INSTITUTO SUPERIOR DE FORMACION DOCENTE Nº 1 DIDÁCTICA DE LA ENSEÑANZA DEL INGLÉS I

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VERY YOUNG LEARNERS (VYL)

Age plays a crucial role in what we teach and how we teach it, since a young learner class is different from an
adult and/or a teenager class in terms of ..

 the learners’ language learning needs,

 the language competences emphasized,
 and the cognitive skills addressed.

That’s why, it is highly important to show the differences of these three learner groups keeping in mind the
fact that every learner is unique (Harmer, 2007)

Very Young learner Young Learners Late Young Learners

3- 5 6-9 10-12
 Listening & Speaking  Listening & Speaking  Listening/Speaking/Reading/
 Vocabulary Items (concrete  Vocabulary Items (concrete Writing
& familiar objects) & familiar and new objects)  Vocabulary Items (concrete
 No Grammar Teaching or  New in Reading and Writing & abstract)
metalanguage (can’t (word to sentence level)  Grammar (inductive)
Language
 analyze language but may  No Grammar Teaching or
Focus/ Skills
be exposed to chunks metalanguage (chunks
Used
through songs, classroom  through songs and
language) classroom language)
 No reading & writing (may
recognize letters or short
words)
 Low concentration span but  Low concentration span:  Longer attention span but still
easily excited Wide variety of activities children
 High motivation; active  needed  Taking learning seriously
involvement  Short memory: frequent  World knowledge
 Love talking but problems in revision is needed  More cooperation in groups
sharing  Logical-analytical: Asking and in
 Short memory: Learn slowly questions  pairs
Forget easily  Problems in sharing in  Developed social, motor and
Characteristics
 Repetition and revision is group work  intellectual skills
necessary  Developing confidence in  Learning strategies are used
 Limited motor skills (using a expressing themselves and
pen and scissors)  Developing world  developing
 but kinesthetic and energetic knowledge
 Learn holistically  Limited motor skills (left-
 Love stories, fantasy, right)
imagination, art, drawing  *Reasonable amount of
 and coloring input
 *Love stories, fantasy,
imagination, drawing &
coloring.

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Who Are Very Young Learners?

Start by thinking of a very young learner you know; it could be a family member, or neighbor, someone aged
3-5. Take a minute and think about this person. As you read about the different characteristics think about
how you have seen these characteristics in this young learner you know.

Background knowledge

Very young learners come with a limited amount of knowledge. Your students are still learning a lot about
their world, which includes learning their native language. Very young learners may have only recently begun
to learn to read and write in their native language. This leads to challenges. At this age it is better to focus
on speaking and listening skills. You may want to introduce the alphabet and start teaching the written form
of a few words. One good way to do this is by labeling classroom objects. For example, putting the word
chair on a chair. You will want to wait to teach reading skills because teaching reading is easier if children
can read in their native language. (Teaching reading and writing to children was covered in 5B: Working
Successfully with Young English Language Learners). Use pictures and examples more than written words,
especially if you are teaching in a country where they use a different writing system from English (e.g. China,
Thailand, etc.).

These children come from a different culture. There may be differences in school expectations. By learning
about and being respectful of your students’ culture you will be better able to develop a positive relationship
with them.
Many of your students may have little to no exposure to English outside of school. They may have family
members who speak English or may watch TV or listen to music in English. Many of them may only hear
English at school. The more you hear or see something the easier it is to learn. If your students only hear
and use English as school they will learn slowly and learning will be more difficult.

How very young learners think

Very young learners are still learning their first language. They are learning the vocabulary and grammar
rules of their first language. They are learning other skills and ideas that adults already know. Many of these
ideas seem easy to adults. Very young learners learn a second language more like the way they learned their
first. How does a two year old learn what an elephant is? An older person points at a picture of an elephant
and says elephant many times. Learning language is about connecting meaning and a word. So, how does
this impact your teaching? Young learners have a harder time putting things into categories. They can put
red things together or sort by size, but they can’t sort when the category is more complex. They don’t know
what a verb or a noun is. This means it won’t do you any good to teach rules or use grammatical categories
with very young learners. It is best to give them lots of examples and then let them practice. Also, very young
learners have limited memory. This means you need to keep directions simple. Only give one or two
directions at a time. They also like and need to hear many repetitions of things. Do not expect them to learn
something after hearing it once. They need to hear it many times. As a teacher this may become very
repetitive for you, but the children enjoy it. Be prepared to sing the same song or play the same game
everyday or many times in one day. Your students will have favorite activities that they will love to do
everyday.

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Motivation

Most children come to school excited and ready to learn. The challenge is to keep them excited and
motivated. Children are motivated by people that care about them and activities that are fun and
interesting. YOU play a huge role. If you smile and are happy, they will be happy. If you sing loudly and do
the actions, they will sing and do the actions. If they know you care about them they will try hard because
they want to make you happy. Make sure things are at a “just right” level. Don’t teach them things that are
too hard. Grammar is too hard. Reading is also too hard. At this age learning a language should be about
having fun and learning words. Doing activities at the “just right” level keeps young learners happy and
wanting to learn. Don’t expect perfection. Help them feel successful.

