The act of teaching is essentially a constant processing of options.

At every point in each lesson a teacher has a number of options available. He or she can decide to do something, or to do something else, or not to do anything at all. In order to become a better teacher it seems important to be aware of as many options as possible. This may enable you to generate your own rules and guidelines as to what works and what doesn't." (Jim Scrivener)

By Grace Bertolini

- Teaching new language: Presentation, practice, recycling - Teaching the 4 skills - LISTENING - Negative issues of listening - Different kinds of spoken texts - Listening activities - Color Dictation - SPEAKING - Corrections - Controlled practice - Guided practice - Pair work & whole class activities - READING - Look & say : approach to reading - Language experience approach - Silent Reading . - Reading materials - Reading sub-skills - WRITING - Controlled writing activities - Free writing activities - Vocabulary Charts - More writing activities - Books reviews - Text organization techniques - Pronunciation - TEACHING VOCABULARY & GRAMMAR - Vocabulary items - Learning vocabulary - How can we teach difficult words? - Storing vocabulary - Grammar - Grammatical structures - Word formation - Teaching basic structures - LEARNING STRATEGIES - HOME WORK - WORKSHEETS

P. 3 P. 4 P. 4 P. 5 P. 6 P. 7 P. 9 P. 10 P. 11 P. 13 P. 14 P. 15 P. 16 P. 17 P. 18 P. 19 P. 19 P. 20 P. 21 P. 22 P. 23 P. 24 P. 25 P. 26 P. 27 P. 28 P. 28 P. 29 P. 30 P. 31 P. 31 P. 34 P. 35 P. 36 P. 37 P. 40 P. 41 p. 44

PRESENTING, PRACTICING & RECYCLING THE LANGUAGE:

PRESENTATION:

CLEAR VISUAL CONTEXT TO UNDERSTAND: Most Text books/ Course books, present new language through listening activities, which are contextualized (presented in a context) by the use of pictures, posters or a story.

PRACTICE:

Once children have been presented with the new language, they practice it using the different skills of listening, speaking (older students practice reading and writing as well). It is very important that new language is practiced first in a controlled way, for example: recognizing new language responding to simple picture prompts. Once children are confident with new language, they can move on to freer activities.

RECYLING:
As your students progress through the topics, they will accumulate more and more language. It is essential that they recycle this language very frequently so they do not forget the language they have learned.

_____________________________________________________ LANGUAGE LEARNING: the four skills:

Learning a language involves becoming competent in the use of the 4 macro skills: LISTENING SPEKING READING WRITING LISTENING & READING are called RECEPTIVE SKILLS. SPEAKING & WRITING are called: PRODUCTIVE SKILLS. MODE OF COMMUNICATION: a) ORAL: Listening & Speaking. b) WRITTEN: Reading & Writing.

_______________________________________________________

LISTENING is a receptive skill: it involves responding to language rather than producing it. It also involves making sense of the meaningful sounds of language by using context.
4

Listening is the skill that children acquire first. When learning a foreign language, what students hear is their main source of language and teachers should also give them, as much visual back-up as possible, through: BODY LANGUAGE: Facial expression, Movement, Mime, Gestures.

NEGATIVE ISSUES OF LISTENING:

1- One of the negative parts of Listening, is that once something has been said, then it disappears If you are reading, you can go back and check or re-read something you dont understand. So, it is very important to say things clearly and to repeat them. When telling a story, you dont have to tell it from beginning to end without breaks: you can retell it again and again. For example: This story starts on a nice sunny Monday morning - Whos the story about? - Who can we see in the picture? - YesFred and Sue - Its a nice, sunny Monday morning and Fred and Sue are - Where are they? - In the forest Right! They are in the forest - Andwhat are they doing? - They are picking apples from the trees. - So Its a nice sunny Monday morning and Fred and Sue are in the forest picking apples from the trees. - What happens next? - Welland so the story continues 2- Another problem when listening, is that children have very short attention span. Its important then to ask for understanding meanwhile children are listening and not only at the end of the story.
5

DIFFERENT KIND OF SPOKEN TEXTS:

They contain different ways of organizing language:
CONVERSATIONS STORIES ANNOUNCEMENTS

SONGS

ADVERTISEMENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

LISTENING SUBSKILLS:
DIFFERENT REASONS FOR LISTENING: 1- Listen for gist. 2- Listen for specific information. 3- Listen for details. 4- Listen to do extensive listening. DIFFERENT SOURCES OF SPOKEN LANGUAGE: The teacher. Other learners. Visitors. CDs. DVDs. Videos.

