How to learn to read in English. Lion cubs learn to read, or books in English for beginners

Wanting to prepare their baby for school, many parents think about how to quickly teach a small child to read English. This skill will come in handy not only in the classroom, but also in later adulthood, so the sooner you start training, the better. There are several effective techniques that will help the child gradually get used to the world of foreign words and begin to read consciously.

best age

The importance of learning English and understanding the rules of reading is recognized by everyone, but another question is how old to start. Experts suggest that the best age is 4 years. Right now, the child is able to remember a huge flow of information, to differentiate native and foreign speech, so reading classes will be most appropriate for him. It has been proven that children 4-5 years old are best able to pronounce the sounds of a foreign language and learn to see them in "letter design" in the text.

However, it is important to note the importance of preliminary preparation: in order to teach a child to read at the age of 4, it was necessary to introduce him to English speech at the age of about 2 years: include funny rhymes and songs performed by native speakers, watch cartoons, read fragments of text to one of the parents in English.

Learning background

It should be remembered that every child is an individual, so some at the age of 4 are not ready to comprehend the rules of English reading.

The kid who will be trained must have the following preliminary knowledge:

• be able to read in their native language;
• know the English alphabet;
• be familiar with the sounds of the English language, their pronunciation (there are diphthongs, consonants and vowels that have no analogues - the child must know that they exist).

Without all this, a preschooler will not be able to learn to read in English. Therefore, if the baby incorrectly pronounces most of the sounds of his native language, knows few words, speaks very poorly and speaks little, then he is not yet ready to get acquainted with English - he must first solve problems with Russian. But if the child is well developed, then you can start teaching him to read.

Parents themselves need to be proficient in the norms of foreign pronunciation, only in this case homework will be useful and productive.

When teaching a 4-year-old baby, the following rules should be followed.

• Better more often, but less. So, every day to read for 10-15 minutes is much more effective than to spend one full lesson for 45 minutes once a week.
• It is worth using a variety of gaming techniques, visual aids.
• The importance of an example in reading is the same as in introducing a child to the language, so rhymes and songs should be constantly heard in the classroom.
• For the full development of the crumbs, it is necessary to combine teaching English with classes in the development of fine motor skills, fantasy, and imagination. Each English lesson at home should turn into a fun and unusual game filled with bright emotions and colors.
• Be sure to praise the young "student" for success and effort, but you should not scold, otherwise he will lose motivation.

If now the parents choose the wrong tactics, they can permanently kill the desire to study English in the child, so the construction of each “lesson” must be approached responsibly.

Common mistakes parents make

Of course, every mom and dad want only the best for their baby, so they strive to teach the child to read English as quickly as possible so that at school he already reads fluently, significantly ahead of his peers. And this understandable desire causes them to make mistakes.

So, you don't need to do the following.

• You can not sign the pronunciation of English words in Russian letters. At first glance, this will make the child's task easier. Perhaps the way a particular word sounds will be deposited in his memory and the next time he will be able to pronounce it correctly - but not read it. That is, the effect of the lesson is zero, the child already knows how to read in Russian, but he has not come close to foreign reading. In addition, it is simply impossible to convey some sounds in Russian letters.
• To acquaint a 4-year-old kid with transcription. Firstly, for his consciousness, it is a set of incomprehensible symbols that are not perceived as rules for the pronunciation of certain sounds. Secondly, it is simply not needed for learning to read. The child must understand how to pronounce a certain combination of sounds, and not how to write it down.

And, of course, you can not be nervous, break down, scream at the child.

If something stubbornly does not work out, it is better to stop classes so that tomorrow with fresh forces you can finally solve a difficult task.

Stages of classes

In order for a child to quickly and without problems learn to read in English at preschool age, one should gradually complicate the tasks for him, moving to the next stage only after the previous one has been fully mastered.

The sequence of actions is as follows.

1. Reading syllables (eg da-na-ma-ba). Mom can tell her baby an interesting story that consonants and vowels are friends, so they should be read in pairs.
2. When simple syllables no longer cause difficulties, one should move on to more complex ones that have no analogues in Russian, for example, the, ship, ring.
3. Finally, the last stage is whole words.

