Bald Eagle Toilet Paper Roll Craft

From: DLTK's Crafts for Kids

Contributed by Leanne Guenther

Although this does make a great USA themed craft, it works for any bird and forest theme (we have bald eagles up here in Canada too).  I love the toilet paper roll crafts that have wings.

It would also work as a "Fish Eagle" craft.

Materials:

• toilet paper roll,
• printer,
• glue,
• scissors,
• something to color with,
• paper

Instructions:

• Print out the template of choice.
• Color the pieces as appropriate and cut them out.
• Glue the large rectangular piece around the toilet paper tube.
• Glue the tummy onto the front of the toilet paper roll.
• Glue  tail onto the back of the toilet paper roll.   I glued it to the inside back and then folded it upward.  I think it looks nice that way, but be creative!.
• Glue the head onto the front of the toilet paper roll.
• Glue the wings onto the back of the toilet paper roll to make it look like the eagle is flying.
• Fold the feet and glue the tabs to the inside of the tube.

Templates:

• Close the template window after printing to return to this screen.
• Set page margins to zero if you have trouble fitting the template on one page (FILE, PAGE SETUP or FILE, PRINTER SETUP in most browsers).

Template 1               (color)   or   (B&W)

Template 2 (wings)   (color)   or   (B&W)

Print friendly version of these instructions

Planning

Planning is one of those essential skills of the competent teacher. Planning 1 - methodology article This article looks at some general lesson planning questions: What should go into an English language lesson? What is a lesson plan? Why is planning important? Do you need to plan if you have a course book? What are the principles of planning? What should go into an English language lesson? Every lesson and class is different. The content depends on what the teacher wants to achieve in the lesson. However it is possible to make some generalisations. Students who are interested in, involved in and enjoy what they are studying tend to make better progress and learn faster. When thinking about an English lesson it is useful therefore to keep the following three elements in mind - Engage - Study - Activate Engage This means getting the students interested in the class. Engaging students is important for the learning process. Study Every lesson usually needs to have some kind of language focus. The study element of a lesson could be a focus on any aspect of the language, such as grammar or vocabulary and pronunciation. A study stage could also cover revision and extension of previously taught material. Activate Telling students about the language is not really enough to help them learn it. For students to develop their use of English they need to have a chance to produce it. In an activate stage the students are given tasks which require them to use not only the language they are studying that day, but also other language that they have learnt. What is a lesson plan? A lesson plan is a framework for a lesson. If you imagine a lesson is like a journey, then the lesson plan is the map. It shows you where you start, where you finish and the route to take to get there. Essentially the lesson plan sets out what the teacher hopes to achieve over the course of the lesson and how he or she hopes to achieve it. Usually they are in written form but they don't have to be. New or inexperienced teachers may want to or be required to produce very detailed plans - showing clearly what is happening at any particular time in the lesson. However in a realistic teaching environment it is perhaps impractical to consider this detail in planning on a daily basis. As teachers gain experience and confidence planning is just as important but teachers develop the ability to plan more quickly and very experienced teachers may be able to go into class with just a short list of notes or even with the plan in their heads. Whatever the level of experience, it is important that all teachers take time to think through their lessons before they enter the classroom. Why is planning important? One of the most important reasons to plan is that the teacher needs to identify his or her aims for the lesson. Teachers need to know what it is they want their students to be able to do at the end of the lesson that they couldn't do before. Here are some more reasons planning is important:- gives the teacher the opportunity to predict possible problems and therefore consider solutions makes sure that lesson is balanced and appropriate for class gives teacher confidence planning is generally good practice and a sign of professionalism Do you need to plan if you have a course book? Many teachers will find themselves having to use a course book. There are advantages and disadvantages to having a course book - but although they do provide a ready-made structure for teaching material, it is very unlikely the material was written for the teachers' particular students. Each class is different and teachers need to be able to adapt material from whatever source so that it is suitable for their students. A course book can certainly help planning, but it cannot replace the teacher's own ideas for what he or she wants to achieve in a class. What are the principles of planning? Aims - considering realistic goals for the lesson, not too easy but not too difficult. You may find the following checklist useful: What do the students know already? What do the students need to know? What did you do with the students in the previous class? How well do the class work together? How motivated are the students? Variety - an important way of getting and keeping the students engaged and interested. Flexibility - expect the unexpected! Things don't always go to plan in most lessons. Experienced teachers have the ability to cope when things go wrong. It's useful when planning to build in some extra and alternative tasks and exercises. Also teachers need to be aware of what is happening in the classroom. Students may raise an interesting point and discussions could provide unexpected opportunities for language work and practice. In these cases it can be appropriate to branch away from the plan. Effective lesson planning is the basis of effective teaching. A plan is a guide for the teacher as to where to go and how to get there. However - don't let the plan dominate - be flexible in your planning so that when the opportunities arise you can go with the flow. What is Engage, Study, Motivate? Foreign Language Acquisition Move a child into a foreign language environment surrounded by adults and otherchildren using the same foreign language and that child will quickly 'pick up' the foreignlanguage. Comprehension will come first but production will soon follow, starting withone word responses and utterances. The child's comprehension will develop and herproduction will become more complex until, after just a few years, she will use theforeign language in much the same way as native-speaker children of her age group.If children (and, to a lesser degree, adults) can acquire a foreign language without the need for formalinstruction, why do we need to give lessons?The child described in the first paragraph will have massive exposure to the foreign language - ten hourseach day or more! The child also has a very strong 'survival motivation' to acquire the new language. Onlythrough that language can she eat, drink, make friends and play games.In our normal schools, we cannot reproduce those conditions (although some experiments have attemptedto do this!).If we can't reproduce the conditions of 'natural acquisition', we are forced to adopt a system of 'gradedexposure' to the foreign language, and a similar graded presentation and explanation of the systems of the new language. In fact, we have to develop a language learning syllabus.The language learning syllabus is made from a series of language learning events (lessons) which,traditionally, are equal in duration, take place at fixed times and locations and follow a regular weeklypattern. How do we structure our teaching? (a) Presentation, Practice, Production Most teachers plan three phases in their lessons according to the PPP model of Presentation, Practice andProduction.During Presentation , new language is presented perhaps as a grammatical pattern or more frequentlywithin some familiar situation. During this presentation phase, the teacher is often very active anddominates the class doing more than 90% of the talking.During Practice , the new language item is identified, repeated and manipulated by the students. Unlessthe teacher is using pairwork or a language laboratory, the teacher also dominates this phase of thelesson occupying more than 50% of the talking in class.During Production , the students attempt to use the new language in different contexts provided by theteacher. (b) Engage, study, activate Since the PPP model has functioned more or less effectively for generations, you might ask why we shouldbe looking at different models. PPP works well provided that your syllabus is based only on giving students'thin slices' of language one slice at a time. The PPP model does not work nearly so well when teachingmore complex language patterns beyond the sentence level or communicative language skills. Another basic problem with PPP is that it is usually based on segments of the one-hour lesson. In thisway, lessons are designed with a single focus. In How to Teach English [Longman 1998] Jeremy Harmer proposed a different three stage model, theESA model: Engage, Study, Activate. The three stages of engage, study, activate (a) Engage During the Engage phase, the teacher tries to arouse the students' interest and engage their emotions.This might be through a game, the use of a picture, audio recording or video sequence, a dramatic story,an amusing anecdote, etc. The aim is to arouse the students' interest, curiosity and attention. The PPPmodel seems to suggest that students come to lessons ready motivated to listen and engage with theteacher's presentation. (b) Study The Study phase activities are those which focus on language (or information) and how it is constructed.The focus of study could vary from the pronunciation of one particular sound to the techniques an authoruses to create excitement in a longer reading text; from an examination of a verb tense to the study of atranscript of an informal conversation to study spoken style.There are many different styles of study, from group examination of a text to discover topic-relatedvocabulary to the teacher giving an explanation of a grammatical pattern.Harmer says, 'Successful language learning in a classroom depends on a judicious blend of subconsciouslanguage acquisition (through listening and reading, for example) and the kind of Study activities wehave looked at here. (c) Activate This element describes the exercises and activities which are designed to get students to use the languageas communicatively as they can. During Activate , students do not focus on language construction orpractise particular language patterns, but use their full language knowledge in the selected situation ortask. Lesson Structure (a) The ESA lesson A complete lesson may be planned on the ESA model where the 50-60 minutes are divided into threedifferent segments. It is very unlikely that these segments will be equal in duration. Activate will probablybe the longest phase but Study will probably be longer than Engage .In this format ESA would appear to be little different from PPP. (b) The ESA, ESA, ESA lesson Teachers of children and younger teenagers know that their students cannot concentrate for long periods.They can still use the ESA model but the model may be used repeatedly, producing a larger number of shorter phases.This repeated ESA model also works well with older teenagers and adults and gives lessons a richness andvariety which students appreciate.It would be wrong to give the impression that Engage , Study and Activate are each single activities.They are phases of the teaching/learning process which may contain one or more activities.Harmer, Jeremy: How to Teach English Longman 1998 ESA: A teaching methodology For many years Teachers of English have used the PPP model of Presentation, Practice andProduction for the preferred model of teaching. It has worked well. The PPP model falls shorthowever, in that it does not work well when teaching more complex language problems beyondthe sentence level or when teaching communicative skills. Jeremy Harmer in How to Teach English(Longman Publishing 1998) proposed an alternative to PPP called ESA: Engage, Study, andActivate. In an article written in The Guardian Weekend, March 15 1997, Bridget Riley complainedabout the treatment she and her fellow students received at the Royal College of Art. We wereabandoned when what we needed and what we hoped for was help toward independence inteaching rather than having independence thrust down our throats. Jeremy Harmer responded to Ms. Riley’ s complaint suggesting a consideration of his ESA teaching methodology. He stated thatESA stands for Engage, Study, and Activate. He used the example of a computer and suggestedthat in teaching trainees to teach that the ESA should be considered as the computer defaultmode.During the Engage phase, the teacher tries to arouse the students? interest and engage theiremotions. This might be through a game, the use of a picture, audio recording, video sequence, adramatic story, or an amusing anecdote. The aim is to arouse the students? interest, curiosity,and attention. Over the years the PPP model has always assumed that students come to lessonsalready motivated to listen or engage. The results of many years of PPP teaching do not supportthis assumption.The Study phase activities are those which focus on language or information and how it isconstructed. The focus of study could vary from the pronunciation of one particular sound to thetechniques an author uses to create excitement in a longer reading text. It could vary from anexamination of a verb tense to the study of a transcript of an informal conversation. There aremany different styles of study, from group examination of a text, to discovery related topicvocabulary, to the teacher giving an explanation of a grammatical pattern. Harmer says,?Successful language learning in a classroom depends on a judicious blend of subconsciouslanguage acquisition (through listening and reading) and the kind of study activities we havelooked at here.In the Activate stage the exercises and activities are designed to get students to use the languageas communicatively as they can. During the Activate, students do not focus on languageconstruction or practice particular language patterns, but use their full language knowledge in theselected situation or task.In Harmer?s response to Bridget Riley?s complaint about the short comings of her trainingprogram, he once again returns to the computer analogy. ?The ESA model is a macro defaultsetting, almost (to extend the metaphor) a teaching program. All three elements need to bepresent when it is in use. But what makes it useful as a macro default is that the order of theseelements is not fixed.Harmer describes the variations which can be used with the ESA model. He names his default levelE.S.A the Straight arrow approach. The first variation is the Boomerang approach: E.A.S.A. It is atask based approach. The Boomerang approach after the Engage (E) phase, gets students toperform a task (A) using all and/or any language they know and only then does the teacher goback to the language Study (S). The Study phase is then undertaken based on what the teacherwitnessed in the students? language performance. The teacher in short will fill in the gaps of thestudents? knowledge. To check that learning has taken place the students are then re-activated.Harmer goes on to say that most classes are neither Straight Arrow nor Boomerang?classes. Theytend to be more mixed up than this. The sequences in his Patchwork lessons include all theseelements, but can do so more than once and in various orders. A sequence such asE.A.A.S.S.E.S.A would be perfectly possible.Harmer in conclusion states, Trainers need clear models, just as computer users rely initially on adefault setting. I have suggested a macro default ESA as a general proposal, which provides threemicro default settings: Straight Arrow sequences, Boomerang sequence, and Patchworksequences. I believe that these will be of use to a teacher preparing for a life time as a teacher.Sooner or later the teacher will be able to break away from them, emerging as diagnosticallycreative as anyone might want.?

