Learning English at home, even if English is not spoken there

You do not need perfect English to help

Many parents feel anxious because the school teaches in English and they do not speak it well. The good news is that children do not need a fluent parent to learn the language. They need regular exposure, chances to use it without fear of being laughed at, and an adult who shows interest. You can give all three, whatever your own English.

Keep your home language strong too. A child who thinks, speaks and reads well in the mother tongue finds it easier to learn English, because the understanding of how language works carries over.

Listening comes first

Children learn a language by hearing it a great deal. Make English part of the day in small, enjoyable ways. Play English rhymes and stories on a phone or a radio, watch a simple, child-friendly programme with subtitles, and listen to the news in simple English together. Do not worry if your child understands only a little at first. Repeated listening builds a feel for sounds and rhythm.

Songs are especially good. Learn the lyrics of a simple nursery rhyme or a clean pop song together, sing along and talk about the meaning of new words.

Speaking: make mistakes welcome

The biggest block to speaking is fear of being wrong. At home, agree a rule that mistakes are fine. Start with one English sentence a day: "Good morning", "I am going to school", "I like this mango because it is sweet". Gradually extend to an English half hour, where family members try to speak English at the table, mixing languages if they need to. Never laugh at a mistake. Repeat the correct form gently: if your child says "I goed to market", you say "Oh, you went to the market! What did you buy?"

Label the house. Stick paper labels with English names on the door, fridge, window and table. Naming things builds vocabulary quickly. Play word games on a bus or a train, such as "I spy" or naming things beginning with a certain letter.

Reading: little and often

Read a short English text together every day. Choose picture books, short stories and simple non-fiction a little below the class level, and let your child read aloud to you even if you cannot check the pronunciation. Ask them to tell you what happened in their own words, in either language. If a word is new, look it up in a children's dictionary or on a phone and write it in a small notebook. Ten new words a week make five hundred in a year.

Our free kids lessons, written in plain English with pictures and practice sheets, are a good bridge between a textbook and a story book. Lessons on phonics, building sentences, nouns and verbs and punctuation suit different classes.

Writing: a few lines a day

Do not correct everything. Pick one or two points, such as capital letters or full stops, and praise what is right. Writing improves with practice and gentle feedback.

1. Start with a daily diary of two or three sentences about the day.
2. Make a shopping list in English, and write a simple note for the family.
3. Write a short thank-you message or birthday card to a relative.
4. Describe a picture in five sentences.
5. Later, write a paragraph on a favourite place, a festival or a person.

Grammar in small doses

Grammar rules are easier when they are linked to real sentences. Pick one point at a time: articles, singular and plural, simple past tense, prepositions. Do a few examples from the child's own life, then a short practice sheet. The lessons on subject-verb agreement, articles and prepositions in the kids library work well for this, and the free English grammar ebooks give more practice for older students.

Use the time you already have

• On the way to school: play a vocabulary game or listen to an English story.
• At cooking time: name ingredients and steps in English.
• At bedtime: one page of an English storybook.
• On Sunday: a family English hour with a game, a rhyme or a film with subtitles.
• During the holidays: a small library of simple readers swapped with cousins.

If your child is stuck

Check whether the problem is English or something else. A child who struggles in every subject, or who cannot read in any language, may need a different kind of help, and our article on learning difficulties explains whom to talk to. If the problem is only English, a regular tuition class can help, as long as it makes the child speak and write and not only copy answers. Be patient: language takes years, and steady daily practice outperforms occasional bursts before an exam.