[Questioner]
Yu-chan's mom (pseudonym) (3-year-old girl)
[Home English Method and Period]
Used DWE/Around 6 months old
[Initiatives and current status]
From around six months old until around two years and four months old, we played Japanese nursery rhymes and DWE music randomly.
From the age of 2 years and 4 months onwards, we only use DWE.
・In the morning, I listen to CDs and do TAC for about an hour.
- At night, we watch the same DVD twice, and after taking a bath we play a CD playing for about 30 minutes to an hour (sometimes, at his request, we watch Pepper Pig or Mickey's Club House in English).
・Then in the evening, I read sight word readers and English picture books to my child using an audio pen.
[Questions and Consultations]
I had some fun playing with the Zippy and his friend stickers that I was introduced to the other day!
He seems to understand the meaning of the questions to some extent, and chooses and pastes appropriate things in response to questions in English, but he answers all of them in Japanese (for example, to questions like "What's color?" or "What's he doing?" he answers "Red!" or "He's playing").
Does this mean that there is still not enough input?
Is it okay to wait until the person tries to speak in English?
[Respondent: Lecturer Ikue]
When asked "What color is it?", he seems to understand the meaning but answers in Japanese. However, when it comes to questions that can be answered with Yes/No, he seems to answer in English, so he seems to be able to answer questions like "Is it red?", "Is it red?", "Playing? Or sleeping?"Multiple choice questions(Questions in which the answer is a word or sentence embedded within the question)If you try this, you will probably get an answer in English.
While continuing to take input in the future, I think it would be a good idea to ask simple questions with multiple-choice answers to encourage output.
A word from the blog administrator
The late input stage is a period for "matching English sounds with meanings"
"Trying to reply in English" is also a great initiative.
First, build up your confidence by experiencing small successes with yes/no or multiple choice questions.
When they get the answer, praise them enthusiastically so they can feel the joy of responding in English!
