The Challenging World of Teaching Very Young children

Luciana Machado De Franceschi
Escola de Inglês Teddy Bear
Florianopolis, Brazil

1. Challenges and Rewards of Teaching; 2. Benefits of learning a second language at an early age; 3. Activities; (hand outs) 4. References;

Challenges and Rewards of Teaching

When we talk about the professional involved in the teaching of English to very young children we refer to teachers / educators. The myth that "anyone" can teach very young kids has come to an end.
The big challenge in teaching children, in this case, very young children from 2 to 7 years old is the educational background that is required to do so. Not only fluent English must be taken into consideration, but it is required of the professional to have a college degree in a field related to education.
The English School needs to provide specific training courses for their teachers - preparing them to deal with the world of education and emotional needs of each age group.
Facing these challenges just mentioned we can already see rewards as professionals. Through strong background and knowledge we can find results of our work in the classroom. Being well prepared encourages feedback.
For example: When 2 / 3 year old kids can count from 1 to 10 in L2 in some cases they do not yet know how to count in their native tongue.

Another challenge of teaching English as a second language is the importance of meeting a child's developmental needs. For example: When we go outside with 3 year old kids and we perform movements such as: jumping, clapping, running, etc. We are providing activities that develop gross motor skills, so important to their physical development.

Through English we teach concepts and we cooperate in the process of their cognitive, emotional, physical and social development. We are always introducing new ideas to make the teaching more "thought - provoking" while taking into consideration the children's abilities. Kids understand and internalise the information according to their own view of the world.
It is worth the effort to see them expressing themselves in English in a meaningful context. Each one in their own way and at their own pace, naturally and with comprehension and understanding.

We as professionals have the challenge of meeting not only kids' developmental needs, but also parents' aspirations. In the past, as soon as parents started to become aware of the importance of having their kids learn English at an early age, they were not so concerned about the school and methodology. They wanted their kids to learn English and that was it! Nowadays they are more concerned with the quality of the programme, which must be educational and enjoyable.
Today the media produces a lot of articles and TV programmes about this issue and parents want to make sure it is a good investment.
The demand for better English schools has grown here in Brazil. The reward is obvious: Parents appreciation of our work motivates everyone and there's a continued growth in the whole field. For example: In 1990 when Teddy Bear school started there weren't any course books available for these age groups on the market, however nowadays we have some options in the curriculum.

Socializing - Young Learners are still learning how to work in groups and interact with each other. We must bear in mind that conflicts in class such as unkind words, difficulties in sharing and some comments that hurt another's feelings can happen. Sometimes kids mouth off. So teaching respect, sharing, decision making and caring about each other are all part of daily classes. It is not easy to deal with the situation of laughing, crying or with naïve aggression. Experience, care and patience (not complacency) are demanded of the teacher. In this case, the rewards are as great as the challenges.
As we learn through situations, every class is a new opportunity to grow, to learn, to share and to improve ourselves as teachers and consequently as people. Children are extremely observant and they do not need us to point out right or wrong. Yet they do need the teacher to help them interpret what they say, see and hear.

Children learn very fast but they forget quickly.
They have short attention span and it is very difficult to hold the attention of a whole group of small children for a long period, so activities should be short, however with lots of variety of techniques.
The content needs consistency and the teacher will need to constantly review what has been taught.
Creativity in presenting the language is essential, especially because of the need to make them use the "language focus" over and over again. In this way, we can confirm that kids retain what they have learnt and they are able to use the language properly on their own. Kids are always going to get the language off-pat if they are provided with the opportunity to listen and repeat, produce, reproduce and make up sentences in their own fashion.

Young children do not have the ability to understand abstract concepts. Consequently, it is useless explaining grammar points such as "adjectives", "noun", "past", or "future" in the classes at this stage of development.
A literate learner has the maturity to understand grammar points and discern if they use them correctly or incorrectly and even compare L1 to L2.
Young learners in early stages of literacy cannot learn this way. They cannot use this learning strategy to help them to acquire the language. On the other hand, the rewards are big when we see that the grammar can come before logical deduction. First the usage, then acquisition of grammar takes place without conscious study.

How can we as teachers entice very young learners to obtain a second language while they're still acquiring proficiency in their mother tongue?
Children are still learning concepts and developing skills, which affect their ability to acquire language, so we need to be aware of how they acquire second language best. They acquire the language best through play and fun. For example: Teacher to child, child to teacher, child to child and child to environment. A child will only permit the teaching of a second language if they have confidence and sense of security.
If children find their own goal to learn a second language it helps them to achieve it. It does not matter if it is because Mickey's language or if it's Power Ranger's way of talking on the video or a relative that lives abroad, but what really does matter is how they represent it in their own minds.

