How Much English Should Kids Practise at Home? Teachers Share What Actually Helps

To answer parents’ questions, we asked our teachers a straightforward question: “How much extra English practice per week do children need to see a noticeable improvement?”

Even just 10 minutes of extra English practice a day can be a simple way to make the language part of your child’s routine. You could read a short story together, play a game or chat about something they enjoy. Small moments like these give children more opportunities to hear and use English regularly.

What matters, then, isn’t just how much extra time children spend practising English, but how they use that time. For children, extra practice shouldn’t feel like another homework assignment. Instead, English can become a natural and enjoyable part of everyday life.

Sharing these moments with your child can make a difference, too. When learning is connected to positive emotions and time spent together, children can feel more relaxed and motivated to participate. The goal isn’t to turn every family activity into an English lesson, but to help your child discover that using English can be fun.

And remember, there’s no need to push it. If your child gets tired, loses interest or simply doesn’t feel like practising, just stop and try again another day. Insisting when they’re no longer enjoying the activity can make English feel like a chore, which is the opposite of what you want. Keep English practice short, positive and pressure-free, so your child can enjoy the language and have a positive experience.

If children only use English during their lessons, they have fewer opportunities to get familiar with the language. Practising at home helps them build on what they learn in class. It also shows them that English isn’t just a school subject but a tool they can use to play, have fun and communicate.

But what can you do to help your child practise without turning it into homework? We asked our English teachers which activities they find most useful for helping children improve their English at home. Here’s what they said.

Here are some resources and simple ideas to help you bring more English into your child’s everyday life:

• Play games in English. Try the Novakid online games to practise vocabulary while having fun.
• Sing songs in English. Visit the Novakid Kids YouTube channel to find songs for children and enjoy singing along together.
• Read a book together. Choose a simple English book to read before bedtime. You can take turns reading, or let your child read aloud if they feel confident enough.
• Listen to an audiobook. Choose an English story your child enjoys and listen to it together. It can be a lovely addition to your bedtime routine, even on evenings when you don’t have time to read.
• Watch cartoons in English. Pick a favourite cartoon and watch it in English. Familiar characters and stories can make it easier for children to follow along and get used to the sound of the language.

If you’d like more ideas for helping your child make progress in English, watch our video on practical tips you can try at home to help your child speak English.
How to Help Your Child Make Faster Progress in English

According to Novakid teachers, helping your child improve their English doesn’t mean adding hours of study to an already busy week. The most important thing is to make English feel useful and enjoyable, and not something they only do for school. Talking, playing, reading and watching stories together can all help create positive experiences with the language.

At Novakid, children learn through individual online lessons with qualified English teachers, using engaging activities to make learning fun. Would you like your child to experience it for themselves? Book a free trial English lesson with Novakid and see how enjoyable learning English can be.