Teaching Kids English: 10

Things to Consider

Teaching children can be immensely rewarding, anyone who has taught children can tell
you that. But its not fun and games all the time, and sometimes its just not that easy.
English teachers who wish to teach children must be aware of the challenges and
difficulties they may encounter, and prepare accordingly.
Here are the top 10 things to consider if youre serious about teaching kids English:
Are you really up for it?
If you want to teach kids English because you think its easy, then this is not the job for
you. Teaching children demands a great deal of creativity and energy. Kids will always
keep you on your toes! They will amaze you and surprise you, but don't think that just
because you'll be teaching colors and animals, it'll be a breeze. You'll most likely feel
exhausted after every class, but oh, so happy!
A little preparation goes a long way
Never make the mistake of showing up for class with little or no ideas, and thinking that
youll figure it out as you go along. Preparation is essential, mostly because youll need
to gather lots of teaching materials. Seasoned teachers may be able to improvise an
entire lesson with only a whiteboard and some markers, but why risk having a class that
turns out to be a hellish nightmare? You can plan an entire week of lessons or a full
month, but make sure you have a lesson plan for every class.
Try to cater to multiple intelligences
Young ESL students have strengths and weaknesses and the best way to take advantage
of their strengths and help them learn effectively is to cater to their learning styles or
multiples intelligences, namely Visual Spatial, Logical Mathematical, Bodily
Kinesthetic, Musical Rhythmic, Intra-Personal, Inter-Personal, Naturalist, and
Spiritual. How can we accomplish this?
Lets see some examples:

For musical rhythmic intelligence learners, teach an ESL element with a song,
like Rock Around the Clock for telling time.
For bodily kinesthetic intelligence learners, teach body parts with a game of
Simon Says, or sing Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.
For visual spatial intelligence learners, use maps, charts, and all types of visual
aids. Teach them the different types of stores and locations they may find around
town with a big map-like board game, and have them visit the different
locations by throwing the dice.

Dont let them get bored

If children are bored they wont pay attention, and they wont learn. You dont have to
clown around all the time, either; they're in class to learn, not to be entertained by you.
Your job is to make learning engaging and fun.
Here are some ways to do this:

Once theyve been sitting and focused on a task for a while, get them out of their
seats for a more active game. They should never remain seated for the duration
of the class, unless theyre teens.
Use realia, or real life objects in class. No matter how colorful or big, students
sometimes get tired of learning everything through flashcards.

Mix it up
ESL classes may include singing, dancing, and jumping, as well as writing, reading, or
listening. The best ESL lessons combine the right mix of teaching strategies. You
may begin class with a short song, then move on to a reading exercise. The best rule of
thumb is to switch between quiet, independent tasks to those that require action and
movement.
Be prepared to deal with parents
Unlike teaching adult students, when you teach the little ones you have to interact with
their parents as well.
These must be informed about:

Your goals, i.e., what you hope to accomplish throughout the year
The childrens learning goals, i.e., the syllabus for the school year
Their childrens progress, i.e., if they have achieved their learning goals
satisfactorily

It is also recommended to encourage parents active participation in their childrens

English learning. Even if they dont speak English themselves, they should be
encouraged to ask the kids what theyve learned, share songs, etc

Gather an arsenal of materials

When you teach children English it is essential to have a box of materials that can be

adaptable to any game or activity.

Must-have items are:

a pair of dice
flashcards
blank bingo sheets (that can be filled in by students with either words or
pictures)
small toys balls in several sizes, toy vehicles, animals, etc...
bean bags
puppets

Remember its not all about the games

Each game or activity you propose should target a specific learning goal or ESL
element. Its not about coming to class to play. ESL games are highly effective
teaching strategies as long as you know how to fully utilize their potential.

Teach in context
Lessons should be planned in accordance with learning goals. And vocabulary,
grammar, and language should be taught in context. For example, when teaching
children foods in English, it should be within a meal context like breakfast, lunch or
dinner, and should never be a list of items they must study or memorize.

Keep them motivated

As kids get older and reach their pre-teen years, some ESL games and activities may not
interest them as much as they did in the past. Find out what does interest them. What
kind of music do they like? What do they enj oy reading? What sports do they play?
Which sports stars do they admire? Writing interview questions for their favorite NBA
player will be a lot more interesting than just a list of questions in simple present.
The moments shared with your young learners will far outweigh any of the difficulties
or disadvantages commonly associated to teaching children. Just make sure that
learning English is not a chore for them, but rather a positive learning experience,
one that they will remember for years to come. Make sure they have fun learning,
and you'll have fun teaching them too!

Methods for Managing Classroom Interruptions

1. 1

Set the Tone You Want

Every teacher is different; every classroom is different. Some teachers are
bothered by students getting up to go to the restroom during class; others are not
so bothered by it but are driven crazy by cell phones going off. Put what you

would like students to do regarding emergencies needs to leave class and use
of electronics in your syllabus so the expectation is clear from the start.
2. 2

Enforce the Expectations

In the beginning, especially, expect there to be some challenging or
misunderstanding of the expectations. Students may not have fully understood
your rules, or they are so used to lack of rules in their other classrooms that they
will continue to blithely receive calls during class or get up to leave during the
lecture. Usually all that is required is for the teacher to remind the class in
general of the expectations. Sometimes discussing the reason for the expectation
also helps: so that we can concentrate on our studies, so that students can hear
my lecture without confusion, and so forth.
3. 3

