How to teach English How to teach English How to teach English How to teach English to to to to very very very very young children young childrenyoung children young children Fiona Fiona Fiona Fiona L L L L Cooper CooperCooper Cooper Fun English for Kids Fiona L Cooper 2 Contents ContentsContents Contents Introduction 3 Why teach English to young children? 4 Advice for teaching English to young children 5 Curriculum Development 7 Classroom Management 11 Curriculum for 5-year-olds 12 Units 13 My Body 13 Animals 14 School 15 The Weather 16 Transport 17 The House 18 The Family 19 Food 20 Clothes 21 Example lesson plans 22 Games 28 Songs 30 The First Lesson 36 Bibliography 38 Formación en Educación Inicial San Andrés (FEISA) is a Christian teacher training college and is part of the Evangelical University of Paraguay FEISA, Casilla 1124, Asunción, Paraguay This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA. You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work and to adapt it, under the following conditions: Attribution. You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Noncommercial. You may not use this work for commercial purposes. Share Alike. If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one. Fun English for Kids Fiona L Cooper 3 Introduction IntroductionIntroduction Introduction Many nurseries and pre-school classes in Paraguay offer English as part of their curriculum. However, there is a lack of teachers who have the skill to teach it. FEISA Teacher Training College, Asunción, aims to provide its trainee teachers with the necessary training in order to improve the provision of English to this age group in Paraguay. This document has been written with these trainee teachers in mind. However, other teachers who have been asked to teach English to pre-school children may also be unsure how to start. I hope it will prove useful to everyone who comes looking for help. It is the fruit of three years teaching English to Spanish children (aged 3-6) in a state primary school in Salamanca, alongside research I have since done on teaching languages to young children. As such, it is by no means exhaustive or perfect! I do not claim to be an expert in this field and am very open to all suggestions and constructive criticism. Please take the information contained here and add to it, change it in any way you decide is necessary. I would ask that, in order to help fellow teachers, you would let me know how it works for you; what you like, what you don’t like, what changes you make. Although this document is designed primarily for teachers of 5-year-olds, it can easily be adapted for younger children; most of the songs and games are also suitable for children as young as 3. The curriculum set out in later pages is designed from a Christian perspective, because FEISA is a Christian teacher training college and all children in Paraguayan schools are required to be taught about God. I acknowledge my indebtedness to Frances Smith, with whom I worked in Salamanca, and from whom many of the ideas for games came. I would like to thank Samantha Parsons, who encouraged me to write this guide, and Ana María Demestri, who caught the vision to take it to schools in Paraguay. I would also like to thank Leonardo Fernández, who designed the front cover. To God be the glory. Fiona Cooper Asunción, July 2007 fionalcooper@gmail.com Fun English for Kids Fiona L Cooper 4 Why teach English to young children? Why teach English to young children?Why teach English to young children? Why teach English to young children? • The children find it easy to accept a new linguistic code because they are still learning their own. • They find it easy to pronounce the new sounds for the same reason. • They don’t feel self-conscious about sounding different. • If they have a good experience of learning a language at this age, they will remember it with fondness, so will find it easier to learn languages later in life. Long-term educational aims of teaching languages to young children: • To encourage open-mindedness by preparing the child for the understanding and tolerance of different ways of thinking and learning • To help to improve cognitive development, by offering a further instrument for organising knowledge • To encourage greater creativity as a consequence of a constant comparison between two different linguistic codes • To lay the foundations for continuous linguistic education, allowing the formation of a type of education that is not exclusively centred on one’s own mother tongue and that leads to an easier study of foreign languages at higher school levels. This is particularly relevant in Paraguay, with its bilingual education in Spanish and Guaraní. Fun English for Kids Fiona L Cooper 5 Advice for Advice for Advice for Advice for teach teachteach teaching inging ing English to young children English to young children English to young children English to young children • The emphasis should be on listening and speaking the language, see below for comments on reading and writing. • Relate what you teach to what they already know in their own language; don’t use the new language as the basis for teaching new concepts. • Use as much English as possible, talk to them all the time, so that the children hear as much as possible. This gives them more opportunity to begin to understand the language and absorb its rhythm. • Your first aim should be that the children understand the language they are being taught. • Allow the children to respond in their first language, then repeat back to them in English what they said. • Once they understand, then you should aim for them to produce the language. • Start with simple vocabulary: just words, not sentences. • Go slowly, with much repetition, to