ENGLISH IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

ENGLISH IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. Instructing Young Children: Developing a Curriculum and Incorporating Fundamental Games and Activities

ENGLISH IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

ENGLISH IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Foreign language classes through the fifth grade level of elementary schools are part of a larger goal to familiarise children with foreign languages, lifestyles and cultures, rather than focusing on teaching a foreign language in a formal way. They are not supposed to be preparation for junior high school, and the use of katakana should be avoided. Unlike junior and senior high schools, there are no set textbooks for younger elementary students, and the emphasis of foreign language education is placed on the listening and speaking of simple terms that students know from their daily lives as opposed to written forms. English should be taught in a fun and natural way, using activities such as songs and games. Some communities may not be ready to introduce English at an earlier age than this, but would like their children to be more internationally minded and have introduced “International Understanding” education for younger learners.

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ENGLISH IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Teaching Young Children

The teaching of foreign language and international understanding to children can be extremely fulfilling due to the responsiveness of the audience. Whereas adults have many years of habit and thought to overcome, children’s curiosity will often overcome childhood prejudices.
When preparing classes, always bear in mind that the children, although responsive, may have very limited attention spans. These are children who are used to watching television programmes with commercial breaks every 5-7 minutes. Also do not overestimate the amount of time you have.
Excluding start-up and clean-up, a 45-minute class you may well have only 30 minutes of actual instruction time. There are a number of suggestions contained herein for the first time you teach a class. The children may need time to adjust to having a foreigner speaking to them before they move on to some of the more thought provoking exercises also included. When planning activities, try to look out for things that the children are interested in, e.g. their favorite musical group, or a
favourite baseball or soccer player. Use these examples to capture the students’ attention and interest.

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ENGLISH IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL: Elementary School Grades

It is difficult to provide definitive descriptions of the differences between each grade of elementary school, but here are some points to remember:

1st and 2nd grade:

They love to be active and often enjoy doing the same thing over and over again with just a few variations to the activity. A quick pace is required to keep their attention and it is especially important to start the class with as little delay as possible. Have calming activities prepared in case they become over excited (e.g. breathing in and out deeply after physical activities). If you are going to do several activities, make sure they are related.

3rd and 4th grade:

Children at this age have the energy of the 1st and 2nd graders, but can
understand the activities of the older students. Their natural curiosity is also at a peak during this period.

5th and 6th grade:

More complicated games can be understood, they can listen longer and can handle more abstract ideas (talking about another countries for example) but may be less willing tospeak, sing or move. Personalities also become more noticeable and you will see noisy or quietclasses. Do not push it if they are reluctant to come to the front or sing. Be careful not to let an activity go on too long – they are still children. They often enjoy doing research on their own. Always try to finish on a high note.

CREATING A SYLLABUS

If you visit a class just a few times a year, the visits will probably involve little more than self introductions and games. However, as the frequency increases to once a month or once a week the children will remember words and phrases from one class to the next and a syllabus or teaching schedule will become necessary to build on previous lessons. So what should a syllabus include?
Consider what aspects of life are important to young children and how they use language to talk about them. Subjects such as food, toys, school, family and friends will often be spoken about in terms of likes/dislikes, cans/cannots, approval/disapproval and so on.
If you teach a class often enough to get to know your students you will be able to tailor the syllabus to the class, but here are some suggestions from Will Jasprizza and Richard Graham of Genki English of subjects you may wish to cover. It has been suggested that you use a list such as this as a “menu” from which other teachers or your supervisor can choose. You can then adjust the activities and difficulty level to suit the class.

• Insects
• Greetings
• Animals
• Colours
• Gestures
• Clothes
• Games
• Body parts
• Feelings
• Sports
• Fruit
• Modes of transport
• Food
• Family members
• Drinks
• Directions
• Weather
• Names of countries
• Numbers
• Telling the time
• Actions (doing, going)
• Birthday (you do not have to remember all 12 months – just your birthday!)

English communication ability is just one part of the bigger picture. The aim is not linguistic perfection, but to get the kids motivated and interested in learning about the world.
In practical terms…

• Create an enjoyable atmosphere conducive to learning. This almost goes without saying, but the important point is to think like a kid. If you were a 7 year old kid, how would you want to learn?
• Use movement. Get the students out of their chairs. If possible use the gym, or the open area most schools have. When students practice “left” and “right,” do not have them just say the words – get them to move left and right! The more senses employed at once during the learning process, the easier it will be for the students to remember. (Think of riding a bicycle, you may find it difficult to describe all the steps involved, but your body remembers)
• Use songs. They are one of the best ways for the kids to remember the English you have taught them.

Take a three-step approach:

1. Introduce the vocabulary with picture cards or gestures. Remember that the focus is on spoken English: we do not have the time to teach reading and writing.
2. Sing the song a cappella, and get the students to repeat.
3. Once the children can do the song a cappella, play the actual music and sing along. This way you keep the exciting part for the end.
4. Drama. Get the students to role play. If you are teaching “How much is…” have them act out a scene in a make-believe shop. Remember: elementary school students are far less shy than junior high school students.
5. Use games. Games are the best way for kids to practice the target English. Kids love games. But do not play games just for the sake of playing. Each game should have an educational objective, whether it be increasing vocabulary, listening practice, or the teaching of whole
   phrases.

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Some advantages of EFL games are:

1. They provide extra motivation to learn the target language – learn the new language, win the game.
2. They allow the kids to practice with their peers.
3. The lessons become less teacher-orientated and more student-orientated.

And the biggest advantage is that they are fun. Kids want to learn more so that they can try new games.
Sometimes kids might get fed up if they lose a game, or other kids might tease the losers, in this case you must teach the kids the golden rule of games:

“Losing” doesn’t mean “losing”. The real meaning of the word is that you get another chance to try again. You never fail until you stop trying.
If everyone is having fun, everyone is a winner. Try this and after every lesson the kids will be shouting “again, again.”
Below are some examples of games that work well in elementary school, and prove that learning English is fun and effective.

ENGLISH IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL GAMES

Teaching at Elementary School can be one of the most rewarding parts of being an ESL teacher. You get to teach real, communicative English the kids can actually use, there are no set exams or curricula to hold you back, and the kids really do learn!

So remember to prepare your lessons well,
teach some cool stuff, have fun. You will love it.

Also check out these articles on teaching, teaching methods and teaching tools

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