Children's English, Beginner: A Sample Class Recap

Young children don't learn English from worksheets. They learn it from stories, silly voices, tapping and saying things again and again, and from a parent who knows exactly what happened in class. So after every children's lesson, the family gets a short recap in English and in their own language, plus a practice page made for their child.

Here is a full example, for a six-year-old beginner. Everything on this page works: tap the 🔊 buttons, play the videos, build words and do the quiz.

1The class recap: what Mia's parents receive

A few minutes after class, Mia's parents get this by email. It says what we did, what Mia did well, the new words with sound, and three tiny things to practise this week.

Class recap · 課後小結

Mia's English lesson 米亞的英文課

Lesson 3 · Saturday 31 October · 30 minutes on Zoom第3課 · 10月31日（星期六）· Zoom 線上30分鐘

Dear Mia's mum and dad,米亞的爸爸媽媽好：

Mia was a little shy for the first five minutes. Then she could not stop talking about bats! Here is what we did today.米亞前五分鐘有點害羞，後來就一直講蝙蝠，停不下來！以下是今天的上課內容。

Today we… · 今天我們…

• 🦇Read the story Bat, Not Ba. A little bat learns to say the end of her name. Mia learned to "open the little door" at the end of a word.讀了故事《Bat, Not Ba》：小蝙蝠學會把自己名字的「尾音」說出來。米亞學會了「把字尾的小門打開」。
• 🅰️Said the five short vowel sounds: a, e, i, o, u.練習五個短母音：a、e、i、o、u。
• 🧱Built words in the -at family: bat, cat, hat, mat, sat, rat.用 -at 字族拼字：bat、cat、hat、mat、sat、rat。
• 🔢Spelled the numbers one to five: "one, O-N-E, one".拼出數字1到5：「one, O-N-E, one」。
• 😴Talked about feelings: I'm tired. I'm hungry. I'm full of energy!說說感覺：我累了、我餓了、我精力充沛！

Mia's star moment · 米亞的亮點

⭐ Mia said bat with a clear t at the end, three times in a row. Then she taught it to her teddy bear!⭐ 米亞連續三次把 bat 的 t 音清楚地說出來，還教她的泰迪熊一起說！

New words · 新單字 (tap to listen · 點一下聽發音)

🦇 bat蝙蝠 🐱 cat貓 🎩 hat帽子 🟫 mat墊子 🚪 the end結尾 😴 I'm tired.我累了 🍽️ I'm hungry.我餓了 👋 Nice to meet you!很高興認識你

Practise this week · 本週練習 (10 minutes a day · 每天10分鐘)

1. Watch Vowels Only together and say each sound with me.一起看《Vowels Only》影片，跟著我說每個音。
2. Play the word game on Mia's practice page: tap a letter, then say the word.在米亞的練習頁玩拼字遊戲：點一個字母，再把單字唸出來。
3. At bedtime, say "I'm tired. Good night, Bat!" with a clear t.睡前說「I'm tired. Good night, Bat!」，把 t 音說清楚。

Ross's note · 老師的話

Mia, you are a super reader! Next Saturday we meet Snail and her slow, slow trail. 🐌米亞，你是超棒的小讀者！下週六我們要認識小蝸牛和她慢慢的小路。🐌

📅 Next class: Saturday 7 November, 10:00 a.m. Taiwan time, on Zoom.下一堂課：11月7日（星期六）上午10點（台灣時間），Zoom 線上。

The recap goes to the parents by email and lives on the child's own page, so nothing gets lost.

2Watch at home

Short videos from my YouTube channel, made for exactly this stage. Watch them more than once: children pick up a little more each time, and parents learn the sounds too.

3Story time

Every story I write for children is built around one sound problem that real learners have. Bat, Not Ba is for children who drop the last sound of a word (very common for Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai speakers). Snail and the Slow, Slow Trail is about taking your time, and its words practise the long A sound in snail, trail, mail and tail.

Bat, Not BaThe little bat who learned to finish her word.Read the story → Snail and the Slow, Slow TrailThe little snail who learned that slow is a gift.Read the story →

4Mia's practice page: try it

Every child also gets a practice page of their own, built from their lessons. Here is a small version of Mia's. Go ahead and play: it's made for little fingers.

Real practice pages grow every week: more words, more stories, more games, and a link back to the child's lesson calendar.

5For parents

• Ten minutes a day beats one hour on Sunday. Little and often is how children remember.
• Listen for the ends of words. Bat, not ba. Cat, not ca. Gently say it back the right way; no need to correct.
• Watch together. You don't need perfect English. Laughing at the same video is the lesson.
• Praise the trying, not only the right answer. Shy children talk when they feel safe.

Why I teach this way: The Quiet Genius of Mister Rogers, the teacher who shaped how I speak to children.

6Six levels, one teacher

Every student gets a recap and a practice page at their own level. See what the others look like:

How to start

Book a free 30-minute "virtual handshake" on Zoom. Bring your child, say hello, and we'll find the right level together. There is no cost and no pressure.

Book a virtual handshakeClasses for children

Ross Cline 柯受恩
Canadian English teacher. Founder of iLearn.tw, the licensed English school I ran in Taiwan for fifteen years. Now teaching online from Phnom Penh. rosscline.com