2nd Week

WORKING WITH YOUNG LANGUAGE LEARNERS

As a teacher there are certain principles that we need to be aware of when dealing with young language learners.



1st is Children's ability to grasp meaning- Children are able to understand what is being said to them even before they understand the individual words. They are able to use intonation, gestures, facial expression to help unravel unknwon words or phrase. Teacher could help to polish this ability by emphasizing on the importance of focusing on the nonverbal communication skill. For example playing games such as Charade.

2nd is Children's creative use of limited language resources- Children have the ability to use creative forms of language to express themselves due to the limited knowledge and vocabulary that they have. Using games in classroom will utilize this skill and creativity especially games that focuses on the need for communication.

3rd is Children's capacity for indirect learning- Acquisition of language takes place best when it is unconcious and indirect. Once again using games in classroom ensures that children will not be intimidated with the learning but rather focused on winning the game and solving the problem in hand, this make sure that learning takes place in an effective yet subtle manner.

4th is Children's instinct for play and fun- It in impossible to seperate children with fun and play. So the best way would be to incoprate those two in the learning. Creating a fun based classroom with lots of games and play and not forgetting the learing content would work miracle in boosting childen's learning.



5th is The role of imagination- Children's sense of imagination is at an outmost capacity. They are able to relive the reality in a fantasy world. Thus using stories such as fairy tales would bring their learning the world they are familiar with. Tecaher's should not hinder on their imagination but rather try to encourage them.


6th is The instict for interaction and talk- Language learning is all based on the ability to interact. It is the most powerful and obvious means of applying the language. It is also the best way in receiving feedback and assessong children's ability.