You can complicate the level only after the previous material is fully mastered. You can’t rush, because each child has his own level of perception of information.

Forms and methods of teaching

Modern tools allow you to introduce the child to the rules of reading English words with the help of cartoons that the baby will definitely like. In addition, there are two of the most popular methods used by parents. Their essence is presented in the form of a table.

Each of the methods has both pluses and minuses, so it is best to use elements of both to get the result. In addition, learning to read in English for children should be preceded by familiarity with words.

Best of all, if the child was able to remember a few words, how they sound and are written, so he will have a kind of pattern.

A selection of exercises

To quickly and effectively teach your baby the rules of reading in English, you should use a variety of exercises.

Efficient work with cards. The parent prepares a card in advance, on which an object familiar to the child is depicted, for example, a ball, and the corresponding word is written - “ball”. He pronounces the word several times, focusing on the fact that the picture shows “ball”. The child must remember that this combination of letters is read that way.

Next, the adult offers a card with a word, for example, "mall", it is very similar to the already familiar "ball", so the child must read it. The main combinations of sounds are worked out in a similar way: “cat”, “fox”, “dog” and others.

It is very important that the baby listens to the speech of native speakers, so every home lesson should include audio recordings for him.

The following simple reading exercise is working with phonics, which looks like this step by step:

• words are grouped by sounds, for example: sun, gun, run (it is better to arrange them in the form of cards);
• an adult reads them aloud several times, ensuring that the child remembers how a certain row is read;
• gives the baby the opportunity to read it himself, using memory;
• further offers the child a card with the word fun;
• a child who listened carefully to the parent will read the word without any problems.

Similarly, work is being done with other combinations of sounds:

• may, say, pay, stay, play - the child must guess and read "way" himself;
• late, mate, gate, rate, fate;
• mice, twice, lice, ice.

If the child is unable to pronounce any sounds, phonemic gymnastics should be performed, which will help strengthen muscles, make the ligaments more flexible and learn to take the correct position of the lips and tongue.

The next step is reading English rhymes and tongue twisters, and the material must necessarily be adapted, that is, initially created for young native speakers, and not for foreigners. This will take into account age features.

The lesson is structured like this.

1. A parent reads a poem to a child. At this moment, you can look at pictures, seat toys to make the process playful, exciting. The task of the child is to listen several times, repeat.
2. Further, in the next lesson, a similar situation is created, the same toys are placed, the text is repeated again.
3. After that, the adult lays out in front of the baby several pre-prepared cards on which the text is written. The child should try to read them.

In the third lesson, after the repetition, you should make sure that the baby is really trying to read, and not just relying on his memory. To do this, one word is covered with thick cardboard, and the parent is carefully watching to see if it sounds wrong in the process of “reading”.

Organization of the lesson

A child of 4-5 years old is distinguished by the desire to move, to explore the world, he is restless and not ready to sit with a book for 30-40 minutes. And this feature can be safely used in the learning process. Mom's or dad's English lessons should not exceed 10-15 minutes. There are several forms of teaching that are interesting for children to help them learn to speak and read.

Journey

Here you can turn on your imagination: arrange pieces of furniture around the room, decorate them with cards and toys. These will be stops. At each such station, you can seat your favorite child's dolls, or place images of fairy-tale characters, then the journey will be called "Into a fairy tale." The role of the train can be played by a large box in which the baby sits, and the mother will transport from station to station.

1. So, first stop. Here the child finds cards with phonics already familiar to him, reads them.
2. The second station is new material, a small discovery. Mom reads unfamiliar words, the child first repeats, then he is given a card with a word that is very similar to all previously heard. The kid must guess and read it.
3. The third stop is reading the familiar words learned in the previous lessons.

Cards can be brightly and colorfully designed to make it fun and interesting for the baby to work with them.

Help for dolls and toys

The situation is played out - a bear came to us from the forest, he really needs help, otherwise he will not be able to find his way home. Let's help the clubfoot, read the words from the cards for him. Mom offers the baby a series of cards with English words or whole simple sentences (depending on the level of preparation).

English classes, if properly organized, will help not only to gain useful knowledge, but also to have fun, enjoy watching the progress of your own child. Therefore, it is very important to approach each training with a soul, come up with game plots, include all new tasks in trainings, and actively use cartoons and songs of native speakers. Then the result will not be long in coming.

