English is a global language. It is recognized as an official language in 67 countries and 27 non-sovereign entities. Not many know, but English is the most widely spoken language across the world, and there are around 1.5 billion people worldwide who use English either as their primary or second language of communication. English is hence truly the language of the world!
However, having said that, what do you think forms the prerequisite for communicating in English? It is the grammar! Until and unless you have proper grammar skills, you cant make apt use of the language. In fact, it is one of the most important elements of the English language. Be it informal conversations or official communications, having proper grammar in place is indeed necessary. This makes it rather inevitable to work on your grammar skills.
At Delhi Public School, Kangra, one of the top schools in Kangra, we firmly believe that having proper know-how of English grammar is necessary for each one of us alike, be it adults or children. However, it is always better if the efforts are laid to build grammar skills in children right from a young age. That is so because a child’s mind is more like a porous sponge, which readily absorbs all the knowledge that comes its way.
Hence, if you wish your child to have a firm grip on the English language, make sure you begin working on his/her grammar skills as early as possible. But before we move on to the tips and strategies you can adopt to build and strengthen the English grammar skills of your little ones at home, let us first understand why English is such an important language in our daily life. Read on.
Understanding the Importance of English Language in Our Life
English is indeed an important language for each of us, especially in the time and age that we have entered. We are living in a globalized world today where the international boundaries are swiftly vanishing, and we have a far wider scope today to grab personal and professional opportunities from even the farthest corner of the world.
Now, since English is a language that’s spoken as well as understood in most of the countries of the world, it becomes more like a prerequisite to have a good command of the language.
Besides, English is also a significant language of communication when it comes to building and maintaining international relations. It is, after all, the most widely accepted language for international politics, meetings, conferences, or any other official communications. This means that whether you choose to fly abroad for higher studies or work, you have to have a strong grip on the language to be able to communicate well with the people there.
Moreover, even if you opt to stay back in the country and avail of the education as well as work opportunities available here, English is one language that would still come to your aid at every single step. Right from drafting an application to framing your cover letter, resume, and even the mail correspondences, you will require good English skills in every single scenario.
The Role of Grammar in Building Your English Skills
Grammar in English is like sugar in cake. Without proper knowledge of grammar, English won’t be an easy nut for you to crack. You just won’t have the confidence to communicate in English with fluency and ease.
If you know the fundamentals of grammar, you won’t just have a strong command over the language, but it will also save you from looking strange while communicating in the language with others. Whether you are a student, an employee, or a business person, knowing the nuances of grammar will make you look diligent and well-read.
Especially if you are a student willing to pursue your studies in a foreign country, the colleges and universities abroad will consider your grammar skills as a crucial criterion for judging your academic English abilities and your candidature for admission.
Even if we keep the formal scenarios like education and career aside, English grammar is something that you need in all walks of life. For instance, if you are on a trip with family or friends and you want to convey your food requirements to your hotel manager, how do you think you will communicate if you don’t even know how to form statements in English? And we are very much certain that being misunderstood would be the last thing you would want to happen!
How to Build Your Child’s Grammar Skills Through Simple Activities at Home?
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Get it into their routine
One of the best ways to teach anything to kids is to establish their routine around that. The same stands true when it comes to building their English grammar skills as well.
Hence, establish a routine for teaching English grammar to your kids at home every day. Here, we, at DPS Kangra, being one of the top schools in Kangra, would like to advise you to keep the sessions short and powerful instead of lengthy and boring. In fact, even 15 power-packed minutes would be enough.
Once children get used to with the routine, they will be more prepared to welcome the teachings. You can try and include an array of activities for them to conduct at almost the same time each day. This will help maintain their interest in the sessions, and they will be readily able to embrace the learnings with confidence and ease.
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Imbue fun in learning
Not many know, but fun and learning actually go hand in hand. In fact, you try and infuse a fun element in the learning process of kids and see how well it not just helps capture their interest in the topic but also delivers them with an engrained learning experience. At DPS Kangra, we have witnessed that when kids have fun, learning comes more naturally to them. So, try and infuse an element of fun while teaching grammar to your kids, and it will work wonders in helping them learn the concepts swiftly. You can take the help of flashcards or some fun-filled memory games to help brush up their skills in English grammar.
