Do native English speaking parants teach grammer to kids when they use wrong grammer?
I'm not a native speaker but I teach English to kids(4-5 year old). They tend to use wrong grammer over and over like below.

-He don't want it.
-He go to xxx
-It's car (always forget to say "a")

When a kid talks like above, I reapt his sentenses correctly without telling him his sentense was wrong. If he says "He don't want it" , I go "Oh, I see, he doesn't want it".

But their grammer doesn't improve.

Should I tell them what was wrong and correct the sentense? Or should I wait untill they learn by themselves?

Question

Do native English speaking parants teach grammer to kids when they use wrong grammer?
I'm not a native speaker but I teach English to kids(4-5 year old).  They tend to use wrong grammer over and over like below.

-He don't want it.
-He go to xxx
-It's car (always forget to say "a")

When a kid talks like above, I reapt his sentenses correctly without telling him his sentense was wrong.  If he says "He don't want it" , I go "Oh, I see, he doesn't want it".

But their grammer doesn't improve.

Should I tell them what was wrong and correct the sentense?  Or should I wait untill they learn by themselves?

Answer

I agree with Jim.  Native speakers don't need to correct their child's grammar, because s/he will hear it spoken correctly from other people around them, and they will correct themselves so that they can fit in with society.  However, when learning a non-native language, one does not get the constant feedback of hearing that language spoken correctly, and there is no peer pressure to improve.  So keep correcting them, but more firmly (if the child says, "He don't want it," say " 'He doesn't want it'--repeat that, please.").

Answer

For 4-5 year old kids, explanations as to why something is incorrect won't be understood since their brains haven't developed sufficiently. Repeating the correct way, as you are doing, allows them to hear and internalize for later use when their brains are ready.

Answer

Why correct them? I believe getting them sound more native (the "feel") when saying "he don't want it" like the real Italians/Africans who do say like that is more rewarding to do for your job than just "correct-grammar" them at the age like them kids.

Answer

Speaking as a Southerner in the US, raised by educated parents, and of a much earlier generation, I would say this. Educated parents USED TO correct poor grammar spoken by their children.   Perhaps that is why in earlier times one would rarely hear incorrect grammar from public speakers.  Today it's different.  One hears daily the use of incorrect grammar by those in the media.  Maybe, from a linguistic viewpoint, that is one way a language changes, by universal social acceptance of grammatical errors.

Answer

yes, you should tell them what was wrong and correct their grammar otherwise, the older they get the harder it will be for them to learn their mistakes and to get better . i highly recommend correcting them now and not to wait.

Answers · 8

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