The listening activities contain three main stages:

WARM UP: This introduces the learners to the topic and focuses their attention, either by provoking them to make suggestions, or by pre-teaching some new vocabulary. LISTEN & RESPOND: This is the main part of the activity. Students listen to a text and respond to what they hear in a variety of ways. FOLLOW UP: This stage gives students the opportunity to practice what they have learned using the other language skills.

LISTENING ACTIVITIES:
1) LISTEN & DO ACTIVITIES:
Students listen to a series of instructions or actions and do them as they hear them - Giving instructions. - Moving about Activities: children need exercise and movement. If they dont understand the first time, they will still be able to do the activity by watching others. - Put up your hand Activities - Mime stories: the teacher tells the story and children and teacher do the actions. We are sitting in a boat, a small rowing boat. Lets row. We row and row NowWhats that? Oha bird. A bird flying over the water MORE LISTEN & DO ACTIVITIES: Simon says- Polite robots Your nose is a pencil -

2) LISTEN & COMPLETE:

- Students listen and use the information to complete a picture, a map, a diagram.

3) LISTEN & CORRECT:

Students listen to a text, which contains a number of factual mistakes.

4) LISTEN & DRAW:

Students listen to a description of a person, a place or an object and draw it as they listen. For example: Draw a tree, draw a box under the tree, draw a cat in the box.

5) LISTEN & GUESS:

Students listen to a description of a person, a place, an object and try to guess who or what it is? For example: Students ask questions: Am I a thing or a person?. Is it a boy or a girl? Has he got black hair? What color are his eyes?

6) LISTEN & MATCH:

The Students listen to a description and match it to people, pictures, objects, places.

FOLLOW UP: This stage gives children the opportunity to practice what they have
learned using the other language skills.

The procedure is:

1) To explain clearly what we want children to do and to check that they have understood it. 2) First listening: we read the text (act out the story, play the record) and students just listen. 3) Children do the task while they listen. 4) Get students to check their answers in pairs. 5) Then we check the answers with the whole class.

COLOUR DICTATION:
1) 2) 3) 4) Give out photocopies of a picture. Say sentences to describe the picture, for example: The house is yellow. Children color the picture following your instructions. Once the children have finished, ask questions (What color is the house?) or get children to describe the picture (they will say: The house is yellow)

SPEAKING IS A PRODUCTIVE SKILL.

It involves using speech to express meanings to other people. WHEN WE SPEAK WE: 1) Use terms: GRAMMAR & VOCABULARY. 2) Answer questions, greet people, ask for clarification, persuade someone, take part in discussions: FUNCTIONS. 3) Pronounce words and use intonation: CONNECTED SPEECH. 4) Take part in conversations and correct ourselves: INTERACTION.

INTERACTION: is a two-way communication that involves using a language and

body language to help our listeners involved in what we are saying and to check if they understood our meaning by: - Making eye-contact. - Using Facial Expressions. - Asking check questions: Do you understand? FLUENCY: speaking at a normal speed without hesitation, repetition or self-correction. We speak with: ACCURACY: using correct forms of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation.

LIMITATIONS:
Speaking is perhaps the most demanding skill for the teacher to teach. Children will often naturally insert their Native Language when they cant find the words in English. It is important to find a balance between providing language through controlled and guided activities and at the same time, letting them enjoy natural talk.

10

CORRECTIONS:
When children are working with controlled and guided activities for accuracy (not for fluency, trying to communicate something), teachers want them to produce correct language (if they make mistakes, they should be corrected). When students are working on Free Oral activities, teachers are trying to get them to say what they want to say, to express themselvesso, correction of language mistakes should not be done while they are trying to communicate.

SPEAKING ACTIVITIES:
When children start learning English, they obviously need to be given language before they can produce it themselves. LANGUAGE HAS TO GO INBEFORE IT CAN COME OUT!! Each activity has three main stages: SETTING UP: This introduces students to the topic SPEAKING PRACTICE: This is the main part of the activity. Children communicate with each other in pairs or groups or compete as a team. The speaking part is a kind of bridge for the learners between the classroom and the world outside. Children learning new language in the classroom (the speaking practice): they use language to communicate in real life. SPEAKING ACTIVITIES must have three features: they must give the learners: - practice opportunities - for purposeful communication - in meaningful situations.

Some examples of SPEAKING TECHNIQUES are:

1) ASK & ANSWER: Learners ask and answer questions: for example: With a ball.

11

2) DESCRIBE & DRAW: In pairs. Learner A has a picture, which learner B cannot see. Learner A describes the picture to the partner and learner B draws it. 3) DISCUSSION: Learners work in pairs or groups to find out each others ideas or opinions on a topic. 4) GUESSING: The teacher, or some of the learners, have information which the others have to guess by asking questions. 5) REMEMBERING: Learners close their eyes and try to remember, for example, items from a picture or the location of objects in the classroom. 6) MIMING: A learner mimes, for example, a feeling or action which the others have to identify. 7) ROLE PLAY: These are small dialogues for practicing a particular structure or function. Learners act out an imaginary situation. They either use a dialogue, or the teacher gives them instructions about what to say. You can make up your own Role Plays, by taking short dialogues out of a story.

