Characteristics

of Young
Learners
By: Fatima Shnieb
Jomana El-sudani
Malak Elaleem
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Content
1. Who are young learners
2. Capacity of play and fun
3. Indirect learning
4. Feeling relaxed/safe
5. Social interaction
6. Chunks
7. Creative activities
8. Build vocabulary and memory
9. Types of Learning Styles
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Young learners
We generally call students between the ages
of two and eleven young learners.
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1. Characteristcs
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“
× “Children learn as they
play. Most importantly, in
play, children learn how to
learn.”
× - O. Fred Donaldson
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Play
× Children learn best through play and other
enjoyable activities

(Play is one of the most important ways in which young children gain
essential knowledge and skills)
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Play
× Children are excited about learning.

(when they are given an opportunity

by doing and experiencing )
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Play
× Children use everything in the
physical world for learning and
understanding things

(what they see, do, hear and touch, etc.)

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Movement
× They lose their attention after 10
minutes
× They should not sit all the time!
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Indirect learning
× Guessing
This process is related to the way we develop our mother tongue, we do
not consciously learn it. But we obtain it by experiencing.
Both conscious direct learning and subconscious indirect learning help
to gain a new language.
Children’s capacity for conscious learning of grammatical patterns have
not developed well.

× Games
are very effective for indirect learning
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Feeling relaxed/safe
× Children want to feel safe, loved, and
self-esteemed.

we can conclude that children require safety and guidance in order to

learn. They will learn best (at first) by doing things via play and action
in a warm, engaging, and safe setting.
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Learn from social

interaction
× Social interaction is crucial for young
learners.
× It becomes difficult to learn trough social
interaction as they grow up.
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Why is social interaction so important

for young learners?
× When a child interact with others, he/she
will develop communication skills.
× Social interactions help to develop social
skills.
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Why is social interaction so important

for young kids?
× Children will learn to work with others
through social interactions.

× Children will begin to feel more confident

trough social interaction.
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Why is social interaction so important

for young kids?
× Social interactions lead to friendships.
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Learn through chunks

What are chunks?
× Chunks are the most common collocations,
a sequence of words that usually go
together.
× To integrate new vocabulary in children’s
speech and teach them a certain
grammatical form without rules, and to
enhance their speech, use word chunks.
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Learn through chunks

× We can teach young learners some
classroom phrases in English. This will
help them to become comfortable when
using the language, and it will help to
create an English environment in the
classroom .
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Learn through chunks

× How to integrate chunks in a lesson?
1. Use mime and TPR.
2. Use short poems.
3. Use songs with lyrics repeating the same
word combination.
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More!
o They have exciting imaginations

o They are very good at imitating people, so they

pick up the teacher's INTONATION

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Creative activities
× Develop creativity and imagination
Nothing initiates one's imagination better than art and craft.
Creativity and imagination can help your child's motor skills, social
interactions and even his/her problem-solving skills.
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× Explore and express emotions, thoughts and ideas.

Imagining themselves in others' shoes promotes social and
emotional development in your child.
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Build vocabulary and memory

 Be specific when talking to your students.

The other day I went on vacation. We went to South Padre
Island. I enjoyed it because we went parasailing and fishing.
My son caught a fish but his line got tangled with someone
else’s. We couldn’t stop laughing, but eventually we helped
him untangle the line and get it on the boat.
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× Try teaching your students new words or

even different variations of the same word.
“The elephant is big” can turn into “The elephant is
gigantic.” or even “The elephant is enormous.”
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 Use the same word in many

different ways.
The dog ran fast. I ran next to him, but I could not run
as fast. My brother tried to run, but he fell down. After I
ran, I was really tired. Running is fun.
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Types of Learning Styles

 Visual (learn through seeing)

 Auditory (learn through hearing)
 Tactile (learn through touch)
 Kinesthetic (learn through doing
and moving)
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×
“
“Language play is described as a window not only into the

creative nature of language acquisition but also to the

degree to which child has mastered and can manipulate the

essential structures of his or her language. “ " Ferguson

and Macken, 1983"

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Tactile
Auditory

Visuals Kinesthetic
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An actvity

1. Using of chunks
You want our students to
work in pairs or groups, you
can tell them to stand up and
2. play
make a line in order of
birthdays, heights, etc. so that
you can group them
3. Movement
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An actvity

1. Play
We can give our students
CARDS with PICTURES of
objects. The teacher says a 2. Indirect learning
2. Indirect learning by games
word. by games

Which child can pick up the

right picture card first?
3. Feeling relaxed
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An actvity

1. Feeling relaxed

Teacher can start the class

with songs that will make all 2. Indirect learning by games

students engaged and interact.

3. Play
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An actvity

1. Learn through chunks

While the kids are actively

engaged in the class, the 3. Feeling relaxed

teacher uses poems to teach

them new vocabulary.

2. Indirect learning by games

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True or false

Avoid qualifying words Use “NOT” when

that give the The more words the
crafting True or False
answer away. better.
questions.

True False False

Concentrate on one Statements must

Keep statement
key idea or have a clear,
length different.
concept. verifiable answer.

True True
False
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Discussion

A class with 20 One student in the Get used to new

students and they class is shy, and textures, like wet,
are noisy! another feels slimy or sticky.
uncomfortable in learn about shapes,
the environment lines, and colours
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Thanks!
Any questions?