flash card

[Ju]

To teacher a 4-year-old non-native English speaker, do you suggest we start up by using flash cards? If yes, do you suggest I buy it from the shop or print out from websites?

Thank you.

[emsr2d2]

I think flash cards are a great way to teach any language (along with other methods), especially to a complete beginner. I would print them from the net or make them yourself. The ones you buy are quite expensive and you can do a good (if not better) job yourself. If you do them yourself, you can also target the words to ones that the 4-year-old will use most often to begin with, before moving on to a wider vocabulary.

[Ju]

I think flash cards are a great way to teach any language (along with other methods), especially to a complete beginner. I would print them from the net or make them yourself. The ones you buy are quite expensive and you can do a good (if not better) job yourself. If you do them yourself, you can also target the words to ones that the 4-year-old will use most often to begin with, before moving on to a wider vocabulary.

Dear emsr2d2,

Thank you for your kind reply.

1. If I want to make the flash cards by myself, do you suggest me to print it from the net as the following format?

(eg: the letter A)
one side is printed with the capital A and the small a, another side is printed with a diagram and the whole spelling of apple? then so on....till the letter Z z.

2. To save money, I plan to print them with ordinary A4 papers instead of cardboards. Do you have any suggestion to make it effective, efficient but inexpensive?

Thank you.

[emsr2d2]

I would put a capital A and a small "a" on one side of the card, and an example word on the other side. Printing them at home is probably the cheapest way to do it, on stiff card. Then you can laminate them if you like to make them last longer.

I'm not sure what you meant by "another side is printed with a diagram". A diagram of what?

I would also recommend printing out the entire alphabet in the right order, in both upper case and lower case, and perhaps sticking the letters in the right order on the child's bedroom wall (if it's not your child, ask the parent to do so). I assume the child is from Hong Kong so you have the added difficulty of a completely different script and alphabet.

Make them colourful and fun to keep the child interested.

[Ju]

I would put a capital A and a small "a" on one side of the card, and an example word on the other side. Printing them at home is probably the cheapest way to do it, on stiff card. Then you can laminate them if you like to make them last longer.

I'm not sure what you meant by "another side is printed with a diagram". A diagram of what?

I would also recommend printing out the entire alphabet in the right order, in both upper case and lower case, and perhaps sticking the letters in the right order on the child's bedroom wall (if it's not your child, ask the parent to do so). I assume the child is from Hong Kong so you have the added difficulty of a completely different script and alphabet.

Make them colourful and fun to keep the child interested.

I mean, like for the letter A or a, I print the diagram of an apple or a ape on the other side of the card. That's the kind of flash card I found on the shelf in store.

Thank you.

[emsr2d2]

I mean, like for the letter A or a, I print the diagram of an apple or a ape on the other side of the card. That's the kind of flash card I found on the shelf in store.

Thank you.

Ah, a picture of an apple or an ape, not a diagram. Yes, I should have said that. On one side, the letter in both upper and lower cases, and on the other side, a picture and a whole word starting with that letter.