What is the difference between the Middle Grade & Young

Adult Categories?
by Laura Backes, Children's Book Insider

It's often difficult for writers to know whether they're creating a middle grade novel (ages 8-12),
or a book for young adults (12 and up). Because many of the themes and situations are similar
for the two age groups, authors go by the age of the main character: if the protagonist is under
12, it's middle grade; over 12 means young adult. But the differences are more complicated than
that.

The author of the true, classic middle grade novel does not worry about vocabulary choices or
simple sentence structure; once children are ready for these books they are good readers. Middle
grade novels are characterized by the type of conflict encountered by the main character.
Children in the primary grades are still focused inward, and the conflicts in their books reflect
that. While themes range from friendship to school situations to relationships with siblings and
peers, characters are learning how they operate within their own world. They are solidifying their
own identity, experiencing the physical and psychological changes of puberty, taking on new
responsibilities all within the boundaries of their family, friends and neighborhood. Yes, your
character needs to grow and change during the course of the book, but these changes are on the
inside. Middle grade readers are beginning to learn who they are, what they think. Their books
need to mirror their personal experience.

Charlotte's Web, the classic middle grade novel by E.B. White, is a perfect example. Wilbur the
pig is threatened by his world: he's worried that once he grows up, he'll be sent to the butcher.
And while his friend Charlotte saves Wilbur from death, the book is really about the meaning of
true friendship and how Wilbur gains confidence and self-esteem. This year's Newbery winner,
The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg, is about four children and their sixth grade teacher
as they compete in the regional Academic Bowl. But the competition is a backdrop for the
individual journeys each child takes on the path to becoming a team, and how they help their
teacher find her own place in the world. The real victory is how each of the five main characters
goes through some inner struggle during the book and ends up in a better place.

Characters are also a key element to young adult novels, but these books often have more
complicated plots than those for middle grade. Protagonists experience an internal change, but
this change is triggered by external events and fits into a bigger picture. They begin to step
outside themselves and see how they influence, and are influenced by, the larger world. They go
beyond their backyard and encounter adult problems for the first time. In Suzanne Fisher Staples'
novel Dangerous Skies, 12-year-old Buck Smith is suddenly made aware of the racial hatred and
prejudice entrenched in his small Southern town when his best friend is a suspect in a murder
investigation. By the end of the book, Buck has lost his innocence and his eyes are opened to the
ethical shortcomings of his family and the neighbors he has known all his life.

The age of the main character and length of the manuscript are still a rough guide in determining
the audience (middle grade manuscripts tend to be 100 pages or shorter, with young adult books
being longer, though this is not always the case), but the kind of conflict the characters encounter
is a better measuring stick. Many publishers have created a new young adult category for ages
10-14, for books that bridge the gap between middle grade and young adult, and have designated
novels with older themes as ages 15 and up. The story, rather than the character's age, delineates
the audience, as in Carolyn Coman's What Jamie Saw (a 1996 Newbery Honor Book). The book
features a nine-year-old protagonist, but the subject of domestic abuse prompted the publisher to
give it an age range of ten and up.

As an author, it's your job to decide who you want to reach with your book -- elementary kids,
junior high or high school -- and then create characters and conflicts accordingly. Regardless of
genre -- science fiction, mystery, historical or contemporary -- if your characters are learning
about themselves and the world in the same way as your readers, your audience will find you.

Aims and preliminary information

This unit starts by describing who we mean by young learners, and then gives a historical
background to the field of teaching a foreign language to children. It offers you the chance to
become conversant with some of the theories and research evidence behind important issues in
TYL. It both attempts to present a global picture of TYL, and to help you to explore aspects of
your local context. This unit, more than the following units, is dependent on the set reading to
give you the overall picture. Most of the papers are overview papers and can be read quickly - so
don't waste time making copious notes on these - they are there to give you a general picture of
the state of TYL. However, there is one paper on the age factor which is quite challenging, and
we hope that you will enjoy the task we set for you.
As in the FND unit, the main aim of the tasks is to encourage you to reflect on the issues raised
in the unit and on how they apply to your context. They are numbered to help you keep track of
your notes. In this unit, there are seven 'reflective' tasks, and there are also six Reading Tasks
which have their own numbering.

Objectives
By the end of this unit, you should:
· be able to identify some key characteristics of Young Learners of different ages
· be aware of the historical development of the teaching of languages to Young Learners
· be conversant with the current debate on the age factor and the various arguments for and
against 'starting young'
· be familiar with a range of contexts for teaching English to Young Learners and be able to
relate your local context to others
· be able to describe the Young Learners in your local context
· be able to identify why English is taught to YLs in your context
· have seen samples of course and syllabus outlines for a range of countries and noted different
objectives and aims.
In your experience, what other characteristics do YLs in your context have that help them learn
languages successfully?
If possible, try and relate your beliefs to specific theories and to illustrate each opinion with a
concrete example.