10) PRESENTING DIALOGUES WITH A MASCOT: One of the most successful ways of presenting language to kids is through puppets, stuffer animals or mascots. You can practice a dialogue with a Class Mascot as your partner. For example: Hi TeddyCan you swim? NoI cantbut I can sing a song (and Teddy sings a song to the kids). Hi TeddyDo you like carrots? No, I dont like carrots What about bananas? Yes, I love bananas!

12

Once the teacher has given the model, children can ask Teddy all sorts of questions.

11) PRESENTING DIALOGUES WITH DRAWINGS : You can use very simple line drawings on the board to convey meaning.

12) PRESENTING DIALOGUES WITH SILHOUETTES: Prepare your own Silhouettes or Cut outs and attach them to a craft stick to make them move. 13) PRESENTING DIALOGUES WITH MASKS: Make very simple Masks with paper plates and let kids perform a dialogue.

CONTROLLED PRACTICE:
There is very little chance that students make a mistake in a controlled practice: For example: learners can ask each other in pairs: A- Do you like? B- Yes / No (simple answers) A- What is he doing? B- Playing football

13

Easy activities provide a good background and are the basis for Oral Work: students connect simple useful language within a situation or a context. They should go through the same activity several times.

FAMILIARITY AND SAFETY ARE NECESSARY TO HELP STUDENTS BUILD UP SECURITY IN THE LANGUAGE

GUIDED PRACTICE:
Guided Practice follows on directly from Controlled Practice. It gives students some sort of choice: simple dialogues and Role plays.

FREER ACTIVITIES:
Focus attention on the message/ content and not on the language as such. There is a genuine communication (though situations may sometimes be artificial). Show teachers if students can or cannot use the language. Concentrate on meaning more than on correctness. Formal mistakes dont really matter too much, unless it means your students cant be understood (soleave corrections for afterwards!)

IMPORTANT: in FREER ACTIVITIES

1) We are trying to get our students to use the language with a natural flow, with what is called Fluency, soFluency is more important than Accuracy at this stage. 2) Teacher control is minimal during the activity, but she should be sure that students have enough language to do the task.

ORAL FREER ACTIVITIES:

Playing Card Games. Giving Mini talks. Presenting personal news. Presenting school news. Information Gap: A knows something, that B doesnt know and B wants that information.

14

PAIR WORK: IDENTICAL PICTURES: Color Dictation

1) Give everyone in the class a picture with a boy and a girl, to color. 2) Ask all the As in the class to color the girls clothes and all the Bs to color the boys clothes. 3) When They have finished, put an A with a B facing each other and ask them to ask the other person, how they have colored his/her clothes: - What color is his shirt? - What color is her blouse? 4) And they color what their friend says in their own pictures (it is important that they dont show each others picture!) 5) When they have finished, they should end up with two Identical Pictures.

WHOLE CLASS SPEAKING ACTIVITIES:

In these activities, all students get up and walk about. Inevitably, these activities tend to be noisy, sofor large classes, split children into small groups.

WHOLE CLASS ACTIVITY: FIND YOUR PARTNER

1) 2) 3) 4) Make two copies of identical cards. Give one to each kid. Children look at the card, memorize it and start walking around. They try to find the person with the identical card just by talking to each other, asking questions, etc
15

Just as Listening is the main source when students start to learn a language, print is the 2nd main source. Printed words become the main source of expanding and strengthening the language. READING is the language skill which is easiest to keep up. BOOKS open up other world to young children.

LEARNING TO READ IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE:

Some children starting school may not be familiar with books or what they are used for. They have to go through the process of doing Reading-like-activities first: a) reading from left-to-right. b) Turning the pages from right-to-left. If children have not learnt to read in L1, many of them will not yet have understood: What a word isWhat the connection is between spoken and written wordSentence structureParagraphingGrammar

DECODING READING: making sense of what they see on the page.

Children need a visual clue to convey meaning. Illustration in a book for young kids matter almost as much as the words themselves.

APPROACHES TO READING:
There are a number of different ways to approach the introduction of Reading in a foreign language.

