Teach English in Daitou Zhen - Changzhou Shi

Teaching a foreign language can be a challenge in and of itself. It can be a whole other challenge when teaching children. Throughout my TEFL Young Learner’s course I have learned a lot about how to teach young students English as a second language. This is the best thing I’ve learned throughout my TEFL course because I spend a lot of time with children, mostly babysitting, while living abroad. I have learned to speak English with the students, even if it’s not being 100% understood by them, being silly can go a long way, and there are many different activities to help facilitate learning in a fun, exciting way. To learn a second language, many factors are involved. However, one specific piece of information stuck out to me during the Young Learners portion of the TEFL. That is, how did we learn our first language? We had no knowledge of grammar, rules, etc. yet here we are speaking a first language fluently. This happened because we were exposed to the language from when we were born (or infants). We absorbed all of the information, and learned through repetitive listening, along with trial and error. Of course there was a necessity to learning the language, which isn’t as prominent in learning a second language. Therefore, it is important to speak fluent English to our Young Learner students, even if they don’t understand everything we are saying. We want to do this because overtime, the words will become more familiar, and hopefully easier to understand as time goes on. I used this example the other day with a little girl I babysit for. She is French and I could tell she seemed frustrated she did not understand every word I was saying to her in English. I took the time to explain to her, in French, that it is OK that she doesn’t understand everything. I also told her I felt the same way learning French and now look at me! I cannot only understand most things being said, but I can express what I am feeling in French as well. Sure it takes time, but we must not lose sight of that ability to speak a second language. Another idea about teaching young learners that stuck out to me is to be silly, or don’t worry about what the students think of you. In fact, I think it even said, the weirder/sillier you were, the better. This is because it will allow the student to remember your silliness more, and therefore, hopefully it will resonate with them more. It made me think back to my learning experiences and what stuck out to me. I found that this is true. I certainly remembered the funnier, goofier teachers, or moments where they were being weird or silly. That being said, I’ve tried to use this while babysitting and it’s a fun way to help the kids learn, but it also makes me have fun too. It’s important to let your guard down and not care what your students think if you are being outlandish and funny. It is important to let the children have fun in your classroom as well. Games and activities in all forms can be a great way to engage the students and get them learning. Board games are a great way to get the students excited in class. They can be adapted to fit a lesson plan. It’s best to make sure to choose the lesson point first, and the game second. Craft activities are also a way to make a fun learning environment for the children. Playing songs and adding hand gesture dance moves can also be a great way to help your students. Songs can be fun and catchy, only helping further. Other ways in create an exciting atmosphere in the classroom is by using flashcards, seasonal activities, and stories. Overall, a teacher must implement a variety of different games and activities for their students. Young Learner students will be a very rewarding to teach. There are many new and exciting things I have learned about this course on TEFLYL. Most importantly I have gained important knowledge on how to best teach young learners English. I have learned that regardless of the student’s level of English, it is crucial to speak English to them anyway and always. Secondly, as a teacher, being silly, exaggerating your facial expressions, etc. is an effective way to help your students to learn. Finally, there are many techniques to making the classroom an amusing place to learn. Using arts and crafts, stories, drama, music, and games makes the students want to have fun and learn at the same time. I am looking forward to trying these techniques as I enter my job as an English as a foreign language teacher.