23 Mart 2014 Pazar
The article about teaching English to young learners by Joan Kang Shin
The American University in Cairo
Twelfth EFL Skills Conference
January 24, 2007
Joan Kang Shin
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
jshin2@umbc.edu
Ten Helpful Ideas for Teaching English to Young Learners
Joan Kang Shin
“Ten Helpful Ideas for Teaching English to Young Learners” is an article by the plenary speaker, Joan
Kang Shin, in the English Teaching Forum (Vol. 44, No. 2) published by the U.S. Department of State’s
Office of English Language Programs. It can be found online at http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/.
Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL) is a rapidly growing field around the world, and
English education is increasingly found at the primary levels. However, starting earlier is not
necessarily the solution for producing better English speakers. Therefore, what can EFL
teachers of young learners do to take advantage of the flexibility of young minds and the
malleability of young tongues to grow better speakers of English? This presentation will give
ten helpful ideas for TEYL that will be a good start for teachers in any primary English
language program.
Young Learners (YLs) = 7–12 years old
Very Young Learners (VYLs) = under 7 years of age. (Slatterly & Willis, 2001)
1. Supplement activities with visuals, realia, and movement.
Young learners tend to have short attention spans
and a lot of physical energy. In addition, children
are very much linked to their surroundings and are
more interested in the physical and the tangible.
As Scott and Ytreberg (1990) describe, “Their
own understanding comes through hands and eyes
and ears. The physical world is dominant at all
times.”
• Use brightly colored visuals, toys, puppets or
objects
• Community donations for toys and objects
• Create a“Visuals and Realia Bank”
• Use Total Physical Response (TPR) by James
Asher (1977)
• Use TPR Storytelling by Blaine Ray
http://www.blaineraytprs.com/
2. Involve students in making visuals and realia.
Having children involved in creating the visuals
that are related to the lesson helps engage students
in the learning process by introducing them to the
context as well as to relevant vocabulary items.
Students are more likely to feel interested and
invested in the lesson and will probably take
better care of the materials (Moon 2000).
• Students draw different characters for a story
or make puppets, masks, play-do sculptures
• Collaborate with the art teacher to make the
visuals you need for you activities.
• Students contribute their own toys for
the lesson (“Show and tell”)
3. Move from activity to activity.
Young learners have short attention spans. For
ages 5–7, Keep activities around 5 and 10 minutes
long. For ages 8–10, keep activities 10 to 15
minutes long. Scott and Ytreberg (1990) suggest
creating a balance between the activities in the
column on the right side.
• Quiet/noisy exercises
• Different skills:
listening/talking/reading/writing
• Individual/ pairwork/ groupwork/ whole class
activities
• Teacher-pupil/ pupil-pupil activities
4. Teach in themes.
A thematic unit, a series of lessons on the same
topic or subject, can create broader contexts in
which to teach language, recycle language from
lesson to lesson, and allow students to focus more
on content and communication than on language
structure.
• Common themes for YLs: animals, friends,
family, environment, citizenship, shopping,
or units revolving around a storybooks,
websites, celebrities, or movies students like
• Themes based on curricula from students’
other subjects are also effective (Haas 2000)
5. Use stories and contexts familiar to students.
Use of stories and contexts in home country or
culture can help YLs connect English with their
background knowledge, which is limited because
of their young age and inexperience.
• Take a favorite story in the L1 and translate it
into English
• Allow students a chance to personalize
content every lesson.
The American University in Cairo
Twelfth EFL Skills Conference
January 24, 2007
Joan Kang Shin
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
jshin2@umbc.edu
Twelfth EFL Skills Conference
January 24, 2007
Joan Kang Shin
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
jshin2@umbc.edu
Ten Helpful Ideas for Teaching English to Young Learners
Joan Kang Shin
“Ten Helpful Ideas for Teaching English to Young Learners” is an article by the plenary speaker, Joan
Kang Shin, in the English Teaching Forum (Vol. 44, No. 2) published by the U.S. Department of State’s
Office of English Language Programs. It can be found online at http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/.
Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL) is a rapidly growing field around the world, and
English education is increasingly found at the primary levels. However, starting earlier is not
necessarily the solution for producing better English speakers. Therefore, what can EFL
teachers of young learners do to take advantage of the flexibility of young minds and the
malleability of young tongues to grow better speakers of English? This presentation will give
ten helpful ideas for TEYL that will be a good start for teachers in any primary English
language program.
Young Learners (YLs) = 7–12 years old
Very Young Learners (VYLs) = under 7 years of age. (Slatterly & Willis, 2001)
1. Supplement activities with visuals, realia, and movement.
Young learners tend to have short attention spans
and a lot of physical energy. In addition, children
are very much linked to their surroundings and are
more interested in the physical and the tangible.
As Scott and Ytreberg (1990) describe, “Their
own understanding comes through hands and eyes
and ears. The physical world is dominant at all
times.”
• Use brightly colored visuals, toys, puppets or
objects
• Community donations for toys and objects
• Create a“Visuals and Realia Bank”
• Use Total Physical Response (TPR) by James
Asher (1977)
• Use TPR Storytelling by Blaine Ray
http://www.blaineraytprs.com/
2. Involve students in making visuals and realia.
Having children involved in creating the visuals
that are related to the lesson helps engage students
in the learning process by introducing them to the
context as well as to relevant vocabulary items.
Students are more likely to feel interested and
invested in the lesson and will probably take
better care of the materials (Moon 2000).
• Students draw different characters for a story
or make puppets, masks, play-do sculptures
• Collaborate with the art teacher to make the
visuals you need for you activities.
• Students contribute their own toys for
the lesson (“Show and tell”)
3. Move from activity to activity.
Young learners have short attention spans. For
ages 5–7, Keep activities around 5 and 10 minutes
long. For ages 8–10, keep activities 10 to 15
minutes long. Scott and Ytreberg (1990) suggest
creating a balance between the activities in the
column on the right side.
• Quiet/noisy exercises
• Different skills:
listening/talking/reading/writing
• Individual/ pairwork/ groupwork/ whole class
activities
• Teacher-pupil/ pupil-pupil activities
4. Teach in themes.
A thematic unit, a series of lessons on the same
topic or subject, can create broader contexts in
which to teach language, recycle language from
lesson to lesson, and allow students to focus more
on content and communication than on language
structure.
• Common themes for YLs: animals, friends,
family, environment, citizenship, shopping,
or units revolving around a storybooks,
websites, celebrities, or movies students like
• Themes based on curricula from students’
other subjects are also effective (Haas 2000)
5. Use stories and contexts familiar to students.
Use of stories and contexts in home country or
culture can help YLs connect English with their
background knowledge, which is limited because
of their young age and inexperience.
• Take a favorite story in the L1 and translate it
into English
• Allow students a chance to personalize
content every lesson.
The American University in Cairo
Twelfth EFL Skills Conference
January 24, 2007
Joan Kang Shin
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
jshin2@umbc.edu
6. Establish classroom routines in English.
YLs function well within a structured
environment and enjoy repetition of certain
routines and activities. Having basic routines in
the classroom can help to manage young learners.
• Clap short rhythms for students to repeat.
• Start the lesson with song or chant
• Add classroom language to the routines as
well.
7. Use L1 as a resource when necessary.
Use L1 in the classroom as a resource for
forwarding the learning process without becoming
too reliant on it. Concentrate on building
communicative skills. Save your time for the
target language actually within students’ reach.
• Quickly make a difficult expression
comprehensible by translating into L1.
• Use L1 for complicated directions for
activities
8. Bring in helpers from the community
9. Collaborate with other teachers in your school.
10. Communicate with other TEYL professionals.
TEFL Community Triangle
English Speaking Community
(parents who speak English well,
student EFL teachers from the
university, high school students, etc.)
Fellow school teachers Fellow TEYL Professionals
(subject/content or grade- (professional organizations, level
teachers and other in-service programs, or
EFL teachers at your school) special teacher education courses, etc.)
