How to Practice English at Home With Your Child: 12 Effective Activities 

Googling (or ChatGPT-ing) ways to practice English at home with your child can make you feel overwhelmed. There are dozens of activities to choose from, and you’re not sure which are effective and which are just filler to get a listicle to the nice, round number 10. 

Rest assured, the activities that make up our list are supported by academic research and/or co-signed by hundreds of Novakid’s certified English teachers. 

So, if you’re looking for practical and proven ways to help your child learn English from home, look no further than this blog post—which also features expert quotes and real-life examples from our teachers. 

There are plenty of ways for your child to practice English at home, but which activities are actually effective? Here’s what academic research and Novakid English teachers have to say: 

1) Incorporate English Into Daily Routines

Daily routines are the perfect opportunity for your child to practice English at home. Chores, meals, and bedtime all allow children to make English a daily habit.

For example, tell your child to describe their chores in English (making their bed, tidying their room) as part of speaking practice. Or have them write English words for household items on sticky notes and place the notes on the right objects, thereby building their vocabulary. 

Speaking of routines, download our Daily Routine Worksheet. It includes English practice exercises like matching, sentence writing, reading comprehension, and word scramble, helping your kid improve their English skills. 

2) Practice Talking In English Every Day  

In a Novakid survey of 347 English teachers, 86.4% of respondents chose talking in English daily as the most effective activity for helping children learn English at home. 

Set aside time each day for English-only conversations with your child. You could ask them about their meal during breakfast or about their day when they come home from school. 

The goal is to get your child talking freely and consistently in the language, so don’t worry too much about grammar and other mistakes. 

3) Roleplay Real-Life Scenarios 

A research study published in the Journal of Childhood Development found that role-playing activities improve children’s speaking skills, listening skills, vocabulary, and understanding of language concepts. 

After school and on weekends, try role-playing the following everyday situations with your child:

• Ordering food at a restaurant 
• Shopping for clothes at the mall 
• Asking someone for directions 
• Checking out books at the library 

Let them personalize the dialogue and use different voices if they want. Be sure to swap roles, and provide gentle feedback on your child’s language use afterward. 

4) Read English Books Together

Per the Novakid survey, 64.9% of Novakid teachers see reading together as an effective way for children to practice English at home. 

Choose English books or bilingual books based on your child’s CEFR level. For example, The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss for A1 to A2 kids. 

Don’t just take turns reading a page, though. Instead, have a conversation about the book to improve your child’s reading comprehension skills. 

This is called dialogic reading and involves asking your child the following types of questions: 

• Questions that begin with who, what, when, where, why, and how (“What kind of animal is that?”) 
• Questions that encourage your child to describe scenes and concepts (“What is happening here?”) 
• Questions that introduce story components and invite your child to relate the story to their life (“What lesson did the character learn? When did you learn a similar lesson?”)

5) Sing English Songs

Novakid teachers agree children can learn English with songs. Indeed, 43.8% say singing songs moves the needle for children’s English learning, per our survey. 

And according to research in the peer-reviewed journal Children (Basel), rhythm and melody can support word comprehension, grammar comprehension, and phonological awareness. 

When choosing songs for your child, take inspiration from Novakid teacher Rogen Garcia. She incorporates singing and chants into her English lessons but only when these activities match students’ “needs, interests, and personalities.”

So, if your kid likes music, have them choose English songs from their favorite genres or artists. 

6) Play English Learning Games

A case study on Novakid found that its gamified instruction improved learning outcomes for children ages 4 to 12 by 39%. 

53.9% of surveyed Novakid teachers also believe playing games is a great way for children to practice English at home.  

Popular ESL games for kids include: 

• Simon Says: Use the phrase “Simon says” to teach your child English words for parts of the body. 
• Word Bingo: Improve your child’s word recognition skills and vocabulary retention by calling out key words and having them cover them with bingo cards. 
• Charades: Practice English verb collocations by having your child act out word pairs like “read a book” or “draw a picture” 

7) Watch English Language Movies and TV Shows 

English movies and TV shows expose your child to natural, native speech. 73% of surveyed Novakid teachers also cite watching cartoons as an excellent way to practice English at home. 

