TEACHING YOUNG LEARNERS

Young learners should have fun with English! The purpose of this program is to introduce participants to the theory and practice of teaching young learners in the EFL classroom. Participants will engage in enjoyable activities designed specifically for young learners, such as songs, chants, finger plays, and storytelling. The teacher has to know about the characteristics of young learners and their learning styles that affect second language acquisition. Therefore, it is important to remember that an early start alone will not necessarily improve childrens ability to learn English. It is also very important that L2 instruction include language vocabularies that are presented within a context that is meaningful and communicative Young learners tend to have short attention spans and a lot of physical energy. There are many kinds of methods and techniques to teach vocabulary to young learners such as teaching vocabulary by using pictures, songs, games, cartoon video and else. According to Sigmund Freud, FAIES (first aid in English System) is the teaching method to emphasize or stress on communication which consist of direct approach, Functional approach, situational approach and drilling technique. It is actually merging from those 3 approaches and 1 technique. This method was expended by Ali Badarrudin around 18 years ago in 1990. Basically, the methods want the students can learn English (especially in learning vocabulary) without translation. In addition, children are very much linked to their surroundings and are more interested in the physical and the tangible. As Scott and Ytreberg (1990) describe, Their own understanding comes through hands and eyes and ears. The physical world is dominant at all time. Its mean that teaching learner or children is not easier. There are many definitions that we have to know before for instance who the young learner is? There is a general agreement in the

literature about the definition of young language learners. Slatternly and Willis (2001) define the young learners as those between 712 years old while very young learners are defined as less than 7 years of age. Scott and Ytreberg (2001) distinguish between two groups of young learners, one between 5-7 and another 8-11, considering mainly their ability to perceive the abstract and concrete. The Turkish primary curriculum for teaching English (Ministry of National Education 2006) defines the young learners as the children from the first year of formal schooling (6 years old, in our case) to 12 years of age. In foreign language teaching, age is one of the most critical individual differences (Matsuoka & Smith, 2008; Brewster, Ellis & Girard, 2004). Stems from the developmental features, especially weaknesses and strengths of the learners from different age groups, such as children, adolescents, and adults (Harmer, 2007). Among those age groups especially the first one has become fashionable in terms of teaching English in many countries in Europe during the last few decades (Brewster et al., 2004). Many governments have put compulsory English education in their curricula (Afia, 2006; Shin, 2006). Given all these efforts to provide young learners with English as early as possible, the main challenge seems to make sure that the instruction they receive is developmentally appropriate, pedagogically sound, as well as culturally responsive (Koller, 2006). Yet, before dwelling on the quality of instruction provided for young learners, some points should be clarified both for professional teachers and especially for the parents of young learners: How to teach English to young learners? This question requires the deepest and widest consideration, which needs long volumes. Yet, here it is best to mention about the most general and widely accepted points. While teaching English children needs emotions ideas about learning process as well as their physical, cognitive, and affective abilities should be taken into consideration. While their levels of proficiency seem to be dependent on many factors including type of program and

curriculum, number of hours spent in English class, and techniques and activities used (Shin, 2006), there is an agreement in the literature about the priority of affective objectives. Schindler (2006) high lights that the main aim of early language education should be to hook students when they are young and keep them interested in learning English for the rest of their lives.

The result of all this is that quite often English teachers find themselves thrown in at the deep end, teaching Young Learners with little specific knowledge of who they are teaching, what materials they should use and how best to manage them and their classroom.

REFERENCES
Penny, 1996: 60. As the words we teach in the foreign language: vocabulary can be defined, Roughly. jshin2@umbc.edu, 2011. English Language Center University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Joan Kang Shin W Widaningsih,2011. She analyzed method of teaching English vocabulary to young Learners. the teaching method to emphasize or stress Harmer , October 2010 26. Vol.6, No.2, Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies Brewster et al.2004. Language learning, and getting motivated for the young leaner life-long learning
Hill, L A and Innes, C 1981 Oxford Childrens Picture Dictionary Oxford University Press

especially by the supporters of Critical Period Hypothesis (Brewster et al., 2004; Robinson, 2003). Another reason for the popularity of teaching English to young learners is because it is a lingua franca today, which means a common language used for communication between two people whose languages are different (Harmer, 2007). Thus, especially parents want their children to learn English as early as possible so that they will be able to benefit from English as an important part of their academic and business career in the future. Teaching English to young learners also has gained importance as English has become a part of international policy, at least in European Union context. Today all EU citizens are encouraged to have a European Language Portfolio (ELP). No matter what their ages are, people keep a personal record to show their interaction with other languages and other people from different cultural backgrounds. Given the main purposes of ELP, some benefits of this broad language learning policy can be said to include fostering childrens tolerance towards other cultures, maintaining free movement across Europe, having an opportunity to evaluate ones own language learning, and getting motivated for life-long learning (Brewster et al., 2004).

This course assumes an initial level of knowledge of the principles of English Language Teaching and is designed to give new or practising TEFL teachers some help with the following areas: 1. Some insights into the world of teaching English to Young Learners 2. A look at how we develop the basic skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening effectively with Young Learners 3. An overview of some of the main methodologies for teaching English in three key YL areas: Kindergarten, Primary and Teenagers 4. Practical help for Classroom Management 5. A look at maximising your use of free and subscription internet resources 6. At the other end of the scale, how to teach with minimal resources Although this Young Learners module is made up of several components under separate headings, it is important to remember that these interact with each other. We have broken them down to make the ideas behind teaching this fascinating area easier to understand. While the demand for teaching English to Young Learners lessons is increasing world-wide, of course it means different things to different people. For example, you wouldnt walk into a classroom of teenagers and expect to use the same material you have just finished using with your primary level learners. So we will look at a range of levels and ages across the Young Learner sections of this course. Our aim here is to introduce you to Young Learner English as a subject and to provide you with the confidence to teach, and a framework for your teaching to a variety of groups and abilities. Why is it important to teach English to young learners? As emphasized above, one main reason for teaching English to young learners is the convenience of their age for language acquisition. The belief that younger is better and children learn much more quickly and efficiently is generally appreciated by many, Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies Vol.6, No.2, October 2010 26