Lucila Hernndez Fernndez

Grupo 10 /DGSEI

Teaching English in the Kindergarten
Teaching English to young learners is a challenge. You're standing in front of a class
of glassy-eyed children, or, even worse, a class of students who are just plain ignoring
you. How can you motivate the children and get them back "into" your class? One
sure-fire way to get your students to be motivated is to offer then small prizes or
treats to do the task at hand. Oh yes! You will have a class full of highly motivated,
participating children. They might even learn something from the activity. However,
by giving the children prizes and treats to motivate them you'll end up with an empty
pocketbook and a class full of students who are only motivated for the material prize,
not because they want to learn (which means they probably aren't getting much out
of the activity in the first place). There are many other ways to motivate your
students and you won't have to keep a stash of "prizes" in your classroom to do it.
Think back to what classes you like best and why. If the teacher was bored and
didnt make the subject interesting, then the children often didn't like the class
either. To keep yourself motivated, change your activities to things that you are
excited about. If youre not excited and motivated about the activities you have
planned for your students, its time to get some new ones.
From this point of view I want to make this essay to mention some strategies to
increase students motivation to learn English.
Motivation is the thoughts and feelings which make us want to and continue to want
to do something and which turn our wishes into action. Also motivation is very
important in language learning. It is one of the key factors that helps make language
learning successful.
Young children learn from everything they do. They are naturally curious; they want
to explore and discover. If their explorations bring pleasure or success, they will
want to learn more. This means that they have intrinsic motivation. Children do many
things simply because they want to do them.
Since intrinsically motivated activity is more rewarding in and of itself, children learn
more from this sort of activity, and they retain that learning better. Intrinsically
motivated children are more involved in their own learning and development.

Lucila Hernndez Fernndez
Grupo 10 /DGSEI

Thus here there are some classroom strategies to motive children to learn English.
Provide explicit, systematic instruction in vocabulary.
Children require multiple exposures to words in order to develop a rich understanding
of their meaning and use. Teachers should make a point of introducing interesting new
words for children to learn into each classroom activity (Tabors, 2008).
Presenting vocabulary thematically helps children make associations between
words and scaffolds students' learning (McGee & Richgels, 2003).
Use visual aids Students of preschool age learn well when visual aids are
presented to them. For example, instead of simply teaching them how to count
from 1 to 10 by reading the numbers, use objects, such as pebbles or small
candy. Give the child one object and tell him, "This is one." Continue giving him
objects and announcing the number so he can see how many that number is.
This helps make information seem more concrete and real.
Reading aloud to children
Reading aloud to young children is important because it helps them acquire the
information and skills they need to succeed in school and life. Include
explanations of targeted vocabulary that can support word learning. (Brabham
& Lynch-Brown, 2002; Coyne, Simmons, Kame'enui, & Stoolmiller, 2004), as
can dramatic play organized around a carefully chosen theme (Barone & Xu,
2008; Tabors, 2008).
Make reading books an enjoyable experience. Choose a comfortable place
where the children can sit near you.
Read to children frequently. Children enjoy listening to a story over and
over.
Help children to learn as you read. Offer explanations, make observations,
and help the children to notice new information. Explain words that they may
not know. Point out how the pictures in a book relate to the story.
Preschoolers are young children with plenty of energy, so they enjoy learning
and playing at the same time. Instead of just reading a story to your pupils,
invite them to act out the events of the story. Encourage children to develop
their imagination by asking them to pretend to be anything they can think of,
such as an astronaut, a cowboy or an animal. As they play, ask them to talk
about what they are doing. This helps pupils develop their language skills.
Provide opportunities to talk in the target language.
Lucila Hernndez Fernndez
Grupo 10 /DGSEI

For group activities, encourage children to use English language by using simple
structures they can use easily (Barone & Xu, 2008). Provide prompts when
children need help in expressing themselves (Bunce & Watkins, 1995).
Use open questions, or questions that can have multiple answers, to help ELLs
expand their own utterances (e.g., "Why do you like this doll best?" instead of
"What is this doll's name?").
Provide an ongoing commentary on activities that are taking place in the
classroom in order to expose children to language associated with the
immediate context (Bunce & Watkins, 1995; Tabors, 2008).
Provide action based activities. One of the most attractive aspects of
preschoolers is their natural enthusiasm and curiosity for life. As you go
through the school day, be on a constant look out for learning opportunities. If
it's raining while the children arrive for school, take a moment to discuss
where rain comes from.
Structure the classroom space and routine to provide scaffolding for ELLs'
language learning.
Arrange the classroom in a way that supports each type of instructional
activity that will take place, and then keep changes to the physical
environment to a minimum. Once ELLs learn which activities take place in
various parts of the classroom (e.g., centers, circle), the physical environment
will cue them as to what they are to do and how they are to behave in that
area (Barone & Xu, 2008).
Predictable classroom routines can also provide scaffolding for English
language learners by allowing them to anticipate what will happen each day,
including the type of language they will need for each activity (Bunce &
Watkins, 1995; Tabors, 2008).
Songs, chants and rhymes.
An extremely effective teaching method for younger children is turning their
learning material into a song. While they may struggle with learning words by
themselves, once you arrange some rhymes, a melody and hand motions, your
students won't stop singing. Songs propose a change from habitual classroom
actions. They are valuable resources to expand students' abilities in listening,
speaking, reading, and writing. They can also be exercises to teach a variety of
language matters such as sentence patterns, vocabulary, pronunciation, rhythm
Games are easy ways of learning without being bored

Lucila Hernndez Fernndez
Grupo 10 /DGSEI



Summary.
Teaching English can sometimes be frustrating and demotivating. It is clear that a
constant effort is required to make the language understandable, and motivate the
students to produce and manipulate the target language. Teachers must permanently
have recourse like stories, vocabulary strategies, songs and games to enhance the
learners' desire to learn the language. . It is obvious that a student is always a
student no matter how old he / she is. Students learn better when they have the
feeling that they are making progress. This happens when the atmosphere in the
classroom facilitates it. So We as preschool teacher must be in constant improvement
to create and to develop all the resources we can find out to increase our teaching

References:
Ballantyne, K. G., Sanderman, A. R., & McLaughlin, N. (2008). Dual language learners in
the early years: Getting ready to succeed in school. Washington, DC: National
Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition.
Barone, D., & Xu, S. H. (2008). Literacy instruction for English language learners Pre-
K-2. New York: The Guilford Press
Bunce, B. H., & Watkins, R. V. (1995). Language intervention in a preschool classroom:
Implementing a language-focused curriculum. In M. L. Rice & K. A. Wilcox
(Eds.), Building a language-focused curriculum for the preschool classroom: Vol. I. A
foundation for lifelong communication (pp. 39-71). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes
Publishing Co.
Web pages:
http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/36679/

http://www2.ed.gov/teachers/how/early/teachingouryoungest/index.html
http://www.education.com/question/effective-teaching-strategies-teaching-
preschool/
Lucila Hernndez Fernndez
Grupo 10 /DGSEI

http://www.teachpreschool.org/2009/12/teaching-english-language-learners-in-
preschool/