Teaching English For Young Learners PDF
Teaching English For Young Learners PDF
Teaching English For Young Learners PDF
Publisher:
FKIP UMT PRESS
Jl. Perintis Kemerdekaan 1/ 33, Cikokol-Kota Tangerang
ISBN : 978-602-5559-16-7
The authors would like to thank the many people who have played a part in this
book. Firstly, we are grateful to our team for all the inspiration they have given
us. We are grateful to our institution for the encouragement and support.
In addition, We would like to express gratitude to all our colleagues who have
shared and discussed many ideas throughout the recent months, in particular
Mr. Wahyu, Mr. Arry and Mr. Barra, who have contributed to the reviewing,
editing and publication of this book.
And last but certainly not least, thanks to all our students to whom I have taught
English and who have taught me to teach over the years.
This book contains the specifications of teaching English for young learners; the
concept of English as Foreign Language (EFL) and English as Second
Language (ESL) in language classroom, some facts about differences between
adults and children, characteristic of children‘s learning styles: learning theories,
learning style in infancy, toddlerhood, preschool period and how to optimize
them, learning style in infancy, toddlerhood, preschool period and how to
optimize them, creating learning environment for children language: maximize
their listening, speaking, reading and writing, teaching grammar and vocabulary,
teaching trough stories, games and songs and planning language teaching.
It is designed for use by teacher trainee who are preparing teaching English for
young learners, or who are considering doing so.
1. Preliminaries
Main Page .......................................................................................... 1
Acknowledgement .............................................................................. 2
Preface............................................................................................... 3
Table of Contents ............................................................................... 4
2. Description of Module ........................................................................ 5
A. Description of Course .................................................................. 5
B. Lesson Plan ................................................................................. 5
C. Instruction of Module Usage ........................................................ 6
D. Basic Competences / Learning Outcomes.................................. 6
E. Materials ...................................................................................... 7
F. Evaluation .................................................................................... 11
G. Feedback ..................................................................................... 12
3. Unit 1.................................................................................................. 13
4. Unit 2.................................................................................................. 19
5. Unit 3.................................................................................................. 25
6. Unit 4.................................................................................................. 35
7. Unit 5.................................................................................................. 48
8. Unit 6.................................................................................................. 56
9. Unit 7.................................................................................................. 66
10. Unit 8.................................................................................................. 75
11. Unit 9.................................................................................................. 82
12. Unit 10................................................................................................ 102
A. Description of Course
English for young learners at the primary level (approximately ages of three
to twelve years old) are cognitively primed to acquire language skills in
ways that lend themselves to an integrated skills and content -based,
experiential approach. The teachers who understands the cognitive and
social processes of second- language acquisition for English for Young
Learners (EYL) is better equipped to help learners navigate the processes
of classroom learning activities while also creating a fun, positive
environment. In many cases, Teaching English for Young Learners (TEYL)
teachers in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) settings have a limited
amount of time to accomplish their teaching goals and meet local
requirements regarding the use of specific texts, tests, or other materials. A
low-resource environment can also pose challenges. In this course,
students have the opportunity to explore solutions for such challenges
through an overview of current research and best practices (always context-
dependent) for TEYL, plus experimentation with a wide array of freely
available online and local resources.
B. Lesson Plan
Week 1 The concept of English as Foreign Language (EFL) and
English as Second Language (ESL) in language classroom.
Week 2 Some facts about differences between adults and children
Week 3 Characteristic of children‘s learning styles: Learning
theories
Week 4 Learning style in infancy, toddlerhood, preschool period
and how to optimize them
Week 5 Learning style in Kindergarten, First to Sixth Grade and
Learning Outcomes
1. General Learning Outcome : The students are able to engage the
concept of teaching English for young learners and implement the
theory into practice to teaching English for young learners.
2. Specific Learning Outcome :
a. Students are able to use appropriate media in teaching English for
young learners, in order to be effective, creative, and innovative on
student‘s centre.
b. The students are able to manage the classroom teaching of English
for young learners individually or collaboratively.
E. Materials
Week 1 The concept of English as Foreign Language (EFL) and
F. Evaluation
This course is pass/no pass regulation. Students receive a final score
(maximum = 100 %) at the end of the course.
Grading criteria for the course will be weighted as follows:
1. 20% Scoring (Assignment, Group Discussion, and Attendance)
The total scoring of 20% will be taken from the students in
asynchronous weekly discussions (include students‘ participation in
discussion), daily assignment, and attendance in the classroom (the
students are allowed to be absent at least two meetings in one
semester).
2. 40% Scoring (Middle Test)
Middle test will be in written form.
3. 40% Scoring (Final Test)
Final project plan is teaching simulation with these following scoring
rubric which are organized around four domains covering all aspects of
a teacher‘s job performance:
a. Planning and Preparation for Learning
b. Classroom Management
c. Delivery of Instruction
d. Monitoring, Assessment, and Follow-Up
The rubrics use a four-level rating scale with the following labels:
4 – Highly Effective
3 – Effective
2 – Improvement Necessary
1 – Does Not Meet Standards
. . . . . .
A. Description of Course
This unit is designed to show the distinction between English Foreign
Language (EFL) and English Second Language (ESL) in language
classroom learning context. It comes from the native language of the
country in which instruction is being given.
An ESL classroom is one in which English is the primary national language.
On the other hand, an EFL classroom is one in which English is notonal
language. On the other hand, an EFL classroom is one in which English is
notonal language. On the other hand, an EFL classroom is one in which
English is notional language. On the other hand, an EFL classroom is one
in which English is not the native language.
