🏠 10 tips for families helping a child learn English

1. 1

   Keep speaking your home language

   A strong first language helps a child with the second. Talk, read and sing at home in the language you know best.

2. 2

   Read together every day

   In English, in your language, or both. Picture books work at every level. Peabody's easy readers read every word aloud.

3. 3

   Label the house

   Sticky notes on the door, the table, the fridge. Say the word every time you use the thing.

4. 4

   Sing songs

   Songs repeat words, and children remember them. Nursery rhymes and clapping songs are a good start.

5. 5

   Ten minutes of picture cards

   A topic a day, out loud: say it, hear it, find it in the room.

6. 6

   Let mistakes go

   Say the right word back, kindly, and move on. "I goed to the park!" "You went to the park? What did you see?"

7. 7

   Watch and talk about it

   A short show in English, then talk about it in any language: who was in it, what happened.

8. 8

   Play games with rules

   Board games and card games repeat the same words again and again: your turn, I win, roll the dice.

9. 9

   Ask the school what helps

   Teachers know the words the class is learning this week. Ask for the list and practise at home.

10. 10

    Count the wins

    Notice the new word, the first English joke, the first phone call. Learning a language takes years; every step counts.

Peabody's own list for families; two picks link to Peabody's English pages. Checked 6 November 2026.

More english lists

• 💬10 everyday English phrases for kidsTen everyday English phrases every child learning English needs at school and with friends: how to ask for help, say you don't understand, join a game and more.
• 🔤The 10 first English word topics to learnThe ten word topics a child learning English uses most at first: school, food, feelings, family, home, colors, numbers and more, with picture cards read aloud.