TEACHING ENGLISH TO VERY YOUNG LEARNERS
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In order to encourage everyone to participate, it is important to make your lessons relaxed and fun. You should design creative lessons to get students moving around.Young learners are generally very enthusiastic about songs, especially if they can sing along, and active games. Be sure to provide lots of encouragement and positive feedback. Create a safe, stress-free environment that everyone can enjoy learning in.
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Keep exercises fun and short because these students have short attention spans and are easily distracted.
Overacting and projection will help keep the focus on you. Teach them to respond to basic classroom English phrases such as “Please sit down.” as they will hear them repeatedly throughout
their study of English.
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Students
should practise the different sounds of the English language and learn
material such as colours, numbers, shapes and classroom materials. You will introduce vocabulary words gradually and may choose to study
some simple structures that relate to everyday life too. A focus on
speaking and listening will help students become more comfortable and
confident with English.
- Track individual and class progress so that students can visually see what they have learnt and how they are doing.
- Encourage students to try their best and create a constructive learning environment where students do not need to worry about making mistakes.
- Create activities and exercises that are entertaining.
- Students will also feel more comfortable if you stick to a regular schedule so if you decide to make changes, implement them over a period of time rather than all at once.
- Avoid introducing too much new vocabulary at a time. Students may not remember material from one day to the next so repetition is important. The more students are exposed to certain material, the faster they will learn it. This is how native speakers learn English, by listening to people around them and expanding their range of vocabulary gradually.
