At Sagrat Cor Sarrià Early Years Education, we understand English learning as a meaningful, engaging, and age-appropriate experience that respects the natural way young children learn.
For this reason, we primarily teach English through play, as it is the most powerful learning tool at this stage of development. Through playful activities such as memory games, bingo, sorting games, movement-based activities, and cooperative tasks, children acquire vocabulary and language structures in a spontaneous, motivating, and enjoyable way.
Songs, dances, and daily routines also play a fundamental role in the learning process. Associating words and expressions with gestures, movement, and melodies enhances comprehension, supports memory retention, and allows children to experience language in a holistic way. As a result, English becomes a positive emotional experience that encourages participation and builds confidence.
Daily routines are also one of the cornerstones of English learning in Early Years Education. Each morning session begins with the Good Morning Song and conversation moments that help children become familiar with everyday expressions through natural and repeated exposure. We talk about the weather, the day of the week, take attendance while greeting one another in English, count how many children are present and how many are absent, and introduce the day’s activities through a visual timeline that helps children understand what will happen during the session. These routines, repeated in a meaningful and contextualised way, provide multiple opportunities for language exposure and support the gradual, natural, and functional acquisition of vocabulary and simple language structures. In this way, English is no longer a standalone subject but becomes a living language within the classroom.
In addition, we use hands-on materials, stories, puppets, flashcards, and other visual resources that help children understand messages without the need for translation, respecting their developmental stage and promoting learning through direct experience.
We believe that, at this early stage, the main goal is not simply to learn English words, but to develop a positive attitude towards the language, spark curiosity about communication, and build a strong foundation that will support future learning.
In this way, English becomes a language that is heard, experienced, sung, played, and shared every day within a safe, motivating, and nurturing environment that respects the needs of every child.
