The research results of second language acquisition show that incomprehensible input is invalid input. Therefore, it is inefficient to give children English enlightenment mainly by grinding their ears. So how to grasp the critical period of children's language learning and realize efficient English enlightenment?
1. Listen to what?
Children's language learning begins with "listening", so in the enlightenment stage, we do not require children to be able to read and learn written words. What should I listen to? Think back to the process of children learning their mother tongue: when parents talk to their children, they use the simplest language in daily life, instead of literally talking to their children and saying, "I treat you as a treasure and love you as the air." The vocabulary and short sentences that children learn at first are very simple and functional, expressing the most basic daily needs, such as "Mom, hug!" "Don't!"
In the English enlightenment stage, children are in the critical period of language development, and the way to learn English at this time is the closest to mother tongue acquisition. So at this stage, parents should try their best to provide their children with an English learning environment similar to their mother tongue. In terms of input, children can be exposed to daily life expressions.
Take the enlightenment level of Big Cat English Graded Reading as an example, the audio text (see the family reading guide in the package) is mostly a simple daily expression, such as "thank you." And "ouch!" "Oh, no!" Such sentences can be used by children in daily life and are easy to imitate.
2. How to listen?
Parents' participation is very important in the English enlightenment stage. Let children read books or play with toys blindly, it is better to listen to English children's songs as background music. Because parent-child interaction can provide a relaxed and happy learning environment for children, and communication interaction is the most effective way of English enlightenment.
Or take the enlightenment level of "Big Cat" as an example. Parents can use a point reading pen or MP3 disc to accompany their children to listen to books. If parents are worried that their children's pronunciation is not standard, they dare not speak, and they are afraid of "bringing their children's accents", they should listen to audio with their children and imitate them with them to set an example for them.
In addition, the sound effect in the stereo is also very important, because children are very sensitive to sound, and rich sound effects can attract their interest. The enlightenment audio of "Big Cat" is equipped with rich sound effects, which makes the quiet world on paper come alive and can enhance children's willingness to "listen to books".
3. How to make children understand?
Do parents have to translate for their children sentence by sentence in order to make them understand English? This is of course the simplest and most direct way, but after a long time, children will become dependent on Chinese, which is not conducive to cultivating English thinking. How can children understand without translation? Creating situations is the key.
Taking English picture books as an example, pictures create a story situation for children. When reading with children, parents can reproduce the scenes in the story with exaggerated intonation, body language and facial expressions. In daily life, parents can also say this English sentence in similar situations, so that children can deepen their impression and understanding.
However, this does not mean that in the primary stage of English, parents should completely avoid using Chinese when communicating with their children, because Chinese can be used as a "ladder" of English. For example, before English input, parents can communicate with their children in Chinese to make them familiar with and understand the story, and then input English on this basis to help them understand.