You don't need to speak English fluently to support your child's ESL progress.
Repetition of what they already learned in class works best — reviewing the same flashcards or worksheet vocabulary from that week, rather than introducing new material. Five minutes of repeating known words beats twenty minutes of new, confusing ones.
Yes. You're not teaching new content — you're reinforcing what the teacher already introduced. Point at printed flashcards, have your child say the word, and celebrate correct answers. You don't need to understand the word yourself for this to work.
Simple matching and tracing worksheets tied directly to that week's vocabulary work best, because they reinforce (not introduce) content. Worksheets that jump ahead of what was taught in class usually just cause frustration.
Flashcards work through repeated, low-pressure recall — seeing the same picture-word pair repeatedly builds recognition speed. The key is short, frequent sessions (2-3 minutes, several times a week) rather than one long session.
Look for recognition before production — your child pointing correctly at "the dog" happens before they say "dog" unprompted. Also watch for them using single English words spontaneously during play, even mixed with their home language — that's a real milestone, not a setback.
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