Addressing the Individual Interrupter

Sometimes most of the interruptions come in the form of one student. You
have just begun to introduce a topic, and the first sentence isnt out of your
mouth before her hand shoots up, and she begins talkingusually not on topic
because she probably hasnt been listening.
What to do about this kind of student? When she interrupts you while you are
teaching, you may tell her kindly that you arent quite finished, and she may
make her comment when you are finished. This rarely extinguishes the behavior
on other occasions, however. I have found it helpful to meet with this student
after class or during break to give additional attention because often the
behavior results from some insecurity in the studentfeeling older, or
poorer, not as intelligent, etc., than the other students, and the feelingswhether
or not they are a reality---cause the interruptions and need to seek attention in
this way. If the instructor shows some positive attention and individual support
of the student, the interruptions may diminish.
4. 4

Addressing Group Interruptions

Sometimes the continual interruptions come from the same core group of
students. This is a little harder to handle as confronting one of the group will
make him or her feel singled out and defensive; if you try to meet with the
whole group they may deny that they are acting as a groupwhich may in fact
be true; they may be subconsciously patterning their behavior off one another.
When there is a core group of students engaging in undesirable behavior, it
usually indicates an overall problem with class climate, and the best course of
action is for the instructor to address the class as a whole, reviewing your
policies and expectations. In most cases, this will address the problem.

5. 5

Dealing with Institutional Interruptions

What if the interruptions are institutional in nature? Sometimes they are:
your class time seems to be the time when the guys with the leaf-blowers get
under your windows, or the custodian decides to come in and fix the pencil
sharpener with a drill, or the tech folks have to come in and check the
computers connectivity, etc. Even some colleagues are extremely social types
and feel the apparent need to knock on your door for a quick chat or question
while you are teaching. So what can we do in these instances?
Again, its fairly easy when its one person to simply say, Were in class right
now. Please fix that/clean that/talk to me later.
Sometimes, however, students become interested in the interruption, what the
technicians are doing to the computers, for example, and Ive allowed them to
go over and watch for a short time. Sometimes the student who interrupts your
lecture brings up a valid, if totally off topic, point, and it becomes a teachable
moment. So if you cant beat em, join em: sometimes the interruption to the
class becomes the class. These are rare occasions, however. In most cases the
class should be guarded against interruptions.

Interruptions are ubiquitous in the classroom.

This is probably emblematic of how little regard our society has for the educational
process: few people would interrupt a doctor when shes talking to discuss some other
totally irrelevant point, or take a quick phone call, or barge in (or out) of an exam room
unpermitted; however, we feel free somehow to do this with teachers and the classroom.
However, our students are given so little class time to begin with that teachers much
jealously guard it against the continual interruptions.

Are You Making These Mistakes in Class?

1. 1

You indulge in useless blabber

This is what I also call the saying out loud things that you should just keep
to yourself syndrome. It goes something like this: you say to your class, OK,
so were going to play this game, but were going to use the board instead of
these cute little photocopies I had planned to give you, but I cant give you as
the copier is broken. Sorry about that, but these things happen, and well, we
need to adapt and adjust to what we have OKOh, Ill need another marker
because this one is not working properly And it goes on and on and on
Needless to say, students dont need to hear all of this. Quite frankly, in some
levels it can be quite confusing they may not even understand half of it. Repeat
after me: Silence is good. Its OK for students to have some quiet time while

you set up a game or activity. Moreover, keep any problems you may have had
with the schools equipment to yourself. Its more professional, too.
2. 2

You complete their sentences for them

Your student says, Playing soccer is And you jump in and say, fun?
Talk about eager beavers! Sometimes the teacher is the eager beaver in class and
doesnt give students enough time to come up with the right word or answer.
Students need time. If you jump the gun and complete the answer for them,
youre taking away their opportunity to prove to you just how much theyve
learned. Also, consider that it could actually annoy the student. What if, in the
situation above, the word the student was actually looking for is boring?
Completing students sentences is like cutting someone elses food. You do it
when theyre little, but at some point they have to start doing it for themselves.
3. 3

You ask them if they understand

Imagine I am looking straight into your eyes, and I ask you Do you
understand? Most students will feel compelled to squeak out a tentative
yes Who would actually face the teacher and say no? Who wants the rest
of class to think that they are not the brightest bulb in the box? Dont put your
students in this position.
There are ways to check for comprehension without having to put students on
the spot. Try asking them questions, instead, to make sure theyve understood.
4. 4

You echo their answers

A student says, I work at Google. You say, You work at Google. Great! You
work at Google. First of all, there is absolutely no learning value in parroting
your students. Second, if you do it immediately after they speak, you may be
interrupting their train of thought and may even cut them off from whatever else
they were going to say. What if your student was about to tell you what he did at
Google?
After a student speaks, give him or her time to add something else. If you
feel compelled to say something, simply reply with a How interesting! And
pause to give them time to add a new piece of information.
5. 5

You dont check to see if theyve understood your instructions

So, you rattle off a set of instructions in rapid-fire succession and say, OK,
lets get started! This is usually when students start whispering to each other
things like, What did she say? or What do we do now?
Always check to see if theyve gotten your instructions straight. Ask the
class, OK class so what do we do first? And then? Good! You may begin. If its
an exercise they must complete, its a great idea to do the first question with
them as an example.
6. 6

You give them unclear instructions

This mistake goes hand in hand with the previous. Try to use words you
know they will understand. Give them steps that are easy to follow, and if you
can number them, so much the better. This is particularly true for special
projects like crafts, where students are expected to follow a series of steps. If
they are not familiar with any of the vocabulary make sure you explain it to
them first; this includes words like stapler, paper clips or any other materials
they may not be familiar with.

As mentioned earlier, anyone can make mistakes. I am one of

those teachers who complete students sentences. Guilty
as charged!
After 20 years, I still need to stop myself every now and then, but this is something I
tend to do when Im running out of time for an activity. So, dont be shy and speak up!
Are you guilty of any of these blunders?