Teaching very young learners (VYL) English takes more than pictures, songs and crayons. These tools are effective when the teacher understands the personality and learning styles of VYL. Whether you have experience teaching VYL or have never taught this group, this article will review simple tips and ideas to make the experience rewarding for both teacher and student and on tips to teach a three year.
Create a fun and friendly learning space.
Your online or teaching environment should be age-appropriate and friendly. If you are teaching online, what does your background look like? Do you have a bare wall, a shelf full of grown-up books or a pile of laundry behind you? Learning a new language from someone they do not know can be scary for a young child. Make your background space fun with toys or stuffed animals. If you prefer a background, choose colorful backgrounds that would appeal to children or a background that includes animated characters children are familiar with. First impressions are important when meeting your VYL and you don’t want your first impression to scare or intimidate your learner.
If you are invited to teach at the child’s home, be sure to bring along items such as an alphabet poster, or posters of animals and colors, realia, stuffed animals etc… Textbooks are not necessarily needed to teach a 3 year old but feel free to bring storybooks with a lot of pictures. Your presence should be anticipated with joy and not fear so don’t forget to pack your smile!
Do you know your learner?
Learning a new language at a very young age can be intimidating. Every child will have a different reaction to the learning process and you’ll have to be attentive and mindful of how the child reacts to certain teaching methods and adapt your style. Some learners are more outgoing while others are shy and hesitant. Be observant. If the learner responds positively to songs and TPR, then you’ll want to include more of these in your lessons. Ask the learner if they like to color, sing or dance. Find out what they like and tailor the lesson around their interests. For example, if the learner loves Peppa the Pig, incorporate the character into the lessons.
Watch your language and be kind
Both extroverted and introverted learners have one thing in common, they want to enjoy the learning experience and be taught by someone who is patient, kind and fun. Each child learns at their own pace so do not push the VYL to acquire more than they are capable of. If your lesson focused on teaching 3 words and the student could only remember one word, celebrate the accomplishment with paise. Praise and encouragement will have a positive effect on the learner’s motivation and self-esteem. If the learner is engaged and happy, this is more rewarding than having a student who appears bored and unhappy but remembered the 3 words you taught.
Praise words are important but so is how you communicate during the lesson. Compare these two scenarios.
- The teacher shows a picture of Peppa the Pig wearing a red shirt and asks the learner, “What color is the shirt Peppa the Pig is wearing in this picture? Is the shirt red or green?”
- The teacher shows a picture of Peppa the Pig wearing a red shirt and tells the learner: “Look” (teacher points to their eyes) “Shirt” (teacher points to Peppa’s shirt)
“Color?” (teacher points to another picture of a red shirt and says “red” and then points to a picture of a green shirt and says “green”)
Scenario “a” is not level appropriate for a beginner VYL. Scenario “b” is an example of a teacher adjusting their language to be level appropriate. Scenario “b” also demonstrates the teacher’s use of gestures to help the student understand what is expected.
Timing is everything
Have you ever sat through a movie, speech or event that seemed to drag on? You started out attentive but eventually, you are looking at the time and getting impatient. VYL have short attention spans and a 30-minute lesson can seem like 30 hours. How can you make the most effective use of the VYL time? Plan your lesson around themes, keep vocabulary lists to 3-5 words and create plenty of follow-up activities.
Themes
Plan your lessons around themes such as food, colors, animals, sports etc…
Each theme can lead into another teaching topics. See below.
Example Theme: Food
Lesson Focus: Fruits
Vocabulary: apple, banana, orange
Activity 1: 10 minutes
Introduce the words using chants or songs. Bring actual fruits and as you chant the word “ap-ple”, the learner points to the apple. Then, have the student say or chant the word apple and they choose the correct fruit. Repeat with banana and orange.The Minions banana song would be a fun video to play to help the student remember the word “banana”.
Activity 2: 5 minutes
Prepare a set of flashcards that has a picture of the fruit along with the word.
Place the 3 cards face down. The learner chooses a card and names the fruit. If they have trouble, elicit by saying the first part of the word “ba”. If the student still has trouble, say the second part of the word “Ba” “na”.
Activity 3: 10-13 minutes
Draw and color the 3 fruits with the learner.
Wrap up: 2 minutes
Review the names of the fruits using the picture the learner drew. Praise the student and give them a sticker if you wish.
The next lesson should review the 3 fruits learned in the previous lesson before introducing new fruit vocabulary. You can teach the food/fruit theme for 2-3 lessons before moving on to a new theme. However, if the learner seems to enjoy learning about fruit, you can extend the duration of the theme.
