suggestions for teaching english to (very) young learners ... · pdf fileteaching english to...
TRANSCRIPT
Suggestions
for teaching English to
(Very) Young Learners
February 2011
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Teaching English to (Very) Young Learners - English for Kids Foundation
www.efkf.org / [email protected]
Page 2 of 42
Introduction
Help children to learn English, that is the aim of EFKF.
English for Kids Foundation has worked since September 2007 to support and encourage the learning
of English, in more than 10 projects, helping hundreds of children to improve their English as an
international language of communication.
Our volunteers are often experienced professionals, who have contributed freely, but have also
learned from new experiences. A group of EFKF teachers, led by Young Learners Expert and EFKF
Founding Board Member Marian Schreppers-Benschop, have now gathered their advice and tips, for
the benefit of all teachers around the world interested in improving the teaching of English to (Very)
Young Learners.
Extra copies can be ordered via [email protected] for only 5 euro per (digital) copy.
We hope many children and teachers will benefit from this booklet.
Arnold Augustijn Marian Schreppers
EFKF Chairman Author / EFKF secretary
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Teaching English to (Very) Young Learners - English for Kids Foundation
www.efkf.org / [email protected]
Page 3 of 42
Didactics
What are children like as learners?
Young learners:
- are fast developing individuals
- learn by watching / imitating / doing
- can’t understand grammatical rules and explanations about language
- use non verbal clues to understand your message / language
- will usually speak in their mother tongue (first language)
- can copy and imitate sounds and language quite accurately
- are naturally curious
- love to play and use imagination
- like routines and enjoy repetition
- have a short attention span and need variety
Young learners need:
- to hear clear pronunciation and intonation
- to feel successful when using English
- plenty of opportunities to communicate
- to enjoy their efforts at speaking in English
- to know they have achieved something worthwhile
- to be acknowledged
- an element of surprise
clarity
How can you as teacher help them?
- make learning English enjoyable and fun
- react to the meaning of what they are trying to say
- don’t worry about mistakes: be encouraging by showing that what they are saying is more
important than your ‘correction’
- wait until they finish speaking before you repeat and answer. Don’t be afraid of silence
- recast their sentences (the children will know that you understood them)
- frequently summarize what different pupils say
- use the words many times in different sentences
- use gestures / actions / pictures / materials to demonstrate what you mean
- talk in English, especially about things they can see
- play games, sings songs, use rhymes and chants
- let them use their mother tongue but always reply in English
- recycle your language, add new things or use new words they won’t know
- use short sentences
- repeat their English in a correct form but do not tell them that their English was incorrect
- extend their sentences with one or two words
- plan lessons with varied activities
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Teaching English to (Very) Young Learners - English for Kids Foundation
www.efkf.org / [email protected]
Page 6 of 42
Teaching English to children between seven and twelve:
Remember young learners:
are learning to write and read in their mother tongue
- Sometimes they will make mistakes in reading English words. Repeat the words correctly.
- Children don’t hear separate words, they hear a flow of sound. Knowing the words doesn’t
mean they recognise the words in texts or can easily write the words.
are developing as thinkers
- Explain to them (if necessary in their mother tongue) why you will use English during the
activities.
- You can explain differences in languages / grammar.
will use their first language to understand the second language (they translate more).
- Teach useful phrases e.g. Can I use ….. / What is …. in English?
understand the difference between the real and the imaginary.
- talk about your own personal experiences
- make links to real world activities
- learn English in useful activities
can plan and organise an activity
can work and learn from others
You can:
- encourage them to read English (preferably with audio tapes)
- explain things about language
- use a wider range of vocabulary
- encourage creative writing
- ask them to help you organise activities
Language learning and cognitive development
Older children will enjoy learning new things besides the new language.
Topics may be familiar but should be built on or extended.
Seven activity types will help develop children’s thinking skills and extend their language skills:
1. listing
e.g. think of names of things they can see or remember in a picture
2. ordering and sorting
e.g. classify items according to category or put actions in a sequence
3. matching
e.g. find pairs
4. comparing
e.g. find what is similar or what is different
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Teaching English to (Very) Young Learners - English for Kids Foundation
www.efkf.org / [email protected]
Page 8 of 42
Teaching in other cultures
Teaching children in Cambodia is very different from teaching children in Kenya. There are cultural
influences and traditions, local laws and customs. These are important to bear in mind. Specific topics
might be inappropriate or culturally sensitive in some countries or may even differ for each project
in the same country.