A PHONIC APPROACH
A PHONIC APPROACH is based on letters and sounds. Basically, we teach children a) the letters of the alphabet. b) the combination of letters, phonically (as they are pronounced) For example: ph in pronounced /f/ It is best to start off with 3 or 4 letters that can make up a number of words like c a n t.
16

 Although phonics can become very complicated (as all the Pronunciation Rules), they can become an easy way into Reading, for those learners who are not familiar with the Roman Alphabet (for example: a Japanese child) IMPORTANT: it is not recommended as a main approach into reading for those students who: a) are learning or already reading in their own language using the Roman Alphabet. b) are learning to read using phonics in their own language. This could lead to great confusion in pronunciation.

LOOK & SAY APPROACH to Reading:

This approach is based on words and phrases and makes a lot of use of flashcards: words written on cards. A BOOK MY BOOK THE BLACKBOARD

We start by teaching everyday words which are already familiar to the children. USUAL PROCEDURE: 1) The teacher shows kids the word and says it pointing to the object. 2) Children repeat the word (this happens several times with each word) There are a lot of WORD RECOGNITION GAMES, which can be done at this stage: - Matching words with pictures. - Pointing to the object on the card. - Guessing which card you pick out of a hat. This LOOK & SAY APPROACH encourages word and phrases recognition before reading a text.

WHOLE SENTENCE READING Approach:

The teacher teaches recognition of whole phrases and sentences which have meaning in themselves: a story which children read for the 1st time themselves after the whole text is familiar to them. Words are not presented in isolation, but as whole phrases or sentences. READING FOR MEANING should be encouraged as soon as possible!
17

LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE Approach:

This approach to reading is based on the childs spoken language. The teacher writes down a sentence for the child to read which is based on what the child has said.

WHICH METHOD TO CHOOSE?

The Reading Approach which concentrates on meaning from the beginning is ideal when the Mother Tongue is based on Roman Script. For students whose L1 is not based on the Roman Alphabet (like Japanese), teachers should spend some time teaching phonics and word recognition first.

CONCLUSION:
There is not one correct method for teaching all children to read in a foreign language. Make use of the best of every method at the different stages of the process of learning to read.

___________________________________________________ READING STARTING POINTS:

READING A STORY FROM A BOOK. READING A CLASS-INVENTED STORY: Teachers build up a short story
and photocopy it for children to color it.

READING TEXTS BASED ON CHILDS LANGUAGE: Each kid has his

own written text based on a picture, a feeling, something which has happened. The teacher writes the sentences in the childs book based on what the kid has told her.

READING FAMILIAR NURSERY RHYMES OR SONGS: Most children

can repeat by heart a rhyme without having complete understanding of what they are saying. Children can read or behave like readers.

READING ALOUD: Its very useful, especially with beginners. Reading round
the class one by one, could be of little interest to the listeners: reading aloud individually to the teacher is a better option, because each reader has the teachers full attention.
18

Teachers can: Ask about meaning, Ask for opinion, Talk about difficulties individually, Check rhythm and pronunciation, Correct dialogues aloud in pairs.

SILENT READING:
For Silent Reading, it is essential to have print everywhere in the classroom: use a Notice Board, give messages to your students, label objects, facilitate books for understanding and for pleasure. Teachers should encourage students to spend more time building up confidence as silent readers.

READING MATERIALS
READING CARDS: keep Reading Cards in a box: tell a story that ca be read quickly. Add questions at the back of the card. HOME-MADE BOOKS: made with different verses of a familiar song or class stories written down by the teacher. EASY READERS - PICTURE DICTIONARIES - BOOKS WITH CDS

READING SUB-SKILLS:
READING involves various SUB-SKILLS similar to the ones in listening:

Reading for detail (intensive reading). Reading for gist (skimming). Reading for special information (scanning). Predicting content. Inferring meaning from content and context.
19

Some typical techniques are:

1) READ & COMPLETE: Students read a text and use the information to complete a list, a table, a chart or a picture. 2) READ & CORRECT: Students correct mistakes in a text. 3) READ & DREAW: Ss read a text and draw what is described. 4) READ & GUESS: Ss read a text and guess what is described./Some riddles were read/ 5) READ & MATCH: Ss match the information in a text with other reading texts or pictures. 6) READ & REORDER: Ss read a text in muddled order and number the sentences or paragraphs in the correct order. Or they physically reorder sentences on separate stripes of paper. 7)READ & SORT: Two texts mixed together. The Ss have to sort them out.

The main stage of each activity has six basic steps:

123456Put up the text. Set the skimming or scanning task. Set the read and respond task. Give the Ss time to read the text individually Let the Ss compare their answers in pairs. Go to the answers with the whole class and discuss them.

LET YOUR CHILDREN READ WHEN THEY ARE READY TO DO SO!!

