elf – Dream English Teaching Tips Blog

Vocabulary Practice Videos: Numbers 1-10

Songs are great for learning English. It is also important for young learners (ESL, EFL) to practice English vocabulary with good pronunciation. For that reason I started a new video series! More below the video!

Vocabulary Practice Videos for Children’s English Class

It is important to take some time in your English class for young learners to teach the basics of the English language. It is ok to drill and practice vocabulary in your classes. This should not take up all of your classes, but a few minutes each class is important.

I always practice numbers, ABCs, weather, and colors in each English class. I often add more vocabulary. By taking the time to ask the students to repeat after us they learn proper pronunciation. Pronunciation is very important for English conversation. If a student know vocabulary, but can not pronounce it correctly it could cause difficulty in conversation. For this reason, we need to practice single words with students through vocabulary practice.

I hope these videos will be helpful for your classes. Check out the vocabulary practice video on Fruit on the Dream English Kids YouTube channel!

How to get your students to say, “My name is (student name)” using only English

When I teach young learners English ages 4-6 I do not use any of their L1 (native language). Teaching these students to say “My name is (student name)” can be a challenge. In this post I will talk about one method to teach students without using any props or L1. The basic concept is what I will call modeling.

Modeling

The definition of modeling in an online dictionary is:

use (a system, procedure, etc.) as an example to follow or imitate.

What I mean by modeling is to get the students to imitate you, but also take the extra step to say the words and actions with your students until they can say it on their own.

Below are the steps I would take:

As the teacher say a few times, “My name is (your name).” So I would say, “My name is Matt.” I would recommend doing this 2-3 times. Your students might try to repeat after you. That is ok.
Next, ask a student to come to the front of the class. Make sure that you know their name. Hold their hand and gently raise it up and say their name. For example, “My name is Sally.” Say it very slowly like My…..name….. is….. Sally. Do not force your students to repeat after you. You are still giving an example. If they are ready they will speak.
Now try this again with other students. If you have a small class you can do it with every student. If you have a large class, pick a few students each class time. Eventually your students will be able to say the phrase, “My name is (student name).”

It could take a few days, or a few weeks depending on the students age or level. Be patient, have fun with it. Laugh and smile a lot. I hope this is helpful!

Check out a Video on this Topic:

For more resources and a What’s Your Name? Song click here!

How to Teach Children to Say “My name is …” in English

Children learning English (ESL/EFL) love to introduce themselves in English. Asking the students, “What’s your name?” and having them answer is a daily task in my classes. Here are my top tips for teaching this:

Top 5 Tips for Teaching Children Self Introduction with Name

Introduce yourself first: I always begin by saying, “My name is Matt.” Next, I will invite a student up and after learning their name help them say for example, “My name is Bell.” The students can slowly repeat each word after you.
Use puppets to introduce the idea: I often use small hand puppets that I bought at a local store to model saying, “My name is…” I have a dog puppet, and a cat puppet. I introduce myself by saying, “My name is Matt” then I pull out the puppets. I make a silly dog voice and using the dog puppet say, “My name is Douggy Dog. Woof, woof!” Then I take out the cat puppet and say, “My name is Catey Cat. Meow!” The students start seeing that we are introducing ourselves.
What’s Your Name? Song: After introducing the idea of saying our names, we sing the What’s Your Name? Song. You can get a free mp3 download of that song here. And check out the simple video here:
Game Idea: Have the students stand in a circle. Use a ball, and have the students throw it to each other. The student that throws the ball has to ask “What’s your name?” The student who catches the ball answers, “My name is _____.” See if they can gradually speed up without making mistakes. If the students are younger, ages 2-5, you can have them pass the ball and say their name.
Name and Numbers Quiz: When the students are comfortable saying, “My name is …” you can combine asking the student’s names and a number quiz. I do this in big classes with students ages 4-6. I invite a group of students to the front of the class. I ask, “What’s your name?” and they all answer. Next, I show them a number card usually from 1-10 and ask, “What number?” and they answer for example, “Five!” Then I ask those students to sit down again, and invite another group up until all of the students have had a turn. This is fun, simple, and gives young learners confidence in English!

