teaching english to very young learners

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  • Teaching

    English to

    Very Young

    Learners

    Teaching English to

    Kindergarten Age

    Group

    Aleksandra Umicevic

  • 2

    Due to the establishment of the English language as the lingua franca of the modern world at

    the end of the 20th

    and the beginning of the 21st century, there is now a growing trend in many

    countries of introducing English as a foreign language at a very young age. Despite the fact that

    there is no consensus among the researchers and psychologists in that field on the optimal age at

    which to start teaching a foreign language, the fact is that there is now a growing demand for the

    teachers of English to young learners, not only in private but also in state kindergartens.

    The main problem here is how to provide the adequate teaching staff and practitioners, since

    kindergarten teachers are generally lacking in their knowledge of English whereas most teachers

    of English are mostly trained to work with teenagers and adults and are generally lacking in their

    knowledge of methodology for this age group.

    As this age group still cannot read and write, special methods of practice are required and the

    emphasis should be not only on language learning but on the overall child development, which

    could then be considered a value in itself.

    Since speech is the main means of establishing communication, self-expression and

    development, by stimulating and encouraging all the different forms of verbal expression we can

    encourage the forming of relationships and learning about self and others; and as speech is a

    social category, the best way to acquire it is by using it, i.e. by communicating in it, which is the

    crucial part of the process of learning. Therefore, special activities carried out on their own or as

    a part of a group of activities, should be organised in the kindergarten in order to encourage the

    development of communicative, informative and symbolic function of the language.

    Besides the basic physical needs, the children also have needs that are essential for their

    mental and emotional development the need to be loved and cared for, the need to feel safe and

  • 3

    secure, and the need to communicate with others. Bearing in mind that speech is the basic means

    of communication, self-expression and development, one of the most important aims in working

    with children is the transition from situational (implicit) speech to that adapted to the listener

    (explicit speech). It is essential that during this period the child develops his/her own abilities of

    self-expression and communication, i.e. the ability to express his wants and needs, establish

    contacts with others, explain his/her acts and guide his own behaviour by the means of different

    language uses.

    Since language cannot be acquired and developed without active language practice, the time

    spent daily in kindergarten ought to be used for its activation. Real life situations where the child

    is in active communication and interaction with other children and adults and using various

    verbal and non-verbal means of communication, are best suited for this and is of great

    importance for the spontaneous language acquisition.

    Encouragement and stimulation of all forms of verbal creativity ought to affect the

    development and formation of awareness of self and others, which is why the children should be

    encouraged to use different forms of communication in relationships with others. It is essential to

    use play to enrich verbal communication as well as develop listening skills.

    Foreign language acquisition process ought to be based on communication as a key part of

    the learning process with everyday situations being the natural framework for it.

    The role of the practitioner/teacher is to:

    1) Provide a pleasant, stimulating atmosphere in which the children gladly communicate

    2) Observe, follow, compare and interpret the childs reactions

  • 4

    3) Ecourage by asking questions and guiding the learning process

    4) Establish the level of communicative skills and plan for group and individual

    activities accordingly

    5) Choose content familiar to children and their interests and abilities

    6) Take into consideration verbal skills of each individual child and show understanding

    for the developmental difficulties in speech development

    7) Show patience in working with children slow in speech development.

    The aims of teaching English as a foreign language in pre-school age group are:

    1) To develop interest for language learning through fun and play

    2) To develop memory and creative skills in children

    3) To develop awareness of the sounds and words of the English language as well as the

    ability to articulate them properly

    4) To introduce children to Nursery Rhymes and poetry for children

    5) To build the foundation on which to base further language learning.

    The pre-school children (4-6 years old) show a remarkable interest in and ability to acquire a

    foreign language. At this age they also develop their mother tongue by copying the language in

    their immediate surroundings. That inborn mechanism for the language acquisition is to be

    activated in the process of foreign language acquisition by encouraging children to take an active

    and creative role in it. Singing, playing and moving while having fun are some of the ways of

    creating an interest for language learning at this age bearing in mind their psychological and

    physical abilities and skills.

  • 5

    The main difference in language learning between young children and adults is that children

    are much more energetic and need to be physically active. They also have a number of emotional

    needs and easily become emotional, they are slower learners and they tend to forget more

    quickly, they strive for the satisfaction of their own needs, they easily get bored; however, they

    can maintain their concentration for a surprisingly long time provided they are interested in

    something. What the teacher has to bear in mind is the fact that the childs age does not have to

    match his/her developmental stage. Some children are already familiar with the English language

    while others are absolute beginners. Parental support is also one of the key factors in learning;

    with their support children can show amazing concentration and memory skills when it comes to

    rhymes, chants, stories, computer games etc.

    The teacher should primarily help the child adapt to working in the classroom, which can

    take time considering that they are expected to work in a group and communicate with others. In

    the first few days children ought to be introduced with the objectives and expectations of the

    teacher. It is important to be positive and supportive and not criticize. Their behaviour should be

    observed and their likes and dislikes, their wishes and thoughts of the language they have learned

    respected.