Teaching adult beginners is, by no means, an easy task but it is to a great extent the interaction
between adults, teacher and students, who share many common characteristics. In addition, if
you compare two adult beginner groups you will see that content of syllabuses can be fairly
similar, students are likely to have a fairly good idea why they are in the English classroom and
their rates of learning, all else being equal, are likely to be fairly similar.
Contrast this with teaching YL beginner classes. But note that the beginner student at five
requires a totally different approach to the ten-year old beginner. The five-year old may not be
able to read or write, they may be new to learning in a group and in a school environment, they
may not even be aware of the concept of a foreign language. The ten-year old, on the other hand,
is an old hand at learning, having probably spent nearly half their life or anyway at least three
years in a school environment. They are probably confident readers and writers and their
knowledge of the world is huge when compared to that of the five-year old. They are probably
very much aware that English is a foreign language and are also likely to have some awareness
of its status as a world language of real importance. Although the ten-year old may still lack any
instrumental motivation for learning English, their experience of films, television, computers and
other world knowledge is more likely to provide them with some integrative motivation for
giving English a chance. On the other hand, the older child's familiarity with school may already
have predisposed them to be reluctant learners. Their learning habits are already quite firmly
established and teachers will have to deal with these. Remember that both groups are beginners
and therefore the contents of the course at a number of levels will probably be fairly similar (for
example, at the level of language it might include the verb 'to be', colours) but our approach to
teaching them is fundamentally different as it needs to take into account their age differences.

What is seminar
Definition: A seminar is a lecture or presentation delivered to an audience on a
particular topic or set of topics that are educational in nature. It is usually held for
groups of 10-50 individuals. A seminar is frequently held at a hotel meeting space
or within an office conference room.

Preparing and presenting a seminar to departmental colleagues

Presenting your ideas to a seminar of your teaching colleagues is a good way to start the process of
communicating your scholarship of teaching more widely. While not as formal or large an undertaking as
presenting at a conference or writing for publication it will require you to go through many of the same
steps.

The Oxford dictionary tells us that a seminar is "a small class at a university, etc for discussion and
research; a class meeting for systematic study under the direction of a specified person". And that
describes exactly the purpose of this section. You are the specified person, someone who prepares the
topic, arranges a program that will encourage and enable all who come to participate and to contribute to
each other's learning. many people will recognise this as the definition of a workshop and feel that a
seminar is a time where a presenter presents and allows a short time for questions. We prefer the activitiy
described by Oxford as we believe that it is through collaboration and communication that we learn best.

As seminar leader you will take responsibility for

• identifying the topic

• planning the event
• providing a scholarly framework
• devising the learning stimulus
• helping participants to learn
• encouraging learning reflection for others as well as for yourself.

These activities can be organized into three stages

 Preparation

 Implementation

 Review and Evaluation

Preparation.

Write a few lines in answer to these questions

Designing the seminar

• What is it that you want to share with people?

• What is your purpose in conducting this seminar?
• What is it that you want people to learn?
 • How can you help them to know that?

Planning the program

Develop one or two clear objectives, point three above should provide some basis for their development.
These objectives are for your guidance they should clearly identify:

• purpose for presenting a seminar, what is your justification for taking up the time of your
colleagues, being very clear about this. How will the department benefit? How will the individual
benefit? What is the relevance of the seminar to the department's goals, objectives and strategy?
• learning outcome, what is your topic, what will people learn as a result of this presentation and
discussion, how does it relate to the department's goals objectives and strategy?
• prepare a series of questions that will help participants make links between their own experiences
and what is being presented and use these to guide the development of your program.

How will you use the time allocated to the seminar, how will it be proportioned between?

• input
• activity or exercise.

The answers you wrote in relation to 'Designing the seminar', will help you develop your seminar plan. In
particular, 'What is it that you want people to learn?' and 'How can you help them to know that?'

See Sample Seminar Plan

Developing interest in the seminar

Why would people be interested in attending?

Who would be interested in attending?

What will you tell them about the event?

How can you let them know about the event?

Answers to these questions will enable you to prepare a statement about your seminar. You want people
to come so make it brief but interesting, remember to include date time and venue.

E-mail is a good way to get in touch with people, you may wish to post a notice on your staff electronic
bulletin board or drop a note in colleague's pigeon holes. Remember to follow up key people personally,
the best publicity is word of mouth, get people talking about it so there is a sense of anticipation and
people are looking forward to the event. Invite your Head of Department personally.