give the children as much opportunity as possible to really learn; there’s no rush. • Gradually introduce sentences, when the children are ready, always making sure the children understand the language. • The lessons must be fun! The most important thing is that the children enjoy the lessons; the children will not learn if they do not enjoy the lessons and the children’s motivation to learn is in order to participate in the lessons. • Have a routine, so the children know what to expect and feel comfortable in the lessons. • Start each lesson with a visual signal, to show the children that it’s now the time when another language is spoken. • Use body language, facial expressions and visual aids to make yourself understood; do not resort to translation! • Use lots and lots of visual aids; the more visual the better, so the children have a chance to understand even before they know the words. • Use games, to involve the children and make it fun. • Use songs, because through these, the children learn vocabulary, grammar and the rhythm of the language without trying. • Use stories, because the children love them and it gives them a real experience of the language. • Use short activities, to keep the children attentive. • Use active activities, to change the rhythm of the lesson, to keep them attentive, to stop them fidgeting. • End the lesson with a quiet activity, to calm the children down for their next lesson. • Speak in English as much as possible (all the time, if practical!). This allows the children to get used to the rhythm of the language and to pick up some words without really trying. • Use the children’s first language only when necessary, for example, to explain a game or for discipline purposes. Fun English for Kids Fiona L Cooper 6 Reading and Writing It is best if the children learn how to read and write in their own language before learning these skills in the foreign language. This minimises the confusion of looking at the same letters and hearing different sounds. How to teach reading and writing in the foreign language to young children: • First, the children need to be familiar with a wide range of vocabulary. • Begin by reminding the children of the word, then show them the written word. Thus they learn to associate the shape of the word with the sound, rather than relying on the individual letter sounds to begin with. • Once they have become familiar with a range of written words, they can be introduced to the sounds of certain letters, as they appear in the words they already know. • Once they have learnt the sounds of certain letters and combinations of letters (th, ch, sh, etc), they can be introduced to more, and taught to work out how to read unfamiliar words, using the knowledge of how each letter or combination of letters sounds. • However, the emphasis must always be on the children learning the words orally BEFORE they see the written words, to minimise confusion and mispronunciation. • The fine motor skill of learning to write is best left to the first language. There is no point in teaching how to write each letter in two languages. Therefore, the children need to learn how to write in their own language before being asked to write in English. Pre-requisites for a teacher of English to young children The teacher needs to be familiar with this age group because she needs to understand something of the needs of small children in order to teach them another language effectively. She also needs to have a reasonable level of English herself to be able to teach it. She needs to be able to speak with some fluency in order to give the best example to the children. If the teacher herself lacks confidence, the children will not learn as well as they could. Fun English for Kids Fiona L Cooper 7 Curriculum Develop Curriculum DevelopCurriculum Develop Curriculum Development mentment ment When designing a curriculum to teach English to young children, there are certain things we need to consider: These seven areas are developed over the page. English as a foreign language CURRICULUM For 5-year-olds AIMS What do we hope to achieve by teaching English to 5-year-olds? UNITS What kinds of topics do we want to cover? GRAMMAR What grammatical structures will we teach? EVERYDAY LANGUAGE What everyday expressions and vocab do we want the children to learn? ACTIVITIES What kinds of activities will we use to teach English? INTENDED OUTCOMES What do we want the children to know/be able to do etc? CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT How are we going to manage the children and structure the lessons? Fun English for Kids Fiona L Cooper 8 Aims (What the teacher aims to do herself, in teaching the children English) • To share an awareness of the wonder of God’s creation by his provision of different ways of communication • To teach each child as an object of God’s love and therefore to teach with an attitude of love and acceptance • To teach to the best of our ability, with the aim of glorifying God through our work • To teach basic English vocab and simple grammar structures • To provide a positive, encouraging atmosphere • To build the children’s self-esteem • To use activities that the children enjoy, thereby making learning fun and giving the children motivation to learn • To provide fun activities which give the children a desire and a need to communicate • To give the children some awareness of a different culture Intended Outcomes (What the teacher wants the children to achieve as a result of the English lessons) • That the children would develop a positive attitude towards English and languages in general • That the children would increase their confidence in the lessons and be willing to have a go • That the children would learn some simple songs in English • That the children would understand spoken instructions, vocab and simple phrases • That the children would be able to say simple words and phrases, including asking simple questions and making simple requests Fun English for Kids Fiona L Cooper 9 Possible Units • Animals • Food • School/ The Classroom • Transport • The House • The World Around Us (tree, street, shop…) • The Body • The Weather • The Family • Clothes • Holidays • Size & Shape Types Of Activities • Games • Songs • Stories • Art activities • Role-play • Routine Everyday Language • In games; it’s your turn, who’s won?