Move and Groove: 5 Total Physical Response Activities

Move and Groove: 5 Total Physical Response Activities That’ll Have Students Soaking Up Language Like a Sponge Want a teaching technique that’ll make your students jump for joy, dance with delight and finish off with high fives? Sounds like you’re looking for a language teaching approach called total physical response or TPR for short. TPR will change how you see language acquisition. Instead of asking your students to be quiet and sit still, you’ll be requiring them to stand up, move around the classroom and get physical! Intrigued? Let’s find out more about TPR, and then I’ll show you five engaging TPR activities to use in your own classroom. Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download) What Is Total Physical Response? Total physical response is an approach to teaching second language that was developed in the 1970s by James Asher, professor of Psychology at the San Jose State University in California. Asher observed that traditional second language programs had a dropout rate of almost 95%. He thought this could be due to flawed and ineffective methods used in the programs. The professor still had another observation: While adults were dropping like flies in their second language courses, children were easily acquiring first languages like sponges on a wet countertop! So he decided to create a method of teaching second language that mimics the process children use when picking up their first. TPR was born. Asher saw that children’s early language repertoire consisted mainly of listening to adults telling them what to do: “Pick up the ball.” “Sit down.” “Open your mouth.” “Look at me.” The child would look to the parents for instructions, and then perform the movements required. The child didn’t need to be able to say the words, only to listen and understand. Comprehension was the first step to language acquisition, not word production. Asher adopted this practice and the simple listen and respond technique now sits at the heart of TPR. It’s been proven effective for teaching beginners of foreign languages. For example, you could teach “¡Siéntense!” (sit down) in a Spanish class by repeatedly sitting down and saying “Siéntense.” You can ask the class to join you in sitting down, even making a game out of it, or commenting on the manner that some students sit. The act of moving is memory-friendly. By virtue of seeing you sit down, or experiencing the act themselves, your students will easily associate sitting down with siéntense. There’s something about the pairing of movement and language that’s so innate that children—without the help of textbooks—easily acquire language. With TPR, not only do you have an approach that engages the energies of your students, you have a tool that creates memorable meaning through movement. Just as TPR borrowed plenty of techniques and insights from psychologists and linguists like Dr. Krashen, it has also bequeathed a lot to approaches like TPRS (teaching proficiency through reading and storytelling). Of course, TPR should not be used in isolation, but as one of many teaching tools in a language teacher’s bag. The Philosophies Behind Total Physical Response Listening Comes Before Production TPR applies the learning processes of first language acquisition into teaching adults a second language. And if you observe very carefully, babies don’t start off saying “Ball! Ball!” while pointing to their toy. They started off all silent, their innocent eyes listening and observing when adults say, “Get the ball, Robbie! C’mon, get the ball. Veeery good!” TPR starts with the “silent phase.” Here, the job of your students is to listen (and understand) what the command is and respond accordingly. No pressures are placed on properly enunciating vocabulary. In the early phase of TPR, you don’t see the teacher leading the class in pronouncing the words loudly and urging the students to repeat after her. TPR considers comprehension as the highway to language acquisition. So the first goal of TPR is making the students understand what the word, phrase, command or expression is all about. There’s no push to produce the correct sounds, but there’s an invitation for students to listen and observe. Mouths are not opened, but eyes and ears are—just like how it happens with children. And this is one of the prime benefits of using TPR in the classroom. Listening is given its due. Instead of being seen as a passive activity, TPR rightly identifies listening as a vital first step in any linguistic endeavor. Because the normal human reaction to listening is, “Not much is happening—when do we get started with the real stuff?” But if first language acquisition is any guide, we’ll understand that we learned just as much (probably even more) when we were silent than when we fumble words without comprehension. “Acquisition” over “Learning” Another benefit of TPR is that it favors the methods, techniques, resources and processes of language acquisition over language learning. Language learning is often concerned with the form—the correct grammatical structures and correct pronunciation of the target language. A grammar textbook, flashcards and vocabulary lists are examples of learning materials. (Something that babies never had when they were learning their first language.) Language acquisition on the other hand is concerned with substance: the immersive experience of using language in one’s everyday affairs. If you move to Korea and have to speak Korean phrases in order to buy items at a store, you’re not really learning the language. You’re acquiring it. Or if you’re just crazy about Mexican telenovelas and watch them so frequently that you actually know what “¡Ay! ¡Dios mío!” means, then you’re acquiring the language without obviously trying to learn it. Language learning is often conscious and formal. Language acquisition is more personal and natural–almost an afterthought. The benefit of TPR is that it provides language acquisition experiences for your students in the classroom setting. TPR concerns itself with meaning, so your students will have communicative use of the language, instead of just knowing rules of grammar. Acquisition Should Be Stress-free No toddler was sent to the principal’s office for bungling their first language grammar, right? Adults just laughed it off and corrected it gently and made the kid feel that everything would be all right. Why should second language acquisition be any different? When Professor Asher developed TPR, he made sure that the approach to teaching the language was stress-free for both teacher and students. He posited that another reason why students don’t learn is that they get emotionally overwhelmed by the language. It can be a frightening experience that lowers self-esteem. Who would learn in that kind of environment? Stress kills motivation. And you know how important motivation is for language acquisition. Without it, it’s basically game over. That’s why many students drop out; it makes the target language out of reach. “I’ll never be able to memorize these conjugation rules,” they think. TPR on the other hand, is judgment-free. It just wants the students to have fun. So that while their mouths are open from laughing, their minds are unconsciously open for acquiring the language. There are no affective filters, and no fear that they’ll fail. As far as the students are concerned, they’re just playing a game, listening for the next instructions–goofing around. But we know better than that. We know, as teachers, that there’s something else going on behind the scenes. We know vocabulary words are understood, appreciated and stored for the long haul. We teachers often are looking for ways to make the lessons fun, engaging and memorable. With TPR, you’ve got an approach where “stress-free” is philosophically embedded into the whole thing. So what actual TPR activities can you use in your own classroom? Here are five activities that’ll set language acquisition into overdrive! 