For example, teaching about ‘The Family’ might be a sensitive topic when working at an orphanage or
centre for abused children. Topics such as ‘Food’ must always be geared towards local
circumstances. When teaching in the Cambodian countryside, children have never heard of and in
most cases will never see pizza, ice-cream, pasta and other western dishes. What can be used are
rice, fish, frog, noodles, rice soup etc. It’s the same with ‘Seasons’. It is good for Cambodian children
to learn that different countries have different seasons, but that could become more a Geography
lesson than an English lesson.
Some countries only have a dry and a wet season, so lessons should be adapted to that.
Make sure that you adapt materials to the country where you work.
Topics may seem universal but they may need to be modified to suit the local circumstances.
For example:
Body > find out which body parts you can and cannot talk about before teaching
Food and drinks > only talk about food and drinks that local students can relate to
Transportation > choose the vocabulary carefully
Seasons >teach about the seasons in the country of teaching, so that students can relate to it
Family > sensitive when working at an orphanage , centre for abused children or children
from dysfunction families or if the parents are divorced
House > only talk about houses in the country, so that students can relate to it. Students will
never have seen a microwave or vacuum cleaner and at home, children never have their own
bedroom or even a bed, they often sleep on mats on the floor.
Nature > again related to nature in the country of teaching – there is no immediate need for
children in other countries to learn about sheep, camel, kangaroo, polar bear etc. as these
animals do sometimes not exist in the country and it will be unlikely that they will see such
an animal.
Computer games, msn, mobile phones, sms > often not applicable in rural or poor areas
Holidays/Festivals > this is a great topic, but needs to be geared towards local festivals and
holidays so that students are able to relate to it. E.g. in Cambodia the main festivals are
Water Festival, the Ancestors Worshipping Festival and Khmer (Buddhist) New Year. Many
foreign teachers try to teach children about Christmas and Easter. They make decorations
with them, but it is not a local tradition and although the children will enjoy drawing and
creating a Christmas tree, a Snowman and Santa, it will mean absolutely nothing to them.
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Teaching English to (Very) Young Learners - English for Kids Foundation
www.efkf.org / [email protected]
Page 10 of 42
Songs, rhymes and chants Teaching tips:
- start with very short rhymes or chants
- use songs and chants related to the topic you are teaching
- make sure the children generally understand what they are saying
- use gestures or pictures to support the text
- make puppets or use objects which relate to the song etc. Young children love to hold
objects. You could, for instance, give these objects to the leaders in the group
- use songs and rhymes to play with sounds e.g. speak quietly ,shout loudly, speak slowly
- use simple instruments to add the rhythm
Nursery rhymes or easy children’s songs can be found on:
http://www.theteachersguide.com/ChildrensSongs.htm
http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/musicchild.htm
http://www.nurseryrhymes4u.com/
http://bussongs.com/
http://www.esl-kids.com/songs/songs.html
http://www.kididdles.com
Background information about the importance of using songs/rhymes:
http://iteslj.org/Lessons/Cakir-MusicalActivities.html
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Teaching English to (Very) Young Learners - English for Kids Foundation
www.efkf.org / [email protected]
Page 11 of 42
Reading/writing
Reading
focus on meaning
- give short written instructions on cards to practise instruction language
- encourage them to use all the clues to understand the written word, such as pictures
and sounds
teach in context
- use word cards of the new vocabulary
- label things with cards (whole word recognition)
teach phonics
- teach them the sound (phonics), not the name of the letter. It is better is to learn
whole words to avoid problems with reading in their first language.
get children to match sound and written forms (read and listen to audio books)
write down what the children say and re-read their sentences/words
if children can read in English check their pronunciation occasionally: ask individual pupils
to read a little bit out loud for you
teach children that they can predict what a word means by: using context/pictures/what
they already know about the topic.
paired reading works really well. You can pair a child with a peer, an older child or an
adult.
Writing
it will help children to learn the names of the letters and the order of the alphabet. Use
songs and games (e.g. hangman) to practise the names
practise letter shapes: palm writing/back writing
children should write what they have talked or read about
encourage children to write: praise and respect all efforts
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Teaching English to (Very) Young Learners - English for Kids Foundation
www.efkf.org / [email protected]
Page 12 of 42
Classroom English
Sentences and vocabulary you can use in class:
Classroom Language: The beginning of the lesson
1. Good morning
Good morning, everybody.
Good afternoon, everybody.
Hello, everyone.
Hello there, James.
2. How are you?
How are you today?
How are you getting on?
How are things with you?
Are you feeling better today, Bill?
3. Introductions
My name is Mr/Mrs/Ms Kim. I'm your new
English teacher.
