An Introduction to Teaching English to Young Learner1

7/27/2019 An Introduction to Teaching English to Young Learner1

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An Introduction to Teaching English to Young Learners: Lesson 2Annie Hughes

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Chapter 1

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Annie Hughes talking about implications for teaching Englishto young learners. (videoscript)

"In this lesson, we shall consider the implications of what we know

about how children learn in the young learner language classroom.

We will look at the young learners' different outlooks at different

ages and what topics of interest they prefer at different stages of

their development. We will list criteria we need to keep in mind

when teaching language to young learners and link this to a

checklist that we can use when setting up our language

classroom. Finally, we will look at what is involved in teaching

three different age groups of language learners: the 3-6 year olds,

the 6-9 year olds and the 9-12 year olds."

Considering the Needs of Young LearnersIn reviewing how children learn and learn languages from the previous lesson, we must alwaysremember that teaching children is not just a case of passing on knowledge. Teaching younglearners is not like filling containers with information, or allowing them to soak things up like
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sponges. Neither of these descriptions support what we know about how children learn and thinkand how they learn language.

We know that we need to create a rich language teaching environment in

which children are interacting with each other and using the target language as much as possible.

They need to be involved in language learning activities that are stimulating, relevant to them and

varied enough to cater to all learner types. Above all, the language class should offer a supportive

learning environment in which the teacher scaffolds the children's learning and emerging thinking in

the target language.

We also know that learning and acquiring language is not linear, especially for young language

learners. Rather, it involves the input of meaningful language recycled in a variety of activities, so

that children are able to acquire and use the new language themselves at their own pace.

Understanding our students' levels

Additionally, we recognize that young learners are still developing cognitively. As teachers, we need

to understand where our students are in their cognitive development when determining what they

can be taught and what and how they are able to learn. We need to provide lots of opportunities for

them to progress in their social and academic use of English. In planning our lessons, it is important

that the target language we use is suitable for our young learners' age group and language level

and that it involves lots of basic interpersonal communicative language and links to things that

interest and motivate them. In helping them progress in their overall learning as well as their

language learning, we also need to help our students learn the academic language that allows them

to learn about and discuss topics they might be studying in other subject areas at school.

As an example the, TESOL PreK-12 English Language Proficiency Standards outlines the language

(by grade and proficiency level) that students should be learning so that they can interact with each

other socially and also move ahead in their discussion of such subject areas as language arts,

mathematics, science and social studies. See the Supplementary Materials section at the end of

this lesson for a reference.

Changing views of the world

In Figure 2.1, we can view the sort of interests children tend to have at different times in their lives.

We can see that they start off by being most interested in themselves, their family and home

surroundings. As they get older, their sphere of interest grows to include friends and school, and

gradually, to include their town, country, world and beyond. As we look at the concentric circles(representing approximate ages) in the figure below, we can get a view of this move in their

interests to include a wider world.


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Figure 2.1 - Children's interests and views of the world, according to their age groups

Reflecting our students' interests

Depending on our specific teaching situation, we will have varying degrees of control over what we

present students in our classrooms. The content we teach will often be determined by our schoolsystem (local, regional or national). A lot of care and attention is generally given to planning

material that is appropriate for our students based on their age and language level and also their

interests.

As teachers, we can help bring that content to life for our students by planning lessons that reflect

their interests. If we look through a curriculum for teaching language learners, we may find that

similar themes are touched upon again and again, but that the planned outcomes differ based on

the ages and language levels of the students.

For example, in Figure 2.2, take a look at how the topics of Animals or Food might be presented to

language learners in various age groups. You can see how their interests as well as their cognitive

levels are addressed, within the focus of these different headings.

3-5 yearolds

5-7 yearolds

7-9 yearolds

9-11 yearolds

11-16 yearolds

PetsCreepycrawlies

AnimalsZoos andanimals

Ecology andtheenvironment

FoodFood andshopping

Being sickand going to

A balanceddiet

Keeping fit


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the hospitalFigure 2.2 - A list of possible topics of interest for young language learners

We need to remember that at different ages our learners will be interested in very different things.