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Through everyday activities
This is indeed one of the biggest advantages of teaching grammar concepts to kids at home. You can easily build the learning activities around your everyday chores. Concepts like Singular-Plural, articles, gender, etc., can be actually taught to kids spontaneously while engaging them in simple everyday activities at home.
For instance, you can ask them to put a ‘spoon’ on the table and then ask them to get five more ‘spoons’ from the rack. Then explain to them why did you add ‘s’ while switching from singular to plural. Likewise, you can ask them, “Would you like to have a banana? And then switch it up with, “Would you like to have the banana we brought from the supermarket yesterday? Explain to them why did you use article ‘a’ while talking about bananas in general and why did you use article ‘the’ while talking about some specific banana.
Such simple everyday activities and conversations with your kids can work wonders in providing the kids with some crucial lessons in English Grammar.
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Take the help of comprehensive resources
There are a whole lot of resources available in the market as well as on the internet that can come to your rescue in teaching English grammar to your kids. There are ample books, videos, blogs, and a lot more that you will easily find online as well as offline and which you can use to teach right from basic to advanced level grammar skills to your kids.
Some great websites in this regard are Grammar Bytes, FluentU, 5 Minute EnglishBritish Council, Grammar Girl, and English Grammar 101. Likewise, some of the best books you can refer to for building your English grammar skills include Wren & Martin High School English Grammar and Composition Book, Oxford Modern English Grammar, The blue book of Grammar and punctuation, Perfect English grammar, English for everyone: an English grammar guide.
By taking the help of such comprehensive resources, teaching the nuances of English grammar to your children would turn really easy for you!
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Make use of songs & rhymes
We, at DPS Kangra, ranked among the top schools in Kangra, have always emphasized the power of music in bringing about great student outcomes. The same goes here as well! So, let your kids hum to their favorite tunes. Ask them to listen carefully to the songs and rhymes and try and sing along with them. This way, the kids won’t just grasp the correct pronunciation of the words but also learn the art of framing sentences and the use of rhyming words. Gradually, this will help build their vocabulary base, and they will also begin relating the words with their meanings and expressions.
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Reading & storytelling can work wonders
Begin by reading aloud your little one’s favorite nighttime stories to him. Once you establish a routine, ask your child to begin reading the same stories loudly to you. This will help the child to take note of the sentence structure, information flow, use of punctuations, and a lot of other aspects that are crucial in written English.
You can take the help of children’s storybooks having a lot of vibrant colors and attractive pictures. This will help capture their interest, and they would willingly partake in reading the stories themselves.
Moreover, you can also allow them to watch their favorite English cartoons for half an hour daily. It would be an extra treat for them which they would lovingly accept. And in the process, they will grab the vocabulary, the expression of words, the pronunciation, and a lot more, which will help build their English grammar skills.
Grammar is at the heart of English. Be it verbal or spoken English or written form of English, you cannot say you know the language until and unless you are clear with the grammar rules. Poor grammar or inappropriate knowledge of the grammar concepts can simply lead to confusion and miscommunication. Thus, it is very important for everyone that whole-hearted efforts are laid in the direction of building and sharpening grammar skills. And what be the better time to do that than childhood!
At DPS Kangra, we firmly believe that childhood is the phase when the mind is in its most absorbing form. It easily embraces and grips whatever comes its way. No wonder, young kids are quick learners! As such, if we begin introducing the kids to the basics of grammar early on, it can actually work wonders in building a strong base in the language for them. There would be then no looking back for them, and their grip on grammar will only strengthen further from thereon.
This is the reason why we, at DPS Kangra, being one of the top schools in Kangra, begin working on the grammar skills of our tiny tots right during their pre-school years. We teach them grammar through simple and fun-filled ways, which not only help them relate well with the learning process but also understand and remember the concepts for life. And though we are leaving no stone unturned to ensure that each of our students grows with a strong grip on the English language, we would also like to urge the parents to keep working on the grammar skills of your children at home. When we, being their guides and mentors, and you, the parents, being their role models, work simultaneously on building the grammar skills of kids, we are pretty