2 5 Total Physical Response Classroom Activities That’ll Set Language Acquisition into Overdrive 1. TPR Storytelling Session Tell a story to the whole class. It can be about anything: fairytale, adventure, even horror and comedy. Tell it with plenty of gestures and actions, which you repeat often. (That’s the TPR way!) A TPR story shares all the elements of a great tale: a relatable main character, a captivating plot and an ending that rewards the listeners. But in addition to these, a foreign language teacher employing TPR must remember that the story is used to teach meaning. So a TPR story would use a good mix of the students’ native language and the target language. Especially for beginners, a healthy dose of the students’ native language might be used, with a peppering of the target language. And because the story is a vehicle for teaching meaning, repetition of key phrases and their attending movements are the order of the day. You should really focus on key phrases you want to teach the class, not the story itself. The plot, the twists and turns of the story come second to the meaningful and memorable words and phrases you want your wards to integrate into their long-term memory. So for example, in teaching the Spanish words for the different parts of the body, you might employ the tale of a young Billy who goes to the city for the very first time. And each time about you talk about the many wonderful things he sees with his eyes (i.e. buses, buildings and airplanes), you emphasize the word ojos (eyes) while at the same time pointing to your eyes. It’s also important that you widen your eyes as you point to them. Keep repeating “ojos” and pointing to your eyes as you go through the awesome things Billy sees in the city. He sees a fleet of cars, “ojos.” He sees a dog walker, “ojos.” There are ways you can employ repetition in the story without being repetitive. For example, with ojos, you can do the following: Point to your own eyes Ask the students to point to their own eyes Ask students to point to your eyes (or a classmate’s) (And as a comprehension check, you can point to your tummy and see if your students try to correct you.) This technique also works for all the other parts of the body. The nariz (nose) for everything he smells: freshly baked bread, flowers at the park and the smoke from cars. Orejas (ears) for everything that catches his attention: the sound of cars honking, the tumult at the market and the powerful blasts of a plane taking off. You can actually set your story so little Billy, the main character, can interact and visit places that will give you maximum opportunity to repeat the meaningful words and phrases. The plot is but a vehicle, so don’t worry so much about it. 2. Simon Says with a Twist A vocabulary-oriented game like Simon Says is analogous to the process that takes place as children acquire their first language. Adults often give instructions to kids, like “throw the ball” “come here” or “eat your chicken.” (By virtue of repetition and validation—and gesturing—children are able to figure out what mommy wanted done.) In this activity, you organize the class into two groups. You can go boys vs. girls (always a hit!) or any grouping you want. Each group sends a representative for every round. They stand at the back of the class, near the wall, with their eyes fixed on you. You will play “Simon” and come up with creative commands and actions with which your students would then have to perform. So in a French class you might say, “Sautez trois fois!” (Jump three times) or “Pleurez!” (cry). The student who gives the correct response gets to take a step forward towards the “Finish Line.” Reaching the finish line first wins 1 point for the team. The team who gets 5 points first wins the game. Not everyone gets to play each time, but spectators will not only get to cheer their team, they’ll also learn the target language in the process. Play this game often and you will have natural rivalries arise. And that’s also when the learning really heats up. 3. The Amazing Race I’m sure you’ve seen “The Amazing Race” on TV. But with this activity, you don’t have to send the class on a thrilling trip around the world. You only have to send them off to do some task or demonstrate comprehension by performing prescribed motions. (With TPR, you can always check for comprehension because you can just look at their actions.) Group the class into four or five teams. Each team would ideally be composed of three to four players. The tasks that you choose to give your students are only limited by your imagination—but instead of writing out the tasks, give them verbally. For example, one task can be a “bring me” scenario and you can tell the teams in your Spanish class to bring you an amarillo (yellow) object. Or you can ask the class to griten (shout) their favorite color. You can go outside the classroom for this activity and have it in the schoolyard. You can tell your students to bring in the garbage bins (two birds with one stone, if you ask me), pick up twenty dried leaves, arrange flower pots in a line, etc. You can ask the groups to dance the cha-cha, move to the “Macarena” or sing “Happy Birthday.” With “The Amazing Race” as one of your activities, your class will be racing to language acquisition. 4. TPR Theater This one’s for those a little bit advanced in the target language since “TPR Theater” has some improv added into the mix. It is, for all intents and purposes, an impromptu play. Your role as the teacher is to narrate and move the story forward by telling the characters in front of the class what they need to do. Think of yourself as a benevolent narrator and puppet master where the bit players are to do your every bidding. Okay, first things first. Determine what your play will be. Is it a love story? An epic adventure? A contemporary comedy? Knowing this will dictate the number of characters, the nature of events in the story and their reactions to it. Let’s say you have a love story. You should then have at least two students to play the role of lovers, and perhaps another one to function as a foil and complete the love triangle. Or, if you want to have more students in the play, you can create characters like the evil mother-in-law, the jealous friend and the nervous aunt. (But don’t involve everybody in the play, otherwise there’ll be no audience. Those who don’t play parts in the drama today will get their chance to strut out their acting chops the next time.) So for example, say there’s one particular scene where the lovers are bonding at the park. In a German class you might bark some funny instructions to your bit players, like “kneife sie in die Wange!” (pinch her nose) or “kitzle sie…” (tickle her…) Again, in this case, where the plot takes you or how it ends doesn’t really matter. These are not the most important things so don’t obsess over them. The whole affair is really just an excuse to practice the target language. So keep it light. Help the students if they have comprehension difficulties. Don’t be afraid to drop everything midway if it means explaining something about the target language. 5. Action Songs for the Whole Class Action songs are actually TPR–but with music. Children love them. They add melody and cadence that the brain can latch on to. They are the perfect memory aids that can effectively embed language and movement into the long-term memory. Singing together as a class is a great memory-enhancing tool. Did you notice that even as adults, we find it hard to jettison the nursery rhymes and songs of our childhood? It may have been 40 years ago, but they are as fresh as the morning we learned it in class. So lead the class in action songs (here’s a great listing of children’s songs and rhymes by language, by the way). But you don’t have to rely on the nursery classics for action songs. The classics all began with a creative teacher, alone her room, coming up with gestures to accompany the lines. You can create actions for any song that you want, including pop music in the target language. First, determine the important words in the song. That is, the words you want to embed into your students’ memories. (Don’t gesture out each word in the song, that’ll be too overwhelming.) Second, pick the appropriate accompanying gestures for your words. The action may seem obvious for words like”jump,” “look,” “laugh,” etc. But how about when the song has words like “hope” or “integrity”? These will force you to be creative and think outside the box. You’ll have to think of situations in which “hope” or “integrity” is displayed or practiced. “Hope” is displayed during prayer, for example, by people hoping to get prayers answered. So your action can perhaps be interlacing fingers, just like a prayer position. “Integrity” is often displayed by someone giving a persuasive speech. Your action can then be a pounding fist. Remember, the gestures need not be spot on. They only need to be a semblance of the thing they signify. When coming up with actions to go with your song, aside from creativity, go for a little bit of exaggeration. Take the word “see” for example. Instead of simply pointing to your eyes, mimic a telescoping gesture or place a horizontal palm above your eyebrow and swing your neck from left to right, looking out into the distance. It makes the lyrics of the song more vivid and more engaging for your students. And speaking of lyrics, don’t teach the songs line-by-line or distribute lyrics (if possible). Instead, teach the song as a whole—with music and the accompanying gestures. The goal here is not to make the students memorize the lyrics. It’s to let them understand what they are singing about: comprehension. So those are your five classroom TPR activities. Try them in your language class and set language acquisition on fire. Because nothing is as rewarding as seeing your students pick up a beautiful language.