This will be important when planning our lessons for the language class as it is vital that our

language activities reflect these interests of the learners.

Chapter 2

Setting Up Criteria for Language Teaching

When looking at how and what we teach our young learners in a language classroom, we could

consider the following criteria based on our understanding of how children learn. (We will continue

to elaborate on these criteria throughout the course.)

We should make language act iv i t ies for our y oung learners conc rete.

It is difficult for our young learners to think abstractly about learning a language. So if we put

children in a situation in which they have to use the language in a concrete way, we can reach them

more successfully. For example, there is a need for them to use the language when they play a

game, sing a song, or carry out a survey. Language will make more sense to children and will be

more easily acquired when they are encouraged to communicate while involved in activities that are

real and in the here and now.

Social interaction between chi ldren sho uld be at the core of language learning and teaching .

Again, we need to try and create meaningful activities that are real to the learners and allow

them to exchange ideas or information. They may be required to get or give information, share a

game, sing a song or listen to a story.

For example, when planning an activity we need to have children involved in asking each other

questions about things that interest them, such as, When do you go to bed? rather than Do you go

to bed every night? The second question is what I call empty. It has been created by the teacher

and is not a natural question for children to ask. Because it has no relevance to them, they will not

be motivated to ask it or listen for the answer. However, the first question is a question they will

naturally want to ask each other. Subsequently, they will be highly motivated to ask and answer this

sort of question and will be able to interact meaningfully in the target language.

Act iv i t ies should be meaningfu l and purposefu l .

Young learners should be encouraged to use the language in a way that is actually verymeaningful to them rather than just to do what the teacher has asked them to do. For example, if

learners are asked to use the question, What's your name? with friends in class, this exercise will

be meaningless as they already know their friends' names. However, if the children create simple

puppets, they can (as the puppet characters) ask each other, What's your name? and then answer

with the puppets' names. This makes the language in use really meaningful to them and they will be

motivated to want to ask the question andanswer it.

Language teaching sho uld be appropriate to the cognit iv e, l inguist ic and interest levels of


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young learners.

We must constantly check what the children in our classes are capable of doing, cognitively as

well as linguistically. Then we can make sure we are not expecting them to do more than is

appropriate for their level in our language classroom.

For example, if children are nine years old when they enter our language classroom, we can

assume that they understand the concept of time and are capable of learning how to tell time in

English. Only the target language will be different because the overall concept (learned in their first

language) will already be understood.

However, if children are four years old when they enter our language classroom, they will not be

prepared to look at a clock and tell the time. This concept is too advanced for them. However, with

the use of illustrations and gestures, they will be prepared to learn the greetings, Good

morningand Good night.

Building on what students already know, and are capable of learning, will help them in

the acquisition of the target language.

We should be teaching learners both verbal and non -verbal language.

For sighted people, it is very difficult to understand what people are saying when you cannot

see the whole of them. This is because we use lots of different non-verbal cues to hear others such

as hand gestures, facial expression, eye contact and body language. These cues are all read and

interpreted by listeners and they add to the understanding of any actual words that are spoken.

Also verbal cues,such as the use of expression and intonation, contribute a great deal to the

listeners' understanding.

As language teachers we need to overemphasize and model these aspects of the target language

for our learners to help support their understanding of the target language. For example, we cangesture to textbooks on the desk and, in the target language, ask a student to pick them up and

distribute them to the students in the class. Learners' listening skills and confidence in

understanding the target language will develop more successfully through such interactions.

We mus t supp ort a l l target language teaching and learn ing act iv i t ies w i th pictures,

resourc es and real ia.

We need to support the understanding of language in other ways, too, such as using realia to

quickly show learners what we are talking about. We can also use support materials such as

worksheets, books, posters, and examples of the things we are discussing to help make the new

language clear for our learners.