Tip: Simplify! If something is too difficult for your students, you can always simplify the activity. For example, in the game above if the students are not ready yet to ask “What’s your name?” have them pass the ball and say, “My name is…”

I hope this helps you get your students introducing themselves in English. Happy Teaching! – Matt

A Tip To Start Your New English Class!

I’ve been getting many emails asking my advice about how to start new classes with young learners of English. My advice: Keep it simple!

I like to start my classes by introducing myself, then learning the names of my students and saying hello to each student. For example, “Hello, Sally. Hello, Bobby.” This helps the students feel comfortable.

Next, I do some simple action warm-ups like clap your hands, wash your hands, jump, spin etc. Then we practice counting from 1 to 10 with our fingers and flashcards. Counting is a great place to start because many young learners have already heard the numbers in English.

Finally we sing “Let’s count 1 to 10“ A great song to start a young learners English class. I also make sure to smile a lot, and I do not push the young students to speak at first. They will begin to speak naturally when they are ready. Slowly but surely!

I hope this is helpful happy teaching. Thank you, Matt

Podcast: Listen to these tips on the Dream English Teaching Tips Podcast here!

Let’s Count 1 to 10 Free Song Download: http://www.dreamenglish.com/numbers

Matt’s Tube Episode #1 Wild Animals, Learn with Songs and Skits

I’m excited to introduce a new show called Matt’s Tube! Great for young learners of English (ESL, EFL) Each show will introduce topics like Wild Animals, Vehicles and more. Students can learn the words through vocabulary practice songs, and skits. Have a look at the first Episode here:

I hope you find this useful in your classes! If you have any ideas for the show you would like us to hear, please put a comment on the video or on the Dream English Facebook page. Thanks for watching! Matt

New Songs and Videos in 2018 from Dream English! Learn English Children

The year is off to a fun start with the New Jobs Song, Pet Song, Winter Clothing Song, A to Z Vehicles and more! Great for young learners of English. In today’s post I give some fun tips on how to use these new songs in your classes. Learn more below!

A to Z Vehicles Song

I currently have three new song in the A to Z series. These song are made to help children learn the alphabet, while learning vocabulary and phrases. Please check out the Food A to Z and Animals A to Z song. The vehicles A to Z song teaches vehicle names like ambulance, and motorcycle, and watch out for the Nose Car!

More to come in this series, so stay tuned!

Do You Have a Pet? Song

I have a pet goldfish. How about you? This fun song teaches students how to ask and answer, “Do you have a pet?” Many students have pets, so this is very useful. We also learn cat, dog, fish, bird, and elephant in English. Sing this song and then ask your students the question, “Do you have a pet?”

Job Song

I have been wanting to write a Jobs Song for a long time. I’m happy I waited as I’m really happy with the results. From the comments I’m getting on this video, students around the world are enjoying the new Jobs Song!

After singing the song, have your students take turn acting out the gestures from the song. The other students have to guess the job!

A Part two with more jobs is coming soon! Subscribe to the Dream English Kids Youtube channel to see it when it comes out!

ABC We-O-We

This song is a fun action song for the classroom. It is a bit of a challenge, and kids love a challenge! We make our bodies into the ABC letters, and do gestures for three words that start with A, B, and C. Give it a try with your young English learners or preschool class! After the song, challenge your students to say all of the vocabulary words with the gestures from the song!

Winter Clothing Song

It’s cold outside, brr, brr, brr! My students love this song, probably because it is so silly and fun. This song teaches, “put on my jacket” and more winter clothes. The refrain of “brr, brr, brr” keeps it silly and memorable!

I hope you find some use for the new songs from Dream English. It is always my pleasure to create and share these songs with the world. Thanks for your continued support of Dream English!

Teaching Family Members and Instruments with the Family Finger Song

I love mixing different topics in one song. It is a great way to increase students vocabulary, and help young learners remember new words in a fun way! The Family Finger song with instruments is my latest attempt at making a fun mix. Teaching tips, full song lyrics and more below the video:

How To Teach:

Before I teach a song, I always introduce and review the vocabulary. For this song the main vocabulary is Daddy, Mommy, Brother, Sister, Baby, Guitar, Piano, Recorder, Drums. You can teach the vocabulary by showing flashcards, or pictures from a book or textbook. Make sure the students understand the meaning of the words.

