Online English Learning for Children

Working as an English teacher in Asia has taught me each class I teach is different and each child has different needs when it comes to learning. I am always looking for new teaching materials and ways to help children learn English, but also make it interesting enough to keep their attention by adding fun into every lesson. English learning requires not only classroom practice, but also requires practice reviewing vocabulary, pronunciation and usage at home. In my search for home study materials, I came across a web site that is not only helpful in teaching English, but also entertaining for my 3-10 year old students. The web site is www.pumkin.com which is an Online English Learning course for Children.

I have carefully gone through the Pumkin website in its entirety and found each lesson has a significant purpose to not only teach students how to speak, but also a uniqueness of individuality, catering completely towards teaching children how to speak English clearly as well as "letting children experience the natural way to learn the English language."

Pumkin's three step program includes listening to English, to use English and to acquire English. This has been beneficial to my students because this teaching practice is used when children are learning their own native language. The presentation aspect of the site makes me continue to introduce this way of learning to the parents of my students because the cartoons, videos and songs amuse the children and they come to class talking about what they learned and how much they liked their "homework" from the previous evening. The parents have expressed how much their children are absorbing information they are learning from www.pumkin.com and I have to agree. I have noticed a definite improvement with each child who is currently using the Pumkin Online English Learning Program.

As many adults know, practicing something we are learning helps us to understand what we are learning. The practice area of the web site consists of games, activities and classroom videos. As I mentioned before, each child learns in different ways, therefore I appreciate the teaching practices Pumkin has to offer. Every child using this program has the opportunity to watch videos, play games and review activities as many times as they need in order to feel comfortable enough to speak English. I require practice in my classroom as well as at home. In Asia many students have a significant amount of homework. I remember when I was a student doing homework wasn't always my favorite pastime. Being an English teacher I feel I can finally offer a homework program that not only works, but is also entertaining to students.

An important feature of www.pumkin.com is the way vocabulary, sentences, grammar, dialogues, phonics, reading as well as the use of typing and writing is encouraged. Speaking exercises help children to speak at home when many times they only speak English when they are at school. Identification exercises help to pair pictures or videos with words and phrases to aide in memorizing and "thinking in English." When children begin to think in English it means they are in fact beginning to understand what is being taught to them. This makes my job much easier, and I get to have more fun with my students. Typing exercises are also used which helps in learning the alphabet and experimenting in putting letters together to create words.

I am incredibly pleased with the easy navigation and clearly marked materials stating where all lessons and games can be found. I appreciate that all materials were designed by native English speakers and experienced teachers. It is clear that the creators of this English Online Learning Program used this method on their own students before making this way of learning available online. After using this site, I know the creators and educators have thoroughly studied how to teach English to young learners when learning a new language. The conception of this resource has changed my classroom and I hope teachers, parents and children can benefit as much as I have since I started recommending www.pumkin.com for home use. I will continue to use Pumkin and encourage all teachers and parents to try this format of learning so they too can watch their children and students expand their English speaking skills.