Advice for Teachers of Young Learners from the Experts As head of the MELTA Young Learner’s Interest Section, I have come across so much valuable advice from experts in the field. I have extracted the essence of the messages here in a more compacted form and added my own comments in italics. I finish with my own guidelines. There are Four Teaching Roles Relevant to Working with Young Learners: 1. As a Communicator: It is important for the teacher to be a conversational partner of young children since they (like everyone else) develop their language skills through interactions with more accomplished speakers of the language. But, when children are in groups, this role can be very complex. Often more verbal children are spoken to more by adults and those with undeveloped abilities receive less interaction then they need. The teacher must support children’s language learning at various levels of development. 2. As an Evaluator/Assessor: This is an important role because it involves identifying children with developmental delays or special gifts in language learning. Since children at this stage are growing at different rates (mentally, emotionally, and physically), the potential of each child needs to be measured individually. The youngest children should not be formally tested and graded; in an activity mode they can frequently be assessed as to understanding and production. 3. As an Educator and Educated Human Being: Teachers need to be generalists in their knowledge of the world because children are interested in almost everything around them. This is a wonderful opportunity for cross-cultural, nature, musical, artistic and dramatic studies and experiences. It is important for teachers to model themselves as people who love learning and use many strategies for mastering new skills and information. The teacher should be the #1 Learner in the class. 4. As an Agent of Socialization: This process occurs alongside language development, as much of what we express is our own needs, interests, and concerns. Because teachers of young learners must focus on the whole child (full of feelings, fears, hopes, habits, etc.) as we lead them into new experiences and relationships, they need models and direction to more smoothly work with others and reach their own full potential. Children at this level are adapting to being with others outside their protective homes and need new coping skills and flexibility to work both alone and with others. They may also be taking their first steps to form friendships and deal with new social pressures and challenges, so teachers must be extremely sensitive to the class atmosphere, individual sensibilities, and try to build an inclusive, non-threatening and spirited environment for learning. Mario Herrera, teacher trainer and co-author of Balloons (kindergarten) and Parade (primary) believes the teacher’s role is special. He maintains that what is needed is “enthusiasm and having fun in the language (including doing silly things!)”. MODELING. Herrera stresses that young learners learn by seeing or doing. He advises that teachers demonstrate new vocabulary by showing realia, pictures or actually performing an action. “By watching and listening to your modeling, children understand what they must do or say. Modeling is the most important technique or strategy to use when teaching a new language. Kids watch and listen, copy and learn. Do it often!” PACE. He recommends that the pace of early learner classes should be lively and activities should be short. Then, since children like to repeat activities, they will want to return to the same things again and again. He advises teachers to repeat activities as long as the children maintain an interest. VARIETY. Herrera suggests that teachers plan a variety of activities that practice using target vocabulary and sentences: songs, Total Physical Response (TPR) activities, working with picture cards, conversation games, asking children questions as they cut and paste, asking children to listen and follow directions, pantomiming and doing actions. These can all serve to hold the children’s attention. “Anything with movement, chanting and singing works well,” he says. TPR. Total Physical Response lets you put children’s natural energy to use to learn English. He reports “This approach is ideal for young learners whose verbal abilities are still underdeveloped and even the shyest children like it because there is no speaking involved. It provides intense listening practice of basic language as children physically respond to commands. Children show they understand the action by acting it out and they can feel successful at English from the very beginning.” PARTICIPATION. Planned activities, he says, must be designed for children’s active participation and variety. “By doing different things children can experience the world and English together. Children naturally enjoy participating, and learn as they do! Let them feel the roundness of a circle with their hands, or walk through a hoop to understand ‘through’. Such activities allow children to communicate in a very natural way.” MATERIALS. “Using materials that are appealing to children also maintains a high interest level: toys, puppets, masks, pictures, cutouts, their drawings, and cards – cards to hang around necks, to play games with, to hold up and put somewhere while listening, etc.” He recommends using paper of different sizes, colors, textures when you make materials and use crayons, markers and paints. FEEDBACK. Herrera explains “that children need to know if they are doing something right or wrong. Feedback must be given carefully, however. Catch them doing something right and give them lots of praise. Correct them sensitively, taking pains not to single out or embarrass an individual (have the whole group practice the correct pronunciation together) Most of all, repeat the correct version, sometimes overemphasizing so they get the correct way of saying it.” I feel it is most important for teachers of young learners to develop pacing through a variety of shorter activities to work with the limited attention spans of younger pupils. Also I could not imagine working with this age level without lots of visual and manipulative materials. When one teacher asked me how long it took me to build up my bank of activity materials (which is still growing) I responded that 1) it can be fun to produce colorful and interesting materials that you can use again and again, and 2) children need concrete objects, visual displays and things they can touch, hold and work with to connect the real world with the language that naturally goes with it (here, in a foreign language). In her “Tips for Teachers of Children” Helene Jarmol Uchida, teacher-trainer, Director Little America English Schools (Japan) and author of The Challenge Book (elementary students) stresses that “Elementary children are the most gratifying age level to work with. Why? Because they possess three very important conditions before they even enter the classroom: they are naturally cooperative, curious and the least self-conscious of all students.” She goes on to give eleven points she feels are the most important to remember: l. Make fair and consistent rules, clear from the first day of class. 2. Remember students’ names. Use names often when teaching. 3. Show students what to do. Don’t explain. Just do. Just be. English needs to be experienced, not explained. 4. Nourish trust between you and the students of each class. Let them know you will never embarrass them for making a mistake in English. 5. Use eye contact to communicate your praise and disappointment. 6. Create well-planned, consistent lessons with a predictable format giving students a sense of security and balance. 7. Always be pleasantly surprised when students interact with each other or you in English. 8. Reassure your students that you understand their English and you approve of their attempts. 9. Show respect to the children and let them sometimes be teacher. 10. Use English as a tool to build their self-esteem. 11. Remember childhood through your students. This director of Japanese language schools is especially concerned with setting the right atmosphere in the classroom. I think two of her points would make outstanding mottos for all of us: “Don’t explain. Just Do.” And “Remember childhood through your students.” Young ESL Learners, Maria Spelleri of the Literacy Council of Sarasota (Florida) reports, respond enthusiastically to the following classroom activities and approaches: 1. Drama and role-play, especially if costumes and props are used. 2. Using a ball to pass around, or an egg timer to turn dull classes into games, competitions. 3. Doing a project that raises awareness of other children in the world. 