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Teaching EFL for Young Learners ELTA-Albania, May 2013 Amber Warren, Indiana University, USA
Think about it/Talk about it
• When did you first begin learning English?
• What were your English classes in school like?
• Did you enjoy your English class?
• How old are your students?
• What are their English classes like?
• Do they seem to enjoy the class?
Who are Young Learners?
• Students who are 7-12 years old
• May be simultaneously learning how to read and write in their native language
• Benefit from strategies designed to capitalize on how children learn
What do we know about how children learn?
Piaget says…
• Children learn through actions and exploration (learn by doing)
• They relate new ideas to the themselves and their immediate surroundings (make connections to things they know)
Vygotsky says…
• We learn through social interaction with a more experienced other (the Zone of Proximal Development)
And Bruner says… Parents scaffold learning for their children, providing input that supports and promotes the cognitive growth of the child
Scaffolding
• Create interest in the task
• Break big tasks down into smaller steps
• Model the task (show students how to do something before you ask them to do it alone)
• Remind students of the goal or purpose for doing a task
• Help students identify the “big ideas” in each task
We help children learn language when what we ask them to do is…
Full of practice Supported Meaningful
Purposeful Enjoyable Social
Read, 1998
Technique 1: Extend Vocabulary
Practice
What do you think? Are these statements true or false? Thumbs up for true. Thumbs down for false!
1. Research suggests that students need to see a word 7-10 times to learn the word.
2. Vocabulary is easiest to learn when it is taught in lexical “sets” (e.g. words that end in –op, words that mean “happy”).
3. We should only use the target language when teaching new vocabulary.
4. “Knowing” a word means more than being able to give a definition.
Four levels of word knowledge
I know the word well and can use it with confidence.
I know the meaning a little bit. I can associate it with a concept or context.
I’ve seen it or heard it, but I don’t know what it means.
I’ve never seen or heard the word before.
Teaching Vocabulary
• Students develop knowledge about a word slowly, through repeated exposure to the word
• Introduce terms in context to help make vocabulary meaningful to students
• Define and demonstrate terms for students
• Use your resources- providing a translation in the L1 is okay!
4-Corners Word Chart Illustration Sentence
It is raining today.
Definition Rain comes from the clouds.
Word
Rain
Personal Dictionaries • Designate part of Students’ Notebooks
to be a Personal Dictionary
• Allow time for students to enter new vocabulary in their books
• Encourage students to illustrate and write a definition in their own words OR make a definition as a class
• Dictionaries can be organized alphabetically (A,B,C…), by theme, or by chapter
Word Walls
• Designate wall space for your English Word Wall
• Use notecards or strips of paper
• Allow students to write words themselves
• Encourage students to illustrate the words
• Limit number of words
Games
• Vo-BACK-ulary
• Hot Seat
• Teacher May I
• Teacher Says
• 20 Questions
Technique 2: Incorporate different ways of learning
What’s my category?
Interviewing Miming (Act it out)
Writing on the Board
Clapping in a rhythm
Watching a short video
Chanting or Singing
Illustrating (Drawing)
Turn and tell a friend
Coloring Listening to a story
Performing a play
Practicing a dialogue
Grouping and pair-work: Why try it?
• Knowledge is actively constructed through interaction in
collaboration within a social context (Aljaafreh & Lantolf, 1994)
• Students actively assist one another through collaboration in dialogic events (Donato, 1994)
• Engages students in content and creates more student-talk time
Ways to group students
• Individual work
• Partners (2) or Triads (3)
• Small Groups (4-6)
• Whole Class
• By Language Proficiency Level
• (High-Mid, Mid-Low)
• High-High, Mid-Mid, Low-Low)
More about Grouping
Strategies • Think/Pair/Share
• Turn & Tell a Friend
• Numbered Heads Together
Organization • Be clear about rules for
behavior in groups
• Give all students a turn to participate
• Have a signal for bringing the class back together
Technique 3: Storytelling
Brainstorm What is important for the
storyteller? What is important for the
listener?
Put your ideas here… Put your ideas here…
Why use stories in the classroom?
