Print Article for : Teaching Esl To Children

Your Online Guide » Education and Teaching » Articles on Education

[T95]Teaching Esl To Children

by George Stocker, Geo

Teaching ESL to children is challenging but also very rewarding. Before I walk into a class of 10-year olds, I take a deep breath. Children have no attention span AT ALL, and so I tell myself to slow right down before I start. Teaching children requires patience and a sense of fun and playfulness. Even though it seems obvious, a common mistake is to think that children are simply 'short adults!' This is sure to get you off on the wrong foot!

Here are some tips for teaching ESL to children:

1. Involve Children in an hands-on Activities. Children's minds are incredibly open and they learn by absorbing ideas and concepts directly. Children need to be actively involved. Get students up and out of their chairs and moving around. Sing songs, and play games.

2. Avoid talking for long periods of time. I find that the energy level of the classroom drops lower and lower. Explain an activity quickly and then go to it. Keep the energy moving! If your planned activity is a flop, move on. Keep a few extra activities handy for this purpose. Children need lots of stimulation all the time.

3. Children learn by interacting with each other and with the teacher. Try to talk to each child individually each class. Whenever possible, have children working in groups and in pairs.

4. Review, Review, Review. New information is absorbed and has meaning when it is related to information students have already learned. Quickly review new concepts at the beginning of each class.

5. Encourage students to correct themselves and other students. Self correction or self-regulation is an important part of learning. Students should be encouraged to ask, "How am I doing?" and "Am I doing this right?" in an open and non-judgmental environment. Children raised in authoritative cultures may need additional re-inforcement.

6. Use what is learned in different contexts. The more contexts used the better, and the more concrete and 'real life' the contexts the better. Make it real for students by talking about them and their lives.

7. Praise, Praise, Praise. Encourage and build students up in a natural way. Learning occurs when students are motivated and feel good about themselves.

Looking back on my years of teaching, the children's classes took a bit of getting used to, but were the most memorable and fun!

There are times of the day when special activities such as ESL classroom games are very appropriate. Although the daily school timetable varies from country to country, it is usual for children aged five to nine to have a playtime break during the morning. They stop for lunch around noon and return to class for a time during the afternoon. Regardless of the schedule, many will likely be able to stay on task until the first break but there will be some who sit and dream and others who disturb their friends. The class time directly after the morning break is good learning time. It's a good time for the teacher to introduce the more difficult parts of the program. The last half hour before lunch, however, is a tired, very low energy time, a time when ESL classroom games can help. The afternoon follows a similar pattern to the two morning periods.

We can assume that in most countries the school day has about three low energy times that everyone feels: children feel it, and teachers feel it. It doesn't matter if you are teaching the same children in an ESL class all day or if you are seeing them for a short period of time in an English Foreign Language class in their home country. These low energy times are the most challenging for teachers. ESL classroom games can help teachers and students learn through these times.

For children who are beginning to speak English, here is an ESL classroom game that you can prepare. Find pictures of things you have been talking about in the program you are using or in a magazine. Cut them out and you are ready to play!

ESL Classroom Game 1
Give each student a small piece of paper. Hold up one picture and ask one child to name it. (You might want to review the names of all the pictures you are going to hold up before you start.) If the child is right, let them have the picture on their desk for the duration of the game and stamp their small piece of paper with a picture or draw a star on it. If the student is wrong then put the picture behind the others in the pile. Continue with the other pictures. Pay particular attention to the children who are insecure. Ask them about pictures that you think they will know. As they gain confidence they'll be more successful. Sometime the fear of making a mistake overwhelms them. Another approach is to have the children answer in pairs. A good follow-up activity for this ESL classroom game is to give each child one of the pictures and have them draw it on their small piece of paper and print its name under it.

ESL Classroom Game 2
Give one or two pictures plus a small piece of paper to each student. They should all be given the same number of pictures. They are to listen while you say a sentence about one of the pictures. The student who has the right picture holds it up and gets a stamp or star on their paper of book. This can be followed by having them draw the picture on their small piece of paper and print a sentence or word about it.

Article Source : Pg. 56

About Author

Both George Stocker & Stephen Stocker are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

George Stocker has sinced written about articles on various topics from Education. . George Stocker's top article generates over 27100 views. to your Favourites.

Stephen Stocker has sinced written about articles on various topics from Keyboard Synthesizer, Entertainment Guide and Music. ESL-Storybooks.com is a resource site for , with original ESL stories for young beginning ESL students.. Stephen Stocker's top article generates over 6600 views. to your Favourites.