Courses Online TESOL

Teaching Beginner StudentsTeaching beginner english to young learners has many benefits and rewards as well as challenges Young students tend to pick up the language quicker as they have little life experience and life skills to cloud their brains and they have a high level of curiosity. They have not yet mastered their own language so are receptive to a new one. Young learners are more receptive to visual learning materials and generally have less fear in expressing themselves. However, a young learner can be less motivated than an adult learner, as he/she hasn’t made a conscious choice as to why he/she needs to learn english. This is where the teacher has to be creative and make learning fun. Teaching english to beginners generally starts with listening and speaking rather than reading and writing, which would be introduced a little later when the student becomes comfortable with the initial process. When teaching to absolute beginners who have no concept of the language, we use simple words, flash cards and phonetics (sounding the word) as simple tools to encourage the student to “copycat” the teacher. Young learners will more than likely need to learn a new alphabet, therefore, flash cards are a helpful device when learning the ‘letter’, ‘the sound’ and the definition. A simple task for young learners is to drill the sounds of the letters. Teachers can exaggerate by the use of mouth mimes which the students copy. Actual objects can be introduced to the lesson to help the student understand what the letter stands for, i.e. A is for apple, B is for ball. By patient repetition and positive encouragement and praise the student develops a sense of self esteem and is less self conscious of making mistakes. Young learners also respond well to song and music, mime and copycat actions, dance and speech. A simple song can be learned very quickly if it incorporates action, such as “The Hokey Pokey”. This song demonstrates body vocabulary and speech simultaneously. Through the use of body vocabulary the child is also learning verb vocabulary, such as hop, skip, jump, walk etc. A technique called Total Physical Response (TPR), which was developed by James J Asher, is a strategy to introduce the language through the use of commands and has them demonstrating their understanding through action responses. For example, teacher asks “pick up your pencil” – demonstrating the action at the same time, then asks the students to repeat the action physically and verbally. One must also consider the attention span of a young learner; it is not as well developed as a mature learner, therefore constant interaction and changes in activities will be necessary to hold the young learners interest. These activities should be related to the child’s own interests, such as, sport, movies, television programs, games etc., wherever possible. The classroom for young learners should be a welcoming and fun place to be. Colourful posters and pictures, maps and children’s own artwork on display make the classroom an exciting place to be as well as offers stimulation for the learner. Just as a child needs physical stimulation, mental stimulation is equally as important. It is important to note that the teacher has a responsibility to learn about each student as an individual, their name and where they live, their likes and dislikes and any disability they may possess, such as dyslexia, hearing problems or speech impediments. By understanding each student’s needs the teacher is able to accommodate them by offering more individual tutoring. Some students maybe unaware as to hold a pencil, or hold a book the right way up, consequently these shortcomings must be taken into consideration when teaching young learners and beginner students.