I see it happen all the time, when kids are learning English, sometimes they haven't learned how to speak in full sentences. So when they come into my class they have to work harder than before.
Imagine this conversation:
Hi, how are you?
Good
What was the weather like today?
Sunny
What did you eat?
Pasta
Would you speak like that in your own language? With one word answers?
In every day life you would speak more like this:
Hi, how are you?
Yeah, I'm good thanks!
What was the weather like today?
Well, it was sunny in the morning but then it rained all afternoon
What did you eat?
I ate too much sugar!
Can you see the difference between the conversations? the second one (how you'd speak in daily life), is full of grammar, for example, using basic verbs, and also the past tense, plus lots of vocabulary words.
In every day life we wouldn’t be able to understand each other if we didn’t express ourselves with full sentences.
When your child is learning English as a beginner and they are starting to say their first few words it's ok not to speak in full sentences, since they are still learning to say basic words, but as they progress they will need to start speaking in full sentences, because it's how we speak as natives.
When learning a language the quickest way to advance is by speaking in complete sentences, why? because as you've seen, it builds grammar skills as each sentence has a variety of grammatical parts, and it also builds knowledge of vocabulary. The student has to think harder about the information they want to give in that sentence.
And if your child is learning English right now, if they can read and they can say basic sentences, but they are not speaking in full sentences. Break the habit now. You can help them practice at home with simple questions and answers. Encourage them to extend and think of more things to say, ie: How are you ? I'm good thanks, I feel happy. What did you do today at school? I drew a picture and we sang a song.
Whichever stage your child is at in their learning journey, they can always adapt and learn to speak in full sentences. It just means doing it consistently, and they will learn to speak like a native faster.
If you want your child to speak better, faster, and more like a native, send me a message and I can help.
Check out my website for more info:
www.holzkids.com
Comments