How to motivate your child to do well in English

Have you ever considered what makes your child spend hours practising with his team at the football field?

What motivates your child to stay up late into the wee hours to experiment with out-of-the-box strategies to win in a computer game? Why are they never contented with the game scores they attained?

What is it that lies at the heart of these experiences which motivates your child to repeat these tasks and want to do more and much better?

They feel good about doing the tasks.

However, the same children may not necessarily demonstrate the same extent of passion and persistence in tackling comprehension questions, or perfecting their composition writing. Why is that so?

Wouldn’t life be great if we found a way to transform all that bustling energy into our children’s learning of academic English?

Where do we begin? The key to achieving this is by helping your child feel good during the learning of English.

Develop your child’s language skills with a growth mindset 

It can be incredibly easy to kill a child’s motivation. An adult can respond with “Sounds wonderful! Are there other ways to elaborate on this idea?” when a child excitedly shows an attempt to create a new storyboard for his essay; Or ask this deadly question, “Why not full marks?” which impedes further conversation, when he shows you his spelling test scores.

A child will learn very quickly that no matter what he achieves, it will not be good enough.

According to renowned psychologist Carol Dweck, people with a growth mindset believe that their basic qualities can be developed through hard work and persistence; that brains and talent are only the starting point.

This belief creates a love for learning and resilience that are essential for future success.

Children who are too obsessed with scoring ‘A’s tend to run away from failure, and do not experience the joy and motivation that should accompany learning. 

In contrast, children with a growth mindset tend to engage deeply with learning. They don’t feel threatened by mistakes, and this allows them the freedom to process the errors and learn from them.

How do we instill such powerful way of thinking?

First, make the content of learning relevant to our lives.

Your child should see the relevance of expanding prior knowledge for application, absorbing new knowledge, and creating synergy to make meaning from what he has learned.

Second, plan the process and goal of learning, and not leave it to ‘luck’.

Your child is aware of the milestones he is working towards. He is praised for improvements and is assured learning is a journey, not a “tyranny of now”.

Third, empower your child with the ownership to learn!

Your child belongs to the 21st century and needs more than just a pen and paper job! Provide your child with a variety of learning tools which will entice him to practise the English Language. Contrary to setting boundaries, allows your child to experience learning as a dynamic, interesting and engaging process.

Finally, engage an experienced educator to help your child take action!

At ELLoquence, we provide all these key elements to instill a growth mindset within your child who will benefit academically and acquire lifelong learning skills.

  • 80 real-life themes encompassing vocabulary, grammar and language skills which are age-appropriate for children and teenagers.
  • Every level is a progressive and pre-written curriculum based on best teaching practices and the Singapore PSLE and O-Level English requirements.
  • Use of blended learning to facilitate knowledge and skills building. This approach gives your child the best a classroom has to offer – a teacher impacting skills and the use of the latest technology to engage learners.

The growth mindset makes your child feel good and purposeful about learning the English Language.

This gives your child the emotional security that he has room for practising, evaluating and re-applying his language skills throughout the programme.

elloquence

At ELLoquence, we design a customised learning plan according to your child’s existing level of proficiency, learning styles and potential for growth. We also engage your child at his pace of learning and recognise every progress made.

Our programme also aims to prepare your child to become proficient for the Singapore PSLE and O-Level English examinations one year before taking the actual paper.

To motivate your child to do well in his studies, we must first help him to feel good about learning.

Is your child tired of or disinterested in the English language?

Let your child come onboard ELLoquence today!

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