xviii
B. Young Learners
According t o Sarah Philips, young learners ar e childr en from t he first year of formal schooling five six years old t o eleven t w elve years of ages Sarah Philips,
1993:5. Young learners are t hose w ho learn at kindergart en or elem ent ary school. Similarly, Scoot and Yt r eberg divide t he children int o t w o main gr oups. Ther e ar e
t he fi ve t o seven year old and t he eight t o t en year olds Scot t and Yt r eber g, 1990:1. In t heir book ent it led Teaching English t o Childr en, t hey also explain about t he
charact erist ics of t he young language learners, such as:
1.
Young learners know t hat t he w orld is governed by rules.
2.
Their ow n underst anding com es t hrough hands, eyes and ears.
3.
They have a ver y short at t ent ion and concent rat ion span.
4.
Young childr en ar e oft en happy playing and w orking alone but in t he company of ot hers.
5.
Young children are ent husiast ic and posit ive about learning. Scot t and Yt reber g, 1990:2
The four t h graders of el em ent ar y school are in t he age of nine or t en. They st ill love t o play and learn t hrough t heir hands, eyes, and ears. They w er e ver y ent husiast ic
in fun learning pr ocess. M oreover, Brumfit and Ray Tongue explain t her e are some charact er ist ics t hat
young learners share:
xix 1.
Young learners ar e just beginning t heir schooling, so t hat t eachers have a major opport unit y t o mold t heir expect at ions of life in school.
2. As a group, t hey are pot ent ially mor e diff er ent iat ed t han secondar y or adult
learners, for t hey ar e closer t o t heir varied hom e cult ures, and new t o t h e conformit y increasingly imposed across cult ural gr oupings by t he school.
3. They t end t o be keen and ent husiast ic learners, w it hout t he inhibit ions,
w hich older children somet im es bring t o t heir schooling. 4.
Their learning can be closely linked w it h t heir developm ent of ideas and concept s, because it is so close t o t heir init ial experience of for mal
schooling. 5.
They need physical movement and act ivit y as much as st imulat ion for t heir t hinking and t he closer t oget her t hese can be bet t er.
Brumfit and Ray Tongue, 1995: V Based on t he explanat ion above, it can be described t hat young l earners ar e
children in t he early st ages of t heir schooling. Children have dif f erent charact erist ics from adult . Young learners w ant t o know ever yt hing in t heir surroundings.
C. English Skills
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