Technique in Teaching English to Young Learners

3. Technique in Teaching English to Young Learners

According to Brumfit et al (1995: 67), at kindergarten level of age five to six, most children do not yet write or read. But actually there are some techniques that can be used in teaching English to young learners in general as follows:

a. Techniques in teaching listening Children are very enjoying in listening something. Linse (2005: 23) said that young children listen to a variety of voices and sounds that are around them. Inside buildings, they may hear people talking, a television, a vacuum cleaner, post banging, or a microwave oven. Children often announce when they suddenly hear a specific outdoor sound such as a fire engine or an ambulance. If children live in an area where there are animals, they learn to distinguish the sounds of dogs barking, cow mooing, sheep baaing, etc. In a. Techniques in teaching listening Children are very enjoying in listening something. Linse (2005: 23) said that young children listen to a variety of voices and sounds that are around them. Inside buildings, they may hear people talking, a television, a vacuum cleaner, post banging, or a microwave oven. Children often announce when they suddenly hear a specific outdoor sound such as a fire engine or an ambulance. If children live in an area where there are animals, they learn to distinguish the sounds of dogs barking, cow mooing, sheep baaing, etc. In

1) Stories

2) Songs and rhymes

3) Task listening exercises

4) Pronunciation models

5) Modelling exercises

b. Techniques in teaching speaking Linse (2005: 52) suggested Audiolingual method (ALM) as a method of teaching speaking. Celce-Murcia in Linse (2005: 52) stated that Audiolingual method to language teaching is based on the notion that one can learn language by developing habits based on the pattern of language. There are two important features of ALM which can easily be adapted for the young learner classroom: drills with choral response and dialogues. Linse (2005: 54) also mentioned some classroom techniques and activities for teaching speaking to children

1) Using puppets to introduce dialogues

2) Fishbowl technique Furthermore, House (1997: 21-23) also added that teacher can use oral drill, role plays, information gap, and acting in teaching speaking to young learners.

c. Techniques in teaching reading According to House’s statement (1997: 24-26), teacher can use some tasks or exercises to young learners in teaching reading. Teacher can gives tasks like decomposing and composing words, guessing the meaning of unknown words and using readers.

d. Techniques in teaching writing According to Linse (2005: 110-114), there are some classroom techniques and activities for teaching writing to children, such as:

1) Writing models. Teacher provides reading material that will model the 1) Writing models. Teacher provides reading material that will model the

3) Talking and writing box.

4) Writing centers

5) Writing conferences

6) Inventive spelling

7) Word walls In teaching writing, teacher can develop it to be interesting activities that help children to write. House (1997: 27) formulated some exercises in teaching writing such as copying, filling in, altering/ writing to a model, written comprehension, and free writing.

e. Techniques in teaching vocabulary According to Linse (2005: 128-131), there are some classroom techniques and activities for teaching vocabulary to children, such as:

1) Connecting vocabulary to young learner’s lives through personalization

2) Word for the day

3) Categories

4) Scavenger hunt

5) What’s missing

6) Mystery words

7) Concentration

8) Vocabulary basket

From the explanations above, it is known that there are some techniques in teaching English to young learners. It is very important for a teacher to comprehend all those techniques because it can support the process of language teaching in the classroom. Furthermore, teacher has to identify what the appropriate technique to be implemented, because kindergarten level of age five to six, most children do not yet write or read.

In teaching English, teacher should be creative to make activities that suitable with young learners’ characteristics. According to Philips (1993: 7) on her book entitle “Young Learners”, it is stated that: “The kinds of activities that work well are games and songs with actions, total physical response activities, tasks that involve colouring, cutting and sticking, simple, repetitive stories and simple, repetitive speaking activities that have an obvious communicative value ”.

She also mentioned some important points in creating English class which enjoyable for children. Philips (1993: 7) stated that the activities should have the characteristics as follows:

a. The activities should be simple enough for children to understand what is expected for them

b. The task should be within their abilities: it needs to be achievable but at the same time sufficiently stimulating for them to feel satisfied with their work

c. The activities should be largely orally based-indeed, with very young children listening activities will take up a large proportion of class time.

d. Written activities should be used sparingly with younger children. Children of six or seven years old are often not yet proficient in the mechanics of writing in their own language.

In addition, Brumfit et al (1995: 208-209) also mentioned seven criteria when designing activities for children. They are:

a. Interest The activity should be exciting, interesting and motivating to these children. If they do not like the chosen activity, change it. With the students’ interest aroused we have a good starting point for learning.

b. Challenge It should provide a suitable challenge for the age group. It should stretch them a little without being too difficult, but not falling into the trap of being too simple.

The children should focus on getting the task done, rather than practising a language item.

d. Language use The pupils will need to use language, receptive or productive or both, in order to complete the activity the activity. There is often a language aim to the activity (for example giving clear instructions) or a particular language skill (for example a reading skill) to develop, but the pupils are never confined to this language.

e. Language input There will generally be oral or written language input at an appropriate level and in context, but this not a presentation-practice-production situation.

f. Conceptual appropriateness The activity should be within the conceptual ability of the pupils. They cannot do things with language that are outside their conceptual grasp. If we are looking at the development of the whole child, we will design activities that help to develop his/her thinking and his/her concepts too.