12 www.teacher.pl 4 (118) 2014

Teac

h B

IG

Macmillan TEACH BIG 2014 SeriesEpisode 2

A well-behaved student or an active adventurer:which is more valuable in grade one?

Wanda Baranowska, Jacek Pyżalski, Jacek Baranowski

Dr Wanda Baranowska is an academic teacher specialising in early education, learning difficulties and students with special needs.

Prof Jacek Pyżalski is a special educator, affiliated with Faculty of Educational Studies, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań.

Jacek Baranowski is an ELT teacher with over 20 years of experience teaching English to different age groups.

as stickers, cut-outs, graphic puzzles, etc. – in short, the things that help keep those little hands busy and bodies engaged. The move, dictated by the Polish Ministry of Education, is apparently motivated by economic considerations, and as such may well be welcomed by parents, initially at least. Most worryingly however, the resultant reduction of sensory, experience-based forms of language learning strikes at the very heart of

I n the second episode of the Macmillan TEACH BIG article series we turn to the lower primary sector and consider

the implications of having 6-year-olds enter grade 1 together with 7-year olds as of Sept 1 2014. In our view this brings about a number of concerns - to teachers as well as parents – including in particular the amount of discipline required, given school (im)maturity and (un)readiness of at least some of these kids.

Let us imagine the first few days of September 2014, and the first few English lessons, with over 20 eager little students looking expectantly at their language teacher. In administrative terms, they are all first graders, even though some are merely six years old, and some as much as up to a year older. And as for their teacher, she is well rested after the summer holidays () and ready to start with a new class, yet she is a touch worried to say the least about the prospect of having to cope with the wide mixture of energy levels, behaviour patterns, and expectations about the amount of study vs. play. In short, she is probably wondering about how to manage them all as a group, and how to keep them organized but happy while they take their first steps in English.

Things are most likely not going to be made any easier by the imminent changes to the educational market, including in particular the ban on virtually all additional materials such

4 (118) 2014 www.sklep.teacher.pl 13

Teac

h B

IG

❯❯❯

modern pedagogy developed for this age group over the last two decades or so. Especially that the change will hit just as grade 1 is being made to include learners that are younger than ever…

In this article we shall attempt to address these concerns from the perspective of what will really happen behind classroom doors once the full impetus of the above administrative changes is felt by the practicing teacher. The word “impetus” seems particularly apt as it also reminds us of the impulsive nature of young learners themselves, and of the popular question asked by many a practitioner: ‘How am I to handle those ”impulsive” kids during my English lessons?’

We will indeed try to answer that question – but not directly. Our answer in this article is in fact divided into three parts: in part A we will discuss the main question set above in a bit more detail, part B will provide a detailed developmental description of a typical 6-7 year old, while in part C we will present several practical tips for how to handle young students’ behaviour effectively.

[A] in-class discipline vs. children’s nature: what is actually the matter?

There is a widespread belief that maintaining classroom discipline is important since it supports language development. This drives many language teachers to select a large number of ‘coolers’ - activities whose main aim or at least side effect is a certain degree of lowering of pupils’ energy levels, or even a period of silence in the classroom full of otherwise jumpy young learners. While such activities may indeed seem to yield the desired short-term result (and thus make the teacher’s day-to-day class management apparently easier), their pedagogical long-term impact should be looked at critically. Below are the main questions that in our view need to be asked:

❶Which aspect of teaching makes the best contact with children’s cognitive level?

❷How to take advantage of young learners’ natural dispositions in order to enhance their learning experience?

❸How to handle these dispositions and ensure desired learning outcomes? And last but not least:

❹What are the specific, modern priorities of elementary language education?

The answer to the first question is relatively easy – it is arousing children’s curiosity. To satisfy their

natural curiosity children use all their senses: they look, listen, touch and do. In short, they learn with everything they have got! Based on ❶, the answer to the second question is also simple: we have to support and satisfy the natural curiosity and joy of learning.To answer the third question one should first and foremost acknowledge and accept the existence of these natural dispositions: on the one hand, a craving for things that genuinely appeal to the kids’ curiosity; on the other hand, a range of emotions characteristic for this age group as well as age-specific strategies for expressing them - unless they are somehow harnessed as part of their school socialization. A truly effective educator (of a foreign language or any other subject/skill area) will manage those natural instincts and emotions rather than repressing them!

In view of the above, question number ❹ is crucial of course: the main priority of elementary language education must be seen in terms of continuous support on the teacher’s part, to sustain high level of motivation for learning English, and for exploring the world through English. From this perspective, foreign language competence is not an aim in itself – it is no more (and no less!) than a tool for supporting children’s overall school experience.

[B] Natural functioning of 6-7-year-olds

Naturally, children differ in terms of the pace and level of overall cognitive development when their enter school. These differences should be taken into account while setting standards for each child – also those concerning in-class behaviour.

[B1] Impulsive or well-behaved?

