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AylaraTalks

Teaching kids English: what to teach, age by age

The ordered path through everything on this site — free, and built by a teacher

  • 55 topic packs
  • 22 games
  • 100 words

The hardest question in teaching a child English is not how. It is what next. There are word lists everywhere, games everywhere, worksheets everywhere — and almost nothing that says which of them comes first, and why.

This is our answer. Four age paths from three to eleven, each with the topics in teaching order and a reason for every position. Three pages explaining the Cambridge levels in plain parent language. Four ready sequences of first lessons. And a curated first hundred words for the day you are starting from nothing.

Everything it points at is free and already on this site: 49 topic packs, 16 games, printables for every pack, a lesson-plan generator and a kid practice loop. The curriculum is the thread that puts them in order.

Not sure of the level? Take the 3-minute checkStartStart here

The first 100 words

If you are starting from absolutely nothing, start here: a hundred words in ten groups, in teaching order, each one with a picture and tap-to-hear audio.Open the list

Start with your child's age

Each path gives you what to expect at that age, the twelve topics in teaching order with a reason for each, the games that fit, and a weekly rhythm you can actually keep.

The Cambridge levels, explained

What each of the three young-learner qualifications actually asks of a child, which of our free packs match its themes — and, honestly, which themes we do not cover.

Pre-A1 Starters

The very first step — designed so that nobody fails it

  • Pre-A1
  • usually 6–8

A1 Movers

The step where reading and writing start to carry real weight

  • A1
  • usually 8–11

A2 Flyers

Where a child stops answering questions and starts telling you things

  • A2
  • usually 9–12

Pre-A1 Starters, A1 Movers and A2 Flyers are Cambridge English Qualifications. Cambridge is a trademark of Cambridge University Press & Assessment; AylaraTalks is not affiliated with or endorsed by it.

Ten lessons, ready to teach

The opening of each age path, written out lesson by lesson: the topic, the goal, a full plan, a game and a printable — nothing to prepare.

How to use this

  1. 1Open the path for your child's age and read the topic order. That is the plan — you do not need a second one.
  2. 2Teach the first topic. Every topic on this site has a word wall with audio, four printable sheets and a set of games that open already loaded with it.
  3. 3Send the topic home as practice. The practice page turns any of the 49 topics into a five-minute listening and picture quiz.
  4. 4Move to the next topic only when the last one is answered without a pause. The order is the method; skipping ahead is what breaks it.

Questions we get asked

Is this a course?

No, and it does not pretend to be. It is a teaching order — what to cover, in what sequence, and why — pointing at the free games, printables and practice already on this site. There is nothing to enrol in and nothing to buy.

I am a parent, not a teacher. Can I use this?

Yes — it was written with both in mind. The age paths explain what to expect and why each topic sits where it does; the ten-lesson sequences give you the words to say and the links to press. You do not need to know grammar terms to use any of it.

My child is six. Which path — 5–6 or 7–8?

Choose by reading, not by birthday. A six-year-old who reads confidently in their own language belongs on the 7–8 path; one who does not belongs on 5–6. Reading is what changes the method, and it does not arrive on a schedule.

Do I have to follow the topic order exactly?

No, but read the reason before you swap something. Most positions exist because a topic makes the next one's sentences possible — moving those apart costs more than it looks. Swapping two neighbours rarely matters; jumping six places usually does.

What if my child is at a different level from their age?

Take the topic order from the language level and the activities from the age. A nine-year-old beginner needs the early topics with grown-up packaging — word cards and timers, not stickers — which is exactly how the 9–11 path is written.