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The rules for reading in English are extensive and complex, as there is a huge discrepancy between letters and sounds: there are 26 letters and 44 sounds, so different letters in different positions produce different sounds, which in English are transmitted by conventions called transcription marks. In this post, to facilitate the assimilation of the rules of reading, we designate them partially in Russian letters.

4 main types of vowel reading

To begin with, let's learn 4 main types of reading vowels E, A, Y, U, O, I in stressed syllables in English

Google shortcode

I reading type - open syllable ( A syllable ending in a vowel is considered open, even if it is not pronounced)

Pay attention to the first line of the table. The words same, note, he, fine, my, cube, like all words of this category, end in a silent vowel, and the reading of vowels in the root of the word coincides with the name of the letters according to the alphabet. Thus, words with dumb vowels at the end, i.e. words of type 1 reading same, note, he, fine, my, cube, will sound like “seim, laptop, hee, fine, may, cube”

Let's fix the reading of vowels in the stressed syllable with the following exercise:

Note, lone, mice, rice, type, tune, shy, lay, say, he, hay, name, same, nine, nice, game, came, make, Kate, Pete, five, tie, life, eve, me, size, no, cope, smoke, rose, nose, spine, sly, cry, vine, maze, home, tube, made, fume, cube, pace, lace, sky, hale, spine.

II reading type - closed syllable (a syllable ending in a consonant is considered closed). This is the second row in the table. Pay attention to the words rat, hot, red, bit, myth, run, at the end of which there is no mute vowel. These words sound like "rat, hot, red, beat, miss, run."

Cap, pen, bed, ten, not, spot, lot, bad, rat, sit, send, test, pit, in, send, spell, tin, less, ban, mad, fat, Sam, land, did, fit, sat, pet, tin, slip, sad, glad, bag, jam, gap, lag, can, kin, Jim, Jack, yes, ink, cup, run, cod, spin, not, doll, hop, hot, bank, rank, spin, up, us, bus, bun, cut, fun, vet, well, but, nut.

III type of reading - vowel + letter “r” , which affects the sound of the vowel at the root of the word, giving it some length. So the words car, sort, term, fir, Byrd, fur sound like “ka: so: t, those: m, fe: be: d, fe:”.

stern , Far, curt, hard, hart, car, card, cart, fork, cork, work, sort, term, first, Byrd, furs, curl, her, curb, turn, girl, sir, burn, turn, word, born, torn, bird, form, serf, herb.

IVreading type - vowel + letter “r” + vowel. The letter "r" in this case is also not readable; all three vowels together sound like this: care, store, mere, tire, cure - “kea, one hundred:, mie, taie, kyue”.

Fare, here, pure, rare, cure, during, mare, fire, bare, mire, stare, tire, sere, mere, store, core, more, care.

Video lesson: Rules for reading the vowel A in English

V video lesson: Rules for reading the vowel E in English

Video lesson: Rules for reading the vowel U in English

Video lesson: Rules for reading the vowel O in English

Video lesson: Rules for reading vowels I, Y

Consonants with two readings

*s m\z (interdental) - th - there is no such sound in Russian. This sound is deaf and resembles the Russian sound “s”, but when it is pronounced, the tongue is between the front upper and lower teeth, and a stream of air passes through the narrow gap created with force.

** similarly we pronounce the interdental sound "z".

Video lesson: Rules for reading English consonants

Table of reading vowels in combination with consonants

For high-quality assimilation of the sound system and the rules of reading the English language, we recommend that you repeat the above reading rules daily and try to read monosyllabic words in the dictionary.

Video lesson: Rules for reading various letter combinations in English

Video lesson: Rules for reading English vowels in an unstressed position

See the rules for reading unpronounceable consonants

• Hint: You can use the audio function of online dictionaries to control the correct pronunciation.

Many people who are just starting to learn this in-demand language often have difficulty learning how to read English. Such problems are associated with difficult rules: the multivariance of the pronunciation of some letters, the need to memorize the language norms associated with this, and the presence of a considerable number of exceptions. But you also have to combine them into words, and pronounce them quickly enough so that the meaning of the text does not escape. Sometimes people who take on such an undertaking feel almost despair, believing that they missed the right moment for training in childhood. This is only a delusion - if you listen to some advice, they will cope with the task.