Our guide on using Netflix for language learning suggests 20 movies and TV shows you can watch with your child or let them watch independently (from Peppa Pig to Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa). 

To make the most of your kid’s viewing experience, follow these tips: 

• Pick shows based on your child’s interests and language level
• Begin with subtitles in their native language, then gradually reduce dependence 
• Ask questions about scenes and encourage your child to respond in English 
• Have them repeat dialogue to practice stress, intonation, and pronunciation

8) Listen to English Stories and Podcasts

Listening to native English speakers read stories aloud or talk on podcasts helps children pick up on accents, intonation, rhythm, and pronunciation. 

Put on a podcast like Forever Ago or play the audio version of an English book. Let two minutes of the audio play, and then ask your child content-related questions like “Which pokémon made the Pokémon game famous early on?” (It wasn’t Pikachu, according to the Forever Ago podcast!) 

Then, play the audio for another two minutes and repeat the exercise. You can also have your child write down words they don’t know as they listen. 

9) Practice English Through Writing 

A research study published in the Global Spectrum of Research and Humanities journal concluded that writing contributes substantially to language development, helping learners with grammar accuracy, vocabulary retention, and communicative competence. 

Help your kid build a writing practice by trying writing exercises like: 

• Essay writing
• Fill-in-the-blanks activities 
• Journaling 
• Letter writing

For example, Novakid teacher Rogen Garcia had a student complete this fill-in-the-blank exercise: 

“Fill in the correct form of ‘to be’ (‘am,’ ‘is,’ ‘are’). 

• I ___ happy. 
• She ___ tired. 
• They ___ hungry. 
• He ___ scared.
• We ___ thirsty. 
• You ___ ill.”

For more examples, download our worksheet on conjugating “to be” verbs. Or check out our other writing-related English practice exercises. 

10) Use English-Learning Apps 

According to our research, 42.9% of Novakid teachers think learning apps help children practice English at home. 

For instance, our app Novakid Junior helps students practice speaking skills, build phonemic awareness, and improve syntactic awareness through game-based English learning activities and speaking exercises. 

Other apps your child can use to learn English from home include: 

• Flashcard and vocabulary-building apps like Quizlet
• Reading apps like Readability 
• AI-powered speaking practice apps like ELSA Speak 
• Writing apps like Writing Wizard 

 Of course, your kid doesn’t need to practice on multiple apps. Select one based on the skills they need to improve and complement online learning with off-screen practice. 

11) Practice English Conversations With AI

Our survey found that 73.2% of Novakid teachers said AI improves children’s speaking confidence, though many described the improvement as small.

Under your supervision, your child can practice with AI speaking apps like NovaPals. It provides a CEFR-aligned curriculum, and your child can complete speaking challenges while receiving corrective feedback. 

Another option is voice-enabled chatbots like ChatGPT Voice Mode, which your child can use to role-play custom scenarios. 

Be sure to adhere to AI speaking practice do’s and don’ts. And follow Novakid teacher Ali Sullivan’s advice to “set a small, achievable goal so the practice has a purpose, use age-appropriate platforms, check privacy settings, and explain to children that AI is a tool—not a person.”  

12) Sign Your Child Up for Online English Lessons 

Communicating with native English speakers is the best way for children to develop their language skills and reach fluency. 

Luckily, online English classes like Novakid’s facilitate this. Not only is your child able to practice English at home, but they can also do so with a native speaker and certified expert. 

So, what are Novakid classes like? Expect short, play-based lessons tailored to your child’s CEFR level and focused on developing their speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills.

While you may choose to stick to learning apps and AI tools for your child’s English learning, 94.1% of Novakid teachers believe that AI cannot replace human teachers.