The holidays are already in full swing and pupils are enjoying long summer days full of rest, adventure and shared experiences. Summer is supposed to be a time when they can slow down, recharge their batteries and be with their families. Therefore, English does not have to take the form of another assignment, homework or preparation for school.
So how do you practice English during the holidays naturally and without pressure? Short moments during which pupils actually use the language work best. For example, while walking, cooking, playing, traveling or reading together.
At Maple Bear Brno, we perceive English as a natural tool for communication, discovery, and understanding the world. Our pupils do not use it only during language activities during the school year. They also create, collaborate, think, solve problems and share their ideas in English.
The same principle can simply work at home. There is no need to open textbooks or plan long lessons. Much more important are short and pleasant moments without correcting every mistake, without pressure on performance and, above all, with joy.
We’ve put together seven simple tips to help children stay in touch with English during the summer and offer parents inspiration for time spent together.
1. Turn a trip into a small English expedition
A walk in the park, a day by the water, or a family outing can be a great opportunity to practice your English naturally. Try to name things you see around you together: tree, flower, bird, butterfly, river, rock or cloud.
You can play a simple quest game:
- Can you find something green?
- Can you see something round?
- Where is the tallest tree?
Younger children can point, repeat individual words or respond with one expression. Older children and primary school pupils can try to create a simple sentence, for example: I can see three birds. The flowers are yellow. We are walking in the forest.
Children will thus connect English with a specific experience. It is the words used in a real situation that they often remember more easily than in mechanical repetition.
2. Read together, even just a few minutes a day
Summer is the perfect time to immerse yourself in stories. You don’t have to read the entire book or understand every word. A few pages, a short fairy tale or a joint viewing of a picture book are enough.
For younger children, you can name characters, colors, and objects in the pictures. Simple questions will also help:
- Who is this?
- What can you see?
- Is the bear happy or sad?
- What do you think will happen next?
Older children can read short stories, comics or books they already know in Czech. Thanks to the familiar plot, they will find it easier to orient themselves and will not feel like they have to translate every word.
Maple Bear Brno pupils can also use online books during the summer, which they have access to. The child can choose a story according to his interest and read at his own pace. What is important is not the number of pages read, but the pleasant experience and the desire to return to reading again.
3. Invite English to the kitchen
Cooking or baking together is full of specific activities, smells, tastes and emotions. This makes it easy for children to associate new English words with what they are doing.
You can name ingredients, such as milk, eggs, flour, sugar, apple, or cheese. Naturally, kitchen utensils such as bowl, spoon, cup or knife and the verbs mix, cut, pour, stir, add and bake are also offered.
Try giving short instructions to the students:
- Please add two eggs.
- Can you mix it?
- Pour in the milk.
- Let’s cut the banana.
When measuring, you can count together in English, search for ingredients by color or read a simple recipe in English.
At such a moment, the child does not perceive language as a school exercise. He uses it to actually create something. And the joint reward at the end is usually a very pleasant motivation.
4. Play your favorite games in English
There is no need to purchase new teaching aids. You can easily incorporate English into games that you already have at home and that your children know well.
For board games, try using simple phrases:
- It’s your turn.
- Roll the dice.
- Pick a card.
- Good luck!
- Well done!
- You win!
For younger children, searching for objects according to a simple assignment works well: Find something blue. Bring me something soft. Touch something round.
You can also play a memory game with pictures, word football, simple puzzles or pantomime. One family member performs an animal or activity, and the others guess the English word.
When language is part of the game, children are less afraid of making mistakes. They focus on having fun together and use English spontaneously. We also work with language in the same way at our school Maple Bear Brno. English is not just a subject, but a natural part of common activities.
5. Listen, sing and talk briefly
Regularity doesn’t have to mean long lessons. A few minutes a day is often enough to keep in touch with English.
When traveling by car, you can play an English song, an audiobook or a short story. At home, sing together, watch a short fairy tale, or ask yourself a few simple questions before bed:
- What was your favourite part of today?
- What did you see?
- What made you happy?
- What would you like to do tomorrow?
Pupils can answer with one word, a short sentence or a combination of Czech and English. That’s okay too. The point is not to test the child, but to offer him a safe space in which he can use the language with increasing confidence.
It is the feeling that they do not have to be afraid of every mistake that helps children speak more openly and independently. For pupils, such an experience is important not only in English, but also in learning in general.
6. Create and describe your own ideas
Drawing, making, building with blocks or working with modelling clay offer plenty of opportunities to practice English naturally.
During the creation, you can name colors, shapes, sizes and materials: red, blue, green, circle, square, big, small, paper, wood or stone.
When the child finishes the picture or building, he can briefly introduce his work:
- This is my house.
- It has a big garden.
- There are two dogs.
- My rocket can fly to the Moon.
There is no need to correct every inaccuracy. It is much more important to appreciate that the child was able to express his idea and used English for something he created himself.
Such activities promote not only vocabulary, but also imagination, the ability to formulate one’s own thoughts, and healthy self-confidence in communication. It is the connection between language, creativity and independent thinking that is an important part of bilingual teaching at Maple Bear Brno.
7. Make pupils a family guide
A visit to a zoo, museum, castle, farm, or new town can turn into a small guide challenge. The child can name animals, means of transport, buildings or attractions that he discovers during the day in English.
Older children can prepare a short introduction of the selected place:
- This is the castle.
- It is very old.
- We can see a big tower.
- My favourite animal is the giraffe because it is tall and funny.
You can also capture the experiences in your holiday diary. The child draws a picture or sticks a photo in it and adds a few English words or sentences. He doesn’t have to write every day. It is enough to record the moments that were really important to him.
At the end of the summer, a personal collection of memories will be created. At the same time, children will see that English is not only a school subject, but also a way to talk about their own experiences and share them with others.
How often should pupils practice English during the holidays?
No long daily learning is needed to stay in touch with the language. Often a few minutes of English are enough for a normal activity, such as playing, reading, driving or cooking together.
More important than length is regularity and a pleasant atmosphere. The child should not feel that he has to fulfill another school obligation during the holidays.
Do pupils need to correct their English?
It is not necessary to correct every error. If we constantly interrupt the child, he may gradually lose the desire to speak and begin to focus more on correctness than on communication itself.
Often it is enough to repeat the correct sentence naturally. For example, when a child says He have a dog, we can answer: Yes, he has a dog. This way, the child hears the correct form without feeling like a failure.
What if the parents don’t speak English perfectly?
Perfect English is not a requirement. Parents can use simple words, short questions, songs, books, or recordings. It is important to show the child that language can be a natural and pleasant part of life.
In addition, finding the right word together can be a nice example that both children and adults can learn and that making a mistake is not something we should be afraid of.
English as a natural part of life
At Maple Bear Brno, pupils experience Czech and English in a natural proportion during the school year. Our pupils not only practice vocabulary in English, but also discover, create, cooperate, solve problems and express their own opinions.
For them, language is not an end in itself. It is a tool that helps them communicate and open doors to the world without losing their Czech roots.
The same principle can also work at home during the holidays. It doesn’t matter how many new words a child learns or whether they pronounce each sentence perfectly. It is important that they associate pleasant experiences, a sense of security and the joy of being able to say, understand or share something with English.
A few English words on a walk, a short question at dinner, or a story read together can be worth more than long hours over a workbook. The child will maintain contact with the language and will return to school and the bilingual environment after the holidays with greater ease and confidence.
We wish all families a beautiful continuation of the summer full of relaxation, joint adventures and small everyday discoveries. And if a few English words or sentences are naturally intertwined between them, it will be a nice bonus.