C. Learning Outcomes
The students are able to comprehend the concept of EFL and ESL in
language classroom context.
D. Detail of Material
1. The History of English Second Language and English Foreign
Language
Basically, we can divide up countries according to whether they
have English as a native language, English as a second language,
or English as a foreign language. The first category is self-explanatory.
The difference between English as a foreign language and English as a
second language is that in the latter instance only, English has actual
assigned communicative status within the country. All told, there is a
total of 75 territories where English has a special place in society. [Braj]
Kachru has divided the English-speaking countries of the world into
three broad types, which he symbolizes by placing them in three
concentric rings:
a. The inner circle: these countries are the traditional bases of
English, where it is the primary language, that is Great Britain and
Ireland, the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
b. The outer or extended circle: these countries represent the earlier
spread of English in non-native contexts, where the language is part
of the country's leading institutions, where it plays a second-
The terms EFL and ESL emerged after the Second World War, and in
Britain no distinction was seriously made between ESL and EFL, both
being subsumed under ELT ('English Language Teaching'), until well
into the 1960s. As regards ESL in particular, the term has been applied
to two types of teaching that overlap but are essentially distinct: ESL in
the home country of the learner (mainly a UK concept and concern) and
ESL for immigrants to ENL countries (mainly a US concept and
concern).
The term ESL has traditionally referred to students who come to school
speaking languages other than English at home. The term in many
cases is incorrect, because some who come to school have English as
their third, fourth, fifth, and so on, language.
E. Worksheets
These are the key differences between these student communities and
strategies to teach English accordingly. Discuss in a group about these
following questions and then share it in front of the class.
1. What do you think are the key differences between ESL and EFL
classrooms?
2. Why do teachers need to differ the activities in ESL and EFL
classrooms?
F. Further Discussion
The Characteristics of
English Language Learners
(Some Facts about Adults and Young
Learners)
. . . . . .
A. Description of Course
This unit is designed to show the distinction between charateristic and any
design teaching activities.There are three kinds of learners in EFL
classroom: young learners, adolescent, and adult. Activities in a Young
Learner classroom should be short and many activities. Adolescent can use
many different ways od studying and practicing language. it is possible for
adult to spend more time on learning tasks so it is possible to engage more
deeply with the learning materials.
B. Relevance of Course
The relevance of course is the students will engage their home and society
environment into the activities in this book (as mention details in exercises).
In the exersices, most of activities given is case study. So, the students is
allowed to think critically in group discussion.
D. Detail of Material
Fact about Young Learners
Teaching Young learners has been happening in Indonesia for many years.
The concept of young learners has been changed from the age, the course
book that has written. In the past Young learners refer to students between
five and twelve years of age. Today, the young learners started from the
pre-school (three years) to Elementary school (12 years). Different age is
crucial thing to determine the teaching method, emphasize the language
competence and address the cognitive skills. Hammer (2007) classified
three learner groups keeping in mind
The fact that every learner is unique and such lists can only reflect
generalizations :
Age: 3-6 years old Age: 7-9 years old Age: 10-12 years old
E. Worksheet
Discuss in pairs and answers these questions.
1. What are the characteristics of very young learners?
2. How do 4-6 year old children learn languages?
3. How does it affect foreign language teaching?
4. What is the most common English language syllabus?
5. Which activities are effective in teaching English to very young
learners?)
F. Further Discussion
Visit this web address and make summary of it.
https://studfiles.net/preview/5783237/page:4/
B. Relevance of Course
The relevance of course is the students will engage their home and society
environment into the activities in this book (as mention details in
exercises). In the exersices, most of activities given is case study. So, the
students is allowed to think critically in group discussion.
C. Learning Outcomes
The students are able to understand and explain about the characteristics
of young learner‘s learning style connected to the learning theories of
Piaget, Vygotsky and Bruner.
Enactive (0 - 1 years)
This appears first. It involves encoding action based information and
storing it in our memory. For example, in the form of movement as
a muscle memory, a baby might remember the action of shaking a rattle.
The child represents past events through motor responses, i.e. an infant
will ―shake a rattle‖ which has just been removed or dropped, as if the
movements themselves are expected to produce the accustomed sound.
And this is not just limited to children.
Many adults can perform a variety of motor tasks (typing, sewing a shirt,
operating a lawn mower) that they would find difficult to describe in iconic
(picture) or symbolic (word) form.
Iconic (1 - 6 years)
This is where information is stored visually in the form of images (a mental
picture in the mind‘s eye). For some, this is conscious; others say they
don‘t experience it. This may explain why, when we are learning a new
subject, it is often helpful to have diagrams or illustrations to accompany
verbal information.
Educational Implications
For Bruner (1961), the purpose of education is not to impart knowledge,
but instead to facilitate a child's thinking and problem solving skills which
can then be transferred to a range of situations. Specifically, education
should also develop symbolic thinking in children.
c. Kinaesthetic/tactile learners
These learners like to be actively involved in the learning
process, and learn best through hands-on activities and
movement. Other kinaesthetic characteristics are they:
1) want to actually do whatever is being talked about or learned
2) like to move around while listening or talking
3) often ―talk‖ with their hands
4) like to touch things in order to learn about them
5) remember events by recalling who did what rather than who
said what.
E. Worksheet
Cases:
Both Bruner and Vygotsky emphasise a child's environment, especially the
social environment, more than Piaget did. Both agree that adults should
play an active role in assisting the child's learning. Bruner, like Vygotsky,
F. Further Discussion
Visit and make a summary of this article:
http://eprints.umk.ac.id/7007/27/The-2nd-TEYLIN-ilovepdf-compressed-
223-232.pdf
G. References
Cameron, L. 2002. Teaching Languages to Young Learners. UK:
Cambridge University Press.
