In this unit you will ...

  • look at how children between the ages of 5 and 12 learn.
  • look at teaching activities that are suitable for young learners.

1. Children as learners.

TEACHER TIP:

All children are different, but it's important to remember the common characteristics they share. This can help us when we plan lessons for young learners.

Read the statements about children as learners. Do you agree or disagree with them?

2. Advice about children as learners.

Use the phrases to complete the advice about children as learners.

TEACHER TIP:

Advice from experienced teachers is extremely useful. Do you have more advice about children as learners? Share your ideas with other teachers. Post your tips on the Noticeboard.

3. Different activities in class.

Listen to different activities in class. Which activity is the class doing?

See the transcript of what the teachers say.

4. Different activities.

Read about the advantages of the different activities. Choose the activity described.

5. Description of activities.

Can you remember? Choose the correct options to complete the descriptions.

1. Craft project

2. Story

3. Survey

6. Tips for planning lessons.

Choose the most appropriate tip for each aspect of lesson planning.

7. Revision: Children as learners.

Can you remember? Do the crossword.

8. Different opinions.

Read the three statements and match them to the issues they relate to.

9. Discussion topics.

Share your ideas with other teachers. Do you agree or disagree with these statements from exercise 8? Explain why.

  • "I never do songs with my group of 10-year-olds. They think singing songs is for babies."
  • "I always start the lesson with a review of the previous lesson. And I always end the lesson with a song."
  • "I prepare extra exercises for the children who finish early. It's not good if they have nothing to do."

For example:
I disagree with the first statement. I find that all age groups like songs. I think this is because ....

Post your comments in the Forum.
Post your comments in the Forum.

10. Final task.

Children as Learners

Find a story you would like to use in class. It can be real, invented or from a coursebook.

  1. Write a lesson plan, showing how you would use the story with a group of six-year-olds.
  2. Write comments about how your lesson plan would be different for a group of 10-year-olds.

 

Bibliography:

Teaching Languages to Young Learners by Lynne Cameron, Cambridge University Press
Very Young Learners by Vanessa Reilly and Sheila M. Ward, Oxford University Press
Bringing Creative Teaching into the Young Learner Classroom by Lynne Cameron and Penny McKay, Oxford University Press

Post and discuss

Once you have completed your task, post it in the Unit 1 Forum. Then read and respond to what other teachers have written.

Tips for responding to what your colleagues have posted

Use these questions to help you respond to what other teachers have posted.

  • Is this similar to your task answer or different?
  • What is interesting about this post?
  • What questions or doubts do you have about this topic?
  • What advice can you give on this topic, based on your experience?