4. Take photos in class and use a Polaroid camera on occasion for instant gratification and classroom fun. 5. Give kids some “power” and choices. Let the kids take attendance, call the class to order, dismiss the class, sometimes choose between lesson alternatives, etc. (works up to age 8). I feel Ms. Spelleri is on to something when she promotes empowering younger students in the classroom so it truly “belongs” to them. She also sees the role of English class to help raise children’s international awareness through relating to children of other lands. When asked, “What can we do with Young Learners (4-8)?” Jane Delaney, a teacher-trainer in the Cambridge-RSA Young Learners Training Course, and Director of Studies, International House, Tarragona, Spain, replied, “Try to educate the whole child. What we do in the classroom with them forms a part of their entire learning experience. Young children are like sponges. The teacher’s objective must be to stimulate them in any way she can.” In contrast, she explained that teenagers develop “the boredom factor at school”, but very young children have a great interest in the world around them and seemed to be interested in everything. So, she asks, “How can we create children’s need for a second language? If the teacher shows that she likes being with them, children naturally want to please the teacher and want to find out more about her. If children become involved in the classes they are motivated.” She continues with another question and answers it: Why are some teachers afraid of very young learners? A lot of new teachers fear the unknown. They think their classes will become a zoo and the kids will eat them alive! What many inexperienced teachers need before they come to class is: 1) some knowledge about cognitive development of their students; 2) what students are capable of in their own language; 3) what our expectations are of the particular age group; and 4) help with classroom management. Delaney believes the optimum class size with very young learners is 8-10 students. The classroom should be spacious for a number of different activities. She concludes by sharing, “Children are capable of so much, they can do much more than they are given credit for. We often hold them back because we are afraid.” It is so true how she contrasts teenage student attitudes with the eagerness of younger pupils Because she sees the teacher-pupil relationship as crucial, the fact that teachers fear their charges and underestimate their ability to learn is a judgment on our profession for “holding students back” rather than setting them free. Another expert, Margaret Lo, CELTYL teacher-training courses, Head of the Young Learners unit, British Council, Hong Kong, also discusses teacher’s attitudes towards young learners. She also emphasizes that teachers must focus on children’s whole development. She recommends a cross-curricular, activity-based approach, where children are engaging in meaningful tasks and activities. “Then, she says, “children use English genuinely, learn something new, and develop as whole people”. It is important to “see children as unique individuals. Give them a voice in the classroom to choose which song to sing or decide the topic of a project.” In fact, “Make the whole classroom experience meaningful in the moment, through activities intrinsically interesting and engaging from the child’s viewpoint.” I agree children must be educated holistically and language related to the whole of their reality. Pupils should also be empowered in class and valued as unique beings. David Nunan of the University of Hong Kong asks “How young is young in Young Learners?” He believes that the important factors in introducing English to very young students are the amount of time kids are given, the competence and training of teachers, and the quality of resources. Most importantly, is the need to effectively exploit the natural learning abilities of young learners. Nunan is concerned about the “great danger that children will be turned off English early if it is done badly. In that case,” he advises, “it should not be attempted. But if it is done well, then kids love it and thrive!” With beginners he has two principles: 1) Avoid overload – select key grammar, vocabulary, etc. stuff that learners are familiar with in their own context and 2) Recycle. In Nunan’s experience the order of acquisition is not critical. “Regardless of the tense you use/introduce, students won’t ‘get it’ until they’ve encountered the target structure in lots of different contexts and environments in many different situations. So students’ understanding will naturally be partial and piecemeal.” He advocates something like “guided acquisition” where the teacher helps learners to “notice” about how language works. Mr. Nunan’s wise counsel insists that young learners be approached by teachers who know what they are doing, not be given too much and be given time to digest new material. Working with Children in an Activity-Based Environment 1. Establish a class behavior code. Remember that interest and involvement are the best forms of motivation. 2. A good teacher knows that learning takes place during quiet times (drawing, cutting, gluing). Chatting to children while they work is part of teaching. 3. The priority must be the working relationship with children, taking the role of teacher, parent, friend and organizer. 4. Children learn best when they can experience and experiment for themselves by doing. This means child-centered activities. 5. Children need to use their hands and bodies to express and experience language. The teacher should focus on physical responses rather than just speaking correctly. Appropriate body language sends messages, too. 6. The pacing of a children’s class must be based on experience and intuition. Be sure not to work too fast through the material. Slow down and exploit each experience for the benefit of the children. Priorities 1. Build confidence through a supportive environment (called “scaffolding”); give children a sense of security to take risks. 2. Children should experience English. 3. Teach children to communicate with what vocabulary and structures they have; use language as a tool for real communication. 4. Show that learning English is fun. 5. Establish trusting relationship between yourself and the children (and also between children) 6. Give children the experience of a wide range of language functions and experiences in a non-threatening environment. 7. Avoid correcting children in class. 8. Give correct language examples to a group of bright students and let them teach the others/each other. 9. Accept good tries. Don’t insist on perfection. Mistake-making is an important part of language learning. Do Don’t... Use English as the language of instruction. Use it to give directions as part of the English lesson. Speak in short sentences, and discrete phrases. Pronounce clearly and slowly, looking directly at the class. Write clearly, using print. Act out meanings, or use props, objects, pictures, or gestures to make meanings clear. Pause after each sentence or phrase to associate it with a set of sounds. Repeat cheerfully and patiently and continue to associate clues to meaning with your words as long as needed. Gain a sense of pacing, that approaches life and the world holistically. Less is more, if a subject can be approached in many ways, connecting to other disciplines and in song, verse, and pictures. Check each pupil’s comprehension by: 1) giving directions to follow and 2) asking yes/no or one-word answer questions. Take the pressure off pupils to produce new language “cold”. Walk a pupil through how to follow instructions as you speak. Allow children to be children and bring their natural motivation and curiosity to learning. Encourage children to act out or draw a picture of their intended meanings when they don’t have the vocabulary to communicate. Play with language and be free to act silly, making up rhymes and songs, telling stories, talking even “nonsense” and playing playing with sounds. Encourage the use of picture dictionaries (bilingual and mono-lingual) so that students take some responsibility for their own learning. Teach dictionary skills, including the fundamentals of alphabetical order. Remember to use lots of “pleases” and “thank yous” and encourage them in classroom relationships. And always show your pupils respect, dignity and a good and polite example. Give explanations and directions in the native language. This cheats pupils of their motivation to understand. They will become lazy and wait for the Russian instead of reaching to understanding. Confuse pupils with incomprehensible language. Speeches, lectures, explanations and directions without clues to meaning are boring and not useful. Rely on only the spoken word. Pupils need more visual and tactile stimulation and often need to be physically active. Expect pupils to grasp new material the first time through. Remember they have many years ahead to fully master things. Race through a coursebook or curriculum, but also don’t drag out a point when students have lost interest. Always resort to translation back to the mother tongue. This prevents students from starting to think naturally in English and invites them to speak to you in Russian. Focus on tests as the only measure of one’s language skills and marks as the only reward for communication skills gained. Put individual pupils on the spot to produce language or respond if they are unlikely to be able to accomplish it. This creates “mental static anxiety”, and sets them up to fail. Expect young learners to think like older learners, needing logical explanations for new material. By Erin Bouma

