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TLYSK Unit 20 - Young Language Learners
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IntroductionMost of this program focuses on teaching adults, but this unit is dedicated to teaching young learners. While there is overlap between what teachers of adults and what teachers of young learners do, there are also considerable differences (Hird, 2000). In preparing to teach young learners it is important to be aware of these differences and how they affect your teaching. It is also important to realize that though children have a reputation for being good language learners, "teaching children a foreign language may, in some ways, be more demanding at primary level than at higher levels" (Cameron, 2003, p.111) In other words, teaching young learners can be more challenging than teaching adults; however, it is also full of joy. ScenarioSara was studying English at a local university. She decided she wanted to spend the summer abroad volunteering. She found an organization that sent volunteers around the world to help with various projects. One of the areas that was in demand was for native speaking English teachers for children. As she was currently studying English in school she thought this would be the perfect opportunity for her. Sara applied to volunteer with the organization and was assigned to teach English to children in Thailand. As the date for her departure got closer Sara realized that while she felt she knew a lot about English, she didn't know very much about teaching basic English to children. Additionally, while she enjoyed playing with her nieces and nephews, she was always grateful when their parents took charge when they were crying or misbehaving. She became nervous as she thought about teaching children English for the summer. How was she supposed to teach a language to children? How would the children behave? What about teaching them reading and writing? The above situation represents reality for many people. They decide to go spend a summer or a year abroad and they think teaching children sounds like fun. They often don't realize all the work and consideration it takes to teach young learners.  Objectives of this unitAfter you work through this unit, you will be able to:
The least you should knowAs mentioned previously, there are differences between young learners and adults. These differences affect how they learn and therefore how they should be taught. Additionally, these differences affect the way you manage your classroom. In this chapter we explore:
1. Who are young learners?Young learners definedTo begin, we need to understand who fits into this category of young learners. In elementary education young learners are typically those younger than 11 or 12. Additionally this group is divided into young learners (ages 7-12) and very young learners (ages 2-6). For this chapter the terms 'young learners' and 'children' will refer to all children ages 4 – 12 (preschool – 6th grade in the typical American school system). Special considerations for very young learners will be noted along the way.Background knowledgeYoung learners come with a limited amount of knowledge, which depends on their age; socioeconomic status; exposure to literature, media and the world in general; along with other factors. Your students are still actively constructing their world, which includes developing language skills in their native language. Many of them are still learning to read and write and some of them, especially very young learners, are still learning aspects of the spoken language. This leads to challenges. Asking them to write vocabulary words may exercise their fingers as much or more than it exercises their brains. Especially for children that come from a non-roman alphabet, such as Chinese or Thai, just forming the letters can be challenging. Also, these children come from a different culture, which may have different expectations for children and for classrooms. By learning about and being respectful of your students' culture you will be better able to develop a positive relationship with them (see Unit 1D, Culture). Additionally, the majority of you who teach young learners will be doing so in a foreign country where many of your students may have little to no exposure to English outside of school. They may have family members who speak English or may watch TV or listen to music in English but for most of them their exposure to English will be limited. This is another important consideration in lesson planning as well as expectations for the learners.
2. Characteristics of Young LearnersWe continue with a brief discussion of some of the key characteristics of young learners and how these characteristics affect teaching and learning. Start by thinking of a young learner you know; it could be a family member, neighbor, or someone you've babysat. Take a minute and think about this person. As you read about the different characteristics think about how you have seen these characteristics in a young learner you know.Cognitive developmentAs mentioned previously, young learners are still actively learning their first language. Their brains are still developing. Along with still learning language they are learning other skills and ideas that adults already know. So, how does this impact your teaching? Young learners may still make mistakes in their native language because they are still learning. They are increasing their vocabulary and grammatical knowledge of their first language while learning a second. For young learners, learning a second language more closely mirrors learning their first language. In both cases they are engaging in a search for meaning. This means it won't do you any good to teach rules or use grammatical categories with very young learners. (With older young learners you can use simple categories such as verb and noun.) Instead, just give them lots of examples and then let them practice a lot (Brown, 2007). See Unit 13 Basic Principles of Second Language Acquistion for more information on the process of learning language.MotivationMost children come to school excited and ready to learn. The challenge is to keep them excited and motivated. Children are