Teach English in GuribAnhuA Sumu - Tongliao Shi

Among all those given topics, “How to Develop the Speaking Abilities of Kindergarten Level Students” interests me most. I have been working with kindergarten level students for more than six years. What’s more, kindergarten period is the emergent stage for children’s literacy ability. During this period, children are full of curiosity about everything, they are willing to accept new things, so that they will be more active in learning English. Encourage them to express themselves in English will enable them to build up a good habit and a great interest in future study of English. First listen and then speak. Listening is always the first step to learn any language. Provide a wide range of listening material to the kindergarten level children to ensure that they have been input with vocabulary and grammar of English. Young learners tend to pick up foreign language more quickly and easily than adults. Children should start learning English with listening to varied listening materials to imitate and then develop their capacity of speaking English. Listening material should be varied but not complicated. Kindergarten level student usually lose their interest or attention when they are listening to some long and abstract material. Interesting listening exercise about daily life enables them to pick up more vocabulary and grammar. The best way to reach kindergarten level students is to bring in the material that interests them. Get to know what kindergarten level students and then regularly bring in those elements as examples or as part of lessons. Asking questions from the books or films that they are familiar with is one of the most interesting topics to make conversations. Retelling the stories from some best sellers is also an interesting practice from them. Teachers do not need to spend a lot time building up the context. At the kindergarten stage, building up children's confidence and interest in learning English is more important. Encourage the student to make the conversation in English. Greet them by saying “hi” or “Good morning”, ask “how are you today?” to use these simple sentences to start and give them encouragement such “great” and “good job” to let them feel they are doing quite well. Create a context or scene for them to practice speaking skill. It's very helpful for kindergarten students to make a conversation in a certain situation. Set up a table with some prop dish, food and a menu, then demonstrate how to order food and serve dishes. After the teacher’s demonstration, encourage the students to make a role play. During the practice, check whether they can ask and answer “Can I help you?” or say “I want an ice cream”. Learning and playing helps them learn better. The aim is to create a daily life scene and a comfortable atmosphere, where the students are aware of what they want to talk and they are enjoying talking in English. Allow the kindergarten student to make mistake when they are enjoy communicating with others in English. Accuracy and fluency are both important in speaking abilities. However, it is not necessary to correct the student all the time during the class because it takes time to kindergarten level student to pronounce accurately and takes more time to remember the grammar when they are at the beginning of learning a new language. Always be patient and encouraging. Rome is not build in one day. Support the kindergarten level student to developing speaking abilities step by step. Do not be aggressive. Encourage them to speak out loudly and reward them with some little gift, such as stickers to build up their confidence. Consider their current English level when choosing and using material, give clear and short instruction, create an good English environment during the class and make them feel comfortable. Encourage the kindergarten level students to express their idea in English is the most important aspect in developing their speaking abilities.