For example, when we are introducing the word car, we can bring in a flashcard of a car, a toy car,a photo of our own car, a car magazine, and so on. Reaching our students through different support

materials can be motivational and can also help children use and acquire language through

different learning styles.

The target language must be recycled regularly in different situations so that learners can see how

and when it can be used and trial this use themselves.


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If we remember how we all learned our native language, we can understand that it was through lotsof repetition of the language and using it in real situations in which we, the language learners, werecentral.

For example, our parents, or carers, may have used the word breakfastover and over again in a lot

of different situations and settings until we had acquired the word and our understanding of it. The

word breakfastwas linked to real situations and made meaningful because of this. Thus, in

introducing language in our classrooms, we need to think about continually recycling the target

language in meaningful situations that relate directly to the learners.

Young learners m ust be given th ink ing t ime, choice and an opp ortun i ty to use the target

language.

If you reflect on how you learn something new you might find, as most of us do, that we need

a little time to think it through before we can understand it or can take it in. Sometimes we also need

some time to move from saying a statement out loudto moving it inside our heads (internalization).

So, if we are asking our young language learners to take on new things in the target language we

must allow them some thinking time in which they can process this new information for themselves.

Also, it is worth remembering that input needs processing constantly and we need to regularly allow

our learners time to carry out this processing. For example, when we tell them a story we need to

give them pauses, in between telling each part of it, so that they can process what they are hearing

and, perhaps, visualize what is in the story and what may be coming next.

Additionally, our young learners need to be given language activities in which they have to choose

what language they need to use, for example answering questions with their own answers, rather

than saying what the teacher has directed them to say. They also need to use the target language

themselves in each activity in the language classroom. As mentioned earlier, this may involveguiding students through a variety of activities (songs, games or role-plays) that encourage

successful outcomes via the target language and are challenging and motivating for young learners.

We should try to create a stress- f ree envi ronment in the language classroom .

As we have probably all found out, learning a new language is not always very easy,

especially at first, and so, for optimum success, our young learners need to feel comfortable in

the classroom. They need to trust their teacher and classmates not to make fun of them if they get

things wrong when they try to use the language. They also need to be encouraged to share ideas


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and laugh together in the new language with the shared understanding that it is difficult to say

things right when first using a new language.

Young learners need a patient and supportive environment. To help encourage this environment,

teachers could work with each class to create a set of rules. These rules could be posted in the

classroom in both the native language and the target language(s), if the children are old enough to

read (or in pictorial form if they are not) to support their full understanding and to serve as a

constant reminder of them. The rules could include such statements as:

Wait for everyone to finish what they are saying.

Do not laugh at someone who gets things wrong.

Help each other in the language classroom.

You, as the teacher, must make sure that your students are adhering to these rules.

We have looked at a long list of criteria teachers can try to adhere to in planning lessons for their

language classroom. As teachers, we need to be constantly checking what we are doing in class to

ensure we are meeting the needs of our students in the best possible way.

Chapter 3

Creating the Right Environment in the Classroom

Now that we have looked at the various criteria for teaching young learners, we will consider

how to create the right environment in our language classroom.

Consider the following checklist when trying to establish the right environment in your language

classroom for young learners. The key points in the checklist link back to our understanding of howyoung learners learn.

Try to create everyday, real situations for language use within the classroom so that the

language itself is one of the only new aspects of the interaction.

If the young learners are relatively familiar with the situation in the class activities, they can

concentrate mainly on using the new language as the tool of communication. (Tough 1976) This

can be as simple as setting up a routine at the start of each class that involves checking the date on

the calendar, charting the weather, and doing the roll-call in the target language.

Have a continued exchange of meaning in the classroom through communicative activities that

encourage young learners to get involved and interact with each other. (Wells 1986)

By exchanging ideas (with the teacher and also with each other), young learners will use the targetlanguage more and more as a form of communication and will recognize their ability to share their

ideas in English. By using more and more target language in a clear and understandable way in the

classroom, our learners will be satisfied with and motivated by exchanging meaning in that target

language.