Advice for Teachers of Young Learners from the Experts As head of the MELTA Young Learner’s Interest Section, I have come across so much valuable advice from experts in the field. I have extracted the essence of the messages here in a more compacted form and added my own comments in italics. I finish with my own guidelines. There are Four Teaching Roles Relevant to Working with Young Learners: 1. As a Communicator: It is important for the teacher to be a conversational partner of young children since they (like everyone else) develop their language skills through interactions with more accomplished speakers of the language. But, when children are in groups, this role can be very complex. Often more verbal children are spoken to more by adults and those with undeveloped abilities receive less interaction then they need. The teacher must support children’s language learning at various levels of development. 2. As an Evaluator/Assessor: This is an important role because it involves identifying children with developmental delays or special gifts in language learning. Since children at this stage are growing at different rates (mentally, emotionally, and physically), the potential of each child needs to be measured individually. The youngest children should not be formally tested and graded; in an activity mode they can frequently be assessed as to understanding and production. 3. As an Educator and Educated Human Being: Teachers need to be generalists in their knowledge of the world because children are interested in almost everything around them. This is a wonderful opportunity for cross-cultural, nature, musical, artistic and dramatic studies and experiences. It is important for teachers to model themselves as people who love learning and use many strategies for mastering new skills and information. The teacher should be the #1 Learner in the class. 4. As an Agent of Socialization: This process occurs alongside language development, as much of what we express is our own needs, interests, and concerns. Because teachers of young learners must focus on the whole child (full of feelings, fears, hopes, habits, etc.) as we lead them into new experiences and relationships, they need models and direction to more smoothly work with others and reach their own full potential. Children at this level are adapting to being with others outside their protective homes and need new coping skills and flexibility to work both alone and with others. They may also be taking their first steps to form friendships and deal with new social pressures and challenges, so teachers must be extremely sensitive to the class atmosphere, individual sensibilities, and try to build an inclusive, non-threatening and spirited environment for learning. Mario Herrera, teacher trainer and co-author of Balloons (kindergarten) and Parade (primary) believes the teacher’s role is special. He maintains that what is needed is “enthusiasm and having fun in the language (including doing silly things!)”. MODELING. Herrera stresses that young learners learn by seeing or doing. He advises that teachers demonstrate new vocabulary by showing realia, pictures or actually performing an action. “By watching and listening to your modeling, children understand what they must do or say. Modeling is the most important technique or strategy to use when teaching a new language. Kids watch and listen, copy and learn. Do it often!” PACE. He recommends that the pace of early learner classes should be lively and activities should be short. Then, since children like to repeat activities, they will want to return to the same things again and again. He advises teachers to repeat activities as long as the children maintain an interest. VARIETY. Herrera suggests that teachers plan a variety of activities that practice using target vocabulary and sentences: songs, Total Physical Response (TPR) activities, working with picture cards, conversation games, asking children questions as they cut and paste, asking children to listen and follow directions, pantomiming and doing actions. These can all serve to hold the children’s attention. “Anything with movement, chanting and singing works well,” he says. TPR. Total Physical Response lets you put children’s natural energy to use to learn English. He reports “This approach is ideal for young learners whose verbal abilities are still underdeveloped and even the shyest children like it because there is no speaking involved. It provides intense listening practice of basic language as children physically respond to commands. Children show they understand the action by acting it out and they can feel successful at English from the very beginning.” PARTICIPATION. Planned activities, he says, must be designed for children’s active participation and variety. “By doing different things children can experience the world and English together. Children naturally enjoy participating, and learn as they do! Let them feel the roundness of a circle with their hands, or walk through a hoop to understand ‘through’. Such activities allow children to communicate in a very natural way.” MATERIALS. “Using materials that are appealing to children also maintains a high interest level: toys, puppets, masks, pictures, cutouts, their drawings, and cards – cards to hang around necks, to play games with, to hold up and put somewhere while listening, etc.” He recommends using paper of different sizes, colors, textures when you make materials and use crayons, markers and paints. FEEDBACK. Herrera explains “that children need to know if they are doing something right or wrong. Feedback must be given carefully, however. Catch them doing something right and give them lots of praise. Correct them sensitively, taking pains not to single out or embarrass an individual (have the whole group practice the correct pronunciation together) Most of all, repeat the correct version, sometimes overemphasizing so they get the correct way of saying it.” I feel it is most important for teachers of young learners to develop pacing through a variety of shorter activities to work with the limited attention spans of younger pupils. Also I could not imagine working with this age level without lots of visual and manipulative materials. When one teacher asked me how long it took me to build up my bank of activity materials (which is still growing) I responded that 1) it can be fun to produce colorful and interesting materials that you can use again and again, and 2) children need concrete objects, visual displays and things they can touch, hold and work with to connect the real world with the language that naturally goes with it (here, in a foreign language). In her “Tips for Teachers of Children” Helene Jarmol Uchida, teacher-trainer, Director Little America English Schools (Japan) and author of The Challenge Book (elementary students) stresses that “Elementary children are the most gratifying age level to work with. Why? Because they possess three very important conditions before they even enter the classroom: they are naturally cooperative, curious and the least self-conscious of all students.” She goes on to give eleven points she feels are the most important to remember: l. Make fair and consistent rules, clear from the first day of class. 2. Remember students’ names. Use names often when teaching. 3. Show students what to do. Don’t explain. Just do. Just be. English needs to be experienced, not explained. 4. Nourish trust between you and the students of each class. Let them know you will never embarrass them for making a mistake in English. 5. Use eye contact to communicate your praise and disappointment. 6. Create well-planned, consistent lessons with a predictable format giving students a sense of security and balance. 7. Always be pleasantly surprised when students interact with each other or you in English. 8. Reassure your students that you understand their English and you approve of their attempts. 9. Show respect to the children and let them sometimes be teacher. 10. Use English as a tool to build their self-esteem. 11. Remember childhood through your students. This director of Japanese language schools is especially concerned with setting the right atmosphere in the classroom. I think two of her points would make outstanding mottos for all of us: “Don’t explain. Just Do.” And “Remember childhood through your students.” Young ESL Learners, Maria Spelleri of the Literacy Council of Sarasota (Florida) reports, respond enthusiastically to the following classroom activities and approaches: 1. Drama and role-play, especially if costumes and props are used. 2. Using a ball to pass around, or an egg timer to turn dull classes into games, competitions. 3. Doing a project that raises awareness of other children in the world. 