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Preschool English Lessons

Language is best learnt at a very young age.

The younger the learner, the better they are at learning new sounds and imbibing pronunciation. The brain is open and eager to new sounds and patterns.

Also, long before the time when there is more pressure in school with math and science, young children have the time and energy to learn through play-like activities. At this age, language lessons can be informal. Children in preschool are not self-conscious, and they try out new languages without embarrassment.

Thus, preschool is the ideal age for a child to be introduced to formal English learning. The first of the linguistic skills taught at this age should be oral production and listening. This can be followed by alphabet identification. Colouring the letters of the alphabet can follow. Writing should be delayed further: all the writing that a preschooler needs to do is experimenting with the pencil on large plain papers or white/black boards. Towards the end of preschool, however, children can be encouraged to write the letters of the alphabet.

Thus, the preschool English skills to be developed are:

Oral (listening, speaking, vocabulary)

Alphabetic code (knowledge of the alphabet, phonemic/phonological awareness (ability to identify and discriminate sounds in words)

Writing (ability to hold a pencil and form shapes, writing letters of the alphabet)