What English should my child learn in LKG and UKG?

What does a child usually learn in LKG English?

School syllabi differ, but LKG English commonly covers:

• listening to and joining in with rhymes, songs and short stories;
• everyday words: family, colours, animals, fruits, body parts;
• answering simple questions such as “What is this?” and “What colour is it?”;
• recognising letters and their sounds;
• tracing lines, curves and capital and small letters.

What about UKG English?

In UKG, children usually build on this:

• all letter sounds, and blending them into three-letter words such as cat, sun, pen, hot;
• a few common sight words such as the, a, I, is, my;
• speaking in short sentences: “I like mangoes.” “This is my bag.”;
• writing small letters neatly and copying simple words;
• retelling a short story with pictures.

These match what speech experts describe for this age: by 4 to 5, most children follow short stories, answer simple questions about them, use detailed sentences, say rhyming words and name some letters.¹

Why are letter sounds more important than reciting A to Z?

Reading uses the sounds letters make. A child who knows “sss” and “a” and “t” can read sat; a child who only knows “ess, ay, tee” can’t. Phonics taught step by step has strong research support: on average, children taught phonics make about five months of extra progress.² Our guide to teaching phonics at home has a simple daily routine.

How can we practise English at home in LKG and UKG?

• Talk during routines: name food, clothes and actions in English at breakfast or bath time.
• Read one picture book a day and let your child point, name and guess what happens next.
• Play sound games: “I spy something that starts with mmm.”
• Sing rhymes with actions: see our list of nursery rhymes that teach English.
• Keep writing short: trace a few letters well rather than filling a whole page.

Are LKG and UKG worksheets enough?

Worksheets help children practise tracing and matching, but young children learn language mostly by talking, listening and playing. Use one short worksheet alongside a book, a rhyme and a conversation, not instead of them.

How do Little Lingos classes help in LKG and UKG?

Seeds, our stage for ages 3.5 to 6, covers the LKG and UKG years: first letter sounds (s, a, t, p, i, n), blending three-letter words, everyday words, rhymes and short sentences, through songs, picture cards and games in live 40-minute classes. Every child speaks many times in every class.

Keep reading: good habits in English, magic words and good manners and show and tell ideas. To practise this with a trainer, see our phonics classes.