Create activities through topics that are relevant to our learners' everyday situations and routines

and reflect their interests and views of the world. (Donaldson 1978; Tough 1976; Bruner 1983,


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1990)

As noted earlier, children relate to different topics depending on their stage of development and

age. By planning lessons that are appropriate (based on the students' age, level and outside

interests), we can encourage them to discuss ideas and topics that hold meaning for them and will

motivate them to use the target language more. For example, talking about their favorite things

(food, color, and so on) brings their interests from outside the classroom and school into the English

class.

Support and extend children's language learning as 'caretakers' or 'carers'. (Bruner & Haste

1987; Bruner 1983, 1990; Vygotsky 1978)

Teachers can provide the guidance and support (cognitively and emotionally) that allow students to

develop and succeed. They can use praise to encourage children and also extend any target

language utterances so that children hear more detailed models. For example, if the child says, It's

a carin the target language, the teacher can then try to encourage and extend the child's use of the

target language by saying, Yes. Good. It's a big blue car.

Create a stress-free, interesting and supportive environment for our learners in which they will

feel encouraged to try out new things. (Donaldson 1978; Tough 1976)

Keep the classroom positive by encouraging students to listen to each other, learn from each other

and take risks. At the same time, allow for fun and interesting activities that make the children want

to take part because the activities focus on their interests, needs and abilities.

Recycle input in a variety of different contexts that will create a highly meaningful, purposeful and

motivating learning environment. (Hughes 2006)

Challenge students to build up their confidence and their enthusiasm by participating in activities

that allow them to review and recycle the language they have learned in new ways. This can be

done by using the language in a variety of activities (such as songs, games, surveys and listening

to stories) to show that it can be used in many situations.

Creating a positive environment in our classroom can help our students build their confidence, feelmotivated to learn, enjoy themselves and experience success as language learners.

Chapter 4

Implications for Materials and Resources in the Classroom

When looking at a young learner classroom, we should look beyond the learner and the teacher to

also take note of the role played by materials and resources. Materials should also match the

cognitive stages of the learners, reflect their interests and environment, and build on their

established knowledge.

A syllabus needs to meet these needs and also provide new and suitable challenges for the

learners, so that more than language is developed and acquired. Activities and materialsshould develop the learners' further knowledge in other areas of the curriculum, too, by way of

a cross-curricular approach to the activities. As mentioned earlier, activities also need to encourage

real language use, as opposed to providing emptylanguage activities.

For example, children can be given a worksheet that allows them to carry out a survey of their

favorite fruit and their friends' favorite fruit (in the target language). They will have the chance to

repeatedly say and hear the names of the target language within the context of a meaningful


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activity. Such an activity not only encourages real interaction, but also gives the learners a

wonderful activity in which they can talk about themselves, which is always a great motivator for

learning.

As noted in Chapter 1, the materials and resources teachers use will often be provided by their

school system (at the local, regional or national level). While teachers may have a prescribed

syllabus or textbook to follow, it is often possible for teachers to adapt or expand lessons to help

make every activity meaningful and appropriate for their particular group of students.

Planning the syllabus

Often the language syllabus will be topic-centeredand activity-based, with activities linking the topic

with the age and interest levels of the learners. A topic-centered and activity-based approach can

be particularly appropriate for young language learners because it allows the teacher to:

create a more natural language environment that the learners can relate to;

cater for different ability levels;

provide a wide variety of activities that can recycle the focus language;

provide activities that use different intelligences to allow for different types of learners in the

class; create an opportunity for lots of practice and repetition without boredom;

promote group, pair and individual work;

make the language learning process more meaningful and purposeful for learners;

encourage learners to develop natural language skills, alongside learning in general;

increase the relevance of the target language for learners.

