Toddlers (kids between the ages of one and three) are very receptive. They are new in this world and will show eagerness to learn new things and they learn things very quickly at this stage (this is a crucial stage). This is the right time to introduce English to them by letting them watch English cartoons.
Toddlers are very keen on watching cartoons because cartoons are bright, simple and easy to understand. It can be fun for them, they enjoy themselves and this promotes their learning.
Cartoons give good exposure to English language
On an average, a toddler spends 8-10 hours watching cartoons and I’m sure you are not getting a chance to watch your favourite program when your child is awake. Instead of being angry with your kid, you can actually use the same cartoons to make them learn English.
Assume your kid starts watching cartoons at the age of 1 year, by the time your kid attends for school interview, he will be exposed to English for 1 to 1.5 years. Calculating the hours, you kid is likely to spend between 4,380 hours to 5,475 hours. As a parent you cannot spend that much time talking to your kid in English.
This is the easiest way to allow him/her learn English. The only thing you need to do is switch to English language mode and leave it. Children watching cartoon programme is a great way to get them interested in learning English. By doing so they come across many words that are used in English and they will slowly start using them at school, home and when playing with friends.
Learning good habits and accent through cartoons
They will not only learn English, but they will also learn good habits and accent from cartoons. For instance, in Popeye the Sailor Man, Popeye is shown eating spinach (palak) to become strong and spinach is very good for health, this is a good take away for toddlers.
Cartoons also improve their accent. Since all the cartoons are national programs, the people talking behind the cartoon character will be good, your kid will learn good accent too.
All these things are very helpful when the kid goes to school interview. The school authorities when interviewing the kid see how the kid is responding to their questions, if he/she is answering in English, if the kid is actively participating in the interview, etc.
Example of my son
Cartoons help toddlers in learning English to a great extent. Giving an example, my son is studying in 1st grade and he is very fond of watching cartoon programmes on Pogo, Cartoon Network and more (I don’t even know the names, there are many and kids know them very well). These days he is also reading Chhota Bheem comics.
I didn’t have to prepare him much for school interview, we don’t even speak English at home. Recently there was a spell bee competition organised at his school. The competition was among 1st and 2nd grade students and my son got the first prize beating the 2nd grade student who got the second prize.
Well, the credit does goes to his school teachers, but more than that it is watching cartoons and reading comics that helped him in learning English.