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Simple Tips for Teaching ESL to Small Children

Author: juraat | Posted: 22.08.2008 | Views: 104

Nothing is more rewarding than teaching preschoolers a second language like English. At this tender age, they’re able to soak up a second language like a sponge. Unlike adults, they don’t have the usual inhibitions that can stem the flow of learning a second language. They’re happy to learn and don’t care if they mistakes in front of others. However, since younger children have a lower attention span level than adults or even older children, an effective ESL teacher will need to follow some basic teaching tips, as shown below, to keep young children actively involved in the learning process.

Mix up the activities

To help combat restless youngsters, an ESL teacher should change activities every 10 minutes or so; otherwise, the class will become restless and even disruptive, depending upon the number of students. For example, if you plan to have a mini-exercise class, let it last for about 10 minutes and then switch to another activity like story telling or board games.

Have balanced activities

When you mix up the activities, don’t simply mix them up with all high-energy learning activities or all low-energy activities; include a variety of learning games or methods so that the energy is balanced. If you don’t, you’ll have either 10 or so hyper kids or a classroom full of children who are falling asleep. Like the above example, you can have 10 minutes of intense movement activity (with language learning interspersed), followed by quiet time such as group reading or storytelling.

Everyone is a winner

Create activities or games where everyone is a winner; otherwise you’ll have some kids that won’t be motivated to learn if they feel that they’ve “lost” a game or competition. For instance, at the end of a learning activity, praise all of the children and tell them that you’re proud of their effort and hard work.

Give rewards

Instead of punishing bad behavior in the classroom, give rewards for good behavior. That way, they will be motivated to behave properly in class. Rewards don’t have to be expensive or huge. Preschoolers love stickers, stamps, or just about any other small, inexpensive items. These small gestures give them the attention they need and helps get them involved in the overall learning process.

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