Going back to school brings many new things, changes in stages, and new experiences. All always linked to play.
Today we're sharing some of the benefits of learning English through play for our little ones, and recommending our list of favorites available on the online store from Educating Through Play.
Benefits of learning English early
Given the general context, all families have assumed the obvious importance of our little ones Learn English . It will be a tool essential for their future.
Not only because it is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world (1.132 billion inhabitants), but also because the world of technology is expanding globally using English as a medium of communication. vehicular language . That is, there are things that we can only name in English.
Therefore, English is not only a language but also an element playful and fun .
As we know, cognitive and emotional development during early childhood is characterized by Play . In the first years of life, a child's brain is nourished by all the experiences that surround them in order to coordinate the Adaptation to the environment . For this reason, this stage is the right time to encourage the learning of other languages in addition to the mother tongue.
How to learn English through play?
You're probably thinking that all languages are learned through play, because speech acquisition is based on phonetic imitation. And that's true. But keep reading, because we'll share some ideas to stimulate English learning through play with the little ones, right from their first babbling sounds.
From infancy, we are introduced to language through the sounds of our everyday environment. Without knowing how the letters sound, or which ones form each word, we nevertheless learn to speak, because we do it through play.
How to begin? Animals offer a world of possibilities. Their colors and shapes quickly capture babies' attention. And from there, imitating onomatopoeic sounds that don't exist in Spanish is the first step.
The cow goes “moo”, to practice the long “u” sound; the bee goes “zzzzzzzz”, and we make the whistling sound of the “z”; you can also distinguish the long “a” sound from the sheep’s “baa”, and the short “quack” sound of the duck, for example.
Later on, when the letters in Spanish are incorporated, it is very important to promote the learning of the alphabet in English in parallel to enhance the phonetic learning of the letters in both languages.
Learn English through play: our recommendations
Below, we present our list of favorite English games, taking into account different stages and ages. We highlight the skills and senses that each type of game encourages, develops, and enhances to accompany our little ones on this learning adventure.