If the child finds Pleasure, Leisure and Affection in the second language, the child will naturally bloom while making new discoveries.

Benefits of learning a second language at an early age

As a common sense in the field of Education and among Educators, the first seven years of life are crucial. No matter what the critical period hypothesis says or the opposite one. What we can see, as human beings, is that this period of like will reflect on the future with either positive or negative effects. The negative ones will be overcome with effort by education, by demonstration, experience and interaction, while the positive ones can be enhanced by Education, by demonstration, experience and interaction. In addition to that's important to mention that personality and background are also variables, which may or may not affect an individual's development.

1. The younger the child, the easier and more natural it is to learn a second language, getting the benefit of a good accent. Because the child facial muscles are still maturing, the ability of the child to form some sounds in the second language is much easier. Such different movements that the mouth and the tongue have to do help the child in the facial formation, these movements are called "movimentos fonoarticulatórios", which are so important between 2 to 4 years old. Example: When the tongue must be _____between the teeth to pronounce th / ? / and / ð /, or when the tongue must roll inside the mouth in order to pronounce the r /?/.

2. Listening to a second language at a young age will further develop the pathways to the child's auditory cortex and as a consequence his/her comprehension levels, giving the child the benefit.

3. Children, in generality, are less afraid to use their imagination allowing a natural growth and enhancing communication skills. Because learning a second language, the child plays different roles and through the role play, the child can achieve a better understanding of his world and also creativity may be fostered. Eg: Playing the role of a father, an animal, etc.

4. Classes for this age group are more likely to be an enjoyable experience for a child as outside material pressure is very limited. Allowing the child to learn a second language as a pleasurable moment.
Eg: They have early aspirations they want to go to Disney world or the want to be Superman, Spiderman or any other Superhero. They are not worried about the future so far.

5. Children who start to learn a second language are more tolerant of others as they may understand that their mother tongue is only part of global culture and social development. Benefits: Less prejudices, as a consequence more broad minded.

6. There are opportunities in a child's development when sensitive or critical periods seem to occur which are referred to as "Learning windows". What appears to be happening is the child's brain receptors are more malleable and eager to learn or acquire new experiences such as a second language. As educators we are constantly attempting to connect some neurons by the learning experience of second language. During the teaching / learning processe connections are made. Eg: Listening to story can be a brain booster while, auditory channels are increased. Watching TV increases the visual ones.

7. A child is born with more than 100 billion brain cells, naturally some of these are in use at birth support life systems, breathing heart beat, motor skills, etc. It will require our ability as professionals to turn on other receptors. Eg: In the birth language one system is in place, however in the second language we are forcing in a new receptor neuron path. The benefit is increased mental stimulation, memory and spatial perception.

8. According to the socio-cultural theory, the language brings about the structuring of cognitive processes both for social use and as a tool for thought. One might predict that two languages are better than one, that a second language gives the child a great opportunity to learn not only vocabulary but also new concepts.

References:

Big Book of Games for whole language. MCMXCIII Instructional fair, Inc.
Brewster, J. Ellis, G. & Girard, D. (1991). The Primary English Teacher's Guide. Penguin English.
Curtiss, S., Speak. 1995. Gray Matters: The Developing Brain. (Final Script of Radio Broadcast) Madison, WI: Wisconsin Public Radio Association.
Dunn, O. (1983). Beginning English with Children. ELTS.
______ (1984). Developing English with Young Learner s. ELTS.
McLaughlin, B. (1984). Second-language acquisition in Childhood. Volume 1: Preschool children. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
__________ (1992). Myths and misconceptions about second language learning: What every teacher needs to Unlearn. National and second language learning, educational. Practise report: 5.
Nash, J. M. February 3, 1997. Fertile Minds. Times 149 (5): 49-56.
Parker, W.R. (1966). The Language Curtain. (p.160). New York: Modern language Association of America.
Phillips, S. (1993). Young Learners. Oxford University Press.
Revell, J & Normal , S. (1999). NLP - based activities for language learning. Saffire Press.
_______________ (1999). Handing Over . Saffire Press.
Veadero, D. (1996). Brain Trust . Education week on the web.www. edweek.org/ September, 18.

Please click here Teaching Kindergarten 4-8 Years Old.