20

WRITING IS NOT ALWAYS EASY

You cant make the same use of body language, intonation, tone, eye contact and all the features which help you to convey meaning when you talk. Very little of what you write is concerned with the here and now. Many children take a long time to master the skill of writing. Writing in a foreign language is often associated with correcting errors Handwriting, grammar, spelling and punctuation are often given priority over content. If we try to make childrens writing meaningful from the start, with emphasis on content, then errors can be gently corrected and re-written in cooperation with the teachers.

WRITING IS GOOD
It adds another physical dimension to the learning process: hands are added to eyes and ears. It lets students express their personalities. Writing activities train the language and help aid memory.

CONTROLLED WRITING ACTIVITIES:

Writing activities go from being tightly controlled to being completely free. Free activities should allow for self expression. Content is what matter most.

STRAIGHT COPYING:
COPYING is an obvious starting point for writing. It gives the teacher the chance to reinforce language that has been presented orally or through reading. It is a good idea to ask students to read aloud quietly to themselves when they are copying the words because this helps them to see the connection between the written and the spoken word. An easy way to start is by tracing words. Even though they may not understand what they are writing, it will give them valuable encouragement and satisfaction.
21

MATCHING:
Students can match pictures and texts.

ORGANIZING & COPYING:

Organize sentences and then copy them

COPYING BOOK:
It is useful for students to have a Copying Book where they can copy new vocabulary, a simple dialogue, etc

DICTATION:
Dictate only half a sentence and ask students to complete it in their own way. I like I dont like I love

22

FREE WRITING ACTIVITIES:

Students need to be able to try out their language in a free way. In Free activities the language is the students own language, no matter what their level is. The most difficult with free writing activities is going from nothing to something. In general, students dont know what to write about: Their vocabulary is limited. They arent confident about the mechanics of writing.

PRE-WRITING ACTIVITIES:
All learners need to spend time on Pre-writing work: Warm-up activities to give them ideas and encouragement before they settle down to write. For example: Talking about the subject: short simple conversations to get ideas and collect thoughts.

WORD STARS:
Put the Key word in the middle of the board or a poster. For example: use DOG as your Key Word . The class in pairs, write down all the words they can think about connected with dogs. If they dont know the English word for, first let them write it in their own language and you fill it in English later. When all the groups have made their Word stars, you can do one on the board for everyone. This gives ideas about what to write.

23

VOCABULARY CHARTS: are

Simple drawings or pictures with vocabulary collections. Easy to make. Useful reminders of the words.

PICTURE DICTIONARIES are very useful to build up

vocabulary by collecting related words. Students might like to make a PICTURE DICTIONARY of their own, using their own themes and ideas. Use photographs, pictures from magazines, a story, a song, etc They do not need to remember all the words. They are only collecting words that will help them write their story.

The idea is to give learners as many words and ideas as possible before they start on the writing task.
24

MORE WRITING ACTIVITIES:

Simple dialogues are a useful way to bridge the gap between guided practice and freer activities. Controlled dialogues can easily develop into freer work.

DESCRIPTIONS:
Lots of free writing includes descriptions. Encourage your students to go beyond straight picture descriptions using only I can see. Encourage an imaginative approach by asking leading questions like: Do you like? Have you got?

COLLAGES:
A collage is usually a large piece of paper or a board which is made into a poster or a picture by sticking on illustrations and other materials.

Letters written to a friend MESSAGES INVITATIONS

My own story

JOKES

POSTCARDS

ADVERTISEMENTS

POEMS

25

BOOKS REVIEWS:

SPEECH BUBBLES

26

CONCLUSION: WRITING includes so many other elements such as handwriting, spelling, syntax, grammar, paragraphing, ideas, etc. For the students in primary school the most important writing skills are: Mastering the Roman Alphabet, Copying, handwriting, Spelling, Basic sentence formation.

The three main stages of the activities are:

1) LEAD IN: This introduces the learners to the topic and focuses their attention. It helps them to start thinking about the topic and to practice some of the language they will be needed. 2) ORGANIZING TEXTS: This stage provides controlled writing practice in preparation for a free writing task. 3) CREATING TEXTS: This stage gives the Ls the opportunity to use the knowledge they have acquired in the previous two stages in producing their own text. The T provides a context and a reason for writing. SOME TEXTS ORGANIZATION TECHNIQUES ARE: 1) COMPLETION: Learners fill in the blanks in a text or a crossword puzzle with an appropriate word or phrase. 2) DESCRIBING A PICTURE: Learners write a description of a picture. 3) JOINING: Learners join words or sentences using a linking word, such as and or but. 4) MATCHING: Learners have to match the two separate halves of sentences which are written in the form of two lists. 5) REORDERING: Sentences or texts are given to the Ls in muddled order and they have to rearrange them in the correct order.

