Teaching
English To Young Learners
KORAYAKCA
1-Discuss how stories and storybooks
in the young learner language class provide an ideal way to introduce, practice
and consolidate language learning.
“Children enjoy listening to stories in their
mother tongue and understand the conventions of narrative. As soon as they hear
the formula “Once upon a time…” they know what to expect next. Storybooks can
provide an ideal introduction to the foreign language presented in a context that is familiar to the child.”(Ellis and
Browster 1991,1) “Once Upon a Time…” magic
words which open the door into new worlds where anything is possible because
the normal rules of logic do not apply; worlds of children of all ages can let
their imaginations loose in a framework of safe familiarity. And, once those
words have been spoken , there must be few people who can resist the
fascination as they are drawn deeper into the web of the story.”(Alan Maley)
In every culture,
there are stories known by grown-up to the child. There is no doubt that
stories are important to teach something new and also stories are long life
teaching metarial for every language or every society. Why the stories are important; They are motivating and fun. They help develop
positive attitudes towards the foreign language and language learning. They
exercise imagination. They can link fantasy and creativity with the child’s
real world. Listening to stories is a shared social experience. Stories
allow students to express feelings in a natural relaxed atmosphere. They build
up self-confidence and self-esteem. Vocabulary in stories is used in context.
They expose the learners to several tenses and grammatical structures and
functions at the same time as in real life (authenticity). They are a good
resource to integrate different communicative skills. Market designed books
have divided the real language into levels. They allow cross curricular
activities like arts, history, science, music, drama, geography, math etc.
Stories and storybooks can be used as extra practice-supplementary or
complementary activities.
“For young children
is not easy to know what is fact and what is fiction, the dividing line between
the real world and the imaginary world is not clear, they believe fantastic
things” (Scott and Ytreberg, 2).
When we turn to the
discussion how the stories and storybooks affect the language of learning on
students and create advantages for teachers and learners; Working with stories
in the classroom is not an easy task for most teachers because of lack of
experience in the field.Using story books demands the teacher to be
very creative, resourceful and dynamic. Teachers need to integrate different
skills. “If the teacher uses stories merely to introduce and practice grammar
or particular lexical areas or functions, children may lose interest”. Andrew
Wright.Teachers can use some of the strategies or
activities available to use this tool and make the necessary adjustments
according to his/her learners and context. Stories provide teachers with
powerful tools and key aspects to involve children in an enjoyable way in the
learning process. That is why; they need to be implemented more frequently by
teachers in the English classroom. Teachers can take advantage of children’s
characteristics such as imagination, curiosity and fantasy in order to improve
the teaching learning language process. Using stories in the classroom are a
high-quality source for teachers to help children develop not merely the
language itself but also holistic human beings. Being exposed to listening to
stories is a vehicle for promoting the language acquisition in a natural way. A
story provides the starting point and rich environment for developing a wide
variety of related language and learning activities involving learners
personally and actively in the educational context.
McKay (2001: 322) and Rivers (1968: 230) point
out that students read and enjoy a text if the subject-matter of the text is
relevant to their life experience and interests.
2-Discuss how to use songs, rhymes,
chants and poems in a language class as important language-learning activities.
Boring
classes never give students permanent knowledge as we know. If the teachers
want student to memorize the information taken from the class, they should make
the classes more fun for students glad to be a part of it. Songs, rhymes and
chants have benefits for language learners. There are two main factors to
develop learners’ skills. First one is linguistic factors: Songs, rhymes and
chants enlarge the vocabulary background of children and also they develop
pupils' listening and speaking skills. They help to introduce and familiarize
children with the target language culture. Songs, rhymes and chants improve
children's pronunciation, teach various language functions, recall grammatical
points, and develop auditory discrimination. Second one is affective factors;
with the help of materials, songs, rhymes and chant add fun to learning,
motivate children to participate -- even shy ones, help teachers get closer to
their children, stimulate children's interest in the new language and also they
help to create a lively atmosphere in the language classroom. The reasons for
using poetry are similar to those for using songs and many activities that you
do with songs can be adapted to poetry. Any authentic material exposes students
to some ‘real English’ and can be very motivating for your students, provided
they are supported throughout the task. The other great thing about poems is
for students to have the opportunity to see the language work creatively and
freely.