Baker, F. 2015. Learning Styles in Children.
http://www.kidspot.com.au/school/primary/learning-and-
behaviour/learning-styles-in-
children/newsstory/2c188e7d8ca8d273b2f441fcae6ae1ba
McLeod, S. A. (2008). Bruner. Retrieved from
www.simplypsychology.org/bruner.html
. . . . .
A. Description of Course
The concept of learning is influenced by the psychological study of the
learning process and is widely interpreted in the popular use. The
psychological concept extends quite far and includes all parts of children's
development, from language acquisition to social roles and changes in
their personality. Language teaching can be widely interpreted as all
activities intended to facilitate and cause language learning. At the
beginning of learning the new language, the learner's knowledge has none
or hardly any associations with the language; it is as an infant learning its
first language.
B. Relevance of Course
The relevance of course is the students will engage their home and society
environment into the activities in this book (as mention details in
exercises). In the exersices, most of activities given is case study. So, the
students is allowed to think critically in group discussion.
D. Detail of Material
As you watch children grow and learn, it quickly becomes obvious that
each child has their own way of learning and interacting with the world
around them. One child may spend hours curled up with a book, while
another uses any excuse to go outside. One child begs to go to the
museum, while another can‘t stop pulling objects apart to discover how
they work together.
In the early 1980s, developmental psychologist and educational
researcher Howard Gardner verified what many parents intuitively know:
different children learn in different ways. He observed that even though all
individuals in a group seemed to be equally intelligent, a lesson plan that
worked successfully for some children didn‘t work as well for others.
Gardner‘s observations led him to publish Frames of Mind: The Theory of
Multiple Intelligences in 1983. He asserted that different people approach
learning in different ways and that children learn better in school when
their individual learning styles are recognized and supported. He outlined
seven different learning styles: auditory, visual, kinesthetic, interpersonal,
intrapersonal, linguistic and logical-mathematical.
Education has traditionally been focused around linguistic and logical-
mathematical learning styles, however student centered learning models
such as the Montessori Method and the International Baccalaureate
program have found success helping children learn in the way that is best
for them.
Let‘s take a look at three often-overlooked learning styles to help you
discover if your child is an Auditory, Visual or Kinesthetic learner. We‘ll
also share tips on how to help your child succeed if they are one of these
learning styles.
1. Infant
Even infants may display tendencies toward a certain way of learning,
experts believe. ―Some babies seem especially observant and attuned
to details,‖ says Barbara Marcelo Evans, M.D., a neurodevelopmental
pediatrician at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, in Camden,
NJ. ―Others may be very verbal and vocal at an early age.‖
Whatever a baby's tendency, she's apt to experiment with various
styles -- often at the same time. A 3-month-old who stares at the rattle
she waves in her tiny hand takes in information visually, auditorally,
tactually, and kinesthetically. But babies go through short phases of
focusing on a specific style. ―A one-year-old may seem physically
precocious, but that can level off within a few months, and then she
may seem very attuned to listening instead,‖ says Jim McCrory, Ph.D.,
a professor of education at Mary Baldwin College, in Stauton, VA.
All this experimentation is good for your baby. That is why many experts
advise that even if you see a strong pattern in an infant, it is best to
focus on stimulating all the senses, by exposing her to a variety of
experiences.
Physical Development
Between 9 and 12 months, babies‘ physical development affords them
many different opportunities to play, move and relate. Standing and
cruising bring babies to new places in their homes, as well as access to
objects and furniture at new heights. They can now pick up objects from
the floor as well as reach for items that might be on low shelves or
coffee tables. Locomotion and movements empower them to be
sociable—they can seek for attention rather than wait for someone.
Tactual learners need to feel and touch things to understand how they
work.
Signs that your child's a toucher:
a. She's drawn to objects with interesting shapes and textures, and
loves to play with blocks.
b. She needs to actually feel abstract ideas, such as touching an ice
cube to understand how cold ―really cold‖ is.
c. She has trouble following directions to unfamiliar tasks.
3. Preshool
Learning Style in Preschool Period
A high quality preschool program requires dedicated and qualified
teaching staff, working in partnership with children‘s families, to
systematically assist children in developing social competence and
confidence.
Writing
Effective preschool teachers:
a. Model teacher writing in a variety of genres throughout the day and
encourage children‘s writing (e.g., guide children to write their
names on their work, share writing lists, messages, charts, forms,
signage, labels, invitations, letters, and model pretend roles in
dramatic play activities that include writing such as a doctor in the
doctor‘s office charting patient health information, etc.).
b. Provide shared writing opportunities (e.g., the children volunteer the
ideas and letters or words and the teacher elaborates on the ideas
and writes the words). Display interactive examples of writing
(including pictures) at children‘s eye level for intentional follow-up
activities.
c. Take dictation for a child by writing exactly what the child says and
making sure the child can see what you are writing. Read the
dictation back to the child tracking their words with a finger.
d. Encourage individual and small groups of children‘s writing at the
writing center and other centers independently or with teacher
support (e.g., provide exciting writing and book making materials,
provide examples at the writing center of printed letters, words,
names, and phrases that children frequently use in their writing,
Language
Effective preschool teachers:
a. Respond to children using their words (―reflect back‖) with the
correct plural forms, tenses, prepositions and in complete
sentences. Also, add new and rich vocabulary to the response
when appropriate.
b. Ensure that children have interesting opportunities to practice
language using plural forms, prepositions, complete sentences, and
question sentences by using props and toys in engaging individual,
small and large-group opportunities (e.g., the use of props to
identify positional phrases such as in back of, in front of, under, on).
c. Provide individual support to each child to write their name on their
work throughout the day. Allow children who need it ample time to
move through the developmental stages of writing (e.g., teacher
dictation, scribble-writing, letter-like forms, a combination of upper
and lowercase letters).