Curiosity and imagination

Children are naturally curious; they want to know what things are. They like to touch, smell, see and even
taste everything they can. They are also creative and imaginative. Make learning fun and exciting by
allowing these natural abilities to shine through. Plan lessons and activities that allow children to be
creative. Use their curiosity to keep them motivated. Watch your students to see teaching
moments. Teaching moments are when things happen that make it very easy to teach about a certain
topic. A rainy day is a perfect time to teach about rain or weather. Maybe you can see a rainbow out your
classroom window. You could talk about colors in the rainbow and sing a song about rainbows.

Attention span

Children generally have short attention spans; they can’t focus too long on one thing. To help them, you
should make your lessons active and exciting. Also, you should plan to change activities often. If something
is working well stick with it, if after two minutes you can tell your class is getting bored, it’s time for a
change. This can be a very simple change. For example, you start by teaching your class the names of
different articles of clothing and having them repeat the names. Then, you have them practice by saying
what they are wearing, Then you play a game where they have to point to the clothes on a picture. When you
say shirt, they point to the shirt. As children get older they are better able to stay focused for longer. If
children are tired, or sick they will have a more difficult time staying focused.

Silence
Most young language learners go through a period of silence when they first begin learning a language. It
can last from a short amount of time to months. Do not be surprised or concerned if your students don’t say
a lot at first. They are still learning as long as they are hearing language they can understand. Most of them
will start talking eventually, just be patient with them and keep encouraging them. Also, provide them with
opportunities to participate without requiring them to speak. Later in this unit you will learn ways to help
students participate without speaking.

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Can I Teach English to a 3-year-old and How?

BY CL AUDI A PESC E

"I’m teaching English to a 3-year-old girl. It would be great if you could give me some tips. It’s a
private class, and she’s the only student in it, so I can’t use any team games. Could you please
share some fun games to use?"*

I was once faced with this same exact situation.

My young learner could barely speak her own language, let alone a second one. Her family was being
relocated to the US in a few months, and her parents thought it would be wise to give the little one a few
lessons to expose her to the language. Her mother asked me if it made any sense: would I be able to teach
her any English? I’ll tell you what I told her, but first let’s consider a few things about 3-year-olds:

 They are typically very curious and learn by exploring, often with the use of all of their senses.
 As far as memory goes, they may recall events from the previous day and as many as three objects that
are presented visually. They also identify what’s missing from a picture.
 They speak in short sentences (4 to 6 words).
 They use personal pronouns correctly.
 They have a vocabulary of around 300 words.
 They listen to short stories and are able to follow instructions.
 They are able to describe action in pictures.
 They are good at naming and labeling.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Three-year-olds are able to do a great deal in an ESL class. So don’t be
discouraged by the fact that they can’t read or write. This is a stage in their development where language
develops by leaps and bounds. What did I tell my young student’s mother? There’s plenty of English she can
learn! And here’s how you can teach a 3-year-old.

How to Teach a 3-year-old ESL Student

1 Keep it Short

Very young children have very short attention spans, so each activity should take no more
than 5 to 10 minutes. This means that you’ll have to prepare a greater number of tasks and
games, and quickly move from one to the next. This is the best way to keep them engaged; if you
don’t, they’ll get restless.

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2 Fewer New Words

Try to introduce new words three at a time. They will probably have a hard time remembering
more than that.

3 Get Visual

The best way to engage their attention is visually. So make sure you use images, illustrations,
flashcards and even real objects – realia boosts learning in little ones because they have the
chance to touch and interact with the objects.

4 Keep it Varied

If you have a list of 5-minute activities lined up, make sure they’re not all sitting
down. Follow up a quiet, drawing activity with a rousing song. Then, play a card game, followed by
a TPR activity. Preschoolers need to be engaged on different levels but also need quiet activities
to bring their energy down a notch.

5 Repeat, Reuse and Review

Make sure you constantly reuse the vocabulary you’ve taught them, or they’ll most likely
forget it. Plan weekly and monthly reviews, as well as consolidation activities to aid in retention.

6 Be Realistic

Preschoolers may only give you one word answers at first; try to focus on improving
comprehension rather than fluency. They might not even be talkative in their own language.
They are able to understand a whole lot more than what they can produce verbally.

7 Play Games

Games are perfect for very young learners who can’t read or write. But don’t make them too
competitive, i.e., make sure that everyone’s a winner, and there are no losers. Don’t play a game

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for too long because they will lose interest. If you have a private student, some great games to
play are card games like Go Fish or a Memory Game.

8 Show Them How

Preschoolers may be able to follow simple instructions, but for tasks that involve a series of
steps, like a crafts activity, try to model what they should do step by step.

9 Use a Theme

Try to organize lessons based on themes, like “About Me”, “Foods” or “Animals”. It helps
keep the content organized and gives the lesson a backbone. Students may be too young to
understand learning goals, but they’ll get the idea that they’re not just there to play and have fun.
They’re learning a lot!

