Cartoons and videos today are often educational. This makes them a great way to help your children learn English. The stories will help the language stick in your children’s minds. Plus, they can watch them again, and again, to remember the words.
Read on to discover the best English cartoons and videos to introduce to your kids --and how to use videos best for English coaching for children. If you feel face-to-face English classes and camps can also help your children, find classes here: https://www.britishcouncil.sg/english-courses/kids-teens/lower-primary
Why it’s good to watch cartoons with your child
Watching cartoons with your child helps them learn English faster. Why? Because you can identify any catchphrases. Then you can ask your child to say these out loud, along with their favourite character.
- Elsa (Frozen): ‘Let it go.’
- Buzz Lightyear (Toy Story): ‘To infinity and beyond.’
- Fireman Sam: ‘Great fires of London!’
- Chase (Paw Patrol): ‘Ready for action!’
It’s a good idea to help your child decide which shows to watch in English. Get them involved and encourage them to have an opinion. However, remember that some cartoons turn kids into passive viewers. When they’re just passively watching, they won’t learn any English.
Here are some of the English cartoons we recommend.
- Kids’ Stories by the British Council has a choice of different videos and cartoons. Words are written underneath so your children can also practise reading.
- Super Simple TV has a range of shows with activities that get your kids to interact with them. They can play guessing games and answer questions about what’s happening.
- Peppa Pig is a firm favourite among many children. It uses everyday English language your kids will recognise, and the characters are very engaging.
- Learning Time with Timmy is another video series by the British Council and Aardman. It’s sure to be popular with kids, especially if they already like cute characters like Shaun the Sheep and Chicken Run.
Best free English educational cartoons for primary school kids
Primary school kids may prefer shows like Fireman Sam. They can even subscribe to the Fireman Sam YouTube channel. The episodes have a lot of action, but the stories are easy to follow, which keeps kids entertained.
If you want to start your children with shorter video shows, try the LearnEnglish Kids site by the British Council. All the videos have worksheets and games so you can check how well your kids understand the videos. There’s also a wide choice of video, so you can let your children decide what to watch. Children love to feel independent – and when they get to choose the video, they’re more likely to watch it!
Best free English educational videos for secondary school kids
Your secondary school kids will find interesting videos on the LearnEnglish Teens website. You can also encourage them to follow our YouTube video series Mini English Lessons. These videos are presented by experienced English teachers at the British Council. Every video in the series is short, fun and suitable for teenage language learners.
The videos engage viewers with interesting opinions and engaging topics. So, your children are likely to pick up some useful English phrases that will make them sound fluent in no time. They may even feel like recording themselves for social media talking in English about some of the same topics.
Encourage your kids to make English language vlogs
Vlogging, also known as ‘video blogging’, can help your kids practise speaking English. It can make them feel more involved in their language learning. There’s no need for your children to publish their vlogs on social media, but they might find it fun to record themselves. Maybe they will enjoy showing their vlog to family and friends?
If they are stuck for ideas, suggest they try talking about their top ten activities? Or they can sing English songs they enjoy? Or perhaps they can talk about what they’ve been learning in English classes?
One way to introduce your kids to vlogging in English is to watch popular vloggers. Ryan’s World is a fantastic channel, with regularly updated content and more than 37 million subscribers. Ryan keeps you entertained with pretend play, science experiments, music videos, skits, challenges, arts and crafts and other content suitable for children and teenagers.
Your kids might also enjoy pretending to be a TV or news presenter. For inspiration, they can watch videos on the Newsround website. It’s a reliable source from the BBC that presents news in a way that’s suitable for children.
Free videos to improve your children’s English speaking skills
Make a habit of watching videos in English, for entertainment or to stay updated on the news. It may take some time to help your children choose programmes they enjoy, but it’s worthwhile. Make time each day to watch English language cartoons or videos with your family. Children learn best when they’re having fun.
This means it’s better to do a short video learning session every day, so they don’t get bored. You’ll soon notice big improvements in your children’s English speaking and listening skills.