2. Auditory Learners:
a. Read and repeat the lesson material by making a sound or
asking others to read it. Use music as a learning tool.
3. Visual Learners:
a. Learn to memorize, use a flashcard or small card containing the
keywords of any information being studied.
b. Learn to look for alternative materials from various sources, for
example from video, PowerPoint, mind map, images, or an
interesting chart. This will help you to get a big picture of what
he will learn.
E. Worksheets
1. How does the child most effectively learn?
2. How can adults best support and facilitate the child's learning?
3. What environmental conditions best support and facilitate the child's
learning?
F. Further Discussion
Visit and make a summary of this article:
https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/early-education/diverse-learning-
styles-in-early-childhood-education/
G. References
Chau, C. Infant Learning, 9-12 months. http://www.leapfrog.com/en-
us/learning-path/articles/learning-through-year-one © 2001-2017
LeapFrog Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.
Davis, E.S. What’s your child learning styles?
http://www.parenting.com/article/whats-your-childs-learning-style-
21354384
A. Description of Course
Identify, evaluate, and selectively apply a wide variety of learning style in
kindergarten, first to sixth grade. The young learmers age 5-12 years needs
learning styles based on imitation, teacher creativity in providing some
visual, realia, thematic lesson and familiar teaching material.
B. Relevance of Course
The students can reflect to demonstrate the comprehensive knowledge, use
of the theory learning styles and apply the ‗real life‘ context in teaching
material. The students will demonstrate strategies to create a more
interactive and communicative classroom, particularly for young learners of
English.
C. Learning Outcomes
The students are able to comprehend the concept and the implementation
a wide of variety of learning style in kindergarten, first to sixth grade.
4. Teach in themes
A thematic unit, a series of lessons Common themes for YLs:
on the same topic or subject, can animals, friends, family,
create broader contexts in which to environment, citizenship,
teach language, recycle language shopping, or units revolving
from lesson to lesson, and allow around a storybooks, e
students to focus more on content websites, celebrities, or movies
E. Worksheet
Role Play
Think about what you have seen and learned in this classroom about
learning and teaching styles for primary students. Now do these two role
plays with a partner.
Role Play #1
Person #1 Person #2
You are an English teacher in a You are a supervisor at a primary
primary school. Your supervisor school. You visit a teacher‘s class
comes to visit your classroom and and are surprised to see her
is surprised to see your students students out of their seats playing
out of their seats playing games games and having fun. You think
and having fun. She thinks that that this teacher is not doing her
you are not doing your job. Listen job. Tell her that you think she is
to what she says. being irresponsible.
Respond to her and explain why Demand that she explain herself to
you are teaching English this way. you!
Person #1 Person #2
You are a parent of a primary You are an English teacher in a
student. You notice that your child primary school. A parent of one of
brings back art projects, funny your students comes to see you.
pictures, and strange stories from She thinks that your assignments
English class. You think it looks like art projects and stories are fun
fun, but you aren‘t sure that he is but do not seem like good English
really learning English. You ask instruction. Listen to what she
his teacher why he isn‘t bringing says.
home more grammar and Explain to her why you are
vocabulary exercises. After all, it is teaching English this way.
English class! Tell the teacher you
are not sure this is good English
instruction.
F. Further Discussion
Visit this website and make summary of it in your own words.
https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/early-education/diverse-learning-
styles-in-early-childhood-education/
G. References
Chamot, A. U. (1993). Student responses to learning strategy instruction in
the foreign language classroom. Foreign Language Annals, 26, 308-
321.
O‘Malley, J. M. and Chamot, A. U. (1990). Learning strategies in second
language acquisition. UK: Cambridge.
Putra, J.R(2012) .Creating a Positive English Language Teaching and
Learning Environment in EYL Classroom Setting. Proceeding Teflin 2
Creating Learning
Environment for Young
Language Learners
(Listening & Speaking)
. . . . .
A. Description of Course
This course discusses how to establish the welcoming learning environment
for young learners and encourage Early childhood professionals to do some
leading activity in teaching Listening and speaking. This courses emphasis
two of English skills: how to maximize How to Maximize Young Learner‘s
speaking. They describe some enjoyable activities to encourage early
childhood get comprehension in listening and speaking.
B. Relevance of Course
The relevance of course is the students will engage their home and society
environment into the activities in this book (as mention details in exercises).
In the exersices, most of activities given is case study. So, the students is
allowed to think critically in group discussion.
D. Detail of Material
Creating an environment for Young Language learners
A caring environment in which children feel secure and valued will allow
them to express their thoughts, feelings and understanding. The classroom
environment should promote language as a tool for learning across the
curriculum. Teachers need to provide an environment which promotes
active listening and purposeful talking, well designed writing and
compherensive reading.
Creating safe and caring environments for children from linguistically and
culturally diverse backgrounds involves establishing a tone of respect. This
means that children, parents and community members should feel as
though they are welcomed members of the learning community and that
their diverse identities are valued.
This seems to imply the importance of ensuring that the language level is
matched to the learners, which means teachers must understand their
learners' abilities.