They create advantages to teach a language but how should we use them in
a class? Ways of teaching is as important as the materials. Because of that reason,
first of all we must set the context. What is the song about? We should make a
decision When necessary pre-teach vocabulary with visual aids, actions, focus
questions, realia, etc. also we should make copies of the lyrics, cut lines or
verses and distribute the cut-outs to the pairs or groups, asking them to order
the song. Teacher should play the song and stop every second line or so, for
students to check their versions and guess what comes next and then listen to
the whole song. Teacher can give each student a line of the song to listen for.
As they listen they have to arrange themselves physically in the order they
hear their line. With more advance students this can be done asking them to
arrange themselves before listening to the song. There is a permanent part
which is to encourage students to use actions, drama when singing the song.
Gaps filling activities should be used. Teacher let perform as a whole class or
in small groups: boys and girls, half class one line and the other half the
second line. Also rhymes are words and phrases that have a memorable rhythm and
end in the same sound to add a musical effect. They can be helpful for learning
English as a foreign language, as well, and they have the added benefit of
introducing students to important aspects of the cultures of English-speaking
countries.
3-Discuss how to successfully learn
and teach through games.
Games can
make anything fun so students won’t even realise they’re learning.
Using games is one of the
most important ways to teach efficiently in a language class. Games mean the world to
children. Nothing is more fun
than playing games for them because they feel happy and free while playing.
Remember when you were a child; you will remember the games you played and the
happiest moments of your life. It does not matter
indoor or outdoor; we cannot deny the importance of games. If students learn
with games, have fun, feel happy and free, it means that you have reached your
goals. Games strengthen language skills, besides; learners develop social
skills and good relationships while they interact with each other’s. Whatever your goal is (speaking, grammar points,
vocabulary) you must believe that every game you have students play, is much
more useful than tons of exercises and worksheets and you get more positive
results than anything else.
How often should teachers use games?
I think there might be no limit about it. Teachers should always have a
ready-to-use game in your pocket. When you feel that children are bored and
tired, games might be used. According to me; games are always helpful for
teaching something new. Students can learn unconsciously through games. Generally group games are more
useful. They are competitive and children come closer with each
other. With the feeling of coming first they often have a look at their books
or notebooks before a game. Why should
we prefer games to teach? Because young learners are more energetic and active they enjoy
exciting games. But teenagers do not like childish games. They
prefer more challenging ones such as word games. We should consider that there
is a game to teach some skills about a topic for every student.
While teaching through
games, you should think rewarding sides of games. You should not
neglect this point. Everyone who succeeds a hard task would like some praise or
a gift. Giving small presents motivates them. However, sometimes teachers can
feel lazy and they can complain that they do not enough time to prepare the
games. But if we want fully success, we should devote ourselves for teaching.
In conclusion, using
games is an efficient way to teach English in the classroom. This way you get the
best results in the classroom. It arises students’ motivation. Games
prepare young learners for life and they acquire positive social attitudes.
Games teach sharing, helping each other and working as a team. A child learns
by doing, living, trying and imitating. So this kind of learning is lasting.
During games some feelings such as the pleasure of winning and the ambition of
losing may arise. This gives to the teacher an idea about student’s character.
So games are must-have activities for hardworking teachers.
4- How student presentations, puppetry,
video watching/making, taking part in role-play and the delivery of formal
drama productions in English can extend and enrich young language learners’
opportunities to use English? Explain.
In target language, firstly teachers introduce the language which will
be learned by students. Teachers give the structures, details, all grammar
rules and etc. however, to understand how much the students learn from the
topic which is presented by teacher is important factor for teachers. There are
ways of learning this matter. Presentations, puppetry, video watching/making,
role playing and drama which are being performed by students give teachers
important feedback. The ideas mentioned below are about the contributions of
classroom activities for young language learners. In which ways they influence
from these activities and how they enrich their skills.