4. Take photos in class and use a Polaroid camera on occasion for instant gratification and classroom fun. 5. Give kids some “power” and choices. Let the kids take attendance, call the class to order, dismiss the class, sometimes choose between lesson alternatives, etc. (works up to age 8). I feel Ms. Spelleri is on to something when she promotes empowering younger students in the classroom so it truly “belongs” to them. She also sees the role of English class to help raise children’s international awareness through relating to children of other lands. When asked, “What can we do with Young Learners (4-8)?” Jane Delaney, a teacher-trainer in the Cambridge-RSA Young Learners Training Course, and Director of Studies, International House, Tarragona, Spain, replied, “Try to educate the whole child. What we do in the classroom with them forms a part of their entire learning experience. Young children are like sponges. The teacher’s objective must be to stimulate them in any way she can.” In contrast, she explained that teenagers develop “the boredom factor at school”, but very young children have a great interest in the world around them and seemed to be interested in everything. So, she asks, “How can we create children’s need for a second language? If the teacher shows that she likes being with them, children naturally want to please the teacher and want to find out more about her. If children become involved in the classes they are motivated.” She continues with another question and answers it: Why are some teachers afraid of very young learners? A lot of new teachers fear the unknown. They think their classes will become a zoo and the kids will eat them alive! What many inexperienced teachers need before they come to class is: 1) some knowledge about cognitive development of their students; 2) what students are capable of in their own language; 3) what our expectations are of the particular age group; and 4) help with classroom management. Delaney believes the optimum class size with very young learners is 8-10 students. The classroom should be spacious for a number of different activities. She concludes by sharing, “Children are capable of so much, they can do much more than they are given credit for. We often hold them back because we are afraid.” It is so true how she contrasts teenage student attitudes with the eagerness of younger pupils Because she sees the teacher-pupil relationship as crucial, the fact that teachers fear their charges and underestimate their ability to learn is a judgment on our profession for “holding students back” rather than setting them free. Another expert, Margaret Lo, CELTYL teacher-training courses, Head of the Young Learners unit, British Council, Hong Kong, also discusses teacher’s attitudes towards young learners. She also emphasizes that teachers must focus on children’s whole development. She recommends a cross-curricular, activity-based approach, where children are engaging in meaningful tasks and activities. “Then, she says, “children use English genuinely, learn something new, and develop as whole people”. It is important to “see children as unique individuals. Give them a voice in the classroom to choose which song to sing or decide the topic of a project.” In fact, “Make the whole classroom experience meaningful in the moment, through activities intrinsically interesting and engaging from the child’s viewpoint.” I agree children must be educated holistically and language related to the whole of their reality. Pupils should also be empowered in class and valued as unique beings. David Nunan of the University of Hong Kong asks “How young is young in Young Learners?” He believes that the important factors in introducing English to very young students are the amount of time kids are given, the competence and training of teachers, and the quality of resources. Most importantly, is the need to effectively exploit the natural learning abilities of young learners. Nunan is concerned about the “great danger that children will be turned off English early if it is done badly. In that case,” he advises, “it should not be attempted. But if it is done well, then kids love it and thrive!” With beginners he has two principles: 1) Avoid overload – select key grammar, vocabulary, etc. stuff that learners are familiar with in their own context and 2) Recycle. In Nunan’s experience the order of acquisition is not critical. “Regardless of the tense you use/introduce, students won’t ‘get it’ until they’ve encountered the target structure in lots of different contexts and environments in many different situations. So students’ understanding will naturally be partial and piecemeal.” He advocates something like “guided acquisition” where the teacher helps learners to “notice” about how language works. Mr. Nunan’s wise counsel insists that young learners be approached by teachers who know what they are doing, not be given too much and be given time to digest new material. Working with Children in an Activity-Based Environment 1. Establish a class behavior code. Remember that interest and involvement are the best forms of motivation. 2. A good teacher knows that learning takes place during quiet times (drawing, cutting, gluing). Chatting to children while they work is part of teaching. 3. The priority must be the working relationship with children, taking the role of teacher, parent, friend and organizer. 4. Children learn best when they can experience and experiment for themselves by doing. This means child-centered activities. 5. Children need to use their hands and bodies to express and experience language. The teacher should focus on physical responses rather than just speaking correctly. Appropriate body language sends messages, too. 6. The pacing of a children’s class must be based on experience and intuition. Be sure not to work too fast through the material. Slow down and exploit each experience for the benefit of the children. Priorities 1. Build confidence through a supportive environment (called “scaffolding”); give children a sense of security to take risks. 2. Children should experience English. 3. Teach children to communicate with what vocabulary and structures they have; use language as a tool for real communication. 4. Show that learning English is fun. 5. Establish trusting relationship between yourself and the children (and also between children) 6. Give children the experience of a wide range of language functions and experiences in a non-threatening environment. 7. Avoid correcting children in class. 8. Give correct language examples to a group of bright students and let them teach the others/each other. 9. Accept good tries. Don’t insist on perfection. Mistake-making is an important part of language learning. Do Don’t... Use English as the language of instruction. Use it to give directions as part of the English lesson. Speak in short sentences, and discrete phrases. Pronounce clearly and slowly, looking directly at the class. Write clearly, using print. Act out meanings, or use props, objects, pictures, or gestures to make meanings clear. Pause after each sentence or phrase to associate it with a set of sounds. Repeat cheerfully and patiently and continue to associate clues to meaning with your words as long as needed. Gain a sense of pacing, that approaches life and the world holistically. Less is more, if a subject can be approached in many ways, connecting to other disciplines and in song, verse, and pictures. Check each pupil’s comprehension by: 1) giving directions to follow and 2) asking yes/no or one-word answer questions. Take the pressure off pupils to produce new language “cold”. Walk a pupil through how to follow instructions as you speak. Allow children to be children and bring their natural motivation and curiosity to learning. Encourage children to act out or draw a picture of their intended meanings when they don’t have the vocabulary to communicate. Play with language and be free to act silly, making up rhymes and songs, telling stories, talking even “nonsense” and playing playing with sounds. Encourage the use of picture dictionaries (bilingual and mono-lingual) so that students take some responsibility for their own learning. Teach dictionary skills, including the fundamentals of alphabetical order. Remember to use lots of “pleases” and “thank yous” and encourage them in classroom relationships. And always show your pupils respect, dignity and a good and polite example. Give explanations and directions in the native language. This cheats pupils of their motivation to understand. They will become lazy and wait for the Russian instead of reaching to understanding. Confuse pupils with incomprehensible language. Speeches, lectures, explanations and directions without clues to meaning are boring and not useful. Rely on only the spoken word. Pupils need more visual and tactile stimulation and often need to be physically active. Expect pupils to grasp new material the first time through. Remember they have many years ahead to fully master things. Race through a coursebook or curriculum, but also don’t drag out a point when students have lost interest. Always resort to translation back to the mother tongue. This prevents students from starting to think naturally in English and invites them to speak to you in Russian. Focus on tests as the only measure of one’s language skills and marks as the only reward for communication skills gained. Put individual pupils on the spot to produce language or respond if they are unlikely to be able to accomplish it. This creates “mental static anxiety”, and sets them up to fail. Expect young learners to think like older learners, needing logical explanations for new material. By Erin Bouma