At the age of 6 to 7 the majority of children need a lot of opportunities to move about and to do things in order to explore the world and the language that can be used to describe that world. There is nothing strange or worrying about the fact that a 6- or even 7-year old wants to leave her seat from time to time, jumps while raising a hand or throws her things all over the desk. The younger the children the more often this is to be expected. As are hundreds of questions, comments and other sorts of spontaneous remarks concerning in-class activities. Or even incidents of one kid being pushed, pinched or punched by another, apparently inspired by the behaviour of a story protagonist.

14 www.teacher.pl 4 (118) 2014

Teac

h B

IG❯❯❯

Do all of the above run straightforwardly against school behaviour norms? Should they be repressed? In our view it takes a true professional – with an appropriate attitude and sufficient amount of pedagogical confidence – to look at them as no more (or less!) than symptoms of children’s instinctive craving for exploring and experiencing as much as possible.

[B2] Sensory impression seeking or well-behaved?

It is often assumed – wrongly in our view - that any 6- or 7-year-old pupil starting school has achieved an appropriate level of attention span, memory and speech. Equipped with these, he or she is supposed to be able to analyse, evaluate, and describe their own actions. How accurate is this view?

Actually, children aged 6-7 typically recognize objects at the approx. 3 meters distance at best. What are the practical implications of this developmental factor? Well, let’s imagine a child who is seated at the back of the classroom and gets interested by whatever the teacher is saying or showing up front, by the blackboard? What if that child gets up from behind the desk and comes up to the teacher? Is that a sign of misbehaviour …? Is it something to be restricted? Or accepted? Likewise, the attention span of children at this age is unstable and short-term. A child is able to focus on a particular activity, particularly while encouraged and supported by the teacher. However, another competing stimulus can easily attract his/her attention. Again, must this be perceived as a sign of misbehaviour? Or accepted as a fact of life, and a sign of sympathy and professional attitude towards who these kids are and what moves them, literally and metaphorically?

[B3] Spontaneous and excitable or well-behaved?

6- and 7-year-olds may be egocentric, spontaneous and/or excitable but can already act according to social rules set by the school. They start to understand and implement such values as comradeship, friendship or politeness/kindness. Students at this age seek the presence of other students but remain egocentric at the same time. They may easily share a desk with another student and easily make friends with them. However, they also act individualistically (rather than collaboratively) when trying to carry

out the tasks set by the teacher. And thus they can get angry while another student disturbs them. Their intention is not to harm another student but simply go on undisturbed with the task at hand. Can this be called misbehaviour?

The crucial thing is that children at this age rarely set rules (for) themselves. Rather, they (gradually) accept and follow those introduced by an adult, such as their teacher, especially if they are reinforced by rewards and punishments. A child aged 6-7 generally respects and accepts all rules set by the teacher. This said, the real challenge is to focus on those rules and behaviour norms that respect the exploratory needs of the great majority of kids in this age group.

[B- Summary] Definition of ‘well-behaved’ 6- and 7-year-olds

Any teacher of English to first graders knows only too well that their efforts often bring less effect than planned in spite of how excellent their methodology and resources are. It is easy to turn sour and start blaming everything on the kids being unruly and unmanageable. Our response to this is that before we start despairing it makes sense to recognize (and be sympathetic to!) the following characteristics of students at this age group: naturally spontaneous, lively; naturally impulsive ; having a naturally unstable, short

attention span; naturally seeking peer attention

but egocentric at the same time; naturally eager to learn through

exploring and being active.

Needless to add, no effective approach to students at this age group should attempt to fight these age-related characteristics. On the contrary, our best chance is to accept and exploit them at every stage. Read on to see how this can be done behind classroom doors.

[C] How to induce ‘good behaviour’ and support children’s language development

[ad. B1] Pupil’s motor-activity and impulsiveness6-7-year-olds have already improved the way they walk, run, grip and jump, and unwittingly want to boast about it to everyone they come across. In order to exploit this natural disposition, try to arrange group activities so that they require

4 (118) 2014 www.sklep.teacher.pl 15

Teac

h B

IG

❯❯❯

forming a ring or assuming a standing position. Expect some pupils to bounce, waddle or break the ring line. Ignore it. Focus instead on getting your pupils to commit fully to doing the task itself – no matter what the accompanying motor activities might occur.

Look through your student’s book and select as many tasks as possible in which you can

easily swap the pupils’ manual activity with a motor one. To take one example, learning English by young learners often involves naming everyday objects (or actions in their immediate surroundings). More often than not the objects presented in course book illustrations can be found around your classroom. Let’s look at the following task sample:

Task 1 – a shift from a standard ‘Listen and tick’ to ‘Listen, grip and show’

Pupils listen to a song, rhyme, or text and find information (words), then circle the objects presented in the book:

Source: Tiger 1, Książka Ucznia, p.10, Macmillan Polska 2013

The objects above are usually found on the pupils’ desks. So, encourage your learners to point to them and show them to one another. Preferably while standing rather than being seated behind desks. Why the latter? Because by engaging them in all these extra motor activities you achieve several things simultaneously:

❶ involve their senses (they look, listen, speak, touch, lift/point);❷give them an opportunity to express their emotions through movement;❸give them the extra satisfaction of showing the things they possess.

