How to Teach English to Non-English Speaking Children

The easiest time to learn a language is as a child. Children can use the abilities they are developing to acquire their native language to develop skills in other languages as well. English is a particularly useful language to teach a child, as it is commonly used as an international language throughout the world.

Use songs to introduce English to your children. Songs are a great way to get the language into their minds, while giving them melody as a way to retain the words. Start out with easy songs such as the ABC song. As the child's language abilities progress, you can introduce more complex songs such as "Old MacDonald" or "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." It is easy to find versions of these songs online.

Use animated stories to help you teach. The bright colors and careful pronunciation of English-language animated films and television shows captures children's attention, while making it easy for them to understand. These shows are created for children who are learning English as their native language, but they also are a great way to work on language acquisition for non-native English speakers. Start out with children's shows such as Dora the Explorer, which is available online, and progress to longer, more complex stories such as animated Disney movies.

Use the Internet as a resource. The internet has many sites created to help children learn English through games, songs and other activities. This will allow the child to acquire grammar and vocabulary skills, as well as important and valuable computer skills. Many libraries have computers available for public use.