I'll be teaching you English this year.
I've got five lessons with you each week.
4. Time to begin
Let's begin our lesson now.
Is everyone ready to start?
I hope you are all ready for your English
lesson.
I think we can start now. Now we can get down to work.
5. Waiting to start
I'm waiting for you to be quiet.
We won't start until everyone is quiet.
Stop talking and be quiet. Settle down now so we can start.
6. Put your things away
Close your books.
Put your books away.
Pack your things away. Put your books in your drawer/on the shelf
7. Register
Who is absent today?.
Who isn't here today?
What's the matter with … today?
What's wrong with Jim today?
Why were you absent last Friday,….?
Were you ill/sick yesterday?
Why were you not at school yesterday
/on Wednesday?
8. Late
Where have you been?
We started ten minutes ago. What have you
been doing?
Did you miss your bus?
Did you oversleep? Don't let it happen again.
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Teaching English to (Very) Young Learners - English for Kids Foundation
www.efkf.org / [email protected]
Page 19 of 42
Flashcard activities
(app. 3-7 year olds)
Introduce the new vocabulary by showing the flashcards and saying the names of flashcards.
The following exercises are meant for students to learn and to repeat the words.
Point
Put six flashcards in different places around the room. Say a word, and the children point to the
relevant card.
Clap hands
Hold up a flashcard and say a word. If the word is the same as the item on the card, the children clap
their hands once. If the word and the flashcard item are different, they must keep silent.
Odd one out
Take a lexical set of flashcards, e.g. animals or food. Include one card that is not in the same lexical
set as the others. Hold up each card in turn and children say the name of the item. When you show
the card that is not in the same lexical set, children call out 'Odd one out!'
What's missing?
Put four flashcards on the table or the floor. Ask children to close their eyes. Remove a card. Tell
children to open their eyes and ask 'What's missing?' Children say the missing card. You can make
the game more difficult by removing two or more cards each time.
Lip reading
Put six flashcards on the board. Choose one and mouth the word without making any sound.
Children look at your lips as you mouth the word and say what it is.
Copy me!
Hold up a flashcard and say the word. Ask children to copy you. Say the word again, this time very
softly. Children repeat the word softly. You can say the word in lots of different ways, e.g. loudly,
slowly, quickly, sadly, angrily. Each time children must copy the way you say it.
Guess the card
Choose a flashcard without letting the children see it. Children ask questions to guess the word e.g.
'Is it a (dress)?' Answer 'Yes, it is/ No, it isn't' as appropriate until children guess the word.
Kim's game
Put the flashcards on the board. Children look at the cards for one minute. Remove them and ask
children to tell you as many words as they can remember.
Line True or False
Put a line of tape on the floor and designate one side "True" and the other "False". Hold up a
flashcard or object and say the word. If students think that you have said the correct word they
jump on the True side, if not they jump on the False side. Students who answer incorrectly sit out
until the next game.
Guessing question game
This is good practice for asking simple questions. Teacher hides a flashcard behind his/her back
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Teaching English to (Very) Young Learners - English for Kids Foundation
www.efkf.org / [email protected]
Page 23 of 42
Group activities
(without writing/reading)
Colours and numbers
Ten
Students stand in a circle and chorus count from 1-10. Instruct the students to each call out one, two
or three of the numbers in numerical order. The student who calls out 'ten' must sit down. Continue
until only one student is standing. That student wins the game. E.g. "one, two", "three, four, five",
"six", "seven, eight, nine", "ten (sits down)", "one"..... Try playing it backwards as an extra challenge.
Clusters
Play any music and have the students walk, skip, jump, hop, etc around the room randomly. Stop the
music and call out a number between 1-8. The students must quickly get together in a group or
groups of that number, and the odd students must sit out until the next round.
What time is it, Mr. Wolf?
Line the students up against the back wall.. The teacher(or a designated student) should stand with
his/her back turned to the class. The students must ask the teacher "What time is it, Mr. Wolf (or
teacher's name if easier)?". The teacher answers with a random time, e.g. "It's four o'clock" - the
students take four steps toward the teacher. The students should move the corresponding number
of steps. If the teacher says: "It's lunch time!", the students must run to safety at the back wall. The
teacher chases the students and if tagged, the student must sit out until the next round.
Grab
Use Lego. Spread out the Lego and call out "Five!". The students should take five blocks, join them
together to make a pattern and hold them up. Next say "two blue, one yellow" and other
combinations to 5.
