Teaching children is all fun, games, and songs – right? Tereza Sekiya debunks some of the myths surrounding teaching young EFL learners, exploring the number of variables that need to be taken into account for effective class preparation.
“Kids learn through play!”
This statement is often used to justify the fun, excitement and action, frequently found in young learners’ classrooms. No wonder!!! Stories, songs, chants and games are part of their classroom routine – leading us to connect the ideas of “teaching kids” and “fun” together.
Well… If teaching kids is fun, consequently it cannot be serious! Do some people really think like that?
Let us start by considering some definitions of the word “kid”, taken from Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary:
· Kid (verb) – to say something as a joke, often making someone believe something that is not true
· Kid around (phrasal verb) – to be silly or not serious
· Kid’s stuff – an activity or piece of work that is very easy
If we take into consideration an EFL environment, where teaching young learners is still a growing market, it is not surprising to find people with such beliefs. They are generally parents or professionals outside the ELT area, for whom the idea of teaching kids is synonym for presenting some simple words and structures. Private language schools specialized in teaching young learners only appeared in the last decades in some markets, where students would not go to a PLS prior to the age of 9 or 10. In primary schools, some offer a very limited amount of hours (30 minutes or up to one hour a week) or no language classes at all.
Nevertheless, this EFL scenario is changing. There is a growing interest in this area and more reference materials on teaching young learners are being written by experts of ELT, providing teachers with further information, support and tools for working with kids. In addition, new coursebooks for pre and primary levels are being published, each one focusing on a different student profile or course working hours.
Whereas the importance of teaching teens and adults has never been questioned, the teaching of young learners has raised a number of issues and discussions throughout the years, most of them related to the presentation and practice of content (too much or too little) and grammar (methodology). The assumption that teaching teens and adults is harder than teaching young learners is a fallacy. Unlike teenagers and adults, who already have full command of their mother language, young learners are still evolving, and this phase of growing involves different aspects of development: physical, emotional, social and cognitive. Consequently, class preparation needs to take into account a higher number of variables:
- ·Teaching kids requires a lot more than simply working with TPR, chants, stories… It involves a detailed lesson plan with “plan B” (taking into account the limited concentration span of these learners), as well as good management skills, in order to set up & develop activities and assess learning. Just imagine a group of 20 teens or adults… Then compare it to a group of 20 kids! I rest my case!!!
- Skills development – here the main issue is not applying strategies to develop the four main skills (L, S, R &W), but to work on basic literacy skills (and fine motor skills, when necessary).
- Teenagers and adults can be classified according to their level of English. Young learners’ age can determine the distinct phases they might be going through: we are not only considering likes & dislikes (preferences) but also cognitive capabilities.
- Communication and Cooperation in Pre and Primary classes are not an end in itself. Rather, they are the result of working with values & positive attitude in the classroom.
- CLIL lessons will certainly teach kids world information, but the bottom line is that teachers will be working with concept building, appropriate for every specific age target/phase (pre-operational phase, concrete operational phase and so on).
- Different types of intelligences & learning styles are still to be developed by young learners, offering an enormous opportunity for shaping their study skills and fostering their independence at an earlier age.
Here is a quote from Henry David Thoreau:
“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost: there is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.”
Likewise, teaching young learners is not just about creating an enjoyable learning environment for kids (castles in the air); it is also about building children’s background knowledge and thinking skills (foundations).
There is no better way of summarizing all this, than quoting Laura Bush, whose words I will always keep in mind:
“We all have the duty to call attention to the science and seriousness of early childhood cognitive development — because [the years] between birth and age five are the foundation upon which successful lives are built.”
(White House Summit on Early Childhood Cognitive Development
July 26, 2001)
I believe the same is true for all ages of childhood, for all the reasons above.
Next, why not listen to Penny Ur’s teaching tips, combining theory and practice.