How to improve English at home.

Hi there, Christmas time is coming and children will be many days without practising English. Because of that, I decided to give special homework for them: to watch videos, movies, series and cartoons in English. Nowadays, it's easy to switch the dual system on tv, but also I wanted to recommend some proposals for primary students.

1) Here you have the first one. Sesame Street. 

2) Phineas and Ferb Episodes

3) Dance academy. Series

4) Girl Meets World - New Family Comedy Series 

5) Boy Meets World

6) Wild Kratts

7) Friends


8) Monty paiton

Use videos to improve your fluency. Choose a short part of a show and repeat it line by line. Try to match the tone, speed and even the accent (if you can). It doesn’t matter if you miss a few words, the important thing is to keep talking. Try to sound just like the native speakers on the show.

Also, FluentU is a great way to practice listening and repeating. 
TV 411 (videos with native speakers. Following each video is a comprehension quiz)

BBC Learn English (resources for young primary learners)

GCF Learn Free a well-designed site with interactive tutorials.

Language Guide (vocabulary and grammar)

Non native English teacher or native English teacher?

Hi there,

some days ago, a friend of mine uploaded to my facebook wall an article where it was recommended to have native English teachers in Kindergarten and primary school.

Well, at the very beginning I was disappointed because that friend didn't believe that I am doing a good job.

After that moment, I thought a lot about the article and I concluded with different ideas that I want to share in this post.

Someway, I would say that this idea is a myth. What I find troubling is that many proficiency teachers assume to be good teachers, trivialising many other important factors such as experience, innovation and personality. While profiency might be a necessity at our schools, proficiency by itself should not be treated as the deciding factor that makes a teacher. It is SO MUCH MORE, It is to know your students, the culture, habits, to anticipate some problems while learning the new language and many other factors.

Anyway, having a native English Teacher is good for students when they are at a higher level, like B2 or C1. However, with lower levels, from beginner to intermediate, a non-native-speaker but fluent in the language, is better, at least in my opinion, because we have gone through the same experience and we can moderate our speaking speed and style easily. 

I would appreciate if you write your opinion down and share it with us. Thank you !