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d. Aspect of using word
1 The teacher asks the students to make new imperative sentences spoken
or written using the same words on the board. 2
The teacher asks the students to practice using their sentences.
C. The Nature of Teaching English to Young Learners and Development of
Young Learners.
Teaching English to young learners should consider the development of young learners in order to do a successful teaching. The following is theoretical
review related to teaching English to young learners.
1. Teaching English to Young Learners
The number of teachers of young learners is increasing as children start to learn English at younger age around the world. The term young learners can be
used to describe:
a.
Pre-school learners
b.
Primary school learners and
c.
Secondary school or teenage learners. In teaching adult, the materials are papers, books, the blackboard, etc. For
children, all sorts of material are used-magnets, hamster, costumes, and so on. Activities need to be child-centered and communication should be authentic.
Children learn because they want, not for the sake of teacher. They are willing to learn if they enjoy the English material. On the other hand, they will immediately
show unwillingness if the material cannot attract them. Many authors advise
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teachers to teach children holistically and to focus on the whole children. Several themes repeatedly come up:
a. Focus on meaning, not correctness.
Children speak, write, listen, or draw something based on their capability in groups. The teacher does not correct errors.
b. Focus on the value of the activity, not the value of the language.
Children prepare an oral introduction of their pet e.g. it is my rabbit. Its name is Ruby, make a poster with an image of the rabbit that could be used if the
rabbit were to get lost. c.
Focus on collaboration and social development. The children work in group then make a report. Each student has a role in
the group.
d.
Provide a rich context, including movement, the senses, objects and pictures, and variety of activities.
The students learn terms for community occupations such as teacher, doctor, and postman. They wear appropriate costume and act out brief scene by
following the teacher’s direction.
e.
Teach ESL holistically, integrating the four skills. The students listen to a story then repeat a refrain in the story and supply
some missing words. If possible, they help the teacher to tell story, discuss about the characters, etc.
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f.
Treat learners appropriately in light of their age and interests. At the end of a unit, students play bingo using vocabulary and pictures
from the unit.
g.
Treat language as a tool for children to use for their own social and academic ends.
In a group, students sing and chant the same pieces. They enjoy activities that allow them to work with friends.
Use language for authentic communication, not as an object of analysis. The whole students in a class do not know term of present continuous tense, but
enjoy making up role plays. Those principles are important to be understood and applied for teaching
children. Further, the principles should be adjusted to the children’s development. The activity has to be matched to their age or class level.
In line with the principles, for helping young learners to learn, Read 2003 proposes some of the optimal conditions:
a. learning is natural
b. learning is contextualized and part of a real event
c. learning is interesting and enjoyable
d. learning is relevant
e. learning is social
f. learning belongs to the child
g. learning has a purpose for the child
h. learning builds on things the child knows
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i. learning makes sense to the child
j. the child is challenged appropriately
k. learning is supported appropriately
l. learning is part of a coherent whole
m. learning is multi-sensory
n. the child wants to learn
o. learning is active and experiential
p. learning is memorable
q. learning allows for personal, divergent responses
r. learning takes account of multiple intelligences
s. the learning atmosphere is relaxed and warm
t. The child has a sense of achievement.
Read in http:www.teachingenglishgames.com3-5.htm also suggests the seven Rs which provide an integrated framework for managing children positively
and creating a happy working environment:
Relationships - creating and maintaining a positive relationship with learners
is at the heart of establishing a happy learning environment.
Rules - establish a limited number of rules and make sure they are clear, as
well as the reasons for having them. Routines -
classroom routines make it clear to everyone what is expected of
them and what they should do.
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Rights and Responsibilities- although these may not be stated explicitly with
very young learners, teachers can model through their own actions which of these they value.
Respect - students who are treated respectfully by the teacher will respond in
a similar way to the teacher. If the children feel that the teacher treats them as individuals, they will also respond to the teacher as an individual and not with
a collective group mentality.
Rewards - reward systems can be an effective way of reinforcing appropriate
behavior e.g. using stars, stickers, points, smiley faces, raffle tickets or marbles in a jar http:www.teachingenglishgames.com3-5.htm.
On her website, Vernon presents some of the problems many preschool teachers face. Preschool learners:
•
have very short attention spans
•
forget things quickly
•
may not be fully confident in their first language
•
may not be motivated to learn
•
may be fearful
•
develop at very different rates which leads to mixed ability groups
•
can be easily overwhelmed
•
Need to be taught with effective language learning techniques and not just with time fillers to keep them busy.http:www.teachingenglishgames.com3-
5.htm
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The solutions she proposes include:
•
Change your games and activities every 5-10 minutes.
•
Vary the pace during the lesson, mixing up energetic games with quiet ones.
•
Repeat, review and revise. Use short games to review vocabulary and phrases you have already taught.
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Make lessons playful and full of physical movement. Children will find them more enjoyable, be more motivated and remember the language better.
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Teach in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere with plenty of encouragement.
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Avoid competition with preschool learners. It can be stressful and overwhelm them. Play games where everyone wins, or where you do not single out a
winner.
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Encourage and support young learners.
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Use chants, rhymes and songs. These are great for movement and frequent repetition of vocabulary and phrases.
Do not focus on reading and writing - leave those for when children are older.
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Focus on listening and understanding, building vocabulary and the acquisition of short phrases.
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Concentrate also on speaking practice, starting with single words and short phrases, and gradually moving onto longer sentences and questions.
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Avoid abstract concepts and focus on concrete items that children understand and relate to. For example, start with familiar topics such as colors, numbers,
greetings, animals, fruit, food and drink, families, body parts, shapes, clothing, the weather, days of the week and everyday sentences and phrases.
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•
Use please and thank you and be positive. Focus on positive behavior rather than telling children what not to do.
•
Be prepared - practice telling stories before you go into class and have your picture flashcards and materials ready.
Mix up active participation and listening. If the children become restless do something active.
•
Be flexible. If something is not working then change the game or activity.
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Involve shy children - help them to express themselves.
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Bring in real objects whenever possible, such as clothes to dress up in, or props for acting out little plays or stories. When you cannot bring in realia use
whatever objects are available in your class, and use colorful pictures of real items.
•
Use stories. Stories are a great resource for preschool learners, who will want to hear the same tales told repeatedly.
Cameron 2003:73 argues that the continuing growth of teaching English to young learners brings a number of challenges. Starting to learn English at an
earlier age may not bring automatic improvements to proficiency levels, unless teacher education and secondary language teaching both adapt to meet the
challenges of the new situation. According to Cameron, amongst other knowledge and skills, teachers of young learners need:
•
an awareness of how children think and learn
•
skills and knowledge in spoken English to conduct whole lessons orally
•
an ability to identify childrens interests and use them for language teaching
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•
to be equipped to teach initial literacy in English. Other current issues in teaching young learners include:
•
the use of learners first language in the language classroom
•
teaching other subjects through the medium of English e.g. CLIL
•
developing appropriate assessment of young learners
•
Young learner teacher education. From the previous theory, it can be said that teaching English for young
learners is different from adults. Teacher has to give appropriate material and various activities based on the principles and conditions in teaching children so
that the teaching and learning process will be successful. Therefore, TPR is required to teach English for young learners as it is suitable with the students’
interest at such age. By acting and moving they can learn new words easily and this way might be interesting for them. If the students are interested in the way
they learn, they would master the new words well.
2. Techniques and Resources