27

PRONUNCIATION:
YOUNG CHILDREN need to hear the different sounds in a Foreign Language: it is very important to work with authentic recorded listening material such as rhymes and songs. GOOD PRONUNCIATION comes gradually as children learn to distinguish different sounds. DO NOT OVER CORRECT PRONUNCIATION: instead, focus on a particular sound and ask children to pronounce it one by one. Make sure that your students see your lips when you speak. It is perfectly normal for a young kid, not to be able to pronounce certain sounds in L1 and the same will occur in English. The majority of children will get over this problem as they get older.

ACTIONS & MIME:

YOUNG CHILDREN use their bodies spontaneously: make the most of this by using lots of mime and action. MIME & ACTION help you: Communicate what you are saying. Keep childrens attention. Reinforce words and structures. Correct your students.

VOCABULARY
WHAT IS LEXIS?
LEXIS is individual words or sets of words, for example: Vocabulary items that have specific meaning. VOCABULARY ITEMS have different kinds of meaning:

DENOTATION:
Meaning that describes the thing or idea behind the vocabulary item. For example: tree is a large plant with a wooden trunk, branches and leaves.
28

FIGURATIVE MEANING:
Or Imaginative Meaning : a family tree

MEANING IN CONTEXT:
Situation in which is used. MEANING by adding PREFIXES: unsafe. MEANING by adding SUFFIXES: nationality. MEANING BY MAKING COMPOUND WORDS: telephone number. MEANING BY COLLOCATION: words that often occur together: heavy rain.

VOCABULARY ITEMS can be grouped into:

a) SYNONYMS: words with the same or similar meaning. b) ANTONYMS: words with opposite meanings. c) LEXICAL SETS: groups of words that belong to the same topic area (furniture, food)

29

LEARNING VOCABULARY:
Initial Vocabulary Learning appears with a one-to-one correspondence between words and objects or concepts. CHILDREN need: To learn the form of a word: the way the word sounds and is spelt. To learn the way it changes grammatically, for example: when used in the plural. To understand the meaning and the way this relates to other concepts and words. To be able to recall the word whenever they need it. To gradually extend their understanding of its use. With younger children, it is most appropriate to teach concrete vocabulary items which relate to the here and now of their immediate environment and personal experience. As children grow older, they gradually become able to deal with more abstract concepts.

THE IMPORTANCE OF RECYCLING VOCABULARY:

Children often appear to learn vocabulary easily like little sponges However, children also forget vocabulary very easily too, unless they are given regular opportunities to use it. It is essential to recycle vocabulary regularly and systematically at all levels and ages. Through regular recycling, children can be given opportunities to meet the same vocabulary in different contexts and in meaningful creative ways, through rhymes, songs, stories, dramatic play and arts & crafts. This develop memory processes and extends understanding.

HOW DO I SELECT VOCABULARY TO TEACH?

Before teaching children new vocabulary, it is essential to select the words that you want to teach. 1) Remember that there is both ACTIVE and PASSIVE VOCABULARY.

ACTIVE VOCABULARY: is what children both understand and use. PASIVE VOCABULARY: is what children understand but are not able to use.

2) Choose vocabulary that is relevant to your students ages, needs and interests. 3) Keep your expectations realistic. 4) See if there are any words that resemble L1.
30

HOW CAN WE TEACH DIFFICULT WORDS?

a) Get the children to clap on the stressed syllable (s) of a word as they say it. For example: bi- (clap) cy cle. b) Put the word in a rhythmic sentence. For example: I eat meat Rice is nice I fly through the sky c) Teach words that rhyme together. For example: nose / toes. d) Get children to repeat a word after you in different ways. For example: in a deep voice, in a whisper, in a shout, slowly, quickly.

STORING VOCABULARY:
Your students will inevitably forget some of the vocabulary they have learned. The best way to encourage them to memorize their vocabulary is by offering the lots of visual stimuli.

VOCABULARY TEACHING AIDS:

Use practical resources of Storing Vocabulary so that they can refer to it in everyday lessons: Realia (real objects), Felt-Flannel Boards and figures or cut-outs, Flashcards, Picture Dictionaries, Posters, Pictures, Photos, Worksheets, etc

31

WORD FAMILIES POSTERS

Make large posters with the vocabulary as you finished each topic and use it as constant reminder.

LETTER BOX with FLASHCARDS:

1) Store words in alphabetical order in small shoe boxes.

