ADVICE FOR ELEMENTARY AGE TEACHERS

PRONUNCIATION:

One of the most important skills for language learning, including one`s own mother tongue, is imitation. Unlike teenagers, young children can accurately internalise and imitate sounds which they hear, thus there are advantages to learning English pronunciation at an early age. Teach phonics before ABC`s!

BUILDING TRUST:

Effective language learning is not possible if there is not mutual trust between the teachers and learners.

COMMUNICATIONS:

Set expressions are uttered phrases which are always used in a certain situation e.g. `Here you are`- Reply: `Thank you! If you know how to recognise and respond to these common sets, then you are started on the process to expressing oneself in English. Once kids are accustomed to hear and correctly using these set expressions, they can really start to enjoy to communicate and share meaning by developing vocabulary. Soon enough their curiosity is sated to know `How can I say `X` in English?

GRAMMAR:

If children are keen to express their desires in English, they will need grammar to communicate efficiently. Results show that the most efficient way to do this is to practice repetitious word games.

LETTERS, ABC`s:

Children love to learn the alphabet! Once kids start to learn to read, all the English words they have memorized so far by sound only can be put to memory. ABC`s are an exciting challenge for kids.

BE FULLY PREPARED:

Preparation is the vital key to a successful lesson. If need be, actually visualize the lesson and classroom in your mind; now go through each stage of the lesson plan in your mind, observing if you have overlooked anything. Not only should you keep your common lesson materials somewhere safe, but check you have all you will need tomorrow ready the day beforein your case or bag. Make sure you have the audio tape set to where you need it and the same for any cards you will use. Once in class, make sure you have all your props where you can see & find them without interrupting the lesson flow.

INVOLVE EVERYONE IN THE ACTIVITY:

Establish rules for the activity or game & make sure everyone is involved & not `monkey-ing around`. Be able to immediately call out their names if not ( get nametags if need be) so that the lesson flow again is not interrupted too much -otherwise kids will lose their concentration span the next time that you need to stop. If need be, use simple body language gestures with expressions e.g. `Look at me!`

Lastly pay attention that there are no kids doing nothing or outside pairwork- team them all up!

ENTERTAINMENT!:

Make learning entertaining and involve the students! When students enjoy what they are learning, they learn more easily and completely. FUN is the strongest foundation to build a house of English on.

VARIETY AND KEEP THEM ON THEIR TOES:

Young students love to dance, draw, mime and role-play. You can use storybooks o capture their attention & picture cards to introduce vocabulary. You can role-play with a puppet and practise set expressions or sing along songs with gestures. You can ask kids to point to vocabulary in their student books. Every week you should be DRILLING & using TPR ( Total Physical Response) viz. getting them to move their body & thus activate their brain to better identify and remember structures.

LEARNING STYLES:

Every student is an individual who has a unique learning style. Some students can simply listen to material & understand it- others learn best visually or by moving or by reading & writing on their own.

Each child responds to the world around them in a different way. Some learn best by hearing, some by seeing, some by touching, but almost all by doing. Therefore whatever activities you choose, make sure they are `DOING` i.e. discovering English, rather than studying English. Songs with movement or songs with repetitive but fun chants can be upbeat & keep students focused and motivated if tired.

FOSTER EMOTIONAL INVOLVEMENT:

It`s been said a thousand times before about any subject, but if the students feel emotionally involved, then that`s half your job done already! Whether you just open your eyes or you have learnt about and reflected on child educational philosophy, go out & make your teaching style, child centred! Kids are a lot more emotionally direct than adults- they need to feel as well as think English.

WHAT CHILD CENTERED EDUCATION IS NOT!:

It is not just `play`- it is not just entertainment. Teachers should always have a lesson plan goal, term plans, curriculum, syllabus. Child centred does not mean, `Lets play a game`- the whole point is that the kids do not separate learning from having fun. The games we play in the classroom are based on the lesson content to teach that week. If the kids see the lesson activity and the game as being separate, it means you will fail because they will always choose `the game` and not your supposed `lesson`. If you ever say to kids, `After you complete this activity, you can play a game`, then that is a bribe! To review, the language practised in the game is not random and it is not outside of the lesson aim. We do not separate. We want English communication to be learned innocently just like `kids at play`.

THE LEARNING CURVE- ACTIVE STRATEGIES:

Why is it we believe that a good teacher is someone who is CLEAR? If I explain as clearly as possible, is that not also going to be the case for my students? Of course it is common sense to you as a teacher, but look more deeply and you will no doubt find that human beings don`t learn like that. Actually we start off with confusion, not clarity. We want children to think and learn, to think and do. Besides having a lot of fun, we go through a process of confusion. What does this experience of confusion do? Well, it generates a lot of curiosity and inquisitiveness (i.e. intelligence) which was passive before. In other words, the children are confused but they get out of that confusion through their own willpower to find a solution or meaning. It is an educational process. Of course, there are also other times when the teacher needs to be clear; but what do the kids get out of this experience here? …Well, the kids go home thinking, `At first I was confused but now I got it! I thought it over and achieved something today! (English is challenging! I like English- it raises my self esteem). I had fun today.`

FINDING OUT:

Learning English can be a DISCOVERY PROCESS of finding out information to complete a game or activity. The rules don`t necessarily need to be all handed out from the start. Why not sometime try playing a game where they don`t yet know the rules but rather have to intuit them. Although they will start confused, once they get beyond the point of not knowing by taking risks, they will have increased confidence to go through a similar experience again viz. not knowing but figuring it out. We all have to take risks sometimes- this is what growing up is made of, so every so often introduce a `puzzle-game`.

CREATE NORMAL CIRCUMSTANCES FOR ASKING QUESTIONS:

…for asking questions like, `What`s this?`. Reflect on this point carefully, because just showing them the cards and asking `What`s this ( card)?` isn`t a real question. If you are just showing them cards, the correct inquiry is only, `What is this card`s name?`. In other words, either you can slowly reveal only some of the card so they have to guess what is its picture or you can use gestures etc. Be a magician! Realize that learning doesn`t really take place without anticipation. Lastly, it`s not the English so much as the end-destination of the activity which will inspire them to get their minds moving in a questioning process. What we want to do is to draw the curious child out into the activity, asking real questions.

WHAT ARE THE GENERAL AIMS OF EDUCATION AND THE RESULTS OF OUR WORK?:

The previous passage may sound controversial, but we are not talking about dealing out crazy puzzles- just occasionally, lets use activities which require us to us our minds like scientists to observe what is going on & jump to making our own conclusions. In normal life, it will be no different for us all; kids too are going to experience difficulties and they are going to need to manage those difficulties. In an increasingly international world, those children are going to need to use even more of that intelligence.

In summary, a child centred education does concern course, syllabus, clear lesson targets, time efficiency, classroom management, goals, meaning, wider educational and social goals. However, the point of all this discussion is do we just teach it? …or do the kids have to do it, discover it?

Every time we teach, we weaken the individual`s ability to learn (himself).
Let's consider the long term.