    It is well known that children have the ability and show interest in gathering such

    information that can seem irrelevant to the adults, but for them it can prove to be of enormous

    importance. Much of what children say can be used as a starting point for their vocabulary

    enrichment, for discovering what they want to know and also for creating further interest. What a

    child says can be a key sign of how they feel at school or at home. The approach based on the

    childs needs aims to put the child in the centre when deciding on the syllabus.

  • 6

    If we want the process of learning to be aimed at the childs personality, we have to be aware

    of his/her physical, emotional and educational characteristics of each and every child. We need

    to plan for the activities based on their personal experiences, including those from books, films,

    video games etc.

    It is of great importance that a child should talk spontaneously and openly of his/her

    experiences in school and elsewhere, of his/her interests and thinking, brings up new subjects,

    asks questions about everyday situations in his/her communication with children as well as

    adults, in interaction with the teacher.

    And what is it that interests children? It is they themselves! Children like to talk about such

    things like favourite toys, food they like or dislike, clothes they wear or things they have in their

    bags. Therefore, it is necessary to concentrate on things they can see and/or touch in their

    surroundings. They are interested in their families and friends; they like to talk about their

    brothers and sisters (especially babies), relatives, cousins, parents, grandparents. Hence we

    should focus on familiar surroundings and people that belong to it. Children also like to talk

    about their routines, getting up, coming to school, breakfast, snack, games, shopping, going to

    the park, travelling, surprises, birthdays, holidays etc.

    Therefore, teaching English at this age ought to include basic linguistic items related to self

    as well as people and experiences in their immediate surroundings. At this age children are able

    to name the members of their family, things, animals, rooms and furniture in the house, colours,

    body parts, seasons, say where things are in relation to other things (in, on, under, behind),

    express likes and dislikes and take part in dramatization of a text, play activities and dialogue

    with the teacher or another child.

  • 7

    As children greatly react to their surroundings, it is essential that we stimulate them both

    visually and aurally as much as possible, and also create a positive working atmosphere. All that

    is being taught should be demonstrated in real life situations and illustrated by visual aids:

    objects, pictures, posters, picture books, dolls, gestures, singing, mime, games, acting etc. It is

    crucial to revise the previously learned before presenting anything new. The teachers

    pronunciation is also important as well as the use of recorded material with the native speakers.

    After listening to the recorded material, the children should be encouraged to repeat what was

    said, both together as a group and individually.

    Comprehension and acquisition are most effective through play activities and dialogues.

    Activities ought to be changed every five to seven minutes so as not to allow for the loss of

    interest and boredom. The role of puppets in simulation of communicative situations is of

    enormous importance. The puppets can talk to each other, they can talk to children and they can

    also be used in presenting new words and structures, asking questions and dialogues.

    Activities in which the verbal is connected with kinaesthetic are very important as they allow

    for much easier learning of a poem or a rhyme since they can bring some of the words to life

    thereby making the understanding much clearer and the memorization much easier. Thus

    gestures and movement are of great importance in working with young children since they rely

    greatly on body language and facial expression. Hence, instructions, stories, songs, they can and

    should all be accompanied by gestures, pictures, mime, or any other kind of visual aid, to make

    the meaning clearer. It should also be noted that children are fast to learn and adopt the sounds

    which do not exist in their native language and imitate the intonation of what they hear.

  • 8

    The correlation of linguistic, logically-mathematic, social and physical activities as well as

    those of exploration and mastery of the surroundings is of great significance as a way in which

    children not only acquire skills to comprehend questions, lyrics, follow short instructions, but

    also react verbally and non-verbally in communicative situations.

    Bibliography

    Gower, R. and Fillips, D. (2006). Teaching Practice. Macmillan Education: Oxford

    Moon, J. (2006). Children Learning English, Macmillan Education: Oxford

    Phillips, S. (2006). Drama With Children, Oxford University Press: Oxford

    Reilly, V. and Ward, S.M. (1997). Very Young Learners, Oxford University Press: Oxford

    Scrivener, J. (2005). Learning Teaching, Macmillan Education: Oxford

    Wright, A. (2002). Creating Stories With Children, Oxford University Press: Oxford

  • 9

    LANGUAGE ACTIVITY - Verbal Method Teaching

    METHOD (metode) - Approach where the child is central

    - The task is learning

    - Physical response

    AGE (uzrast) 6

    TIME (vreme trajanja) 20 minutes

    AIMS (ciljevi) - To motivate children to learn through play and fun

    - To create pleasant and stimulating atmosphere - To develop memory skills - To learn about types of fruit and their importance in diet

    MATERIALS (materijali)

    - Pictures of fruit

    - Memory game cards

    - Crayons

    - Different shapes of fruit (apple, pear, banana, orange,

    strawberry) to colour

    IN CLASS (tok aktivnosti)

    * stand the children in a semi-circle and show them pictures of

    different types of fruit

    * talk to children about how the fruit grows (from flowers, what

    colour it is, taste, why it is important to eat it)

    *memory game ( magic bag with fruit cut in pieces. With their

    eyes closed the children take it out, taste it and guess which fruit it is)

    * draw and colour favourite fruit