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move to a foreign country, the children are said to acquire a facility to get along in the new language more quickly than adults.
According to Cole 1956: 124, children in the elementary school grow and develop during their six years in school. They are divided into two: the primary grade
during the first three years and the intermediate grade during the last three years. The study includes the fourth grade students of elementary school. It means these
students are in the intermediate grade during the last three years. Children in this period show characteristic development: physical, intellectual, emotional, and social
aspect. Moreover, curiosity is an indicator of their cognitive development. They are
interested in learning all kinds of things and they want to know as many facts as possible in many different things Cole, 1956: 133. Caswell has the same opinion as
Cole. She states that children are interested in what they want to know 1957: 175. It means that children learn something because they like it and not because it is
important for them. Children in the middle childhood are very active and dynamic. Something that is moving will attract their attention very much Kartono, 1982: 141.
They are curious to find out how things work, gain competence and control over himself. Therefore, they are interested in learning all things, including learning a
second language.
b. The Principle of Children Language Learning
The children have their own principles in learning language. Since English is a foreign language to children, the teaching technique must be different from the upper
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grade. The teacher must understand the children’s behavior in accordance with their age and development.
Children are not self- motivated to learn a foreign language. Therefore, the teacher has to present the activities and games in learning English. Songs, pictures,
puzzles, crossword may be used to make the English lesson interesting. When the children are interested in learning English through activities, it will increase their
interest in communicating in the language. There are some techniques in learning a second language for children suggested by Jeanette Vos www. earlychildhood.com.
1 Learn by doing
“Children like to play grocery store, make a snack, or take a walk. While you are interacting with the children during these activities, speak second or third language.”
2 Reinforce with pictures and sounds
“Say the sounds of the language that accompany a picture in a playful way.” For example, “A is for apple.”
3 Learning should be fun
“The more fun in learning a language, the more a child will want to stay with it. Learning while playing is the best way to learn because it creates emotional
attachments, and emotion is the door to learning.” 4
Learn in a relaxed but challenging state “Never stress a child. Current research shows that 80 percent of learning problems are
stress related.” 5
Learn with music and rhythm “Music is one way to use the whole brain. Do you still remember the songs you
learned in early childhood? Most people do because lyrics combined with music are
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easier to learn.” 6
Learn with movement-use the body and the mind together. “The brain and the body are one. However, the traditional education system
encourages students to sit all day long. Now we know that we learn more when we move as we learn. Encourage children to dance and move to the rhythm when
learning a second or third language.” 7
Learn by talking to each other “Having students practice a language by talking to each other over a meal, for
example, is a great way to learn.” 8
Learn by reflecting “It is important to let children take time to ‘simmer’. There is a dormant stage to
language learning. First children absorb the language. Later they begin to speak.” 9
Link numbers and words in a playful way “The more you link, the more you learn.” Anything can be linked when learning a
second language, including numbers and new vocabulary words. For example, reciting the numbers from one to ten in Spanish in rhythm is a fun way to begin language
learning- “Uno one, dos two, tres three, cuatro four, cinco five, seis six, siete seven, ocho eight, nueve nine, diez ten.”
10 Learn by touching
“Do little finger rhymes in a second language. While you sing or say “Itsy, bitsy spider” have the fingers of each hand touch another finger, as if the spider is
climbing.”
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11 Learn by tasting
“Have youngsters celebrate language learning by eating foods and saying the food name in the new language.”
12 Learn by smelling
“Hide objects in a sack, and have the children guess what is inside. Encourage them to say the new word in the language they are learning. Play smelling games.”
13 Use the whole world as your classroom
“Turn every outing into a learning experience. You can learn a new language while counting oranges; comparing leaves; classifying different birds, food, or anything that
interest the children.”
c. Relation between Children’s Characteristics with the Classroom Activities in Learning Foreign Language
Based on the explanation about the characteristics of children, it is important to know the children’ principles in learning a language since children have their own
characteristics in learning a language. Unlike adults, children are not self- motivated and do not have immediate need to learn English. They do not concern about their
future that requires knowledge of English. However, their world is their daily games, events of interest to them, new knowledge that they may come across, and also their
curiosity to ask the questions. The children communicate all their needs and experiences and receive new knowledge in their mother tongue. Therefore, the teacher
has the challenging task of finding ways to motivate them in learning English by creating various teaching activities. All of these techniques are important to support
Multiple Intelligences activities in learning a language.
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4. Multiple Intelligences Theory
