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| A UMM lecturer share tips and tricks to teach English to children. (Photo: Istimewa) |
Today, many parents encourage their children to learn English at five and under, or the golden age. IfThesehildren will enter the toddler class or preschool. If they go to school, this phenomenon attracted the attention of a lecturer in the English Education Study Program at the University of Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM), Rina Wahyu Setyaningrum, M.Ed. According to her, teaching children English is each parent's choice—however, several aspects still need attention.
"First, ensure that children already have at least one language that is well understood. For example, Indonesian is used in various learning activities or as the official language at school and in the environment," she explained.
Rina continued, "When a child already knows one language, connecting one language and another will be easier. However, when the child does not know a language well, she suggests that parents not force their children to learn another language.
"Second, parents must also know what method is used in learning English. During the golden age, children can learn English through various activities. For example, connect it with everyday life. They also have to learn happily, be happy, and be able to enjoy the process," she explained.
Learning English, according to Rina, cannot only be done by reading and writing. These two activities can actually cause language confusion and even frustration for the children. Moreover, the children have relatively short concentration levels, so teachers must consider what kinds of activities that can accommodate them.
Rina hopes that parents should not give children particular targets because the function of learning English is basically just for introduction. Children should also be allowed to use English in real life, regardless of whether it is right or wrong.
"However, if parents want their children to become bilingual, then parents must also play a role in this. For example, parents make a rule for their children that when a child wants to talk to his mother, he must speak Indonesian, but if he wants to talk to his father, he must speak English, or vice versa," she said.
As someone who researches learning English, Rina suggests that children should be allowed to learn English naturally, not forced.
"Don't let children learn English burdened with many things. There's nothing wrong with them learning a new language at an early age. It will actually provide many benefits, such as mutual respect for culture. When they learn English, they indirectly also learn culture," she said. (put/dev/wil)
