"Twinkle twinkle little star...how i wonder what you are"
"yankee doodle went to town..riding on a pony.."
Mellifluously moves the song…mesmerizing the kiddies all over the globe…Yeah, nursery rhymes are adored all over the world by kids as well as elders.
Nursery rhymes are simple verses often accompanied by a simple tune used for the entertainment and education of small children. Beyond our imagination, they are much important in the education of children as they teach them language very fast. Most nursery rhymes have been handed over from one generation to another. They are designed as the preliminary step to help children communicate effectively and accurately in English (just taken English for example) and thus to take them to the threshold of proficiency in the language. They can thus confidently look forward to deal with pressing areas of communication at the secondary and senior secondary levels. They act as a key to learn English with ease.
One of the main objectives of nursery rhymes is to teach good pronunciation. The children of KG classes usually learn and practice what their teacher teaches. The rhymes taught by well qualified and efficient English teachers who have mastered pronunciation skills enable the children to recite the rhymes independently in the sense that they would not expect the book to be taken up page by page in the classroom. They would rather try to read it and recite it on their own as they are much interesting and later share and confirm their responses and appreciation with the teachers. These rhymes act as an aid in nurturing good spoken English.
Nursery rhymes also increase the memory power of children. Rhymes which are much interesting to learn, give children an opportunity to learn different words, especially rhyming words which in turn nourishes their vocabulary. These rhymes unknowingly enhance their memory power and later make them go beyond the book to the world of imagination and feel inspired to reach hitherto undiscovered vistas of knowledge and pleasure. The amply illustrated rhymes which deal with funny themes make children's reading and learning more enjoyable which in turn becomes rewarding.
Nursery rhymes are a key to explore the language. They are actually a language package intended to consolidate the interest of children towards English. They do not care much about grammar. They focus much on lexical items and almost all the rhymes introduce the words which are of daily use. Nursery rhymes enthuse children and make them actively involved with the content and provide ample opportunities for peer collaboration, support and outlets for learning reflection and enjoyment. Nursery rhymes do not seek to teach new hard words or patterns but presents familiar items in new contexts for practice.
Nursery rhymes accompanied by appropriate actions act as an effective medium for understanding the content of the portion that they learn. Books on nursery rhymes can be popularized and children must be introduced to nursery rhymes from their small age onwards. Since language skills are picked up faster during childhood and boyhood days and since nursery rhymes provide an interesting means to master language skills, teachers and parents must foster the teaching and learning of nursery rhymes.
More from Keerthi Kurian Alappuzha:
* From four walls of kitchen to queens of industry
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