Krashen advises that acquisition proceeds best when 'the acquirer's level of
anxiety is low and self-confidence is high.' This seems to enforce the
importance of making the learning environment in our classrooms non-
threatening.
Diyanti (2006) stated It is through listening that babies first learn the
language. It is also believed that exposure to English should be first done
through exposing students to verbal talks. Learners get many things trough
listening. When learners have the opportunity to listen to listening materials,
then teachers should expose students to listening to English as much as
possible. Therefore, listening skills become very crucial emphasis in the
teaching of English to young learners.
2. Dictation
Dictation exercise is always an important technique of teaching listening
because it trains students‘ comprehension in differing English sounds.
Dictation doesn‘t have to be dull and boring in which teachers simply
state the words and students write the words in their notebooks, it can be
so much fun and interesting if we apply it in language games. Some of
the listening games that involved the principles of dictation are Chopstick
Spelling and Bingo.
3. Stories
It is a wonderful technique to teach, English through stories. Paul, (2003:
74) argues that stories can be a supplementary material when teaching
b. Student‘s motivation
Encourage students to spend time speaking to you. Be mindful of how
much time you arespeaking versus your student: keep tutor talk time to a
minimum and increase student talk time. Focussing on speaking practice
also offers an opportunity to build on cultural traditions of oralstory telling
which many students may be familiar with. Encouraging pride in this
tradition can be a useful tool in providing students with the confidence
needed for preparing class presentations or other formal speaking activities.
E. Worksheets
Design some activities based on the material above to teach listening and
speaking and you may use some activities in teaching listening and
speaking.
G. References
http://ocw.metu.edu.tr/file.php/79/WeekV_Listening_and_Speaking_in_
Young_Learner_Classes.pdf
Alberta Education. Early Learning Branch. (2009) Working with young
children who are learning English as a new language. Alberta :
Early Learning Branch.
Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching Languages to Young Learners. Cambridge
University Press. Linse,
Northern Ireland Curriculum. Talking and Listening Language and literacy In
the Foundation Stage
Garvie, E (1990) Story as Vehicle. England:Multilingual Matters Ltd
Krashen, S.D. (1997) Foreign Language Education. The Easy Way.
Wendy Arnold, Teacher, Trainer, Author, IATEFL YL SIG,
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/listening-young-learners
Yuniar Diyanti (2006) Teaching Listening and Speaking
http://studylib.net/doc/12685454/teaching-listening-and-speaking-to-young-
learners----by-
Creating Learning
Environment for Young
Language Learners
(Reading & Writing)
. . . . .
A. Description of Course
The first step in creating an appropriate environment for infants, toddlers,
and preschool children is to examine how young children learn and develop.
Each stage of development has unique characteristics that influence how a
child will experience his or her environment.
The early environment where young children live will help determine the
direction of their brain development. Children who have severely limited
opportunities for appropriate experiences will be delayed; this may
permanently affect their learning. But, children who have the opportunity to
develop in an organized and appropriate environment are challenged to
think and use materials in new ways.
B. Relevance of Course
The relevance of course is the students will engage their home and society
environment into the activities in this book (as mention details in exercises).
In the exersices, most of activities given is case study. So, the students is
allowed to think critically in group discussion.
D. Detail of Material
Reutzel and Clark (2011) explain that the physical arrangement and
organization of a classroom can be powerful and supportive of effective
literacy instruction. Literate environments should motivate students and
emphasize the importance of speaking, reading, and writing (The Access
Center, 2007). Creating a literate classroom environment where students
feel well, productive, energized, and safe requires design knowledge
(Roskos & Neuman, 2011). Below you will find practical, helpful suggestions
and a picture to aid you in designing a literate environment to benefit
literacy development for your students. Suggestions are based on the work
of Reutzel and Clark (2011), Roskos and Neuman (2011), and The Access
Center (2007).
1. Reading
The nature of Reading
‘An estimated 122 million youth globally are illiterate, of which young
women represent 60.7% .. 67.4 million children are out of school …
deficient or non-existent basic education is the root cause of illiteracy’.
(UNESCO)
Imagine what your life would be like if you didn‘t know how to read.
Approximately only 80% of the world‘s population is reported to be able
to read (Grabe & Stoller, 2002).
Reading is a fundamental skill for learners, not just for learning but for
life (Traves 1994) with reading being defined as ―…the ability to draw
meaning from the printed page and interpret this information
appropriately‖ (Grabe & Stoller, 2002, p. 9).
Semantics
Being able to ‗decode‘ or read aloud is not useful on it‘s own. The symbols
carry meaning and so young learners need to be taught how to ‗encode‘ the
symbols and visuals in order to find out the message being shared.
Syntactics
In the same way that every language has differences in symbols, so they
have in the ‗nuts and bolts‘ or arrangement of their symbols. The grammar
or syntax of language is best ‗acquired‘ in the Krashen sense, rather than
‗learnt‘ explicitly. Acquisition will occur through multiple exposures to
language usage in different contexts. Dissecting language is not very useful
to a young learner, however, some simple metalanguage from the age of 10
years old upwards can be helpful, e.g. identifying nouns, verbs, adjectives,
adverbs, articles, pronouns and word order. The reason being that there
may be differences between the L1 and English and being helped to ‗notice‘
these differences can help. A helpful publication to find out differences
between 22 languages and English is edited by Swan and Smith (2001).