Implementation: Running the seminar

Introduction

This is where you set the tone for the seminar. It is important to strike a balance between
seeming well organized but not determined to control the program too tightly. An overhead that
announces the topic and the session plan can be displayed as you welcome people and outline
your objectives for the session.
 Learning Stimulus

It is good practice to start with a simple activity that will enable all to participate from the
beginning, contributes to a sense of camaraderie and increases the energy level of the group.
The activity needs to be relevant to the topic andprovide an opportunity for people to draw on
their own relevant prior knowledge. See the activity in Sample Seminar Plan. With a few words to
conclude the activity affirming peoples contribution and connecting it to what is to follow.

Learning

What is it that you want to share with people?

What is it that you want people to learn?
How can you help them to know that?

Your answers to these questions form the basis for this part of the program. This will probably
involve you in some telling but keep this to a minimum; remember that the definition of a seminar
is 'for discussion and research, a meeting for systematic study'. Your telling needs to be the
catalyst to allow people to explore the topic for themselves. As the director of this learning
experience guide the conversation with a series of questions that ask people to make
connections between the topic and their own teaching or research, this will enable learning
integration. Your task is to outline the issue. Provide sufficient context to people to understand
your findings or conclusions then ask for their contribution.

Learning reflection

Use some further questions or an activity to bring the discussion to a close. These questions or
activities should be reflective, focusing on what has been learnt during the session. It may take a
form that will be helpful to you in your own review and evaluation of the session. Conclude with a
short remark indicating how the discussion has enlarged your own view and thanking the
participants for their contribution to your own learning.

Review/Evaluation

An important part of scholarly practice is reflection and evaluation

Reflection to consider what happened, what was observed, what was learnt (on your part as well as by
others), were the outcomes achieved, did any thing unexpected occur, what have you learnt that will
enable you to improve on your seminar presentations in the future. As you replay the event in your mind
make a note of anything significant. A scholarly evaluation would consider evidence from several sources,
here where we consider a single seminar it is important to keep some perspective. As in all evaluations,
be clear about what you want to know, in this instance you probably want to know the extent to which you
achieved your objectives and some idea of how to improve future seminar presentations.

Asking the participants

See the evaluation questions at the conclusion of the Sample Seminar Plan

Asking yourself

The following is a simple checklist to help you focus on your own contribution to the seminar.
Write a brief note beside each question.

• Was the pre-seminar planning adequate?

 • Was the session plan appropriate?
• Was there a balance betweentelling and discussing?
• Did the entire group participate?
• Were others able to contribute to the generation of new knowledge?
• Did I introduce the topic sufficiently?
• Did the first activity involve people in the topic?
• What was the highlight of the session? Why?
• What was the low point of the session? Why?
• How could I present this seminar differently next time?

The evaluation process is not complete until you have made a judgment based on the evidence. In this
case you have data from the participants and the product of your own reflection on the event. As in any
other evaluation, focus on what your data suggests which you were not aware of as much as on what it
confirms what you expected. Write a brief note in your journal about the seminar based on this evidence
and include the recommendations that you believe will improve the planning and implementation of a
seminar in the future. You may chose to make a more formal report about the seminar, if you are
undertaking this activity as part of an accredited program you will have access to more detailed guidelines
for an Evaluation Report in the Subject Guide.

Penjelasan dari seminar di Web dalam bahasa Inggris:

• any meeting for an exchange of ideas

• a course offered for a small group of advanced students
• Seminar is, generally, a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or
offered by a commercial or professional organization.
• Seminar is the second album by Sir Mix-a-Lot.
• A class held for advanced studies in which students meet regularly to discuss original
research, under the guidance of a professor; A meeting held for the exchange of useful
information by members of a common business community
• Most commonly offered as upper-level and graduate courses, these are small classes of
approximately 15 students each, designed to facilitate intensive study of specific subject
areas.
• A meeting between a lecturer and a small group of students to study or discuss an aspect
of the course, which is being taught.
• Meeting or series meetings of specialists who have different skills but have specific
common interest and have together for training or learning purposes. The work schedule
of a seminar is aimed at enriching the skills of the participants.
• A seminar consists of a small group of students and usually runs for 1-3 hours. A seminar
may include a presentation by the lecturer or tutor, or by a group of students. ...
• It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing
each time on some particular subject, in which everyone present is requested to actively
participate.
• this is a teaching class, overseen by an academic often a lecturer, where students discuss
a subject in more detail
• A period of instruction based on written or oral contributions by the learners.
• A course, taught by one of more instructors, that is usually for a small group of students
in advanced status within their programs or majors or participating in special programs
such as freshmen retention or learning communities. ...
• A class that has a group discussion format rather than a lecture format.
• A small class taught by an academic, more commonly found in higher-level courses such
as Honours.