Next, I like to teach the actions of the song. For example, ” I am playing the piano.” Say the words, and do the actions. Here are the full lyrics of the song:

Daddy finger, Daddy finger where are you?
Here I am, here I am. How do you do?
I’m playing the guitar

Mommy finger, Mommy finger, where are you?
Here I am, here I am. How do you do?
I’m playing the piano.

Brother finger, Brother finger, where are you?
Here I am, here I am. How do you do?
I’m playing the electric guitar.

Sister finger, Sister finger, where are you?
Here I am, here I am. How do you do?
I’m playing the recorder

Baby finger, Baby finger, where are you?
Here I am, here I am. How do you do?
I’m playing the drums

Next, watch the video, ask your students to sing along and do the actions!

After the video:

I like to ask my students a few questions after watching the video. Here are some sample questions you could ask:

What instrument was Mommy playing in the video? (Piano)
Can you show me your baby finger?
In what room was brother playing the electric guitar? (bedroom)

Be creative and come up with new game and lesson ideas on your own using the Family Finger Song. You can do it! You are a great teacher! Happy teaching!

New Walk in The Woods Action Song for Teaching Children English

It is really important to have fun in the classroom when teaching children English. One way to do this is with emotions. Quickly changing emotions from happy to sad, or not scared to scared can be a fun way of teaching. More below the video….

Walk In The Woods Song

The target language in this video includes animals (owl, fox, bear), nature (woods) and the use of “not” (I’m not scared.) You can pre-teach this vocabulary, or just go ahead and watch the video and have the children follow along. If they are already familiar with the target language, the students should be able to follow along quickly!

Get Moving!

I recommend having your students stand to watch this video. Get them moving and following along with the actions. This will get them more involved, and they will remember the words not only by singing, but with their bodies. Remember: Movement is very important!

Lyrics

Here are the lyrics of the song:

Let’s go for a walk in the woods
Let’s go for a walk in the woods
I’m not scared, no, no
I’m not scared, no, no
Stop! What’s that sound?
An owl? Shhh! Be very, very quiet
(repeat with fox and bear)

So that is the walking in the woods song, give it a try in your classes! For extra excitement, can you think of a game idea for the song? You could have students act out the different characters in the song and sing along. Happy Singing!

Family Finger Songs – Teaching Different Ideas to Young Learners

Many of you may know the popular children’s song Family Finger. I have made some new versions using different vocabulary. I like this song, because it teaches other vocabulary such as, “Where are you?” I also use these songs to teach actions like dig, mix, and more. More below the video:

How To Use This Song in your Classes

This song can be used as a warm-up song or in the middle of your classes as a song break time. You can begin by teaching the Construction Vehicle names, then the actions. Then watch the video and have your students do the actions and sing along. Here are the full lyrics:

Excavator finger, excavator finger where are you?
Here I am, here I am. How do you do?
Let’s dig like an excavator

Bulldozer finger, bulldozer finger, where are you?
Here I am, here I am. How do you do?
Let’s push like a bulldozer

Road roller finger, road roller finger, where are you?
Here I am, here I am. How do you do?
Let’s roll like a road roller

Dump truck finger, Dump truck finger, where are you?
Here I am, here I am. How do you do?
Let’s drive the dump truck.

Concrete mixer finger, concrete mixer finger, where are you?
Here I am, here I am. How do you do?
Let’s mix like a concrete mixer.

So give it a try and get moving in your class! Here we go!

Walking in The Snow Action Song for Young Learners

It is time to get excited to take our students English to the next level! If you have been following Dream English for awhile, you know we have covered many topics, and vocabulary items in our lesson plan songs. Now, it is time get exciting and mix it up! More below the video:

Themed Songs

I am beginning to write songs based around themes and ideas, like in the above video, ” Walking in the Snow.” This song covers many things with verbs (walking), emotions and feelings (scared), question phrases (what are those footprints in the snow?), plus some animal names. Let’s have a look at the full lyrics:

I’m walking in the snow
I’m walking in the snow
I’m a little bit scared because
I don’t know
What are those footprints in the snow?
I hear something, Ahhh!
It’s a cute little kitty
(repeat above with cute little puppy, cute little bird, and polar bear)

As you can see, there is a lot to be learned in this song. I also hope that it is a lot of fun for your students! So let’s get singing, and adventurous with our use of vocabulary. Here we go!