The 7 ‘P’s for teaching young learners

© www.teachitworld.com 2010 9273 Page 1 of 3

Though the basic principles of teaching remain the same for children as for older students, there are a number of areas that teachers of younger learners should try to incorporate into their approach. These are the 7 'P's of teaching young learners.

NOTE: the principles below are not presented in any order of priority - they are all equally significant at different times and in different situations.

PRAISE

Like the rest of us, young learners need to know when they’re doing well. Being in a new classroom setting and facing the challenge of learning a new language makes it even more important to praise and encourage good efforts and achievement. Find opportunities to praise both the class as a whole and individual learners whenever possible. If the children have worked hard in a lesson, tell them. If a student has suddenly grasped a point he or she had been struggling with, say that you have noticed and praise the child. But don't fall into the trap of patronising or giving insincere praise as the children will soon see through this and it will devalue any further praise.

PLAY

Young learners have an appetite for learning. They have questioning and receptive minds and have not developed an element of scepticism towards the classroom as some of their older counterparts may have done! Young learners also have a strong desire to please their 'significant others' − parents, teachers, etc.), but younger students do not have a long concentration span and they need to be kept motivated. One of the easiest ways of holding their concentration whilst also creating a fertile learning environment is through the medium of play. Games make learning fun, and can be every bit as effective as traditional teaching methods. Simple word games, drawing activities, pair work, acting out, mime, craft work with modelling clay, card, etc. and appropriate board games are all valuable teaching tools in the young learners' classroom.

PERSONALISE

The best course books are those containing topics and information that students relate to. This is particularly the case for young learners. Wherever possible, personalise the lessons, relate the course book material to the learners themselves, and encourage them to express their opinions about the subject matter (using L1 if they have to). If, for example, the lesson mentions cats and dogs, find out who has cats and dogs at home, ask some children what their pets are called, ask what their favourite pet is, etc. Don't be afraid to tell your students about yourself too − they'll almost certainly enjoy hearing about your likes and dislikes, your family, etc. Also try to find out the main interests of your class (this may be something like music, clothes or sport) and see if you can work them into lessons as often as possible. Finally, take an interest in your students − notice if they have a new bag or have changed their hairstyle. It shows they matter to you.

The 7 ‘P’s for teaching young learners

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PRACTISE:

In order to consolidate the new language your students are learning, it is obviously necessary to incorporate a large amount of practice into each lesson. Young learners need practice at all levels − simple drilling, practice in writing letters and words, speaking, reading and listening. The trick is to build plenty of practice into your lessons without making them boring. Straightforward repetition of lexis or structures is necessary, and this can be varied by having individual, pair, group, or class repetition. However, it's more fun for the children if you can find different ways to include repetition − for example, by using flashcards to elicit specific vocabulary, by getting students to use new language in pairs, by having students read and act out stories, by having class question-and-answer sessions using language learned so far, and so on. It's also important to make sure all the learners are getting speaking practice, not just the more able students. Good course books include many practice opportunities, but these can often be built on in class with a little imagination.

PROMPT:

Young learners won't always be equipped to provide correct vocabulary or grammar without prompting. It's early days in their process of English language acquisition and they may still feel unsure of themselves and their abilities. So, don't be afraid to prompt them - either verbally, with a picture clue, with board work (gapped words, first letters, jumbled sentences, etc.) simple enough to provide a springboard until they are more confident with the language and the classroom setting. Allow students to prompt each other in pair work too if necessary. Make it clear that in the early stages you don't expect your students to have all the new words and structures at their fingertips, but gradually try to have less prompting – you’ll be able to gauge the pace yourself as you get to know your class.

PACE:

There are a couple of points to bear in mind about pace. Firstly, research shows that, after a settling in period of about three minutes, the attention span of young learners is at a peak for about 15-20 minutes. That is the time to present new material, important structures and so on − when your students are likely to be at their most receptive in the lesson period. You can use some 'wake up' activities (games, total physical response (TPR) activities, songs) to spark interest at later stages in the lesson, or indeed at any time when you think things are dragging. Secondly, you will need to find the balance between too many and too few activities. You want to maintain interest and keep your class lively, but you don't want to overexcite them. You want to interact with them and lead the lesson, but you don't want to prevent them from participating fully or taking the initiative. There will be times when it is necessary to have a calming activity like copying words from the board or listening to something on CD, to bring the class back into line again. The main thing is to stay in tune with your class, so that you can anticipate their mood and take appropriate action as and when necessary.

The 7 ‘P’s for teaching young learners

© www.teachitworld.com 2010 9273 Page 3 of 3

PREPARE:

Every good teacher will tell you that one of the most important parts of their teaching week is lesson preparation. If teachers haven't invested time and effort into being prepared for a lesson, then it's not surprising if the students end up not enjoying that lesson or getting very little out of it. It's vital that teachers go into a lesson with a clear idea about what they hope to convey and where they hope the students will be at the end of the lesson in terms of their language ability. However, lesson preparation is not simply a matter of reading through the next unit of the course book. To be truly prepared for a lesson, a teacher must give thought to how that specific lesson relates to their specific student group, and what extra elements can be incorporated to relate it to them in an even more effective way. Similarly, lesson preparation involves thinking about possible areas of difficulty that may arise and how those can be dealt with. Finally, even the best-prepared of lessons goes astray at times, for one reason or another and that's OK if it happens for valid reasons – it’s also vital to be flexible and not stick rigidly to a plan.

Apart from the 7 'P's, which will hopefully be of help, there is one last vitally important thing to say about teaching young learners ... enjoy it!