motivated by people that care about them and activities that interest them and are fun. YOU play a huge role. If you are smiling and having fun, if you care about your students, if you are willing to make mistakes – try saying something in their language - they will follow your example and be excited. It is also important to be aware of your students and plan lessons that are not too easy or too hard. Doing activities at just the right level keeps young learners engaged and motivated. Curiosity and ImaginationChildren are naturally curious; they want to know what things are and touch, smell, see, and even taste everything they can. They are also creative and imaginative. These are valuable language learning tools. Make learning fun and exciting by allowing these natural abilities to shine through. Plan lessons and activities that allow children to be creative. Use their natural tendency to be curious to keep them motivated. Be willing to step away from your lesson plan and teach something that your students are curious about.Attention spanAttention span refers to the amount of time we can spend focusing on one thing. Most of us have had the experience of sitting in a class and after about 15 minutes our mind begins to wander. We begin to think about other things, what we are going to eat for dinner, that new movie that just came out, or that cute boy or girl in our morning class. Children have this same problem, they will not stay focused if a lesson or activity is too easy, too hard, or boring. Young learners will not just sit and daydream, though; they will talk to their friends or play with things on or in their desks. To help, you should make your lessons dynamic and exciting; also, you should plan to change activities often. If something is working well, stick with it, but if after two minutes you can tell your class is getting restless, it's time for a change. This can be a very simple change. For example, you start by teaching your class the names of different articles of clothing and having them repeat the names, then have them practice by saying what they are wearing, then practice by playing a game. As children get older they are better able to stay focused for longer; thus, it is important to be aware of your class.SilenceMost young language learners go through a period of silence when they first begin learning a language. It can range from a short amount of time to months. Do not be surprised or concerned if your students don't say a lot at first. They are still learning. Most of them will start talking eventually, just be patient with them and keep encouraging them.Back Comprehension (and reflection) questions 3. How young people learnNow that we have gone over some of the basic characteristics and how they affect your teaching, let’s talk about how young learners learn. One of the most important parts of learning for young learners is making meaning. Young learners, unlike adults, will not always tell you when they don’t understand something. (Cameron, 2001). It is therefore important to be aware of the ways in which young learners learn so you can make sure they understand and are not just pleasing the teacher.ActiveChildren learn best by being actively involved. They learn through hands-on experience. Actively participating in language learning also allows children to explore language and keeps them motivated and having fun, which helps with classroom management.ConnectedAt the beginning of the unit we discussed that young learners have a limited amount of knowledge. It is important, therefore, to teach students English that is connected to their individual lives. For example, if you are teaching vocabulary to students, use items that they see in their everyday lives. For example, it may be more appropriate to teach them ‘mango’ than to teach them ‘pear’. Teachers need to explain the connections between activites and language learning. Young learners need to know why they are doing an activity. It is also important to help them make connections between topics.ConcreteYoung learners learn best by using concrete materials, either actual things or pictures of things. If they can touch it, smell it, see it, hear it or taste it they will remember it better and have a better understanding of the meaning of a word. This is especially important for very young learners. Older young learners have an easier time thinking abstractly and depending on their level of English may be able to work with dictionary definitions or a teacher's explanation.SocialChildren learn by interacting and talking with each other and adults. Older young learners (age 8-11) in particular can benefit from practicing English with each other. It may be simply playing a game with a partner or practicing simple greetings but being social helps them learn. Children also communicate differently when they are talking to adults and when they are talking to their peers. They can gain many skills by having opportunities to talk with their peers. It is important that the teacher models the activity or task and provides support to allow the students to succeed.Back 4. Effective strategiesNow that you know how children learn in general, we will discuss some specific strategies that can be used when planning and implementing lessons. We will discuss ways to make your classes engaging and also effective by using play, stories, and TPR.PlayPlaying allows young learners to explore, create and figure out how the world works. They learn by playing with language, making up new words, and trying out different ways to say things. They learn by singing songs and playing games. As a teacher of young learners you also must learn to ‘play’. You ‘play’ by doing the actions that go along with the song and singing enthusiastically; even if you are not the best singer, children don’t care. You have to be excited by showing them how to play the games and do the activities. You have to become a storyteller, complete with actions and voices.TPRTPR stands for Total Physical Response. It involves having the students get involved in learning language by responding with their bodies. Instead of having them sit at their desks and just listen, TPR allows the students to be involved. TPR is especially effective with beginners and with very young learners who may not be ready to write a lot. However, it works well with older children as well. Some examples of TPR are:
