Five principles of teaching English to children at school and at home from Max Azarov, CEO of Novakid

I have three kids, and they are all being raised as bilingual. I only speak to them in English, and my wife speaks to them in Russian. When we started, we had to force ourselves to do it, but after about six months, it came naturally. Our children speak Russian and English with ease and they learn new words on the fly, which is not surprising. If they are learning to speak one language, they may as well learn to speak two.

A good option is to start playing some simple games in English and explain to the child the principle of ‘learning while playing together’. After a while, these simple games can grow into something bigger and more interesting, and at some point, you’ll say: ‘This is pretty fun! Let’s play in English more often!’ However, it’s important to take small steps and try not to bite off more than you can chew.

It seems to me that English language learning books are often quite boring. When you’re learning in your native language, you prefer reading genuinely interesting stories and worthwhile books. But when you study English, the storylines given to you in textbooks are quite primitive and uninteresting. How is that supposed to generate interest? Most likely, it does just the opposite. And once your child starts losing interest, you’ve lost your chance. An interesting and engaging plot should be the main focus of the curriculum from the very beginning, just like a good book does. At Novakid, we wrap storylines in animation and games — formats that children really appreciate.

Of course, you should do this with the help of well-presented, colorful and interesting content. On average, Novakid students spend 50% of their learning time studying on their own. That means that for every two lessons per week with a Novakid teacher, they spend at least two further hours playing educational games and doing exercises on our platform. It’s a simple numbers game: the more you practise, the better the result. Our main goal is to make learning English fun and exciting for our students.

By starting to learn a language at an early age, children build a good foundation for future learning. When children realize that they are able to process learning materials with a good understanding during lessons, it gives them the confidence to continue their studies. They feel more comfortable when answering teachers’ questions, and begin to ‘see’ the meaning of what’s written in their textbooks. This is the solid foundation that we are laying at Novakid. And that’s how our students’ grades are improving!

If your child is not learning English with Novakid yet, sign them up for a free trial lesson. In the lesson, the teacher will demonstrate our interactive learning platform and determine your child’s current level of English. Most importantly, the teacher will show that learning English can be fun!