Correct less, and correct later
Interrupting a child mid-sentence to fix a grammar mistake teaches them that speaking is risky. It's more effective to let them finish, then model the correct version naturally in your reply, without pointing out the error directly. Over time they absorb the correction without associating speaking with being wrong.
Give them something to say, not just something to practise
"Practise your English" is vague and children tune it out. "Tell me about the best part of your day" or "Explain the rules of the game you played" gives them a real reason to speak — and real content is what turns practice into fluency.
Normalise mistakes out loud
Children copy how adults react to error. If a parent or teacher treats a wrong word as a small, unremarkable thing — "almost, try 'went' instead of 'goed'" — the child learns mistakes are part of learning, not something to hide. This is one reason small class sizes matter: a child gets to make mistakes in front of six peers, not sixty.
Give them a real audience
Presenting a short project to family, reading a passage aloud in class, or answering questions from a real Cambridge examiner during a speaking assessment all matter more than repeating sentences to a mirror. Confidence is built in front of people, so it has to be practised in front of people — which is why Thrive's classroom sessions are built around real interaction rather than one-way instruction.