32

WORD BANKS

WALL DICTIONARY:
This is a Permanent Frieze which you build on, over the school year. Choose an image that is appropriate to the age of your students, for example: a train

a) Draw a train with several wagons on a construction paper. b) You will use each wagon for different word families that you will be using during the year with your group. For example: the body, colours, animals, food, etc
33

GRAMMAR:
WHAT IS GRAMMAR?
GRAMMAR describes how we combine, organize and change words and parts of words to make meaning. PARTS OF SPEECH GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURES WORD FORMATION

We can use Grammar to describe

PARTS OF SPEECH

NOUNS

VERBS

ADJECTIVES

ADVERBS

DETERMINERS

PREPOSITIONS

CONJUNCTIONS

PRONOUNS

EXCLAMATIONS

A part of speech or word class, describes the function a word or phrase has in a sentence.

34

GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURES
Grammatical structures is the arrangement of words into patterns which have meaning and describe forms and uses. FORM: refers to specific grammatical parts that make up the structure and the order they occur in. USE: refers to the meaning that the structure is used to express.

35

WORD FORMATION
We use grammar to describe how words are formed. English uses:

(ionPREFIXES est Group of letters added at the beginning of a word (un il pre dis) SUFFIXES Group of letters added at the end of a word (tion est by able) PREFIXES and SUFFIXES are added to base words to make new grammatical units such as: - tenses (goes) - parts of verbs (going) - the plural of nouns (books) - possessives (girls) FOR MORE INFORMATION: TKT GLOSSARY: www.cambridgeesol.org/TKT.

A WORD ABOUT GRAMMAR:

Grammar rules describe the way the language works, but language changes over time, so grammar rules are not fixedthey change too. Teachers need to keep up to date with what parts of the language are changing and how. Learning some Grammatical Rules and terms, make language learning easier for some learners. But young children may not find rules useful at all. CONCLUSION: Just learning grammatical rules and structures, doesnt give learners enough help with learning how to communicate, which is the main purpose of language. So much language teaching has moved away from teaching only grammarand now we teach : functions, language skills, fluencyand grammar.

LEARNING GRAMMAR:
It is important to give children exposure to language in meaningful contexts which engage them in practicing and using English for purposes which they can enjoy. At initial stages, young children learn patterns based in chunks of language from their routines lessons (toilet, please?) During the primary years, they move to more explicit aspects of grammar (at the age of 8 9 10)
36

TEACHING SOME BASIC STRUCTURES:

Young children do not need to have clear notion of grammar: they learn through imitation, intuition and a lot of practice (because they can learn as quickly as they forget) Activities should be very short and should only last a few minutes. Children are basically egocentric and their main interest is themselves and their possessions, thusthe importance of verb to be and to have/has got. As they need to ask for permission as an essential part of their socialization, they need to learn can.

CAN for asking permission:

THE BACK-CHAINING TECHNIQUE

- The teacher starts with the last word in the question and build the question up backwards: for example: the question is: Can I have a sweet, please? Teacher: - please? (get the children repeat please?) - a sweet, please? - Can I have a sweet, please? REMEMBER: Insist right from the beginning that your students use Please and Thank you which are very important when speaking English!!

VERB TO BE: 1) TEACHING IAM with the Present Tense:

- Pat your chest twice and say I (pat) AM (pat) INTELLIGENT! (make a sign for this: put your finger to your temple and take it out to the side) - I (pat) AM (pat) STRONG! (use a deep voice and flex your arm musles) - It is essential to use action to communicate your meaning. - Always exaggerate your actions. Choose adjectives that make children feel good about themselves. - Add useful adjectives: hungry, clean, small, big, dirty, tires, angry, hot, cold, ill, nice, etc

37

IMPORTANT: Because English uses Verb to be + an adjective to express concepts that in many languages we express with the equivalent of Verb to have + a nounfor example: I am hungry : Yo tengo hambre (from Spanish) Ich habe hunger (German) Jai faim (French) , you should teach ADJECTIVES right away so that children associate them naturally with to be.

2) TEACHING IT IS:
- Show pictures of singular objects that are important in childrens lives, for example: ball, house, cat. They should be taught within a sentence: Its a ball.

3) TEACHING THEY ARE:

- Show pictures of plural objects

4) TEACHING HE IS / SHE IS:

When teaching he and she, you can tell the class that : Girls are silent, because you say Shhh (put your fingers to your lips): Shhhe for girls. Its an easy way to distinguish between he and she. - Point to the boy and say He is intelligent. - Point to another boy and say He is strong - Point to a girl and say Shhhhe is pretty. - And to another girl and say She is strong (do actions while speaking) - Finally ask each child to say something about the classmates beside him. While children are coloring pictures, go around and ask them to talk about the picture. This is a good opportunity to assess what each child has assimilated.