Learn to read English from scratch: starting from the basics

Those who have zero knowledge of this language will have to start their acquaintance with it from the alphabet. It is required to correlate the graphic style of each letter with its name. You can see the entire English alphabet, listen to the pronunciation of the names of the letters at this link. Understanding how to learn how to read English correctly will not come without understanding the features of reading transcription. Knowing it, a person will be able to read any word or expression found independently in the dictionary. Sound transcription table.

How to Learn to Read English Properly: Vowel Difficulties

The main difficulty in finding the correct pronunciation arises in connection with vowels. Consonants are usually pronounced approximately the same in all words, except when they occur in letter combinations, but even those transcriptions are easy to remember. With vowels, it is much more difficult, since the ways of pronouncing them vary greatly from the neighborhood with other letters, the openness-closedness of syllables. The key variants, with the corresponding transcription image, are given on this website.

How to learn to read in English: regular vocabulary replenishment

Difficulties with how to learn to read English well will invariably lie in wait for those who prefer to make do with the available small stock of standard words and expressions, without striving to replenish them. The latter is a prerequisite for improving knowledge of a foreign language, increasing reading speed and understanding what is hidden behind a particular set of characters. Replenishment of the lexicon occurs in the process of watching foreign films, listening to foreign musical compositions, communicating with English-speaking foreigners. Simulators from Lingualeo will also help in the assimilation of new words.

How to quickly learn to read in English: improving grammar

Without mastering the grammar rules, it is difficult to achieve a full reading comprehension. Grammatical constructions form the basis, the skeleton of any text, on which semantics is already strung. Such a circumstance certainly affects the speed of reading. Written speech, unlike oral speech, cannot do without complex grammatical structures. You need to know when and which one is appropriate. It is necessary to consolidate what has been mastered in practice - by regularly reading texts.

How to quickly learn to read in English: a special electronic service

Those who want to learn to read English on their own usually face one common problem: reading books is associated with constant looking into dictionaries, which turns the process into torment instead of pleasure. To avoid this, it is worth switching to electronic English-language books, the text of which must first be run through this service. After an express analysis of the content, it will help you understand which verbal constructions are most common, give you translations of incomprehensible words/phrases.

How to learn to read and understand English: the ability to analyze

One of the keys to improving reading skills is understanding what is being said in the text. We must learn to feel the logic of the language, the peculiarities of the construction of its phrases, semantic nuances. If an understanding of the meaning is achieved, it is not necessary to translate the sentences for yourself. It is worth picking up phrases characteristic of a foreign language in the books you read, strive to remember them and use them in oral speech on occasion. Anki or other similar programs will help to fix them in memory.

How to learn to read books in English: using text and audio options

In addition to purchasing or downloading the usual electronic or paper version of a certain work, it is worth acquiring an audiobook. It is recommended to listen to it after reading the whole text or its large passage. This will improve pronunciation, catch its nuances. It is necessary to make allowances for the dialect that the announcer uses: the phonetic norms acceptable for different English-speaking countries or their parts often differ greatly.

There is a myth that only English speakers can read original books. But today you will be convinced that even a beginner is able to master a literary work and understand its meaning (especially if these are adapted books in English for beginners). In addition, you can always click on an unfamiliar word and see its translation.

Why is it so important to read books at an elementary level?

• First, reading books guarantees a deeper immersion in the language than texts from textbooks.
• Secondly, this is a huge plus for self-esteem and motivation, which is very important for further language learning.
• And, finally, this is one of the easiest and most interesting activities, if the appropriate literature is selected.

That's why we found for you the best adapted versions of foreign works(just follow the links). All books have been rewritten by professional linguists and significantly reduced: the average volume of a simplified version is about 10-20 pages, which is quite realistic to read in one evening.