Firstly, I want to
discuss about the importance of the presentation for students about language
learning. Presentations are a great way to have students practise all language
systems areas (vocabulary, grammar, discourse and phonology) and skills
(speaking, reading, writing and listening). They also build confidence, and
presenting is a skill that most people will need in the world of work.
According to me, good presenters are better communicators all round, since they
are able to structure and express their ideas clearly. Presentation skills are extremely useful both in and outside the
classroom. After completing a project, a presentation is a channel for students
to share with others what they have learned. It is also a chance to challenge
and expand on their understanding of the topic by having others ask questions.
Secondly, Puppetry is
the one of teaching activities for young language learners. The language of
puppetry is a good language for teachers. A teacher works with other human
beings in order to facilitate their acquisition of knowledge.
Puppetry provides a safe shelter for communication. If the student does
not feel safe expressing his feelings, his experiences or his questions, his
curiosity may be suppressed. Curiosity is the basic element for learning. If it
is not present, learning cannot happen. Puppetry provides an alternative, safe
form of expression as it transfers ownership of what is said to the puppet. The
puppet can say whatever needs to be said without implicating the puppeteer in
the eyes of the audience. In 450 B.C., Confucius
said, “Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and
I will understand.” Puppetry requires involvement, and it makes the experience
fun. Planning, designing, and performing a puppet show require a community
effort. It requires group cooperation and the building of a sense of “we”.
Thirdly, the other activity
I want to mention about is video watching/making. A great advantage of
video is that it provides authentic language input. With the help of videos in
language learning, learners can concentrate on the language in detail and
interpret what has been said, repeat it, predict the reply and so on. The
learners can also concentrate in detail on visual clues to meaning such as
facial expression, dress, gesture, posture and on details of the environment.
Even without hearing the language spoken clues to meaning can be picked up from
the vision alone. Also listeners concentrate themselves on the verbal message,
not the visual clues to meaning. Video gives the students practice in
concluding attitudes. The rhythmic hand and arm movements, head nods, head
gestures are related to the structure of the message. Moreover, the students
have a general idea of the culture of the target language. It may be enjoyable
for the learners to have something different for language learning apart from
the course books and cassettes for listening.
Fourthly, Role-play is any speaking activity when you either put
yourself into somebody else's shoes, or when you stay in your own shoes but put
yourself into an imaginary situation. Incorporating role-play into the
classroom adds variety, a change of pace and opportunities for a lot of
language production and also a lot of fun! Imaginary people - The joy of role-play is that students can 'become'
anyone they like for a short time! The President, the Queen, a millionaire, a
pop star …….. The choice is endless! Students can also take on the opinions of someone else. 'For and against'
debates can be used and the class can be split into those who are expressing
views in favour and those who are against the theme. It is seen that learning takes place when activities are engaging and
memorable. We can offer the use of role-play for the following reasons: It's
fun and motivating. Even quieter students get the chance to express themselves
in a more sincere way. The world of the classroom is broadened to include the
outside world - thus offering a much wider range of language opportunities.
Fifthly, the last
activity I want to mention about is drama. One of the main aims of using drama in a language course is to provide an
active, stimulating, fun and creative environment in which to develop the
student’s language learning potential. Students are encouraged to explore
English through their imagination and creativity and to express this through
language, and other forms of communication, that may include: movement, action,
dance, and role-play. These activities aim to develop confidence, motivation,
trust and participation. Drama improves oral and written communication skills
and it helps to be aware of interpersonal and sociocultural communication
skills. Moreover, using drama in language teaching develop accuracy and fluency
of expression, rhythm and pronunciation, linguistic intelligence and social
interactive skills.
Consequently, it is seen
that activities which is being used in language classrooms add a lot for not
only natives but also non-natives. Presentations are used to improve students’ skills
(speaking, reading, writing and listening) and they give feedbacks from
students whether they understand the course of class or not. Puppetry provides
a safe shelter for communication and also it improves the skills of students.
Video watching/making is for authentic input and awareness of different
cultures. And the other activities which are similar to these are offered for
teaching and learning both constructive and enjoyable.
