Reading at home can increase your child’s familiarity and comfort with the second language. Here are some tips for starting to read with your child.
- Sit comfortably with your child
- Let your child select the book
- Try to guess what the book is about based on the book cover.
- Open the book and look at and talk about the pictures. What does your child see?
- Focus on key words or phrases, such as words your child finds difficult to pronounce or understand.
Source: What every primary school teacher should know about vocabulary
We recommend flipping through the book a few times to lessen the cognitive load on the child: once to look at the pictures, a second time to look at key words or phrases, and reading the story from start to finish on the third read-through. You or the child can read the text out loud or you can read together.
Of course, if your child is looking for a challenge, feel free to go faster! But it’s important that this desire comes from the child. Pushing too hard could result in the child being put off reading altogether.
By Tshiung Han