10 Minimize the Use of the Native Language

Should we speak the children’s native language in the ESL classroom? This is a big debate
in ESL classrooms with students of all ages and levels. But let me tell you my experience with very
young learners. The younger an ESL student is, the more accepting they will be of your speaking
only English. And they will question you less. You can teach entire songs in English and none of
them will ask you what each word means. They accept the song as a whole. The same goes for
instructions, greetings and set phrases. So I strongly recommend trying to speak English for the
duration of the class, and making only a few exceptions, for example, when a student is
crying/upset/feeling sick/doesn’t understand.

Teaching preschoolers may seem like a daunting task. But it is well worth the effort. Young children really
bond with their ESL teachers, and you’ll share moments with them that you’ll treasure for years to come.

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Teaching English to Children Under 5

BY CL AUDI A PESC E

Although tremendously rewarding, teaching English to

children ages 3 to 5 can be a daunting task.
These little learners are full of energy and enthusiasm, which you may put to good use, but to keep them
interested and motivated, classes have to be fun. You must also keep in mind that there are language
learning goals that need to be met – after all, they’re not enrolled in classes to merely have fun. They need
to start learning English.

So, to better target English classes to children under 5, the first thing you should consider is your young
learners' characteristics. According to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, children 3 to 5 would still be
in the pre-operational cognitive stage.

As an ESL teacher you need to understand that children at this stage essentially:

 Present an egocentric intuitive intelligence– it’s hard for them to see the viewpoint of others - and there is
no logical thought
 Are capable of symbolic thought, which means they can mentally represent the world around them
through words, images, and symbols, i.e., “cat” can be any cat and not just theirs
 Attribute life and thinking to inanimate objects, i.e., clouds cry because they are sad
 Are able to classify objects, i.e., all the blue blocks, all the animals, all of the large toys vs. the small
ones, etc.
 Cannot grasp abstract concepts, but only concrete objects or physical situations
 Are able to engage in make believe
 Have memory skills
 Use imagination
 Are able to understand the difference between past and future, although they can't grasp the concept of
time expressed in days, weeks, months, years
The biggest development for children at this stage is language, accompanied by a great deal of
sensorimotor activity.

So, what does all of this mean to you as an ESL teacher?

It is obvious that since children at this stage can’t read or write, most of the English language learning will
have to be imparted through sensorimotor activities, games, stories, and videos just to name a few. Children
under 5 also have a very short attention span, which means you may have to switch activities every 5
minutes or so.
So, in the ESL classroom for very young learners, you should keep in mind the following essentials:

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 You need to have tons of toys and realia to use in games and activities. This includes, cars, planes and
all types of transport, animals, tea sets and cooking utensils, plastic fruits and vegetables, as well
as flashcards of varying sizes.
 Repetition is key. Greet them every day with the same song, or greeting till they naturally say it back. It
doesn’t matter if you spend an entire class hour only asking questions with “Do you like…?”, as long as
they spontaneously answer, “Yes, I do”, or “No, I don’t”. See more on repetition and drilling here: “How to
Drill: Drilling Activities for Your English Classroom”.
 It will get VERY physical. You’ll need to jump, hop, move your arms, and clap your hands, which means
you’ll end up exhausted, but oh, so exhilarated. See more on Total Physical Response activities in our
article ‘TPR Tricks: 5 Fabulous Ways to Use Total Physical Response in the ESL Classroom’.
 Make sure videos are short. Remember they have short attention spans. Make the viewing short, but to
the point, making it thus more effective. Ask them to count how many birds, children, or fruits they see in
the video. Ask them to raise their hands as soon as they see a zebra, lion or any other animal.
 Act out role plays with puppets. Children enjoy them, and it's a very effective way to teach ways to
answer a question or replies to greetings.
 Music and singing are highly effective, but especially if they are accompanied by movement. Songs
like “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, or “This Is the Way We…” accompanied by actions are great
ways to teach vocabulary or verbs.
 Keep it fast paced and engaging. Switch from one activity to another and use fillers if needed.
 Arts and crafts and mini-projects are wonderful ways to teach vocabulary, seasonal activities and
holidays.
 Don’t worry about what they can’t do (read or write). Focus on what they CAN DO and make use of
their abilities. Most under 5s can count to ten, so board games with dice are great for the ESL classroom.

Keep in mind that children at this stage understand more than

they are able to produce verbally.
They may not say a whole lot in English, particularly 3-year olds, but that doesn’t mean they are not learning.
Their flexible little brains are taking it all in, and soon enough they’ll be spouting off some greetings and short
answers right back at you.
Above all, give them a chance to be fully immersed in the English language. Speak to them in English
all the time, and illustrate what you wish them to do if they don't understand. Those of us who have taught
little ones will readily attest to the fact that they are blessed with a unique ability to accept the new language
with nothing but natural curiosity and openness. If they watch a video in English or listen to a song, they
won’t very likely demand a translation, unlike their adult counterparts.

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