Mastering the English language is an advantage we like to give our students as it is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world.

An independent online resource titled “World Population Review” reported that as of 2019, 82 out of 195 countries worldwide use English as an official language. It is easy to see why having a good command of English can widen opportunities for your child in terms of having diverse social circles and global connections down the line.

You can foster interest and fondness of the English language in your child by first recognising and managing the challenges in learning this language.

We explore the common struggles young students encounter in their English language studies and we hope it gives you comfort in knowing that these struggles are normal and can be overcome.

1. Vocabulary

Expanding vocabulary is one of the first steps in learning a language. The more words your child learns, the more he or she will be able to grasp the gist of texts and conversations. Your child will also be better at expressing himself or herself verbally and in writing.

One of the challenges of enriching a learner’s English vocabulary is the diversity of words available for a single expression. How do you know which words are worth teaching to your child?

Our suggestion is to start with practical and frequently used words. For instance, when your son or daughter is getting dressed, you can carry out what we call a “name game exercise” by asking him or her to name clothing items through active questioning: “Would you like to wear a T-shirt or a jumper? A skirt or a dress? Boots or sandals? A belt or a pair of suspenders?”

Other opportunities where you can engage your child in the “name game exercise” will present themselves in different scenarios, where you can name different objects during mealtimes or while grocery shopping, in the park or on the way to school.

Additionally, you can start writing labels on objects — this will help bring up mental imagery when your child is trying to remember words. This is especially helpful if your child is a visual learner who learns best when information is presented in a written format or as pictures, objects and diagrams.

Another way to introduce new words to your son or daughter is by reading and showing illustrated children’s stories to him or her. Illustrated storybooks are effective tools for increasing your child’s vocabulary because visual narratives allow the listener to understand new words based on the context in which they are used.

Your child might not know the word “stumble” but if you say, “Alice tripped and stumbled down the hole”, the context in which “stumble” was used and pictorially represented in the illustration already suggests its meaning, even without you mentioning its definition.

2. Spelling and Phonetics

Letters are mere symbols that represent the sounds of a language. For most children, hearing the sounds in a word — known as phonetics — helps them learn how to spell.

However, spelling in English can be tricky as some words are pronounced differently from their letter combinations. Simple examples are the words “walk”, which is expressed similarly as the word “wok”, while the word “bread” sounds similar to “said”, even though they have different vowel combinations.

To overcome this confusion, we suggest teaching your child to spell by clustering words that sound similar.

For example, you can cluster words that start with the letters “TH” and are pronounced by placing the tip of the tongue behind the upper teeth, as in: think, Thursday, thank, thirsty, thumb, throw.

Or words that contain the letters “KN” and are pronounced silently, as in: know, knot, knee, knife, knuckle, knock.

Or words that contain the letters “CH” and are pronounced as “K”, as in: echo, school, anchor, chorus, stomach, orchid.

You can help your child improve his or spelling proficiency through word games using alphabet blocks or magnets, or by using old magazines to create spelling cut-outs.

As for speech sounds, keep phonics sessions short and focused. An article by Penguin suggests parents to “aim to stop before your child gets bored. Ten minutes is often long enough.”

3. Synonyms, Antonyms & Homonyms

The beauty of the English language lies in its playfulness and flexibility, although this could be a challenge as well. Let’s look at synonyms, antonyms and homonyms.

Synonyms are words that have the same or nearly the same meaning. For example, the word “happy” has several synonyms, such as merry, joyful, blissful, ecstatic, satisfied, and so on.

Antonyms are words that have the opposite or nearly the opposite meaning. For example, the word “happy” can be said to be the opposite of unhappy, sad, sorrowful, melancholy, miserable, and so on.

Learning synonyms and antonyms increases your child’s creativity in expressing his or her thoughts and emotions when a particular word seems to escape his or her memory.

Learning homonyms is where it can get confusing. Homonyms are words that are spelled the same or sound the same but have different meanings. Let’s look at some examples.

There are also homophones — words that vary in spelling and in meaning but sound the same. Examples are: week - weak, sun - son, tail - tale, prey - pray, blue - blew, mail - male, and so on.

You can teach your child the different meanings of similar sounding words by giving examples and by using the words in different context; as in “The blue fan blew my papers off the desk.”, or “I made a flower cake with flour, eggs and milk.”

English Requires Constant Learning

Be assured that even fluent English-speaking adults still get occasionally confused.

Learning English is a constant work in progress, but in helping your child find ways to expand vocabulary, improve on spelling and enunciation and get playful with words, he or she is on a good way to mastering the language.

We fully understand the importance of learning English and we have a first-hand experience in the difficulties and challenges that English poses for children.

That is why our passionate and resourceful teachers at The Learning Lab are constantly developing new and innovative methods for our students to excel at all facets of the English language.

Find out more about our English programmes here.

The Learning Lab is now at 8 locations. Find a location that suits your needs.

If you have any questions about our programmes, please email us at enquiry@thelearninglab.com.sg or call us at 6733 8711 and we will be happy to assist you.