Developing literacy
You do not need access to a vast library or online literature to explore
reading in your classroom. Techniques we have used, and ones learners
have enjoyed are shared for you below. It is important to remember that
activating background knowledge when needed may be key to a
comprehensible reading activity as; ―Our background knowledge is like a
lens through which we understand what we read‖ and it ―allows teachers to
unlock vocabulary before reading‖ (Anderson, 1999, p. 11).
Cameron (2001) gives a very useful list of ideas for creating a ‗literate
Theories to consider
Much of the theory behind L2 writing is based on research into the
development of L1 writing skills. Two main approaches have emerged out
of this research: writing as a process and as a product.
Writing as a process involves:
1. Thought-showering or ‗brainstorming‘ notes, ideas, words and phrases
about a topic
2. Categorising and ordering the ideas according to the task requirements
3. Writing a first draft
4. Revising the first draft by improving content and accuracy
5. Implementing the improvements in the re-written text
Writing as a product
The end goal is an authentic task e.g. writing to inform, to thank etc.
Success is gauged by the accuracy of the content and accuracy of the text.
Accuracy focuses on:
1. Grammar and vocabulary
2. Spelling and punctuation
3. Legibility and appropriate genre conventions
Content focuses on:
1. Conveying information successfully to the reader
2. Providing enough detailed information
3. Logically ordering ideas
4. Using appropriate register
5. Originality of ideas
E. Worksheets
Flashcards are every language learner‘s indispensable vocabulary
assistants. Most of the young learners in your groups cannot read or write
yet. Use the picture dictionaries or use the illustrations, but most
importantly, use the flashcards.
1. How do you design your reading classroom for young language
learners?
2. How do you design your writing classroom for young language
learners?
F. Further Discussion
Visit and make a summary of this article:
https://teachmama.com/10-ways-create-literacy-rich-environment/
G. References
Cameron, L .2001. Teaching Languages to Young Learners. UK:
Cambridge University Press
Linse, C.T. 2005. Young Learners. USA: McGraw Hill.
B. Relevance of Course
The students can reflect to demonstrate the comprehensive knowledge, use
of the theory learning styles and apply the ‗real life‘ context in teaching
material. The students will demonstrate strategies to create a more
interactive and communicative classroom, particularly for young learners of
English.
C. Learning Outcomes
The students are able to comprehend the concept of teaching grammar and
vocabulary and implement it in English language classroom.
Grouping words together definitely helps students associate new words with
words they already know and assists them in recalling words. When
learning new words, the emphasis should definitely be placed on
consolidating words that students know and practising a fewer number of
E. Worksheets
Design some activities based on the material above to teach grammar and
vocabulary and you may use some activities in teaching vocabulary and
grammar.
Designing Lessons
It‘s great to use songs, mime, gesture, and reordering sentences or words
in class. However, you have to make sure that you are using them
effectively to teach English. Here is one way to organize a lesson using a
song. Use this page to take notes after watching a demonstration of a
lesson.
Lesson title:
Song title:
Content: Vocabulary:
Grammar:
Objectives: By the end of the lesson, students should be able to…
Warm-up:
Presentation:
F. Further Discussion
Visit this web address and make summary of it.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson334.shtml
G. References
Brewster, J., Ellis, G and Girard, D. 2002. The Primary English Teacher’s
Guide. New Edition. Harlow: Pearson EducationLimited.
Cameron, L .2001. Teaching Languages to Young Learners. UK:
Cambridge University Press
Puskás, A. 2016. The Challenges and Practices of Teaching Young
Learners. Kega Gank Project
Putra, J.R(2012) .Creating a Positive English Language Teaching and
Learning Environment in EYL Classroom Setting. Proceeding Teflin 2
Shin. J.k (2012) Teaching English For Young Leraners. University of
Maryland, Baltimore [email protected]
https://alassemah.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/young_learners_book.
pdf
B. Relevance of Course
The relevance of course is the students will engage their home and society
environment into the activities in this book (as mention details in exercises).
In the exersices, most of activities given is case study. So, the students is
allowed to think critically in group discussion.
D. Detail of Material
1. Teaching English through Stories
Stories and Themes as Holistic Approaches to Language Teaching
and Learning
Stories and themes are placed together in this chapter because they
present holistic approaches to language teaching and learning that
place a high premium on children‘s involvement with rich, authentic
uses of foreign language. Stories offer a whole imaginary world, created
by language that children can enter and enjoy, learning language as
they go. Themes begin from an overarching topic or idea that can
branch out in many different directions, allowing children to pursue
personal through the foreign language.
Quality in Story
A good story is, at one level, simply one that listeners or readers enjoy.
However, stories that appeal more than others, and that remain
favorites with children and parents over many years, do demonstrate
some common features that can be identified as characterizing quality.
Quality stories have characters and a plot that engages children, often
the art work is as important as the text in telling in the story, and they
create a strong feeling of satisfaction when the end is reached. A
convincing and satisfying closure includes the reader in those who ‗live
happily ever after‘.
Stories that have the qualities of content, organization and language
use that we have explored thus far are potentially useful tools in the
foreign language classroom, since they have the potential to capture
children‘s interest and thus motivation to learn, along with space for
language growth. However, not all good stories will be automatically
good for language learning, and we now move to think about what is
involved in choosing and using stories not just for pleasure, but for
(pleasurable) language learning.
Why Games?
There are a number of reasons that games deserve a place in the
language classroom. First of all, they are fun, which is extremely
important, because they can help activate students who may have been
inactive before, due to lack of interest. Keeping students active is vital
because teachers will never be able to actually teach students anything
unless they can get them to participate in their own learning process.