LiteracyDeveloping literacy skills depends a lot on the age of the children and their previous exposure to written language. A student who uses a roman alphabet system will have an easier time learning the English writing system than a student who uses a non-roman system, such as Chinese or Thai. Additionally, students who have learned beginning reading and writing skills in their first language already understand some of the foundations of reading and writing which can transfer to their development of literacy skills in English. Some techniques for developing literacy skills include:
StoriesTeaching with stories can be a great way to involve your learners and give them context for using and learning language. English picture books have been seen as being valuable for teaching vocabulary and literacy to young learners. Stories help young learners in many ways, they are enjoyable, and are a familiar medium for most students. You can tell young learners common American stories like fables, fairy tales, and tall tales. It has been shown that comprehension of stories is increased when you use repetition, gestures and ask simple comprehension questions while telling the story. (Cabrera & Martinez, 2001)Back 5. Class managementIn conclusion, we will discuss some ideas to help you manage classes of young learners. Remember the characteristics we discussed earlier of motivation and attention span. We will mention only three other guidelines for classroom management. (See also Unit 3C for more information on classroom management.)RoutinesRoutines are things we do the same way everyday. A class may have some established routines, which you also follow, such as the students standing and greeting the teacher. Routines help young learners know what to expect and create a safe environment in which they are comfortable. They also can offer opportunities for teaching. Routines may involve greeting and saying goodbye, passing out supplies, and other daily activities.Use praise and namesAnother helpful hint for classroom management of young learners is to use praise. If a child is behaving well, praise them. Tell them they are doing a good job, or pick them to be first in a game. The other children will usually respond. Also use their names or nicknames, have them make name-tags so you can use their names and try to learn their names. Names carry power - when we use people’s names it shows we care about them enough to learn and use their names.Set them up to succeedEarlier we talked about the importance of having activities that were neither too challenging nor too easy. Remember as you plan and carry out your lessons to help children succeed. When they experience success they want to keep trying, which encourages them to be well behaved. Be willing to adjust an activity to meet the needs of individuals. Also, help them to save face. Young learners have very sensitive egos so it is important to create a safe environment where they can make mistakes.Back Comprehension (and reflection) questionsVideo examplesComing Soon. Reflection and ResponsesAs you view this clip of an EFL class of young learners, think about each of the following questions:
Where to go to learn moreHere are some other units in this program that relate to this unit:Online and other electronic resources
"The EFL Playhouse For teachers of young English Language Learners (ELLS)" A website with ideas for teaching, teaching tips, and finding teaching resources with specific information for teaching abroad. Includes printouts of activities. Use the drop-down menu at the top of the screen to navigate through the site.
Starfall is an early literacy site with activities for teaching beginning reading skills. It has online books for beginning readers and phonics activities. There are also activities for common American holidays. Print and paper-based resources
Lynne Cameron. Teaching Languages to Young Learners. Cambridge University Press, 2001. Offers theory and practical suggestions on teaching foreign languages to children. Includes ideas for speaking and listening, vocabulary. grammar and literacy activities. Also provides good information on using stories.Uses examples from classrooms in Europe and Asia. ISBN 0-521-77434-9
If you have suggestions for other resources (books, websites, etc.), please send them to TLYSK@byu.edu Additional ReferencesCabrera, M. P., & Martinez, P. B. (2001) The effects of repetition, comprehension checks and gestures, on primary school children in an EFL situation. ELT Journal. 55, 281-288. Cameron, A. (2001). Teaching Languages to Young Learners. London, Cambridge University Cameron, A. (2003). Challenges for ELT from the expansion in teaching children. ELT Journal. 57 105-112. Brown, H. D., (2007). Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy. New York, Pearson Education Hird, B. Thwaite, A., Breen, M. Milton, M. Oliver, R. (2000) Teaching English as a second language to children and adults: variations in practices. Language Teaching Research 4, 3-32. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7&hid=7&sid=5fe449c3-2483-469b-8300-027e129557e1%40sessionmgr111 |
Linda Schinke-Llano and Rebecca Rauff, Editors. New Ways in Teaching Young Children. New Ways in TESOL Series II: Innovative Classroom Techniques. Jack C. Richards, Editor. Alexandria, VA: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, 1996. Presents 14 sections containing various classroom activities. Sections include Social Interaction, Real Life Situations, Learning Through Actions, Music, Drama, Storytelling, Content Areas, and others. A very practical, easy to use resource for teachers of young learners.
ISBN 0-939791-63-3 
Lynne Cameron and Penny McKay. Bringing Creative Teaching into the Young Learner Classroom. Oxford University Press, 2010. Includes ideas and various activities for teaching children, including information on why the activities work and how to adjust the activities for older or younger children. It also contains information on assessment, using technology, and involving parents. ISBN 978-0-19-442248-2