• It is an authentic form of communication
• It introduces new cultures to children
• It teaches younger learners in an entertaining way
• It helps develop critical thinking skills
-Shin & Crandall, 2013
Storytelling is authentic communication
• Every culture has storytelling
• Stories can teach lessons
• It allows students to hear language in use
Storytelling involves culture
• Using stories from the target language teaches children about the culture of that language
• Comparing and contrasting versions of the same story can teach children about similarities and differences in multiple cultures
Storytelling is engaging and develops critical thinking
• Stories are appealing to students’ imaginations
• Storytelling hides the work of language learning in a fun activity
• Storytelling can help young learners acquire language unconsciously
• Teachers can ask questions about stories that help students learn to predict, make comparisons, identify facts from fiction, and state opinions
• Retelling involves making decisions about what’s important
Stories should…
• Be highly predictable (lots of repetition)
• Be familiar to students
• Include lots of known vocabulary
• Invite the use of TPR, drama, visuals and realia
Before you tell a story • Review grammar or vocabulary students have already learned
• Pre-teach important new vocabulary words and expressions
• Show students an image from the story and ask them to guess what the story will be about
• Engage students in “active listening” by giving them a job to do during the story • Listen for the ______________ • Whenever you hear ___________ do ____________
While you tell a story
• Use pictures, realia, or other props to help you tell the story
• Use lots of expression and emotion
• Speak slowly (but not too slowly!) and clearly so your students can follow what you are saying
After you tell a story
• Use a post-storytelling strategy to • Check for understanding
• Allow students to practice the new vocabulary or expressions
• Encourage creativity
Version 1 Predict: What will my story be about?
A non-fiction story about sharks
This is a shark. A shark lives in the ocean. A shark can be big or small. They eat fish. They can use their jaws full of teeth to catch food. A shark can be fierce. But, that is because they are hungry. When a shark sees a fish move, it might attack it.
Post-storytelling activity: Say it again! Repeat the story. This time when you come to the word “shark” hold up your picture. Every time you hold up your picture, the students should say the word “shark.”
Repeat the story again. Invite students to speak along with you if they remember any of the words. As you tell the story, write the words on the board.
As a whole class, read the story on the board together. Point to each word as you read it. You can then invite students to read sentences individually or in groups.
Version 2 Predict: What will my story be about?
A fiction story about sharks Bruce the shark was sad. No one wanted
to be his friend. He tried to use his jaws to smile at the people. But the people screamed and ran away. He did not know the people thought he was fierce. Bruce was not fierce. He did not want to attack the people. Bruce was a friendly shark.
Post-storytelling activity: Start and Stop!
Repeat the story. This time, change some things in the story. When students hear something that is different, they should say “stop!” When a student says stop, pause and ask the class what you said that was different. Ask them what you should have said. Then, continue re-telling the story.
Ideas for things to change: vocabulary words, pronunciation, the actions of the characters, the order in which event occur
Writing your own stories
• Pick a topic related to a lesson in your book
• Write a short simple story
• Use some of the vocabulary from the book
• Add some new, related vocabulary (but not too much!)
• It can be fiction or non-fiction
Complete List of Strategies Used in this Presentation
• Think-Pair-Share
• Anticipation Guide
• Concept Sort
• Partner Brainstorm
• Say it Again (story re-telling)
• Start and Stop (story re-telling)
References All of these references are OPEN ACCESS.
Cook, V. (2001). Using the first language in the classroom. Canadian Modern Language Review. Retrieved from: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/Writings/Papers/L1inClass.htm
Donato, R. (1994). Collective scaffolding in second language learning. In Vygotskian approaches to second language research. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing. Retrieved from: http://sun.iwu.edu/~cisabell/courses/spanish410/donato.pdf
Nation, P. (1997). Teaching vocabulary. Asian EFL Journal. Retrieved from: http://asian-efl-journal.com/sept_05_pn.pdf
Nation, P. (2000). Learning vocabulary in lexical sets: Dangers and guidelines. TESOL Journal, 9(2), 6-10. Retrieved from: http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ611408&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ611408
Read, C. (1998, April). The challenge of teaching children. English Teaching Professional, 7, 8-10. Retrieved from: http://www.ilkogretimkalbi.com/dokuman/ingilizce/English_Teaching_Professional-/challenge.pdf
Sharrio, C. (2011). How Students Learn Words. Florida Department of Education Website. http://faculty.scf.edu/sharric/lesson7/lesson7topic2.htm
Shin, J. (2011). Best practices for teaching English to young learners . Presentation given at the Methodology of the ELT Tour (Venezuela). Retrieved from: http://www.slideshare.net/VenTESOL/teaching-english-to-young-learners-by-joan-shin
References continued These references are not Open Access.
Donato, R. (1994). Collective scaffolding in second language learning. In J. P. Lantolf & G. Appel (Eds.), Vygotskian approaches to second language research (pp. 33-56). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Shin, J. & Crandall, J. (2013). Teaching young learners from theory to practice. Boston, MA: Heine Cengage.
Keep in touch!
Amber Warren: amber.warren@gmail.com
Twitter: @AmberESL
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/awarren1/
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