Teaching English to Young Learners: Key Strategies
Key Differences Between Children Under and Over Seven in Language Learning
Children Under Seven
- Acquire English through hearing and experiencing, similar to their first language acquisition.
- Learn through play and doing; learning new words is incidental.
- Enjoy playing with language sounds, imitating, and making funny noises.
- Are not able to organize their learning; they often don’t realize they are learning a foreign language.
- May not be able to read or write in their native language; recycle new words through talk and play.
- Their grammar develops gradually with exposure to English.
Children Over Seven
- Are learning to read and write in their own language.
- Are developing as thinkers.
- Understand the difference between real and imaginary.
- Can plan and organize how to carry out an activity.
- Can work with others and learn from them.
- Can be reliable and take responsibility for class activities.
Multiple Intelligences and Their Usefulness in Teaching
- Verbal-Linguistic: Explanation and understanding through words.
- Visual-Spatial: Explanation and comprehension through pictures, graphs, maps.
- Logical-Mathematical: Using logic and mathematical models to represent ideas.
- Bodily-Kinesthetic: Using the body to express ideas, accomplish tasks, create moods.
- Interpersonal: Ability to get along with and work with others.
- Intrapersonal: Learning through self-knowledge, understanding motives, goals, strengths, and weaknesses.
- Environmental: Ability to recognize elements of and learn from the natural world.
- Musical: Ability to recognize and communicate using melody, rhythm, and harmony.
Why is Listening Important for Children?
- It is important to understand in order to respond.
- To develop oral ability, communication, and skills.
- To physically settle pupils.
- To stir pupils.
- To improve the general listening attitude.
- To develop aspects of language.
- To reinforce conceptual development.
- To interact with others.
- To provide support for literacy.
- To practice recognizing.
- To work out meaning from context.
Dividing a Listening Task
- Preparation: Pre-listening activities.
- While: While-listening activities.
- After: Post-listening activities.
The Importance of Visual Support
Visual support is crucial because children learn by association.
Using Authentic Material in Listening Tasks
Authentic material is motivating for children. Advantages include:
- Exposing students to real language.
- Language used in real life.
Speaking Activities for Primary Education
- Describe your partners.
- Ask about routines.
- Describe and draw.
- Role-playing.
Examples of Listening-Viewing Materials
TV commercials, quiz shows, cartoons, movies, news clips, comedy shows, soap operas, songs, professionally audio-taped short stories and novels, radio ads, documentaries, and sales pitches.
Examples of Authentic Printed Materials
Newspaper articles, movie advertisements, astrology columns, sports reports, obituary columns, advice columns, lyrics to songs, restaurant menus, street signs, cereal boxes, candy wrappers, tourist information brochures, university catalogs, telephone books, maps, TV guides, comic books, greeting cards, grocery coupons, pins with messages, and bus schedules.
How Should Teachers Correct Mistakes?
Teachers should use indirect feedback.
Priorities When Teaching Reading
- Reading at the primary level involves learning basic skills to understand words and their meanings.
- Reading literacy includes phonemics, recognition of the basic sound units that make up words.
- Students must also understand phonics, the process of matching letters with sounds.
Activities to Practice Initial Reading
- Look and say.
- Phonics.
- Clever parrot.
- Feel the letter or alphabet.
- Fast word reading games.
Factors to Consider When Selecting Texts
- Student age.
- Topic.
- Appropriate level for the students.
The Importance of Age Appropriateness in Material Selection
Age appropriateness is a crucial factor when selecting materials. Materials should be suited to the maturity level, abilities, and interests of the students.
Expectations When Students Create Videos
- Keep videos under fifteen minutes (most effective are under ten).
- Ensure materials and videos display your personality.
- Minimize clicks; embed the video.
- Students should actively engage with the video to practice the featured skill.
- Encourage note-taking on important words.
- Craft questions.
- Facilitate debate on opinions and feelings.
Practicing Writing in the Classroom
Use computers, writing races (as follow-up), calligraphy, memory challenge games, book making, constructive writing, learning by association, literacy in play, and interactive storybook reading.
Benefits of Music in the Classroom
- Improves concentration.
- Improves memory.
- Motivates learning.
Aspects to Consider When Working with Songs
- Pronunciation speed.
- Complexity of the words.
- Ensure that the lyrics are clear.
Subcompetences of Communicative Competence
Grammatical, strategic, pragmatic, and sociolinguistic subcompetences.
The Role of Mother Tongue in the ESL Class
The mother tongue can be used during the process, but the final answer should be provided in English.
Aspects Practiced When Using Linguistic Competence
Morphology, syntax (grammar), phonetics, spelling, vocabulary, and lexicon.
The Cross-Curricular Aspect
The cross-curricular aspect refers to content that can be integrated across multiple subjects. For example, environmental awareness.