In addition, you let them experience pride and joy as they are the owners of the same things as the protagonist(s) in their course book – an extra bonus for everyone involved!

Task 2 –a shift from sitting to standing position while doing the task

It is very easy to overlook the fact than many course book illustrations – intended to help your learners carry out a particular task - suggest a specific position that the learners are supposed to assume. Should a physical needs sensitive teacher always accept this uncritically? Or perhaps be alert to the current atmosphere among the pupils, including the amount of physical activity needed at this very moment?

16 www.teacher.pl 4 (118) 2014

Teac

h B

IG❯❯❯

Source: Tiger 1, Książka Ucznia, p.21, Macmillan Polska 2013

Remember: ① a suggestion you find in the course photo is not a must-use, you can (and most probably should) modify the accompanying movements; ② what matters is your observation of the child’s needs and above all the flexibility of your response. Presumably, at the end of the first grade you will be able to carry out a similar task with all the pupils sitting orderly at their desks (and no extra ‘motor support’ needed any longer).

[ad. B2] A pupil as an explorer of sensory experiences

As an experienced teacher of young learners, you have certainly noticed that each of them has their own individual bias towards certain types of sensory stimuli. This is in essence what constitutes a given child’s individual learning style. An identification of the style lets you define the child’s abilities/disabilities and adjust your working style to the child’s needs. Thanks to such a diagnosis your pupils themselves will easily find out their strengths and discover the pleasure of learning. And this is what building long-term motivation is all about!

Task 3 - example: Defining learning styles while teaching about various senses

By using a vocabulary section referring to senses and verbs accompanying sense-related activities, you can take the first steps to diagnosing your pupils’ individual learning styles. Look at the exercise below.

4 (118) 2014 www.sklep.teacher.pl 17

Teac

h B

IG

❯❯❯

Source: Tiger 1, Książka Ucznia, p.23, Macmillan Polska 2013

Prepare badges that show ‘eye’, ‘ear’ and ‘lips’. After your pupils have become familiar with a particular vocabulary section, ask them by using gestures to show only one activity which they most enjoy doing during the class. Limit the choice to listening, watching and speaking. Give them a minute to think it over. Now, ask those pupils who love watching stories and pictures the most to stand up and mime the activity. After they have mimed the activity, your pupils sit down and you hand them the badges with an ‘eye’. Next, you ask those who prefer listening to CD songs and stories to stand up and mime. After that they sit down and receive an ‘ear’ badge. Finally, do the same with those who like speaking the most. Give them a badge with ‘lips’. Let’s reflect a little on the value of the above pedagogical sequence: ① we carried out the first-step towards a diagnosis of pupils’ cognitive skills, ② we introduced and revised a vocabulary section, ③ we provided our pupils with a bit of movement of their choice.

[ad. B3] A spontaneous and excitable pupil

English classes can be used for ‘tuning’ children’s spontaneous and impulsive behaviour by explaining social norms to them, norms that are followed – quite conveniently - by their favourite textbook characters. One such task can be to help your classmate (most likely a fellow kid sitting next to you at your school desk) who is having some problems controlling his/her behaviour.

18 www.teacher.pl 4 (118) 2014

Teac

h B

IG❯❯❯

Task 4 – picture story as a social norm control

A story showing spontaneous behaviour of textbook characters can be a perfect tool for bringing home the meaning of social norms.

Source: Tiger 1, Książka ucznia, p.12, Macmillan Polska 2013

act out a story, we provide our pupils with a sort of mock self-control training.

Summary

To go back to the title of this article, we do hope we have provided enough reflection and practical tips to persuade the reader that, given the appropriate attitude and pedagogical tools, a great English teacher can exploit potentially disruptive behaviour to her advantage and, in time, help first graders learn English in the way that respects their preferred (exploratory and multi-sensory) mode of learning – and simultaneously find their place in the social fabric of their class and school. Good Luck!

After they have listened to and discussed the story, you can ask your pupils: What should Pong (the dog character in the story above) do in the classroom? Your pupils will enthusiastically give some suggestions for Pong. Once you have discussed the most desirable and acceptable classroom behaviour rules, try to make a deal with your pupils so that everyone tries to observe these rules from now on. You can also ask (most likely using the mother tongue at this stage): How can we help Pong be a good dog-student? or What can you do to help your partner if she or he disturbs you accidentally? At the end of your class you can arrange a partner-to-partner drama exercise. One of the pupils takes the role of Ping (the cat character), the other one is Pong. While acting out the story, make sure the kids role-play the relevant social rule. The above sequence can be argued to be pedagogically valuable on several counts: ① by asking an explicit question about the behaviour of one or more book characters, we make our pupils aware of behaviour rules, ② we help the kids memorize useful expressions of politeness in English, ③ by letting the pupils

Tiger – the new major Macmillan course for your lower primary learners. Find out more at www.macmillan.pl/tiger or contact your local Macmillan representative.

Bez nazwy-1 2 13-09-26 15:51