Second, games also play a big part in helping participants build
relationships, and to feel equal. Playing games in the classroom can
also help create a friendly and positive atmosphere where seat
arrangement can differ from game to game, and thus cause diversity
from the norm which can be extremely helpful in keeping an exciting
learning environment
b. Listening
Most people remember training their listening skill mainly by doing
listening activities when they were in school. Listening activities
might very well be an effective way of training that particular skill but
teachers need to remember to keep the activities versatile or their
students might get bored. By combining listening with games,
teachers might prevent their 16 students from getting bored, and by
keeping them interested they are increasing the chances of the
students achieving their goals. An example of a good listening
game is the famous game ―Simon says‖ where one participant plays
the role of Simon and gives the others directions, for example by
saying: ―Simon says jump‖, or ―Simon says stop jumping‖ and then
everybody would have to do that. If Simon only says ―everybody
jump‖ and does not attach the phrase ―Simon says‖ at the front then
the other participants are not be supposed to follow the direction.
Because of this, students need to listen carefully in order to know
when to follow Simon‘s directions and when to ignore them. This
game can also be used to train any vocabulary.
d. Reading
Reading is an important skill to possess especially when learning
the English language. First of all it is important because of the fact
that to be able to write people need to know how to read. Secondly
it is important for people if they plan to visit the country where the
language is spoken because then they will have to be able to read,
for example, various directions, menus, and tourist brochures.
Thirdly, knowing how to read is important if students are planning
on getting an education beyond elementary school because that
requires reading (Harmer, 2009 p. 77). This last point applies
especially in Iceland where the majority of textbooks for university
d. Oral Matching can be a fun way for English learners to mingle and
practice conversation. Each student is given a slip of paper with
either a question or an answer on it (for more variety, they can have
one of each, so long as they don‘t match!) and they are to read their
questions and answers to their fellow students in order to decide
which ones go together. For more fun, use a dialogue or story to
create your question and answer slips. Once each student has
found his or her matching pair(s), you can have the students put it
back together in the original order and read it together.
Third activity is singing a song to learn fun. This skill that the children
can learn through songs is speaking skills. Singing a song, however
simple, is a pleasing achievement. After the children listen to the song,
they would attempt to sing it. Moreover, since the words in the refrain
are repeated several times, they are easily memorized. As Rixon
(2000) says that one of the most popular formats for songs is that the
refrain (a rhythmic section) is repeated many times, and has often
been observed to result in spontaneous ‗joining in‘ by the young
audience. Teacher of young learners of a language experienced that
this exposure to rhythmic utterances benefits retention of words in
memory. Griffee (1992) also states that the children practice saying
the words in the same way they sing the songs, the children can
repeat the words in rhythmic word groups. Thus, the exposure and the
repeated words from the songs make it easier for the children to
remember the words as a result the children can produce or utter the
words.
The songs need to be sing able, but the teacher can use only part of
the songs, for example, one or two verses of the whole song. The
teacher can also consider the children‘s songs, folk songs, or other
E. Worksheets
Stories, games and songs are motivating and fun; they create a deep
interest and a desire to continue learning.
How do you develop your young language learners skill through stories,
games and songs? Describe the activities in the classroom.
F. Further Discussion
Visit, download and print the stories (one story for each group), an activity in
that story, the answer and the character flashcard (if it is available).
https://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/short-
stories?_ga=2.88024477.424065937.1507900462-29900278.1507181378
G. References
Cameron, L .2001. Teaching Languages to Young Learners. UK:
Cambridge University Press
Moon, J. 2000. Children Learn English. UK: MacMillan Publisher Limited.
Scott, A. W. and Ytreberg H. Lisbeth. Teaching English to Children.
NewYork: Longman.
A. Description of Course
This course illustrates some planning and preparation to create the English
for young learners process and create some activities during teaching and
learning process. It also defines some language teaching for young
learners. Some suggestion for learning activities leads the students to
create their interesting lesson plan.
B. Relevance of Course
The students are engaged to interpret the lesson plan which concise,
measurable purpose and have specific time frame: all parts of the lesson
plan are included. They should be able to practice the teaching activities in
the worksheet of lesson plan.
C. Learning Outcomes
The students are able to comprehend the concept of designing language
planning for young learners.
1 Warm up
A warm up activity can be used in a number of ways. It can get your
students thinking about material that will be used later on in the class,
review material from a previous class, or simply get your students thinking
in English, moving around, or awake. This activity should only take up a
small portion of your lesson, perhaps five minutes.
2 Introduction
A good introduction will create a need for students to learn the material you
are going to present and get them interested in the day‘s topic. This is the
part of the lesson where the teacher does the most talking so try to get
students involved and use choral repetition to keep students talking about
half the time. Depending on how complex the topic is or how much new
vocabulary there is, the introduction could take some time but in most
cases, about ten minutes should be sufficient.
4 Production
In the production activity students should have to produce material on their
own. Rather than reading sentences, perhaps they have to answer
questions or make their own sentences. Longer activities such as board
games, which can be played in groups, or activities for the whole class,
where students work in teams, would be best. The remaining class time can
be devoted to this activity.
5 Review
It is a good idea to plan another five minute activity that can be done at the
end of class as a review or used as the warm up in the following lesson. If
the production activity does not take up the remaining portion of the class
period, you have a backup plan.
Dossetor (2012) stated most teachers plan lessons in order to feel more
confident in the class itself. If we know what we‘re trying to achieve in the
lesson, we are freed up to spend more time with the learners rather than
worrying about our next step.
