Today, I will share with parents how to choose English training classes for their children.
Age classification of students
Next, it is the division of training institutions. In terms of age, we are divided into the following four categories: before the age of 3, English early education.
This is zero-based enlightenment education, and it is the favorite of a new generation of mothers. Many mothers may think that before the age of 3, they can't even speak their mother tongue well, and they can learn any foreign language. However, at this stage, the child is like a blank sheet of paper. If you learn the language of any country for ta, the effect will definitely exceed your imagination.
Representative offices: Gymboree, mygym, Kissing Kangaroo, etc.
3 ~8 years old, children's English
This age group is the golden age for learning a language, and it is also the most competitive age group in the market. There are so many brands to choose from, it's simply too numerous to list.
Representative organizations: EF, Paopao, Libu, purington, Aibei, Berry, Reith, Fica, Thomas, Sesame Street, etc.
8~ 12 years old, primary school English.
Children in primary school, with English scores included in the exam, learning English has become just a need. At present, the optional training institution is mainly K 12 training, but it tends to be in primary school.
/kloc-above 0/2 years old, middle school English.
Middle school students, in learning English, should not only have grades, but also have grades. Of course, families planning to go abroad should pay more attention to their grades, because TOEFL IELTS is also a must. At this stage, we should choose the form of extracurricular tutoring in middle schools, one-on-one and one-to-many.
It is different for children of different ages to find English training classes. This mother remembers that once I saw a child aged 12 mixed with a group of children aged 3-8 to learn children's English. It was really embarrassing to skip class.
Of course, some mixed-age teaching will also put students of different grades together, but this is in line with the overall teaching logic, rather than forcing "over-aged students" to transfer to children and American classes like curriculum consultants.
Go to the corresponding training institution and find a course suitable for children. This is the direction. If the direction is wrong, no matter how good the organization you are looking for and the excellent teachers are, they are not your child's dish, which may be counterproductive.
Please pay special attention to:
Of course, there are several age groups that all training institutions will compete for, that is, children of key age groups, such as children around 8 years old. At this stage, it is actually possible to learn beauty, and even some children can learn 10, 12. Because in order to maximize the value of each student, many children's beauty institutions will set the curriculum system to 12 years old, that is, the enrollment age of conventional children's beauty institutions is 3~ 12 years old. Ask any one. In fact, children over the age of 8, according to the current situation of precocious children, have been essentially different from kindergarten children, with more independent consciousness and ability. At this time, they can calm down and study, and TPR (universal body language teaching method) is no longer suitable. I hope to correct this for mothers. As an insider, if your child is 8 years old, it is not recommended to go to a children's beauty institution, let alone an early education institution like Gymboree, where there is nothing for your child to eat.
Classification of teaching system
Next, let's take a look at the classification and content of the textbook system selection of formal English institutions, and summarize all ages from 0 to 12. Mothers can watch selectively according to their children's age and find content suitable for their children's age.
1, early English learning: (0~3 years old) 0~3 years old is the primary stage of children's language learning. At this stage, children can enter any language like a blank sheet of paper, and after a few months, children can distinguish various language systems. Therefore, it is very meaningful to choose this period for children to learn English. Catchy children's songs, beautiful stories, easy-to-learn and easy-to-remember daily expressions and cheerful English songs are all common forms of early English education.
2. Children's English: (3~ 12 years old) Generally, there are Cambridge Children's English, Longman Children's English, Hong En series textbooks and EF Children's English. When I came into contact with children's English 10 years ago, there were not many children's English textbooks on the market at that time, so a set of ladder ABC English was very popular and the quality was not bad. They are actually adapted from a foreign textbook. The essence of children's English lies in simplicity and happiness, and the teaching methods lie in TPR and spelling. This is the mainstream teaching mode at present.
3. The exam-oriented grading class (8~ 12 years old) is aimed at the trinity oral grading system from young to young or Cambridge. Exams are embedded in the training process to satisfy parents' psychology of getting phased results. Many curriculum designs use children's English textbooks. On the one hand, it is very practical, because it is mostly presented in the form of dialogue, and children can have simple conversations. However, it is easy to fall into mechanical communicative English learning, which is not enough for improving listening and speaking vocabulary and immersing English culture.
4. Subject English (3~ 12 years old)
The representative organization is Reith English, which usually uses American textbooks and takes the concept of "going to American primary schools to China" (because many American kindergartens actually have no textbooks, and students only have supporting reading materials and home-school cooperative learning projects). Subjects involve the study of numbers, English, geography, art and other topics. The content is simple and the concept is good, depending on the teacher's emphasis on reading and the specific teaching methods.
This kind of teaching is more common in Beishangguang, because I see that many international schools in Shanghai use bilingual teaching to explain art and mathematics in English. It is very good if children can train bilingual learning from an early age.
5, original, classified reading (3~ 12 years old)
Picture book reading is very popular in recent years, which is also a foreign educational concept, focusing on the concepts of original picture books and graded reading materials. Many mothers know that it is good to read picture books, so many institutions have begun to carry out teaching based on picture books. The advantage is that it can be combined with home reading to effectively consolidate what children have read in the course. The disadvantage is that the progress is slow, and the language knowledge contained in picture books is often obtained based on a lot of reading, so the short-term effect is difficult to guarantee.
6. Training camp (3~ 18 years old)
For all kinds of camp education projects organized in winter and summer vacations, adding a core concept to foreign teachers' explanations and courses, such as drama learning or scientific enlightenment, is suitable for families who are interested in subject learning and want to experience English immersion learning in the short term, and cannot become the main force of long-term English learning.
There are also international learning camps, where children travel locally and experience learning for themselves. Of course, the cost is higher. As a teacher, I once led my children to attend biweekly cross-strait summer camps in the United States. Five years ago, the fee was 36 thousand, but now it may be higher.
7. Extracurricular tutoring (8~ 18 years old)
This purpose is very direct. Generally, it is a training system that provides off-campus counseling for primary and secondary school students and develops teaching materials and courses for schools. There are many analogies if children need training and supplements at school. Most institutions will independently develop some teaching materials, and some will use the counseling materials available in the market or the examination papers of public schools over the years.
Finally, I give some advice to parents:
1. First, select alternative institutions according to the distance and price budget, then ask the course consultant about the course content and class form, look through the teaching materials, and screen out 2-3 institutions for audition.
2. In early education institutions before the age of 3, it is generally that mothers can accompany their children to study, which takes time and is also a good time for parents and children. For English learning of 3-6 years old, interest cultivation is the main thing. 6~8 years old has the widest choice and can be flexible and diverse. Over 8 years old, basically closer to the exam.
3. Once you choose an institution, don't change it easily. If the teacher is not suitable, you can propose a shift change. Try to stick to it and you will always get something! Remember to learn English, the persistence of parents and children is more important than the role of institutions!
Remember: the most expensive is not necessarily the best. If parents' requirements for the curriculum system are met and teachers and children are interested, small English classes at home are worth choosing. The key is to clarify the learning objectives and firmly take care of the children.