Today, many school systems also emphasize instruction that encourages students to learn

language and content together, so that the students can progress in their overall learning as well as

their language learning. Sometimes this is known as Content-Based Learning and in some parts of

the world is now often being referred as Content and Language Integrated Learning or CLIL'.

Content-based learning is often used (see Supplementary Materials at the end of this lesson for a

reference to an article on CLIL) in ESL situations where students need to prepare for their entry intomainstream academic classes. As noted earlier, bringing together language and content is central

to TESOL's PreK-12 English Language Proficiency Standards. (See the section Supplementary

Materials at the end of this lesson for a reference.)

Research into this type of content-based instruction looks at the types of learning strategies that

can be used to help language learners move ahead in their academic studies and the approaches

teachers can take in scaffolding their students' learning in the various content areas. See Follow-

Up Reading at the end of this lesson for references relating to content-based instruction and

learning strategies.

Meaningful and purposeful activities

In planning activities and deciding if they are meaningful, purposeful and suitable for the learners,

the teacher should be able to answerYes to the following questions:

Is the activity relevant for the age of the learners and interesting?

Is the activity suitably challenging? (Is it neither too hard nor too easy?)

Is the activity purposeful? (Can the learners understand why they are doing it? Are theymotivated? Do they want to do it and complete it, and has the teacher helped themunderstand why they are doing this activity?)


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Is there reallanguage in the activity? (Would these learners use this type of languagenaturally in their first language outside of the classroom?)

Is there a real product at the end of the activity? (Is a song sung, a survey finished, a quizcompleted, a story listened to, a game played, or a role-play engaged in?)

If the answer to some of these questions is No, then perhaps the teacher needs to adapt the activity

to make it more meaningful, purposeful and therefore more valuable for the language class. We willlook at meaningful and purposeful activities later on in this course.

Chapter 5

Implications for Teaching Different Groups of Young Learners

We started to think about the different interests we can find in our young learners at different ages

in Chapter 1 of this lesson. In this chapter, we are going to look more closely at their needs and

skills so that we can think about how to adapt our language teaching approach, depending on the

age group of learners. We will consider three groups of young learners (3-6 year olds, 6-9 year olds

and 9-12 year olds).

Aspects of learning for 3-6 year olds

Children are learning a lot at this age. A new language is just another thing for them to take

on, seemingly with little effort, as long as we make it relevant to their age and interest level. We

need to remember that children at this age are still acquiring the final aspects of their native

language. However, they are good language users who understand how people interact and are

getting more and more able to do this themselves.

We also need to remember that a lot of concept development is still going on for young learners

(such as the concept of time), so we need to know what concepts they are able to deal with before

we use them in the language class.

Most children at this stage are not able to read and write in their native language or targetlanguage, but they are beginning to 'read' labels and things around them, like street names and

shop signs. Although we may not ask them to read and write in the target language at this point, we

should support them in their development by labeling as many things as possible in the classroom,

in the target language, and prepare them for reading in English with left right activities, using

surveys involving pictures, and so on.

The younger children in this age group may not find it easy to work in social groups and doing so in

the language class will require careful management by the teacher. The teacher can encourage this

social development by asking children to share classroom items, having them talk about things that

have gone on in their lives to the class, and asking them to work together in groups. We know

children at this age will mainly be focused on their own world and family and that attending school is

the beginning of their arrival into the wider local world and, as teachers, we need to help thistransition.


Children at this stage are developing reading and writing skills in their native language and so

this can be used to aid them with their learning of the target language. They are also starting

to understand a lot about the concrete world around them and should be able to work together in

social groups.


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Children in this age group are beginning to take responsibility as learners. We can help them

develop this by showing them how to learn and reflect on their learning and by giving them different

responsibilities in group activities by assigning such group roles as note taker, timekeeper, activity

manager, and so on. They are starting to understand and learn more about the world around them,

beyond their family and school, and the topics and type of activities introduced in class can help

reflect and develop this knowledge.


