Category: children’s english

New Song and Video: Walking, Walking Song

Young learners of English (ESL, EFL) love to interact by saying, “No!” For example, if I hold up a flashcard of a dog and say “banana” the students will either say “no” or “dog”. This always comes with a lot of laughter. The Walking, Walking Song is based on this idea. More below the video:

Give the idea a try. Don’t over do it, but when you are counting numbers for example, when you get to 10 say banana instead of ten! See how your students react.

Lyrics:

 

I’m walking, walking in the park
And I see a dog (No!)
I see a dog (No!)
I see a dog (yay!)
I’m walking, walking in the park
And I see a cat (No!)
I see a cat (No!)
I see a cat (yay!)

I’m walking, walking in the park
And I see a bird (No!)
I see a bird (No!)
I see a bird (yay!)

I’m walking, walking in the park
And I see a bear (No!)
I see a bear (No!)
I see a bear

A bear?
Run! run, run,
run run, run,
run run, run,
run stop, safe!

Great job!

Visit our Free Download page to download our top songs for teaching children English. Click here!

 

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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. 
  3. 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! 

Total Physical Response (TPR) In the Children’s English Classroom Podcast

I use a lot of actions with language in my classroom. It is an excellent way to get children moving and listening to English, without the pressure of speaking right away. Have a listen to this podcast with my short introduction to TPR:

Total Physical response is a way for language students to acquire the sounds of the language before being asked to speak. I think it is important not to put a lot of pressure on young students to speak English, before they are ready.

Using actions and commands like, “sit down, stand up, touch your nose, spin around” is a fun way for students to get used to the sounds of English without requiring them to speak. When they are ready, they will begin speaking.

I hope this is helpful and gives you some ideas for your classes!

Traffic Light Song – New Actions Song for Children’s English Class

The Traffic Light Song is a new fun action song for your classes (ESL, EFL). It practices the colors green, yellow, red and fun actions. More below video!

How to Teach

Start by teaching the actions that go with the colors: green is go, yellow is slow, red is stop. You can practice all of the actions before your play the song.

Game Idea

Have the students line up on one side of the room. Call out the different colors, for example “green!” and the students have to go. If they make a mistake they are out. For example, if you say “yellow” and they stop, they are out. If you have many students, only have a few go at a time for safety and judging reasons.

Check out the new video on Youtube, song also streaming on Spotify, iTunes and more! Search for “Traffic Light Song Dream English Kids” Happy Singing!

New Fruit Counting Song

Fruit counting songs are a fun way to practice counting and fruit vocabulary in your young learners English class (ESL, EFL). Teaching tips and lyrics below the video:

Teaching Tips:

This song gets faster and faster, so it is a bit of a challenge. If your young learners are having trouble holding up their fingers, you can replace that with a clap. Practice the song once slowly with no video before trying the video.

Lyrics

1 apple, cha-cha-cha
2 bananas, cha-cha-cha
3 grapes, cha-cha-cha
4 strawberries, cha-cha-cha
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, oranges, cha-cha-cha
(repeat and get faster!)

Have fun and happy singing!

Shapes Color Song Video and Free Song Download

Learn how to say red circle, green triangle, blue square, and pink heart. Lyrics and Free Song Download below the video!

Download the Shapes Color Song for MP3 Free: Click here
Right-click to download and save. (Mac users Control-click)

Lyrics:

This is a red circle.
I’m a red circle
a red circle a red circle

This is a green triangle
I’m a green triangle
a green triangle, a green triangle

This is a blue square
I’m a blue square
a blue square, a blue square

This is a pink heart.
I’m a pink heart
a pink heart, a pink heart

red circle, green triangle, blue square, pink heart (x2)

Matt, yes, I want to be yellow, ok. abracadabra turn yellow! (the square)

This is a red circle.
I’m a red circle
a red circle a red circle

This is a green triangle
I’m a green triangle

a green triangle, a green triangle

This is a yellow square
I’m a yellow square
a yellow square, a yellow square

This is a pink heart.
I’m a pink heart
a pink heart, a pink heart

red circle, green triangle, yellow square, pink heart (x2)

We love singing this is really fun! 

Great job!

Happy Singing! Visit www.dreamenglish.com/freedownload for more free songs!

Learn Some Words Episode 1: Animals New Original Learning English Show

New Show on YouTube: Learn Some Words! 😀
Perfect for the ESL/EFL Children’s English Classroom!

Learn Some Words Episode 1: Animals. This special new series from Dream English Kids teaches six words each episode with songs, repeat-after-me, and a quiz. Join Matt, Tunes, Bell and our friend the Pencil in this exciting learning adventure!

YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/eHSTJuUpVQs

New Action Song: “My Feet Are For Walking”

My Feet Are For Walking Action Song

This is a fun and simple song for your children’s English class (ESL, EFL). Your students will love the fun and silly actions. Have a look at the video before reading the below teaching tips.

Lyrics:

My feet are for walking (x2)
Walking fast, walking slow
My mouth is for talking (x2)
talking fast, talking slow
My legs are for jumping (x2)
jumping fast, jumping slow
My arms are for swimming (x2)
swimming fast, swimming slow

Teaching Tips:

Start out by teaching the lyrics to the song. Teach them slowly, and have the students repeat after you. If you are not sure about pronunciation, have the students repeat after me as I say the lyrics at the beginning of the video.

I recommend teaching the actions and lyrics at the same time. This helps the students remember. Practice the walking fast, and slow part. This will be really fun for the students, and get them ready to sing. Finally, give the song a try! If you teach your students weekly, try to sing this song at the beginning of class every week for a month! By the end of the month, I’m sure the students will be singing very well. Encourage the students to sing in a loud voice.

Game idea:

Start a phrase of the lyrics and the students have to finish. For example:
Teacher: My feet are for….
Students: walking!
Next, ask a student to come to the front of the class to start the phrase.

Get the song:
“My Feet are for Walking” is available on YouTube, iTunes, and Spotify

YouTube Video link: Click here!
Download this song:
Spotify: Click here!
iTunes: Click here!

Happy teaching!!

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

    1. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. 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:
    4. 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.
    5. 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