Teaching ESL to children

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 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!

Written by George and Daisy Stocker
George and Daisy Stocker have traveled the world teaching ESL to children and adults. Their website, www.esl-storybooks.com offers ESL curriculum, including textbooks and Storybooks for children age 7-12. Their adult ESL site, www.efl-esl.com offers ESL activites and curriculum for adults.

Saint Patrick’s Day Fun Facts

Saint Patrick’s Day

Why do we wear green on St. Patrick’s Day?

Traditionally, the color green represents Ireland, or the Emerald Isle. However,

according to legend the color green also has the magical power to

make people invisible to leprechauns or other fairy creatures. That means

that wearing green can save you from getting pinched by these mischievous

fairies. If you don’t wear green on St. Patrick’s Day, watch out!

Why shamrocks?

In ancient Ireland a shamrock was a symbol of the rebirth of spring, and

was considered a sacred plant. In the 1600s the shamrock became a symbol

of Irish nationalism. During the time when the English were invading Irish

land, people would wear shamrocks as a symbol of their heritage.

Where did the leprechaun come from?

The “lobaircin”, or leprechaun, most likely originated from Celtic folklore

and their belief in fairies— tiny men and women who had magical powers,

used for both good and evil. In Celtic tales, leprechauns were the ones who

mended shoes for other fairies. They were grumpy and mean-spirited, and

best known for their trickery. The leprechaun was never a symbol of St.

Patrick’s Day, but in 1959 a Disney film was released that transformed the

leprechaun’s image into that of a cheery, good-hearted soul.

Who is Saint Patrick?

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, although he was actually born in

England. As a youth he was taken prisoner by the Irish and held in captivity

there for six years. During that time he became a devout Christian. It

is said that he heard God’s voice, which helped him escape captivity, and

that later he had visions of an angel, who told him to return to Ireland as a

missionary. It is widely believed that Patrick was the one who introduced

Christianity to Ireland. It is also believed that he died on March 17, which is

how St. Patrick’s Day was born.

Saint Patrick’s Day:

Did You Know:

Initially, St. Patrick’s Day was observed as a religious holiday. Until the

1970s, all pubs were forced to stay closed for business on March 17th. Then

in 1995, the government of Ireland decided to use St. Patrick’s Day as a

chance to promote tourism.

Vocabulary:

Nationalism: feeling patriotic toward your home country

Heritage: cultural traditions passed on through the generations

Devout: deep feeling or commitment to a cause or (religious) belief

ACTIVITY:

One of the most famous contributions of traditional Irish culture is their

knot designs. They typically consist of one segment of line twisted into an

ornate shape or a few geometrical shapes overlapped to create a complex

design. Use the cut-out shapes on the following page to create the design

pictured below

Celtic knot

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St. Patrick’s Day Traditions

St. Patrick’s Day has been celebrated on March 17 in the U.S. for many years. It is a day to

recognize Irish heritage. Here are some of the traditions associated with St. Patrick’s Day.

Green or a Pinch! Irish Food

Parades

Turn It All Green

Green cake with

shamrock icing

Irish food is popular

on St. Patrick’s day.

Favorite dishes

include corned

beef and cabbage,

colcannon, made with

potatoes and kale; and

Irish stew. Cakes and

ice cream are usually

green with green decorations.

It is traditional that those of

Irish heritage must wear green on

St. Patrick’s Day. Those

that don’t can be pinched

as punishment!

The Chicago River

tinted green for St.

Patrick’s Day.

Ireland is nicknamed the “Emerald Isle”

because of its green landscape. Green is

therefore the color of St. Patrick’s Day. Around

the country, people celebrate by coloring things

green, including rivers and fountains!

St. Patrick’s Day

parades usually

include Irish dancers

and Irish music, often

played by bagpipe

The White House bands.

fountain colored green

for St. Patrick’s Day