A story about the friendship of two smart mice from France and Great Britain, who are concerned about the fate of Shakespeare's cultural heritage. This book uses direct speech a lot, which means you won't have problems speaking English in the future.

by Mark Twain (beginner - 7 pages) It's hard to find someone who hasn't heard about the thrilling adventures of Tom Sawyer. And reading about them in the original is even more fun. The vocabulary of the story is suitable even for those who "yesterday" began to learn English.

by Sally M. Stockton (elementary - 6 pages) An ageless tale of a brave archer who fights for justice. After reading the book, you can watch one of the many film adaptations.

by Andrew Mathews (elementary - 6 pages) A beautiful story about a teenage girl, Susie, living in the shadow of her more attractive friend Donna. Susie hates her freckles and thinks they make her look ugly. Find out how the story ends and whether Susie's attitude towards herself will change.

by John Escott (elementary - 8 pages) In our selection there was a place for a story about ghosts. The author has a very bright style of narration, so it is difficult to break away from the story. So, you can easily master 8 pages in one go.

by Mark Twain (elementary - 9 pages) Another work of Mark Twain in our selection will delight you with the story of Huckleberry Finn. A great chance to remember your childhood. The adapted version of this children's book is a real boon for the beginner!

More than ten pages - success! Simple books in English for beginners

by Peter Benchley (elementary - 12 pages) An adapted version of the famous "Jaws" - a novel about a great white shark attacking vacationers in a resort town (brrr, horror!). The long, common sentences may make the book difficult for the elementary level, but we believe that 12 pages is no problem for you.

Hercules Serpents Shadows by Timothy Boggs (elementary - 13 pages) If you like the myths of Ancient Greece and stories about exploits, then the story of Hercules made our list just for you. Get ready to replenish your vocabulary with a couple of dozen epic words.

by Lewis Carroll (elementary - 13 pages) A wonderful opportunity to once again be in Wonderland and learn the names of the characters in English. The book is read very quickly and easily - tested on my own experience in elementary school.

by Jack London (elementary - 15 pages) A heartbreaking story about the life of a dog during the gold rush. The book focuses on the relationship between man and animals. In my opinion, this work is one of the best in our selection in terms of plot and style of writing.

by Roger Lancelyn Green (elementary - 16 pages) A great opportunity to get acquainted with the exploits of King Arthur and the famous knights of the round table. Welcome to the era of the English Middle Ages.

For those who are serious. Reading books in English for beginners

The second story by Arthur Conan Doyle, dedicated to the investigations of Sherlock Holmes. In the simplified version of the work, the beauty of the story and the mystery of this detective story are perfectly preserved.

by Elizabeth Gaskell (pre-intermediate - 51 pages) The novel "North and South" describes the confrontation between manufacturers and aristocrats during the industrial revolution in England. The book will appeal not only to fans of the romantic classics performed by Jane Austen, but also to those who like historical works.

Books in English with translation for beginners

For most parents, it becomes a big problem to teach a child to read in Russian, but to comprehend a foreign language in this sense is generally a real test for any child!

There is also no hope for a kindergarten and a school here, since not every educational institution can boast of good English teachers or the availability of a sufficient number of teaching hours in this subject.

Therefore, parents often decide to teach their child to read English on their own, and this is what becomes a big problem for them - just like for their child, shocked by complex science.

Is it possible to teach a child to read English at home? What training methods should be used to achieve the best result? Finally, when should one start learning and is there any benefit in early reading in a foreign language?

Why does a child need English?

It's no secret that learning two languages ​​at once - native and "foreign" (English) - is a big burden for a child. So why teach at all?

1. English improves speech skills and helps the baby to comprehend the basics of both a foreign dialect and the Russian language.
2. It replenishes the baby's vocabulary and helps him memorize the letters of two alphabets at once.
3. Subsequently, the child learns other foreign languages ​​much faster.

When to start?

At preschool age, a child is able to "absorb" any information, like a sponge, and comprehend two or three languages ​​at once. This does not mean that there will be no difficulties in learning, but in the future the baby will read books in English easily and with pleasure, surprising his peers and teachers with his achievements.

Despite the fact that some attention is paid to such reading in elementary school, most kids constantly stumble when reading long and confusing expressions. Therefore, teaching children to read in English should begin somewhere around the age of five (psychologists consider this time ideal for learning a foreign language).

