Not many people see children’s books as good for non-English speaking individuals to learn English from. However, they provide these benefits that can make learning easier and better.
When you’re learning English and looking for suitable reading materials to help you, it’s only natural that you pay attention to the fluency level of the book. You don’t want to grab something that’s either very advanced for you or at a lower level than you.
English textbooks are perhaps the most commonly used among all available reading and learning materials. With these, learners are sure that the lessons align to their fluency level. Additionally, these books provide great activities that measure and test the learner’s listening, speaking, reading, and writing learning progress.
However, these textbooks also have some drawbacks. For one, they can’t provide enough details or explanations for the other features of the language, such as grammar, without overwhelming the learners. This might mean that explanations need to be provided outside by a teacher or someone knowledgeable enough for them to be adequate. Secondly, since these textbooks typically have an 80-20 text to pictures ratio and are mostly comprised of questions and answers, they might easily bore the learner and disinterest them from learning. Most of these books contain generalized information that might not be substantial to the learners.
Children’s Literature
On the other hand, children’s books, picture books, and short stories are amongst the least explored reading materials that can be used for learning.
Children’s books and picture books are literary works produced for children’s information or entertainment, typically accompanied by illustrations that reflect their content. Meanwhile, short stories are developed stories but with significantly shorter content and less elaborate themes. They are typically concerned with a single theme imparted in only one or a few significant chapters or scenes.
Nonetheless, despite their unpopularity, these materials, especially children’s books, and picture books offer some benefits for language learners – the same benefits that textbooks offer but only delivered differently.
Usage of Real English
These books introduce the proper usage of English in specific situations to children – readers who basically have the same fluency as beginners in the language. Hence, you can expect phrases or sentences to be simplified. But while these books are made to cater to a younger audience, they still depict real and proper examples of how the language is used. Additionally, as these materials are made to teach children to communicate, you will find socially relevant sentences that you can use in everyday situations.
New Vocabulary
Even though these are produced for children, it doesn’t mean they won’t teach you new vocabulary. As these books can be highly situational, they can give you access to words you can use daily, those more valuable words you might not have been exposed to. Children’s books also avoid using highly technical words you might have trouble comprehending. Children’s books introduce you to these vocabularies through the context of stories, thus helping you learn how words are appropriately used and how phrases are connected.
Proactive Learning
Unlike how textbooks typically teach learners vocabularies and grammar in a more instructive approach through explanations and examples, children’s books approach it more creatively. These materials apply the language in the context of stories. This allows you not just to familiarize yourself or memorize these words but also learn how to comprehend and independently interpret their usage. This provides a more in-depth way of learning that isn’t just by familiarizing yourself with the available words.
Image Association
In contrast to textbooks, which commonly explain grammar through worded explanations, children’s books are accompanied by images which can be a great way to help you remember the vocabulary and associate them with the imagery.
For instance, while it can be pretty tricky to understand tenses simply by reading their definitions, seeing them being depicted through drawings can help you grasp them better. Additionally, you can associate the vocabulary with the images provided. So when you experience the same situations as depicted in the books, you can easily recall and use these words.
Children’s books can be an excellent book for non-English speaking individuals to help them learn the language. However, like any other learning material, it doesn’t assure learning unless you proactively put in the effort to learn.