References
Asher, J. 1977. Learning another language through actions: The complete teacher’s guidebook. Los
Gatos, CA: Sky Oaks Productions.
Cameron, L. 2001. Teaching languages to young learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Crandall, J. 1998. Collaborate and cooperate: Teacher education for integrating language and content
instruction. English Teaching Forum 36 (1): 2–9.
Haas, M. 2000. Thematic, communicative language teaching in the K–8 classroom. ERICDigest EDOFL-
00-04. http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/0004thematic.html
Moon, J. 2000. Children learning English. Oxford: MacMillan Heinemann.
Nunan, D. 1999. Does younger = better? TESOL Matters 9 (3): 3.
Rixon, S. 2000. Optimum age or optimum conditions? Issues related to the teaching of languages to
primary age children. http://www.britishcouncil.org/english/eyl/article01/html
Scott, W., and L. H. Ytreberg. 1990. Teaching English to children. London: Longman.
Slatterly, M., and J. Willis. 2003. English for primary teachers. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Joan Kang Shin, a full-time lecturer in the Education Department at the University of Maryland,
Baltimore County (UMBC), is the Coordinator of Online and Off-campus Programs in the
ESOL/Bilingual MA Program. She is also the developer and instructor for Teaching English to Young
Learners, an online course in the U.S. Department of State’s E-Teacher Program and works as an
English Language Specialist for the State Dept. Look for Joan’s next article in a forthcoming English
Teaching Forum issue titled, “Developing Dynamic Units for EFL.”
YLs function well within a structured
environment and enjoy repetition of certain
routines and activities. Having basic routines in
the classroom can help to manage young learners.
• Clap short rhythms for students to repeat.
• Start the lesson with song or chant
• Add classroom language to the routines as
well.
7. Use L1 as a resource when necessary.
Use L1 in the classroom as a resource for
forwarding the learning process without becoming
too reliant on it. Concentrate on building
communicative skills. Save your time for the
target language actually within students’ reach.
• Quickly make a difficult expression
comprehensible by translating into L1.
• Use L1 for complicated directions for
activities
8. Bring in helpers from the community
9. Collaborate with other teachers in your school.
10. Communicate with other TEYL professionals.
TEFL Community Triangle
English Speaking Community
(parents who speak English well,
student EFL teachers from the
university, high school students, etc.)
Fellow school teachers Fellow TEYL Professionals
(subject/content or grade- (professional organizations, level
teachers and other in-service programs, or
EFL teachers at your school) special teacher education courses, etc.)
References
Asher, J. 1977. Learning another language through actions: The complete teacher’s guidebook. Los
Gatos, CA: Sky Oaks Productions.
Cameron, L. 2001. Teaching languages to young learners. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Crandall, J. 1998. Collaborate and cooperate: Teacher education for integrating language and content
instruction. English Teaching Forum 36 (1): 2–9.
Haas, M. 2000. Thematic, communicative language teaching in the K–8 classroom. ERICDigest EDOFL-
00-04. http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/0004thematic.html
Moon, J. 2000. Children learning English. Oxford: MacMillan Heinemann.
Nunan, D. 1999. Does younger = better? TESOL Matters 9 (3): 3.
Rixon, S. 2000. Optimum age or optimum conditions? Issues related to the teaching of languages to
primary age children. http://www.britishcouncil.org/english/eyl/article01/html
Scott, W., and L. H. Ytreberg. 1990. Teaching English to children. London: Longman.
Slatterly, M., and J. Willis. 2003. English for primary teachers. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Joan Kang Shin, a full-time lecturer in the Education Department at the University of Maryland,
Baltimore County (UMBC), is the Coordinator of Online and Off-campus Programs in the
ESOL/Bilingual MA Program. She is also the developer and instructor for Teaching English to Young
Learners, an online course in the U.S. Department of State’s E-Teacher Program and works as an
English Language Specialist for the State Dept. Look for Joan’s next article in a forthcoming English
Teaching Forum issue titled, “Developing Dynamic Units for EFL.”
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