Hello all-I was wondering if anybody can help with addresses of some free websites where children can practise English skills- reading , writing, and listening.I have been asked by a couple of people with 9 and 10 year olds who have only been learning English for a couple of years. Thanks for any suggestions.

www.sesamestreet.org

http://learnenglishk...council.org/en/

Oxford Owl (reading books online. I can't remember the link details).

www.eslgamesworld.com

www.dictionary.com (they can correct their own spelling here & can hear correct pronounciation, albeit in a US accent).

www.khanacademy.org

There are many more but I can't remember the details. Mine have found many English language sites that are helping, as is conversing with family via Skype or phone.. I also purchased (Junior/Normal) scrabble via Ebay to help increase their vocabulary.

HTH

Try youtube, many self help videos there including English lessons.

For those with younger kids, try the Youtube English Nursery Rhymes. My 2 and a half year old doesn't speak a whole lot of English yet (she chatters away in Lao and Thai) but loves to sing Old McDonald, The wheels on the Bus..., 10 in the bed and the little one said ..., Row row row your boat etc. Hooplakidz and Super Simple Songs have good portfolios. You can extend their vocabulary by pointing to all the items in the cartoons.

It was actually my German BIL that pointed me in that direction and sat Jenny on his knee with his i-Pad. Only trouble is that she now pokes hell out of my laptop screen trying to select the songs she wants! Amazing how quickly they acquire computer skills.

Google 'British Council LearnEnglishKids'

http://www.starfall.com/

Thanks very much for all these suggestions folks, very kind of you. It is always better to get specific sites from people with experience in using them. Much appreciated. Keep them coming if you have just joined the discussion, I am sure more people than me will like this information-it's always handy!

Try http://www.englishbanana.com/

Have a look at:

http://www.phonicsplay.co.uk/freeIndex.htm

Other people have suggested youtube, and there are some great resources on there, particularly songs. Just make sure you vet them beforehand.

www.nationalgeographic.com for advanced english I like www.hypergrammar.com one of the more worthwhile things to ever come out of Canada.

My kids have a samsung tablet lots of English kids games and learning apps. Same as the wife's ipad, but you have to pay for the ipad downloads and as of yet not found a shop the sells the credits around here. Jim

I find thai children can pick up the English language if they start to learn before 10 at the latest. 6-7 is the prefered age to really get them a good grasp at the language.

In my own experience there is no better way to teach a thai chid than one to one with yourself if your an English speaker, putting a thai child

in front of the internet and asking them to learn could be a disaster they are easily distracted.

Hope either way the chid does well learning the language.

http://www.teacher-tom.com/teachertom/freevideos/index.php

I read reecently that it has been discovered that the small area of the human brain that develops language skills shuts down after the age of 8. I wish they knew how to kick start it again so Thai would be easier.....!!!

Any thing learnt after age 8 has to go into the brains short term memory bank. Hence the problems/struggle that adults have learning new languages.

Children should be exposed to new skills like this as early as 3 years. A work colleague of mine with a Vietnamese wife has a daughter that until she was 6, lived in England and went to school there. She spoke English and Vietnamese learnt from both parents. She is now 8 and is being taught Mandarin Chinese as well as English at her new school in Vietnam and excels in all 3.

Try this site for slightly more advanced ENgLish Grummer, some tests there as well. lol

http://www.grammar-m....com/index.html

Regards

Thanks for all the new specific suggestions, please keep them coming, the more the better.Never enough resources.

My friend's children in need of lessons and practice are 9 and 14, only just started learning English 2 years ago.

My children have learnt 2 languages since birth, and are fluent/flexible in both at age 3 and 5. Nothing like starting young if you can, but this is not always possible.

Many thanks again for all these wonderful suggestions.

The language learning part of the human brain does not shut down after a certain age. In fact, every age brings its own advantages and disadvantages to language learning (too numerous to mention here).

The bottom line is that adults learn more efficiently. But, children have better phonemic sensitivity, until the age of puberty.

With that in mind, I recommend websites and computer / tablet apps that focus more on phonology (sounds) than vocabulary acquisition and grammar.

Peppa Pig.