepped on the ground with his feet! He played alphabet toys in Vancouver's parent-child classes and kindergartens, and maybe even stepped on them! This also shows that children are always interested in what they have experienced, touched and understood. So some parents say that my children are not interested in English. One reason is that children are resisted by previous difficult experiences, and another reason is that they have not found a picture book with pictures similar to their own experiences.
At this time, it is necessary to guide children to observe the details. You see, Henry mouse seems to be less angry? Then look back at the pictures in the previous pages, page by page, sad, sad, sad! Then why isn't he angry at this time? Oh, yes, he likes listening to stories at school! Don't really do it the first time, add it the second time, emphasize and highlight it!
On the last page, at home, right? Well, does he like reading or listening to others? Oh, I still like listening to mom and dad. At this time, children can also be guided to observe changes in the environment.
Next, I went back to school. Read the words written on the blackboard to him, and he knows them all. When he saw a cloudy day, he said it was rainy. He smiled and said that the bee house had this-the bee house was his name in Vancouver kindergarten.
Continue to guide him to look at the picture. Wow, what are you doing? Raise your hand, right? Find out how many people raised their hands. 1, 2, 3, 4, haha, someone raised their hands! Speaking of which, Bao Xiao burst out laughing hysterically. After laughing, look at Henry Mouse. What is he doing? He didn't raise his hand, but he was still a little sad.
Before this picture, there is something else, that is to say, he still doesn't like reading. Later, the teacher asked him why he didn't like reading, and he went to the picture. Bao Xiao saw these letters and said, What a mess. I said, well, he also felt at sixes and sevens. Then read this sentence again.
Next, the teacher comforted the mouse and said, Never mind, you need extra help. So the teacher began to teach him some spelling alone, and when he got home, he began to take time to read with his mother. Soon, when he saw the word again, the little mouse recognized it happily.
The snowflakes and stop signs in the picture below were all seen by Bao Xiao when he was very young. When I saw the stop sign for a while, I had to point it out, and the red front and the silver back had to say everything. I saw it after I returned to China, and said it was also available in China. So he was very excited to see these in the book.
At the back of this page are some out-of-control plots that mice like to watch. Finally, the teacher said who wants to read, please raise your hand. The mouse raised his hand first. Some people raise their hands, and they usually raise their hands. So I started using one
He immediately raised his hands. Then I changed to raise my hand. Finally ask him, is the mouse happy or sad this time? Bao Xiaofei pointed to the mouse's red mouth comfortably and said, Happy! What a relief!
In fact, this book also illustrates a problem from another angle, that is, when children are unwilling to learn, there must be problems. Teachers or parents should find problems and help children solve them. Solve the problem and the child will read happily!
The way parents read is uncertain. If the mother's English is good and the child's level is high, she can use English more and Chinese less. However, even if the level of mother and child is not high, they can still read interesting and rewarding. Moreover, every reading will be different. For example, in the book above, children have almost understood the pictures. In the future, he can simplify the process of looking at pictures, let him look at pictures by himself, and then gradually increase his English. No matter which way, reading with adults can make children like and have the desire to read, which is a good way. As an excessive way, the real value of parent-child reading lies in bridging the gap between children and books. This bridge section does not need to be exquisite, nor does it need many rules. It is enough to convey a love of reading and give children the motivation to explore the world!