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TDF
Meeting
October 10th 2005
Topic:
Teaching Younger Learners
We
discussed the advantages and disadvantages of teaching younger learners. We also discussed some practical teaching
ideas and materials.
Advantages
- Younger
learners are great fun
- They enjoy
learning and can learn very fast
- Younger
learners respond well to musical and kinaesthetic activities so classes
can be more lively and interesting for the teacher than say Business
writing courses.
Disadvantages
- Younger
learners have a short attention span
- They can be
difficult to control
- Most classes
have mixed levels and/or mixed ages
- The students
often cannot see the importance of the foreign teacher-led class which
has no exam at the end
Some
materials and teaching ideas:
The
approach one takes depends on the age group:
Very
young learners – 4 – 6 year olds need teachers who can take on the
role of parent – if they are too strict and make the children unhappy then
they will complain to the their parents and you’ll be in trouble! But you still need to be able to control
them – it’s a fine line.
Learners aged 7 – 12 need a strict
teacher to keep them in line. You can
use activities to allow the kids to have fun but you should keep a serious
composure and make it clear that the activity stops when you say it does.
Most
teachers are given materials to work from.
These materials are not always the most useful or interesting for
kids. Other teachers are given nothing
to work from and are left to their own devices.
The
following are all produced by Cambridge University Press. They are also
photocopiable:
Primary Grammar Box - Packed with
more than 50 games and activities to make learning grammar fun for children.
The book includes puzzles, games, crosswords and other task-based activities.
Primary Vocabulary Box - 70 games
including word searches, puzzles, games, and task-based activities.
Primary Activity Box -This
photocopiable resource book contains a wide variety of games and activities
designed to supplement your coursebook.
Primary Communication Box
- Over
50 photocopiable activities including information gaps, role plays, class
surveys and open discussions.
Another
useful book is called ‘Lessons from Nothing’ by Bruce Marsland. The book has ideas which do not require any
materials except a board and some paper and pens.
Some
games which were popular were ‘What’s the time Mr Wolf’ where the children
have to stand in a particular part of the room depending on the time called
out and ‘Preposition football’ where learners need to pick up a card
containing an appropriate preposition and put it up on the board so that a
cut out ‘football’ on the board can be moved along a football pitch drawn on
the board.
The
most pressing problem and one which frightens off many would-be younger
learner teachers is the ability to control the class. We all agreed that the ability to control a
class of kids is an art which needs to be learnt but is also something some
people can do and some people can’t.
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