Reading and writing is very well-developed for most children by this age, and they can use

these skills to aid and focus their learning in the language class. Some of these children are

starting to develop a more mature approach to learning and thinking by starting to think in abstract

terms. They are also becoming more connected with the world at large through links with such

things as music, films, hobbies and travel. The topics introduced in class can reflect their expanding

interests and the activities can encourage their exchange of ideas. Increasingly, they may also be

more aware of the benefits of learning the target language.

Concluding thoughts about learning stages

In considering how learners learn at different ages, and in deciding how we can best meet their

needs as teachers, we need to consider numerous factors involving the students' development

(social, emotional, physical, cognitive) as well their circumstances (individually and on a larger

scale) and interests. We need to recognize that while the motivation and interest level for our young

learners tends to be high, they will not yet take full responsibility for their own learning. This could

suggest that in planning activities that capture the young learners' interests, teachers need to

ensure they are monitoring their learning and guiding students to reflect on this learning process so

that they will develop a positive attitude to learning to learn.

Summary

In this lesson, we have recognized that our young language learners are still developing

(cognitively, socially, emotionally and physically) and that their stage of development will also

influence their interests and ways of viewing the world. As language teachers, we need to be aware

of what is meaningful, interesting and appropriate for our students and thus plan activities that will

motivate them to learn and interact with others in the target language.

Next Steps

After you have finished this lesson, test your knowledge by taking a short, multiple-choice quiz.

To access the quiz, click quizzes at the top or bottom of any page in this classroom. Select the quiz

that corresponds to the lesson you have just completed. Then click submit. Good luck!

After the quiz, please complete the short assignment that follows. This will allow you to practice

what you have just learned. To access it, click assignments at the top or bottom of any page.

Choose the appropriate lesson and follow the directions listed there.

Also, visit the discussion area to converse with your colleagues about the topics covered in this

lesson. To access it, click discussion at the top or bottom of any page. Choose the appropriate

lesson and follow the directions. You will be able to post on the discussion board until the 'close

date' listed. After that date, you can read the discussions but not post.

Glossary


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acquisition is the term that refers to the knowledge or understanding that you gain or come to

know through using and experiencing it, rather than being taught it.

activity-based is where the focus for learning in the language lesson is embedded in activities such

as carrying out surveys, making crafts, singing songs, listening to stories, and playing games, all

through the medium of English.

cross-curricular approach involves linking activities to other subjects through English. For

example, counting games in English involve math, but by using English to play these countinggames, we take a cross-curricular approach.

curriculum (in British English) refers to the overall view of what is being taught to all children at a

particular age including all subjects and activities within a school, district, and/or country. *Note:

This is not to be confused with the use of the word curriculum (in American English), which is more

similar in meaning to the word syllabus (in British English).

input is anything you are providing the children in your class by way of teaching activities and

classroom instructions.

materials and resources are anything we may use in the classroom to help us teach, including

whiteboards, blackboards, books, posters, overhead projectors, interactive whiteboards, computers,

pens, papers, dictionaries, and so on.

non-verbal cues are those aspects of communication we all use that are not verbal. These include

shrugs of the shoulder, facial expressions and our general body language.realia includes things that are real and that can be brought into the classroom as illustrations of

language. For example, when teaching about the things we use to eat our food, we may bring a

knife, fork, spoon, plate, cup, saucer, and cereal dish into class.

syllabus (in British English) refers to the course of work that is covered in the lessons in a particular

subject (such as geography) over a period of time. *Note: This is not to be confused with the use of

the word syllabus (in American English), which is more similar in meaning to the word curriculum (in

British English).

topic-centered is where the focus of the lessons or activity is linked to a particular topic such

as The Weather, Our Body, orFood.

verbal cues are words we use to communicate, as well as the tone, intonation and expression

used in our voices as we interact with each other.