… • Requests for help; please help me, please tie my laces, please open this… • Greetings; hello, how are you? What’s your name, good morning/good afternoon… • Requests for things; please may I have ? • Please may I go to the toilet? • Colours • Numbers • Actions (bend, wiggle, wave…) • Emotions • Instructions • Classroom management language Fun English for Kids Fiona L Cooper 10 Here is a suggested way to set out each unit UNIT TITLE AIMS INTENDED OUTCOMES VOCABULARY GRAMMAR EVERYDAY EXPRESSIONS ACTIVITIES [...]... pig, a ball Fun English for Kids Fiona L Cooper 35 The First Lesson Many teachers are unsure of how to begin to teach English to young children Below is a possible plan for the first lesson • There needs to be a lot of repetition, to give the children lots of chances to understand • The activities need to be short, to keep the children interested • It is important that the children feel comfortable and... of break time BE CONSISTENT; use the same strategies with all children and every time there is misbehaviour and if you threaten a punishment make sure you carry it out Fun English for Kids Fiona L Cooper 11 5-yearEnglish Curriculum for 5-year-olds Introduction • • • • • • • • The following units are to be used as a guide; they are not perfect! If you realise that there are better ways of doing something... recognising the names of different animals (fun game) To calm down, to say the words of the different animals in the story Resources Song; Clap hands, follow me Animal flashcards; pointing game Animal flashcards Put flashcards into different coloured hoops Animal flashcards Coloured hoops Swapping places Animal flashcards Story; Where’s Spot? Book “Where’s Spot?” Fun English for Kids Fiona L Cooper 23 Unit 3... already thought-out, for example a rising scale of punishment if the child continues to misbehave, which can be communicated to the whole class and therefore all the children know what to expect if they misbehave For example: I Warning; if you do that again, you’ll have to sit apart from the group II Sit the child apart from the group for a short and specified period of time (e.g.1 minute for each year of... count, along with the teacher, up to 10 • To begin to be able to recognise the numbers 6-10 • • • GRAMMAR Where’s the…? In the… (room) Is it in the … (room)? EVERYDAY LANGUAGE As appropriate for routine etc Fun English for Kids Fiona L Cooper • • • • • • • • • • • • • • VOCABULARY house • stairs room • upstairs bedroom • downstairs living room • roof bathroom • garden kitchen • inside cooker • outside fridge... daddies (S&K) Fun English for Kids Fiona L Cooper 19 FOOD Unit no 8 Duration: 4 weeks Lesson time: 30 minutes every day AIMS INTENDED OUTCOMES • To introduce the • To be able to point to names of some fruit the correct food item and vegetables and when they hear the other food items word • To share the fact that • To begin to be able to God made fruit and say the names of the vegetables for us to different... “like” and “don’t like” GRAMMAR • • • I like I don’t like Do you like…? EVERYDAY LANGUAGE As appropriate Fun English for Kids Fiona L Cooper • • • • • • • • • • • • • • VOCABULARY Apple • Hungry Pear • Cake Plum • Biscuit Strawberry • Sandwich Orange • Chocolate Other food items Lemon as appropriate Banana for the children Carrot (eg what they Potato bring at snack Tomato time) Pepper Grapes Fruit Vegetables... scissors glue book board school classroom ACTIVITIES TPR: teacher to give the children instructions in relation to the school Games: • Pointing to flashcards on walls, putting flashcards into hoops • Swapping places • Running game • “red, red, blue” • Guessing game • What’s missing? • • Memory matching Songs: • Open, shut them • Point to the ceiling Story: • Where’s Spot? Fun English for Kids Fiona... children guess the word Whoever gets it right gets to be the teacher • Guessing game 2: For more advanced children! As above, the teacher holds a card, then asks the children “What colour is it?” The children then ask, “Is it (yellow)?” When they get the colour right, they then ask, “Is it a yellow (car)?” Fun English for Kids Fiona L Cooper 28 • What’s missing?: Put a number of flashcards on the floor,... brother, my sister and me My mother, my father and baby How happy together we’ll be • God made daddies, God made mummies God made brothers, God made sisters, God made children just like me, For his loving family Fun English for Kids Fiona L Cooper 33 Food • What is yellow? What is yellow? Can you see? Can you see? Melons and bananas, melons and bananas, One two three, one two three • Five red apples hanging . sure you carry it out. Fun English for Kids Fiona L Cooper 12 English Curriculum for 5 English Curriculum for 5English Curriculum for 5 English Curriculum for 5- -year yearyear year- . Guaraní. Fun English for Kids Fiona L Cooper 5 Advice for Advice for Advice for Advice for teach teachteach teaching inging ing English to young children English to young children English. Fun English for Kids Fiona L Cooper 4 Why teach English to young children? Why teach English to young children?Why teach English to young children? Why teach English to young