Tips For Parents

We don’t think of the activities that we set as ‘homework’ in the traditional way. We think of them as a fun, playful addition to the Pingu’s English program that’s enjoyed by kids and adults alike.

You can help your child to revise a whole range of the information and activities covered in class. These are the homework activities that we think are appropriate for each level of the course:

Type 1: Introduction

With this type of homework, your child will have heard and possibly repeated the words and phrases. However, they won’t yet have produced the language themselves.

• Read the relevant section from their Study Book
• Watch the educational DVD again
• Dance and sing along with the Song CD

Type 2: Expansion

At this level, your child will have a slightly more developed understanding of the language being used. All of these words and phrases should have been taught in class and practiced at least once.

• Read the relevant section from their Study Book
• Watch the educational DVD again
• Play the Pinguland game they tried out in class

Type 3: Consolidation

By this stage, your child should have practiced all the words and phrases a number of times in a whole range of different ways.

• Look over their Activity Book and discuss what they have been doing in class
• Revise Computer Time modules on the relevant CD-ROM
• Listen to the Story CD together
• Ask them to read or tell you about a story from the Story Book

Type 4: Review/Assessment

Your child should now have been taken through all source materials and have a grasp of the English language, revising key phrases and sentences using a number of different methods.

• Review any of the activities included on the Pingu’s English program
• Ask your child to explain what they liked best about it, and what they feel that they learned

Games can be a great way to learn a new language. By keeping your child engaged and having fun, they will increase their concentration level and soak up extra information.

With Pingu’s English, there’s a whole world of games and activities to explore. Try some of these to get you started:

Memory test

This game tests their language skills as well as acting as a thinking exercise:

1. Organize a random selection of Pingu’s English flashcards and character models on a tray
2. Point at each object and say the English word for it to your child
3. Cover up the tray with a towel so that they can’t see what’s on it
4. Then, ask your child to tell you what was on the tray in English

Alphabet test

This one keeps things nice and simple:

1. First, choose any letter of the alphabet – but, don’t say it out loud!
2. Ask your child to think of as many words as they can that also start with the same letter

‘I spy’

This is a great game to keep your kids entertained on long journeys:

1. Think of an English word – it could be something you can see, or just another word that they have been taught
2. Tell your child which letter it begins with
3. Ask them if they can guess what the whole word might be

‘Snap’

This game is all about matching flashcards to objects:

1. To set up this game, pick a selection of flashcards, then gather the character models objects shown on the cards
2. Mix them all up, and turn the cards so that they are face down
3. Ask your child to turn over the cards one at a time
4. Then, ask them to find the matching object and to say its name out loud