The most critical time to practice English is

when ESL children learn verb tenses and non-finite forms

(participles, gerunds, to-infinitives),

while using sentence connectors and, eventually, relative pronouns, to develop fluency.

Here’s how I teach these concepts step by step

to help children build stronger, more fluent English sentences:

✅ Tip 1: Teach Present Tense with the Most Natural Ways (Book 1-4)

Start with questions “Do you ~?” using frequency

they have already learned in the Vocabulary Course.

Talk about someone’s daily routine to make sentences meaningful and practical.

✅ Tip 2: Help Children Feel easy about learning 3rd person singular verbs using ‘is’

It can be difficult for young learner to remember to add -s or -es to root verbs.

A good trick is to remind them of the verb “be”, which changes to “is” with he, she, or it.

Practice 3rd person present verbs

by comparing British and American English: “I say ~ but she says ~”.

Describe jobs using 3rd person present verbs.

✅ Tip 3 : Use kid-friendly or familiar Songs (Book 5, Book 16)

Young children love singing, and songs make learning more enjoyable.

Use familiar tunes like “London Bridge is Falling Down” to practice the present continuous,

and “If You’re Happy and You Know it” to practice ‘if’ clause with would/could.

✅ Tip 4 : Teach “Will” and “Be going to Verb”  (Book 6)

Use your hands to show how the word order changes when making questions.

✅ Tip 5 : Make a List of the Most Common Past Verbs to Play Games (Book7-8)

-Before you read the book, make lists of regular and irregular past verbs

-Allow young children to get familiar with the different suffix sounds of

regular verbs—/d/, /t/, /ɪd/and the most common irregular verb forms

by playing the “SPEED GAME” easily and have fun.

* Speed Game is a great language game that helps children realize

that the more they speak, the faster they can speak.

Use a stopwatch to measure how quickly they can say the target words or sentences.

Children always want to try again to beat their own record!

✅ Tip 6 : Make sure Children Understand Various Meaning of Some Important Words 

 For fluency, it’s important that children recognize  how certain words work in different contexts. 

 Here’s a structured way to guide them:

1) Verb Forms (Book 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)

* Past participles: Used with have for present perfect (I have eaten)

or as adjectives/passive forms  (a broken vase/The vase is broken).

* Verb + ing: Can function as a noun (gerund-I like running) or adjective (a running man); 

also part of continuous tenses  (I am running).

* To-infinitive: Can serve different purposes:

-after verbs (I want to go.)

-after adjectives (It’s time to go.)

-to show purpose (I stood up to go.)

-to show reasons (I’m sorry to go.)

For ESL children, it’s helpful to give clear meanings in their native language.

2) Pronouns and Dummy Subjects (Book 14, 15, 17, 27)

* It: Pronoun vs. impersonal/dummy subject

(I like it. It‘s Monday/It is raining/It‘s important to read books).

* Who, Which, What, That: Can serve as question words, relative pronouns,

or noun clause connectors depending on context.

(Who is it?/I don’t know who she is./ I don’t the girl who is with him.)

* That: demonstrative pronoun, noun clause connector, relative pronoun

(That‘s mine/I know that you’re busy./I bought a book that you recommmended)

3) Connectors and Linking Words (Book, 16, 18, 19, 20)

* When, Where: Can serve as question words, connectors, and relative adverbs

When

When is your birthday? → (question word)

I was shocked when I heard the news. → (connector)

Today is the day when I was born. → (relative adverb)

Where

Where do you live? → (question word)

I’ll go where you go. → (connector)

This is the place where I was born. → (relative adverb)

* If: Introduces conditional clauses or noun clauses

(If you don’t mind. I don’t know if he is coming).

* As: Indicates role/function, time, reason, comparison, or manner.

* So that / So … that: Purpose vs. cause and result.

* These expressions can be confusing because their structures are similar,

even though their meanings are different.

As teachers and parents, you can help young children clearly understand expressions

that are very common in writing and speaking.

✅ Tip 7: Sentence Structure Tips (Book 17, 21, 22)

* Remind children that when the subject or object is long 

(like a to-infinitive phrase or a that-clause), 

English usually puts it near the end of the sentence.

It’s important to study every day. (not To study every day is important.)

* Remind children that when an adjective phrase or clause describes a noun,

it usually comes after the noun.

The book that I borrowed is fun.

* Remind children that English sounds more natural

when we use pronouns or avoid repeating the same noun.

Tom likes apples. He eats them every day.

When he saw the police, he ran away.→ Seeing the police, he ran away.

✅ Tip 8: Sentence Stress and Rhythm (Supports natural fluency and flow)

* Remind children that English is a stress-timed language

— important words are stressed, while others are said quickly.

I WANT to go to the STORE.

* Remind children that small grammar words (a, an, the, to, of, for) are 

usually unstressed and spoken lightly.

* Remind children to keep a steady rhythm when speaking — English sounds like a “beat.”

✅ Tip 9: Intonation (Voice Up and Down)

(Helps with meaning and emotion)

* Remind children that English uses rising and falling tones to show meaning or feeling.

* Rise (↑) for yes/no questions → Are you ready? ↑

* Fall (↓) for wh-questions or statements → Where are you going? ↓ / I’m tired. ↓

* Remind children that intonation can also show emotion — surprise, interest, doubt, etc.

Really? ↑ (surprised) / Really. ↓ (sure)

✅ Tip 10: Connected Speech (for Listening and Natural Fluency)

(For higher-level fluency once basic pronunciation is stable)

* Remind children that native speakers often link words in a sentence.

go on → goon, want to → wanna, what are you → whatcha

*Remind children that some sounds may disappear or blend together in fast speech.

next day → nex day, just now → jus now

* Remind children that practicing with rhymes, songs, or chants helps develop natural rhythm and flow.