At the start of a course, we need to sit down and think about ‗What‘ we
intend to cover in the course, and ‗Why‘. These two concepts go hand in
hand; we will be able to decide ‗what‘ to teach, when we know ‗why‘ we
want to teach it, and this will depend on the group of learners that we have
in front of us in the classroom.
Some schools and institutions will provide their teachers with a syllabus
from the start of an academic year, which maps out exactly what they
expect their teachers to cover. In those cases, this process of working out
the ‗what‘ and the ‗why‘, has largely been done for the teacher (for good or
for ill!).
However there are many schools and institutions that will provide their
teachers with a course text, and expect the teacher to make these kinds of
decisions. In these situations, forward planning by the teacher at the start of
the year, or start of each term, will be extremely helpful in ensuring that
I think that the question of ‗how‘ we plan the activities in our lessons is
closely related to the first ingredient that he mentions: student engagement.
Students need to be fully engaged in the lesson because without this
engagement, interest and concentration, it will be very hard for them to
learn effectively in the class.
One important criteria to have in mind is that we want to provide variety for
our students because, as soon as they become bored, we have lost the
crucial attention that students need to learn. However if we were to
constantly spring new ideas & activities on them, students might feel
disorientated and confused. Therefore, we should also aim to use familiar
routines and activities that students already know, in order to provide a
familiar structure to the lesson.
I‘d like to talk then, about some ideas to help us with the ‗how‘ of lesson
planning: first of all, how we can build variety into our lessons, and
secondly, how we can also use familiar routines and activities to ensure
continuity.
Variety can come into the lesson in many different ways. It might mean that
the teacher decides to take a test-teach-test approach to grammar, rather
than a presentation-practice-production approach. It might mean that
students generate their own questions to the reading text, rather than using
the true/false ones in the book.
Variety can also come into the lesson with the deceptively simple change of
varying the way that the tables and chairs are set up, if your classroom
allows for this. The position that individual students sit in can also be
changed regularly, by mixing up pairs and groups, so that students aren‘t
working with the same people.
One way that the teacher can plan for variety, is to have a recipe book of
these ideas to refer to. By ‗recipe book‘, I don‘t mean the kind of TEFL
recipe book that can be pulled off the shelf in a bookshop, but rather a
personalised recipe book that the teacher builds up over time. The recipes
are tried and tested lesson activities, that can be noted down to refer back
to in the future. It‘s easy to find that you incorporate new ideas that you
have heard from colleagues, or seen being done in a conference, only to
find that a few months later, you‘ve stopped using that activity and in fact
you‘ve forgotten it. Keeping a note of these kinds of activities will help you
to have them to hand when you need them.
Planning for variety means that we can keep ourselves and our learners
interested and engaged in our classes. At the same time, the opposite
concept, routine, can also be an important element in the class to add
harmony and balance to the learning experience. One way that we can
structure this experience is to use what Tessa Woodward, in her excellent
book Planning lessons and courses (CUP) would call ‗threads‘.
The following ideas are just a number of different ‗threads‘ that I regularly
incorporate in my classes.
Student presentations
I use student presentations with nearly all my groups who are B1 or above.
Sometimes I structure the presentations quite loosely, and don‘t require a
minimum number of slides or minutes. At other times, I ask students to try
to use a ‗Pecha Kucha‘ 20 slides by 20 seconds format, which is more rigid
(but often more enjoyable). I start by doing a presentation myself, about
something that relates to myself. I encourage the students to choose a
topic which has personal significance to them, so that the whole class can
find out more about each other through the presentations.
At the beginning of a course, I pass round a list and ask students to choose
a song each. We then listen to these songs, with a song worksheet, over
the course of the term / year. Where possible I ask students to create the
song worksheets themselves.
I regularly note down new words from my lessons on ‗word bag cards‘, and
students write definitions and example sentences for these word bag cards.
Once the word bag is sufficiently large, there are a number of different
Students can have a writing journal, where they write down their thoughts
about a range of different topics. Writing in the journal can provide a regular
slot in each lesson, and can help to get students more used to writing
fluently in English.
Pronunciation games
Pronunciation activities are a great way to change the focus of a class. The
pronunciation of individual sounds, word stress, or sentence stress requires
different skills from the learners than reflecting on grammar or the meaning
of words. There are lots of fun ways to practise pronunciation in a gamelike
way, and in my experience students have always enjoyed this. The
pronunciation ‗thread‘ can be a regular routine, but within this routine, there
can be (and needs to be) a good deal of variety about what features of
pronunciation are practised.
Young children learn about the world as they experience it. This means that
their learning is holistic and related to particular events in their lives.
Thematic and project-based approaches are two effective ways to offer
children relevant and hands-on learning experiences.
Consider developing an overall thematic or project-based approach with
language functions embedded in it. Themes and functions should be related
to children‘s everyday lives, surroundings and routines. Media and popular
culture-based themes are often effective because they are what young
children learning a new language have in common with their peers. Access
to peer group culture is important so that children can make friends and
learn to play together, no matter what their cultural and linguistic
background is.
E. Worksheets
Design your own lesson plan of teaching English for young language
learners. Some points to be considered are : Level, Objective, Material,
activies and Ending the lesson.
G. References
Cameron, L. (2003). Challenges for ELT from the expansion in teaching
children. ELT Journal, 57(2), 105–112.
Pinter, A. (2006). Teaching young language learners. Oxford, UK: Oxford
University Press http://busyteacher.org/3753-how-to-write-a-lesson-
plan-5-secrets.html
Joanna, D. (2012) Course Planning.
https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/course-planning