Tutti i post sono ascoltabili tramite ReadSpeaker premendo l'icona ASCOLTA IL TESTO. Informazioni sul funzionamento dettagliato di ReadSpeakersi trovano qui.
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Teaching Young Children
Questo blog in inglese è un'iniziativa di
supporto a tutti gli insegnanti di inglese che abbiano voglia di discutere di
didattica innovativa e di come rendere lo studio dell'inglese sempre più
piacevole, motivante ed efficace. Il pronunciatore di inglese ReadSpeaker
integrato in ogni pagina consente di ascoltare il testo premendo sul pulsante
ASCOLTA IL TESTO. Inoltre è possibile scegliere anche la varietà di pronuncia
che si preferisce: inglese britannico, americano, australiano, scozzese o
indiano! Per operare la scelta cliccare sul simbolo di ruota dentata quando il
player è visibile. Teaching English to young children isn’t as easy as it seems. First of all you need a good dose of patience as well as a good basis in child psychology. Young children, let’s say kindergarten age ( 5- year- olds) are like sponges just waiting to absorb knowledge. This is true but you have to know how to present this “knowledge” to them, not forgetting their limits. One great limitation is that these young children have a very short attention span. This means the teacher has to prepare a great variety of activities so she can change them often. An advantage can be that the children love to do things in repetition. They love order of this kind. For example if you begin the day by sitting in a circle and “talk” about the weather, then such questions as “Is it sunny today? Is it cloudy? Is it raining?” become “habit” for them to answer. Of course, remember that visual materials are necessary. Nice big photos or drawings of a Sun, Clouds, Rain, are used to stimulate the children to answer. They are then connecting “the concept” with words in English. It would be wise for them to repeat together the question and the answer, so no one is left out. Regarding “repetition”, reciting short poems, and rhymes is extremely helpful, especially if they are accompanied by actions. Catchy little songs are very good too. This is a great way to help their pronunciation. First they can listen to the song along with the music, then they can sing it themselves. Again, it’s good to choose songs that can be used with “actions”. For example, “I know ONE, there’s only One of me (point to themselves) I know TWO, I have two eyes to see (point to their eyes) I know THREE, Three blind mice (cover their eyes) How nice for me, knowing 1, 2 , 3! (hold out their fingers to count) I believe that the word ACTION is important in teaching young children. A teacher has to understand that no 5-year-old is going to sit still and listen to her for more than 3 minutes! Prepare activities that let them move as well as talk. Example, the “OH, LOOK!” TRAIN. Children put their hands on the shoulders of the child in front of them, to form a TRAIN. The teacher is the Conductor. She leads them around the room and stops every now and them to say Oh, Look, a car! (pointing to a toy car) Oh,
Look, a truck! This activity can later add colours.
Oh, Look, a red car! This helps the children to “name” objects in the classroom, and at the same time they are enjoying the Train ride!!! The important thing is to teach these children by using various games to hold their attention. In the long run they will learn more because they think of learning as pleasurable. (this is an aid to the teacher in the next level because the children will already have a positive attitude towards learning.) There are just so many ways to keep your class
active and learning at the same time. It only takes a touch of
imagination to put it all together. A Nice Thought “A child is the root of the heart”
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