Hearing your child speak is one of the most rewarding aspects of parenting. They observe their environment and pronounce new words by sounding them out. As a result, it is common to see toddlers mumbling as they learn new words. And while the tongue-tied words coming out of the mouth of your little ones apparently look really sweet, it could turn into a problem if the kids continue to keep facing issues with their pronunciation.
Pronunciation issues can hamper your kids’ ability to communicate effectively and interact confidently with others. It has been seen that children with underdeveloped pronunciation skills end up feeling frustrated when they can’t make others understand them. This can affect their social skills, confidence, and even behavior.
So, what is good pronunciation all about? Well, basically, good articulation and pronunciation skills focus on key things like sounds of words, emphasis on syllables, intonation, and other aspects of voice dynamics. Though proper pronunciation comes with the appropriate age and time, we, at DPS Kota, firmly believe that a little help can make things a lot easier for the kids.
We at DPS Kota, one of the top CBSE schools in Kota, have seen that when we teach kids to learn and improve their pronunciation skills, it also helps improve their English-speaking skills and enables them to express themselves better. It instills confidence in them and caters to enhancing their communication abilities manifold.
So here, in this article today, we are sharing a few tips for our respectable parent fraternity, using which you will be able to help improve the pronunciation skills of your kids in an easy-peasy and fun-filled way.
- Songs and Rhymes: Songs and rhymes are a great way of teaching English pronunciation to children because they have catchy tunes, are repetitive, and are easy to remember. So, listen to them with your child and help them understand the timing of words, use proper intonation, and exercise stress where needed. You can also encourage them to sing on their own.
- Vocabulary Training: When you teach your children new words, ensure stressing the correct pronunciation. Also, teach them the use of new words in contexts that are relevant to them. You can also use game-based learning methods to improve kids’ vocabulary to make it fun for them.
- Phonics: Learning phonics helps encourage good pronunciation in kids. Introduce them to the phonetic alphabet and vocabulary charts found in any good dictionary. This will help the kids learn the pronunciation correctly and will also help improve their written as well as spoken English skills.
- Record and Playback: Encourage your kids to record and replay their sentences to review their speech and identify issues. If your child is too young, you may have to sit and help your child with the same. However, if your child is above the age of 8, let him/her self-correct. This won’t merely help improve their English-speaking skills but will also help boost their confidence.
- Looking in the Mirror: Make your kids look in the mirror while pronouncing new words. Ask them to observe their lip and tongue movements. This will help them understand the nature of sounds. The differences in pronunciation of “bull” and “pull,” for example, are easier to learn by understanding the position and movement of the tongue and lips.
- Connected Speech: For slightly older kids, correct pronunciation in connected speech comes with practicing the language and listening to native speakers. Expose them to as many avenues as possible so that they learn to pronounce words correctly from the environment around them.
Ultimately, we, at DPS Kota, ranked among the top CBSE schools in Kota, firmly believe that repetition and practice is the key when it comes to learning anything. This is what we follow at our school as well. Thus, when you teach your child the pronunciation of a new word, ask them to repeat it frequently till they can say it correctly. Encourage your child as they are learning this. The more your kids practice, the more they will improve their pronunciation and confidence. Try out the tips shared in this article consistently, and we are sure your children will develop their pronunciation skills really quick.