A Father Who Speaks English, Yet Cannot Quite Teach It

Lately, I have been looking for ways to give my child more opportunities to use English. People sometimes ask the obvious question: if I already speak English, why not teach it myself? The problem is that speaking a language and teaching it are completely different skills. With your own child, patience becomes complicated. A correction becomes another correction, enthusiasm turns into lecturing, and before long English risks becoming “that thing Dad nags me about.” That would rather defeat the purpose.

One thing that makes me cautious when comparing lessons is the combination of expensive materials and long commitments. I have nothing against good teaching materials, but asking a family to invest heavily before anyone knows whether the child will even enjoy the lessons feels uncomfortable. Parents are already easy to frighten when it comes to education. Are we starting too late? Are we doing enough? What will happen years from now if we get this wrong? I would much rather work with someone who lowers that anxiety and asks a simpler question first: will this child enjoy learning enough to keep going?

That was what stood out when I recently spoke with a teacher. The conversation felt less like a sales pitch and more like a discussion about how children actually develop an interest in a language. It reminded me unexpectedly of my own work. Whether you are talking about education, homes, or almost anything else, having something worthwhile to offer does not mean you need to push it aggressively. Helping someone understand what they are choosing, without manufacturing fear around the decision, usually feels like the better approach.

I have also started to think differently about what a “good learning environment” at home really means. It probably has less to do with creating the perfect study room and more to do with small everyday things: books and materials being easy to reach, questions being welcome, and enough freedom to sit on the floor and explore something without turning it into a formal lesson. Whether English becomes a lasting interest remains to be seen. There is every chance a lesson lasts three minutes before something more exciting wins. Still, if home can become a place where learning occasionally feels like play rather than obligation, that seems like a good enough place to start.