Bib l iographyAitchison, J. 1994. A real live talking machine. In Jet. Vol. 4. London: Mary Glasgow Publishing.Bruner, J. & Haste, H. 1987. Making sense. London: Routledge.Bruner, J. 1983. Child's talk: Learning to use language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Bruner, J. 1990.Acts of meaning. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.Cameron, L. 2001. Teaching languages to young learners. Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress.Donaldson, M. 1978. Children's minds. London: Routledge.Ellis, G. & Brewster, J. with Girard, D. 2002. The primary English teacher's guide. London: PearsonEducation Limited.

Halliwell, S. 1992. Teaching English in the primary classroom. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.Hughes, A. 1993. English across the curriculum: Theme-based learning in the primary classroom.In New Tendencies in Curriculum Development.Hughes, A. 2001. Effective foreign language teaching at the primary level. In Language Teaching inEurope. Raya, Faber, Gewehr and Peck (Eds). Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.Hughes, A. 2002. Supporting independence: Teaching English to Young Learners within a threestage journey. In CATS, IATEFL SIG newsletter. 1:2.Hughes, A. 2006. How we think young learners learn languages? Paper given at the APPIConference, Portugal.April 2006-04-24. (Adapted from a paper first given at theAmazing YoungMinds Conference, Cambridge, 2003.)


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Krashen, S. 1981. Second language acquisition and second language learning. Oxford: Pergamon.Krashen, S. 1982. Principles and practices in second language acquisition . Oxford: Pergamon.Krashen, S. & Terrell, T. 1983. The natural approach. Oxford: Pergamon.Moon, J. 2000. Children learning English. Oxford: Macmillan Heinemann.Tough, J. 1976. Listening to children talking. London: Wardlock.Vygotsky, L. S. 1978. Mind in society. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.Wells, G. 1986. The meaning makers. London: Hodder & Stoughton.Williams, M. & Burden, R. 1997. Psychology for language teachers: a social constructivistapproach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Supplementary Material

LearnEnglish Kids

http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids

This site has a wide variety of activities and ideas for use when teaching English to young learners.

There are also materials and resources available to download.

Cbeebies

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/fun/

This site is linked to the programs that the BBC has for children. The activities are stand-alone and

do not need the learners or teacher to have seen the programs to use the activities. There is a wide

range of activities for young learners to use on this site, though be aware it was not created for ESL

and EFL students but for those children using English as a first language and therefore some

activities may need to be adapted.

Schools: Learning resources for home and school

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/

This site is a link to a huge variety of activities linked to topic-based programs the BBC has

developed and recorded for use in schools. Remember that this was designed for first language

English speakers, so care needs to be taken when choosing activities for ESL and EFL students as

activities may need to be adapted.

TESOL PreK-12 Language Proficiency Standards

http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/seccss.asp?CID=113&DID=1583

This website from TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) outlines details ofthe K-12 language proficiency standards.

Assignment

Think about any language teaching for children you have experienced yourself or have seen taughtand consider for a few moments what approach the teacher was using in this teaching. Was theteacher clearly thinking about the learners and an approach that would match their cognitive stage
http://www.britishcouncil.org/kidshttp://www.britishcouncil.org/kidshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/fun/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/fun/http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/seccss.asp?CID=113&DID=1583http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/seccss.asp?CID=113&DID=1583http://www.tesol.org/s_tesol/seccss.asp?CID=113&DID=1583http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/fun/http://www.britishcouncil.org/kids


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of development or was the teacher thinking more about the language being taught? Whichapproach do you think most suits young learners?

Make two lists outlining some of the aspects of the teaching of a new language to children that youhave seen or experienced. Make one list positive and the other list negative and record all thethings you have noticed. Share your findings with your colleagues on the Discussion Board.

As you work through this course you may want to revisit these lists to check if you still agree withthem and perhaps what you might do now if you were to improve in any way the teaching that youhave seen or experienced.

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An Introduction to Teaching English to Young Learner1