General rules for teaching reading in English

In order for the process of mastering reading in English to go smoothly and confidently, parents should follow certain recommendations:

• establish for yourself the sequence of training, which can be found in the educational literature;
• do not rush the baby: you will not achieve results by jumping from topic to topic and wasting energy on quarrels and conflicts;
• divide each “lesson” into parts and spend it no longer than an hour;
• use games in the learning process.

Starting with the alphabet

Teaching reading skills in English begins with mastering the alphabet. Make sure that the baby does not confuse the pronunciation of letters and sounds, because in Russian and English they often coincide.

So, the letter "a" in English and Russian is written the same way, but is pronounced differently: like "a" and like "hey". Therefore, you will need to pay special attention to transcription.

Two effective methods of mastering reading in English

After the alphabet has been learned, take a few days to review the material covered. Only now you can go further and choose one of the two methods of teaching your child to read in English, recognized by teachers as the most effective.

"From simple to complex"

Similarity of sounds

After mastering the English letters, it's time to get acquainted with the sounds. The kid should be clearly aware of the association of letters and sounds. After all, he only recently studied Russian and does not understand why in English and Russian some letters are the same, but are read differently.

Psychologically, it will be quite difficult for anyone to rebuild in this sense.

Pronunciation and spelling

One of the main problems of reading in English is the mismatch in the pronunciation of words and their spelling, so learning should begin with reading words such as "pot", "dog", "box" (that is, light and monosyllabic). Let your little one read in English by putting the letters into words.

We complicate the task

Move from simple words to more complex ones by asking your child to memorize them in their entirety. Control the baby so that he does not get confused and does not teach them in the wrong sound. To do this, use audio recordings and make sure that the child reads the sentences with the announcer or repeats them after you - this way the intonation is better felt and the meaning of the sentence is captured.

Reading comprehension

In the process of learning, it is very important to understand what you read. Let the child retell you the content of each text in Russian. If the kid does not understand something, translate the difficult part of the text for him, breaking it into separate sentences. At the same time, it is not worth chasing beauty and literature, it is much more important that the child feel the grammar.

Also, do not pay much attention to the speed of reading: it is important to teach the child to be able to read words correctly without distorting the pronunciation. This helps to facilitate the learning process, making it calm, smooth and ultimately bringing a guaranteed result.

Playful learning

Poems and tongue twisters

In order to start reading in English, you can offer your child entertaining poems and tongue twisters. They improve diction and have a beneficial effect on the understanding of the English dialect. To do this, you can start a game with cards: the kid reads the sentence and shows words from the text using pictures.

Games in English

For reading in English, another game also helps a lot: for 5-10 minutes, the child chats in English. It is not so important whether in separate words or whole sentences - the main thing is that he understands what he is talking about.

Translation of a fairy tale

Translation of a fairy tale read is another entertaining game for reading in English at home. Difficult words that appear during the translation process should be written down on a piece of paper and repeated regularly.

What else will help in the learning process?

In order for the child to study well, you need to follow some tips.

interest in learning

Any study ever bothers even the most assiduous child. The kid is not yet able to understand how important English is for him and what prospects it opens up for him. Motivate your child with play and encourage his achievements.

Special literature

Finding a good book for learning to read in English is no longer a problem: download it online, or buy it in a bookstore. But it would be best to choose ordinary “readers” for a good cause, teaching reading in two languages ​​at once.

Praise

Any achievement - even if it is one correctly pronounced sound - should be marked with praise. You need to keenly feel the mood of the child, so as not to go too far in the learning process and not cause rejection of learning.

What are the benefits of learning a foreign language early?

1. Early development. Learning any language, the child learns to communicate with other people and work in a team, which has a beneficial effect on his communicative qualities in the future.
2. A good start for further learning a foreign language. The child develops spontaneity of speech, which has a positive effect on further learning to write and perceive words by ear.
3. Preparation for school. Children who read in English behave more disciplined and do not experience stress.

Summing up

Some especially ambitious parents believe that their baby is simply obliged to grasp everything on the fly and from the first lesson. However, reading in English is a lot of work! Therefore, the result in this matter should be expected only after 1.5-2 months of training (and only if the parents do not put pressure on the child).

So, if your kid can't master reading in English in any way, don't rush him. Let the learning process become for him a pleasant experience, calm and consistent, which in the end will lead him to an excellent result!