Put the students into pairs and give them number cards (1-10). Call out numbers at random. Ask
students to arrange their cards in that order. When finished, ask the students to chant the numbers
in the order that you gave them.
Lego
Spread Lego on the floor and call a colour for the students to pick up. Continue until all the colours
have been called. Allow the students to play with the blocks for a few minutes before packing up.
While the students are playing, talk to them about what they're making and the colours they're using.
I Spy
The teacher says: "I spy with my little eye something beginning with G". Students try to guess the
object (E.g. garbage can). Use classroom objects and with younger students use colours rather than
letters e.g. "I spy with my little eye something (red)."
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Teaching English to (Very) Young Learners - English for Kids Foundation
www.efkf.org / [email protected]
Page 29 of 42
Group activities
With reading/writing
Alphabet /spelling games:
Alphabet shout out
Randomly choose an alphabet flashcard and award a point to the first student who shouts out a word
beginning with that letter.
Alphabet writing relay
Form two teams. Divide the board into two halves and have one student from each team run to the
board, write 'A', then run to the back of the line. The next student writes 'B', etc. The first team to
finish wins.
Alphabet erase relay
As 'Alphabet Writing Relay', but this time, write the alphabet on each half of the board and have each
team race to erase the letters in order.
Alphabet sculptures
Divide the students into teams and call out a letter of the alphabet. Award a point to the first team
that can form the letter with their bodies.
Alphabet soup
Give students an alphabet flashcard and ask them to skip around the room to the 'ABC Song'. Stop
the tape at random and have the students rush to line up in order, e.g. A-K.
Alphabet touch
Call out letters. Tell the students to find and touch the corresponding letter of either objects in the
classroom or on posters, the board etc.
Alphabet wave
Give each student a few ordered alphabet flashcards and play the 'ABC Song'. Ask students to hold
up the cards that correspond to the letters they hear in the song.
First letter
Give the students various picture flashcards. Go through the ABC's and instruct students to hold up
the flashcards that begin with that letter.
Spelling bee
This can be done with the whole class or in two teams. The first player of team one is given a word
to spell orally. The teacher writes the letters on the board as they are spelled aloud. If correct, the
team gets a point. If you do a class competition, line the students up and give them words one by
one. When they make a mistake, they must sit down. The last student standing is the winner.
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Teaching English to (Very) Young Learners - English for Kids Foundation
www.efkf.org / [email protected]
Page 33 of 42
Grammar activities
Simple language constructions
The Ball
Throw the ball to a student and ask that student a question. The student answers and throws the ball
to another student asking the same question.e.g. "Can you...?", "Yes, I can. / No, I can't." "Do you
like...?", "Yes, I do. / No, I don't."
Balloon toss
Tell the students to stand in a circle. Toss a balloon to one student and elicit vocabulary or a
structure from that student. They must be able to tap the balloon in the air without missing the
vocabulary or structure. S1: "My name's Miki. What's your name?" (tap) "My name's Hiro. What's
your name?" (tap).
Object toss
Select three soft objects. Assign object#1 the question "Do you want some milk?", assign object#2
the response "Yes, I do." and object#3, "No, I don't". Throw each object to a student and have them
use the appropriate phrase. Then they throw the objects to different students.
Spin the bottle
Use the bottle to ask students questions. The teacher spins the bottle and asks the student it points
to a question. First ask basic warm-up questions and then move on to target structures or review
structures.
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Teaching English to (Very) Young Learners - English for Kids Foundation
www.efkf.org / [email protected]
Page 37 of 42
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank the following colleagues for their valuable comments, additions and reviews: Sylvia Livingstone Jean Rinsma Monique Wilkinson Robin Groenewegen Anne Waaijer Annemarie Spee Sources: Cool! English at school > www.coolenglish.eu http://www.esl-kids.com/eslgames/eslgames.html
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Teaching English to (Very) Young Learners - English for Kids Foundation
www.efkf.org / [email protected]
Page 38 of 42
Grammar glossary
Adjective
A word that describes a noun
e.g. the cat is very happy
Adverb
A word that describes a verb, an adjective or another adverb
e.g. the cat is extremely small / the cat moved stealthily
Definite article
The
Indefinite article
A or an
Demonstrative
This, that, these, those
Main clause
A sentence that functions independently
e.g. I’ll feed the dog.
Subordinate clause
A part of the sentence that is dependent upon another part
e.g. I’ll feed the dog [main clause] when he barks [subordinate clause]!
Conjunction
A word that joins a group of words
e.g. and / or
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org
Sample
, orde
r you
r cop
y at in
fo@efk
f.org