THE CHALLENGE OF EXPRESSING IDEAS IN ENGLISH
Many students can complete exercises but struggle to express their own ideas.
In my experience, the real difficulty is not always language — it is knowing what you want to say. Learning how to express ideas in English clearly is often the real challenge.
I often tell my students: I can teach you to write when you know what you want to write.
When we spend time brainstorming and discussing ideas, students begin to find their voice. Once that happens, their writing becomes clearer, more confident and more meaningful.
ENCOURAGE READING - DONT'T OVER-CONTROL IT
Reading is one of the most effective ways to build language, but it should not feel like an extension of school.
If a child chooses to read something in their own time, that is already a positive step.
It does not need to be a “serious” book. Stories that parents might overlook — even something like Captain Underpants — still support language development.
Students are engaged, they follow meaning and they absorb language naturally. Many of these books also expose them to dialogue and punctuation in a way that feels accessible.
BUILD OBSERVATION THROUGH REAL EXPERIENCE
Students often struggle because they have not been encouraged to notice detail.
It is not a lack of ability, vocabulary or grammar. The difficulty is that students have not learned to observe.
In exams, students often try to write from imagination rather than experience. This leads to more generic answers and more errors.
You can support this in simple ways.
When you are out — at a restaurant, a market or somewhere like Ocean Park — guide your child to notice and describe specific details:
• What colour were the walls? What was on them?
• What did you like or not like about the space?
• Choose one dish — how would you describe it in English?
• How is this place different from somewhere you have been before?
With real experiences behind them, students have something concrete to write about. In my experience, this leads to more natural, accurate and confident writing.
BUILD
Students learn more effectively when they are working with topics they already understand and enjoy.
Whatever your child’s interests are, encourage them to explore these in English — through books, videos or programmes linked to that interest.
When a student already understands a topic, it becomes much easier to build vocabulary and express ideas in another language.
I once taught a student who was fascinated by snakes, particularly venom and antidotes. It was suggested that this might not be an appropriate topic to mention in a school interview.
I took the opposite view.
She had developed a deep interest independently, beyond school requirements. When she spoke about it, she was fluent, precise and confident on a topic that many adults would struggle to describe.
When students are engaged in something they genuinely care about, they are far more able to express ideas in English with clarity and confidence.