HAVE GOT: TEACHING HAVE GOT:

It is always a good idea to use a verb or a structure before you actually teach it, so that children are already familiar with it. USING TEN LITTLE INDIANS SONG: So, with have got, you can start by teaching the action song: Ten little Indians. INSTRUCTIONS: 1) Get children to sit cross-legged in a circle (like Indians). 2) You say: - I have got (cross your arms) - ten (uncross your arms and hold up 10 fingers) - little( hold your hands out, facing the floor) - Indians ( hold your hands next to your head with the palms facing towards and fingers sticking up like feathers).
38

- Once children know this part, continue teaching the whole song: -

NOTE: the action of crossing their arms when they say have got , can then become your prompt for using this form of the verb. When children have assimilated the form, reinforce it by playing: a) a Memory Game and use: I have got a cat I have got a dog, etc b) a Picture Dictation.
39

Learning strategies are methods or techniques that individuals use to improve their comprehension, learning, and retention of information: students comprehend, memorize and store new information. LEARNING STRATEGIES are extremely personal and different from each student. There is not a right or wrong way of studying. However, study is a technique which must be taught and learned, Teachers should provide students with various models to choose from.

LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES:

USING PRIOR KNOWLEDGE: Relating new information to previous knowledge that helps understanding meaning. INFERENCING: Using contextual or physical clues to make sense of the meanings being expressed. USING VISUAL, AUDITORY and IMAGERY: The retention and recall of specific vocabulary and expressions by means of physical, visual and gestural imagery. REPETITION: Voluntary or task repetition of vocabulary LANGUAGE ANALYSIS: The application of learned or self-developed rules to understand or produce the foreign language.

Comprehension Skills Pre-reading strategies Retelling Decoding words cvc, ccvc, cvcc, cvce Self-monitoring Tracking Guess & Check predictions.

MEMORIZING: The best method of stimulating memory for vocabulary is by making sure that children see and hear the words as much as possible. - Students will only remember words that they use. - Limit the amount of vocabulary that you expect your students to learn at a time ( 3 to 5 words for young kids) - Keep recycling vocabulary from previous units. - Brightly colored posters, projects, labeling of the classroom and other visual aids, will help your students memorize and use the vocabulary they have learned.

40

TASK 1: LISTENING SKILLS: - Look at the Mime StoryCan you write another short Mime Story for Young Learners to perform? Underline the words which you would act out.

___________________________________________________________________ TASK 2: SPEAKING SKILLS: a) Can you think of more CONTROLLED / GUIDED ACTIVITIES to share with a colleague? -

b) Add some more FREE ORAL ACTIVITIES at the ones given in this unit. -

___________________________________________________________________ TASK 3: READING SKILLS: Can you suggest more READING MATERIAL to give to your children at this stage?

41

TASK 4: WRITING SKILLS: Can you think of a writing activity using a Picture Dictionary?

____________________________________________________________________ TASK 5: VOCABULARY TEACHING: Look at this lexical Set of classroom objects : sharpener, pen, glue, pencil, rubber. In which way would you teach these words? For example: Clapping out the rhythmassociating them through a rhymeetc

TASK 5: GRAMMAR TEACHING: Think of an activity you can use to reinforce have got (for example: a Picture Dictation)

42

REFERENCES:
We are grateful for permission to reproduce material from:
Scott, W Are you listening? Oxford University Press. Worall, A and Abbs, B Longman picture Word Book Longman. Roth, Genevieve.Teaching Very Young Children- Pre-school and Early Primary. Richmond House, Susan. An introduction to Teaching English to children. Richmond Publishing. Jayne Moon. Children learning English. Macmillan Books for teachers. Wendy Scott. Teaching English to children. Longman. Collins and Harvill - Beginning Beginner Books. Strange, D. Start Reading. Oxford University Press. Dunn, O, Susan. Ranger Story Workbooks. Macmillan. http://www.teachchildrenesl.com/

Teachers should make a difference in the lives of children

Tell me and I forget... Teach me and I remember... Involve me and I learn ! Benjamin Franklin.

To teach is to touch a soul forever

ENJOY YOUR TEACHING! Grace B.

creativeteaching@gracebertolini.com.ar

www.gracebertolini.com.ar

TEK COURSE: Teaching English at Kindergarten, Preschool and Early Primary Grades Copyright 2011 By Graciela Bertolini www.gracebertolini.com.ar All rights reserved. No part of this course/ publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, recording, computer bulletin board (BBS), Internet, or by any information storage retrieval system, without written permission of the author. This legal protection not only applies to the name but also to the format and contents of this course. Any copying or similar course/ handbook, will be seen a breach - copyright and legal action will be sought. Please do not email TEK COURSE HANDBOOK to of anyone else, as I do not want free copies being emailed all over the internet.

REFERENCES:

I appreciate your integrity on this point. Thank you! Grace Bertolini.

43

44

45

46

47